About PREP
Funded PREP programs are utilizing a variety of evidence-based and evidence-informed sexual health education curricula, including the Teen Outreach Program®, Making Proud Choices!, Focus On Youth, The 3R’s Curriculum: Rights, Respect, Responsibility and Get Real. Curricula include comprehensive sexual health education, communication and negotiation skill development, values exploration, puberty, and more.
All PREP programs integrate 3 additional adulthood preparation subjects:
- Healthy Relationships
- Adolescent Development
- Financial Literacy
These are included as lessons bookended before or after the curriculum, or through use of guest speakers from local banks, partnerships with other local community organizations, and youth community service projects.
The health outcome goals of the program are:
- Decrease the teen birth rate among target populations in priority communities through increased access to evidence-based education.
- Decrease STI incidence among target populations in priority communities through increased access to medically-accurate, and age-appropriate programming.
The Personal Responsibility Education Program is federally funded through the Family and Youth Services Bureau of the United States Department of Health and Human Services.
PREP Communities
Communities eligible for PREP funding are chosen through data analysis of teen birth rates. Currently, the following community-based organizations, school districts, and collaboratives receive PREP dollars to serve the following:
| Community | Served by |
|---|---|
| Andover |
Collaborative for Regional Education Services and Training (CREST) Collaborative |
| Chelsea | LifeScene, formerly Family and Children’s Services of Greater Lynn |
| Chicopee | Gándara Center |
| Fall River |
Citizens for Citizens |
| Haverhill | Haverhill Public Schools |
| Holyoke | Gándara Center |
| Lawrence |
|
| Lowell | Lowell Community Health Center |
| Lynn |
LifeScene, formerly Family and Children’s Services of Greater Lynn |
| Pittsfield | Pittsfield Public Schools |
| Revere | LifeScene, formerly Family and Children’s Services of Greater Lynn |
| Salem | Salem Academy Charter School |
| Springfield |
|
| Stockbridge | Berkshire Hills School District |
Youth served by PREP
The PREP program funds community-based organizations to serve middle and high school aged youth, and through a partnership with the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, school districts are funded to serve middle and high school youth. Eligible communities are those ranked among the highest teen birth rates in Massachusetts. To reduce inequities in teen reproductive health outcomes, the program prioritizes serving youth who identify as Hispanic, Black, LGBTQ, in or aging out of foster care, having physical or intellectual disabilities, and expectant or parenting youth.