The Alabama Department of Public Health (ADPH) announced Friday the agency has issued two separate requests for proposals (RFP) for funding from youth-serving community organizations. The agency aims to provide evidence-based programs to youth within the counties of Bullock, Choctaw, Clay, Cleburne, Crenshaw, Fayette, Greene, Hale, Lamar, Lowndes, Macon, Marengo, Mobile, Montgomery, Pickens, Washington and Wilcox.  

The ADPH Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Branch is soliciting two proposals, focusing on areas of sexual risk avoidance education and personal responsibility education.

The first, the Alabama Sexual Risk Avoidance Education RFP seeks programs promoting positive youth development. These programs include those leading youth to develop and navigate healthy relationships and to make decisions that result in reduced teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections, including HIV. 

The agency requires proposals to focus on middle school youth in grades 6-8. Applicants can download the RFP at https://www.alabamapublichealth.gov/teenpregnancy/ or submit an e-mail request to Jasmine Abner at jasmine.abner@adph.state.al.us. The application due date is August 4, 2023.

The Alabama Personal Responsibility Education Program RFP also seeks programs that educate adolescents on both abstinence and contraception, aiming toward prevention of unplanned pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections, including HIV, among youth aged 10-19 by increasing condom or contraception use for sexually active youth. Proposals for these programs must focus on high-risk high school-aged youth. Download the RFP at https://www.alabamapublichealth.gov/teenpregnancy/ or submit an e-mail request to Valerie Lockett at valerie.lockett@adph.state.al.us. Applications are due by August 4, 2023.  

The agency will give priority for both proposals to applicants serving populations at most risk such as, but not limited to youth who are in foster care, including group homes or summer camps; youth in juvenile detention programs; Native American youth; homeless and runaway youth; parenting youth; youth who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning; and parent education for those youth involved in these programs. 

Settings for implementation of these programs will be schools and community-based organizations.

Eligible applicants for these programs are all public or private non-profit organizations, government agencies, faith-based organizations, colleges and universities who 1) are legally authorized to conduct business within the state of Alabama; 2) are in a position to operate on a cost-reimbursement basis; 3) become an Alabama registered vendor prior to billing for services; and 4) meet the terms and conditions of the RFP. Individuals not operating within an established organization, agency, business or other entity are not eligible to apply for these grant opportunities.

The RFPs are part of the ADPA Teen Pregnancy Prevention effort, which also includes the message “Affirmative Consent is Non-Negotiable.” According to the agency’s website, affirmative consent is a sexual conduct policy that says when one person initiates sexual contact, that person must get a clear, voluntary, enthusiastic “yes” for sex to be deemed consensual. To learn more about the initiative, visit Loveisrespect.org or call 1-866-331-9474.

Visit https://www.alabamapublichealth.gov/teenpregnancy/ to download the full RFPs. For questions, contact Valerie Lockett at valerie.lockett@adph.state.al.us or (334) 206-3012.