Introduction
Research Questions
- How did grant recipients operate and support PREP programs?
- What were the characteristics of PREP programs?
- Whom did PREP programs serve?
- How did youth respond to the PREP programs?
The goal of the Personal Responsibility Education Program (PREP) is to educate adolescents on (1) both abstinence and contraception to prevent pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections, including HIV/AIDS, and (2) adulthood preparation subjects. PREP is administered by the Family and Youth Services Bureau (FYSB) within the Administration for Children and Families of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
All PREP grant recipients are required to submit performance measures data to FYSB. The data provide systematic information about program operations and outcomes for all PREP grant recipients, their provider organizations, the programs they operate, and the youth they serve. The performance measures help answer the following research questions:
- How did grant recipients operate and support PREP programs?
- What were the characteristics of PREP programs?
- Whom did PREP programs serve?
- How did youth respond to the PREP programs?
Purpose
This fact sheet summarizes findings based on performance measures submitted by PREP grant recipients for 2021—2022.
Key Findings and Highlights
- During the 2021—2022 reporting period, PREP funded 117 grant recipients and 416 program providers. Providers operated 434 programs that served 87,059 youth during the period.
- The most commonly implemented program models were Making Proud Choices!, Draw the Line/Respect the Line, Be Proud! Be Responsible!, and Reducing the Risk.
- PREP grant recipients must address at least three of six adulthood preparation subjects (APSs). Programs most commonly addressed healthy relationships, healthy life skills, and adolescent development.
- Participants primarily attended PREP programming in schools during school time.
- More than three-quarters of youth participants completed at least 75 percent of the intended programming hours.
- PREP programs served diverse populations of youth.
- At program exit, most youth reported positive perceptions of the PREP programs.
Methods
This fact sheet is based on measures PREP grant recipients submitted for 2021—2022. Grant recipients submit data on PREP performance measures at four levels: (1) grant recipient, (2) provider, (3) program, and (4) participant. Some measures are collected from individual participants through entry and exit surveys, and those results are combined at the program level for submission to FYSB. Analyses in this fact sheet are based on combined findings across grant recipients, providers, programs, and participants.
Participant-level data are collected from surveys administered to individual youth at program entry and exit. Analyses in this fact sheet are based on combined findings across grant recipients, providers, programs, and participants.
Grant recipients use a web-based system to submit performance measures to FYSB. Performance measures on structure, cost, and support for program implementation are submitted annually. Other measures—such as attendance, reach, and dosage, and measures of youth participants’ characteristics and experiences in PREP—are submitted twice a year.
Citation
Hunter, Katie and Lara Hulsey (2024). “PREP Performance Measures Fact Sheet: 2021—2022,” OPRE Report #2024-382, Washington, DC: Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Glossary
- PREP:
- Personal Responsibility Education Program
- FYSB:
- Family and Youth Services Bureau
- APS:
- Adulthood Preparation Subject. PREP grant recipients were required to incorporate activities related to at least three of the six APS topics: (1) healthy relationships, (2) adolescent development, (3) healthy life skills, (4) parent-child communication, (5) educational and career success, and (6) financial literacy.
- STI:
- Sexually transmitted infection