Step 2: Determine the Funding Landscape and Explore Potential Resources

Results

  • Identification of potential sex education funding streams as well as the currently funded efforts already underway

Identify public and private programs and funding sources that are currently supporting sex education and engage with partners who are working on sex education efforts.

State-level departments (e.g., departments of education, health and/or human services) often support adolescent sexual health, including work in schools. Creating a map of state- or regional-level programs provides a more complete picture of the funding landscapes, potential resources, and opportunities for collaboration.

In addition, there are three significant U.S. Department of Health and Human Services funding streams supporting adolescent sexual health: 1) the Office of Adolescent Health, Teen Pregnancy Prevention Initiative (TPPI), which seeks to demonstrate the effectiveness of innovative, community-wide initiatives in reducing rates of teen pregnancy and births in communities with the highest rates;  2) the Administration for Children and Families, Personal Responsibility Education Program (PREP), which supports implementation of evidence-based or evidence-informed sex education programs as well as life skills education to help reduce risk of pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections among young people. PREP funding is typically administered through state departments of human or social services; and 3) the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Division of Adolescent and School Health (DASH) which funds 17 local education agencies and 19 state education agencies to help districts and schools deliver exemplary sexual health education emphasizing HIV and other STD prevention (ESHE); increase adolescent access to key sexual health services (SHS); and establish safe and supportive environments for students and staff (SSE).

Tips

  1. Nurture state-level partners.

    State-level organizations such as state departments of education, state departments of public health, and/or state collaboratives (e.g., Health and PE Associations) can be instrumental partners.  However, it is important to approach these partnerships with realistic expectations and identify and prioritize state-level partnerships that are mutually beneficial.