City of Alexandria, Virginia
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MEMORANDUM
DATE: JUNE 18, 2024
TO: THE HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF CITY COUNCIL
THROUGH: JAMES F. PARAJON, CITY MANAGER /s/
FROM: KATE GARVEY, DIRECTOR, DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY AND HUMAN SERVICES
DOCKET TITLE:
TITLE
Authorization of a Competitive Grant Application and Acceptance of Funds for Personal Responsibility Education Program (Prep) from the Administration for Children, Youth And Families.
ISSUE: Authorization of a grant application to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration for Children and Families (ACF) Family Youth Service Bureau (FYSB) for three-year funding through the Personal Responsibility Education Program (PREP) Competitive Grants under the Affordable Care Act for the Alexandria Campaign on Adolescent Pregnancy (ACAP) and acceptance of funds if awarded to the City of Alexandria, Department of Community and Human Services (DCHS).
RECOMMENDATION: That City Council:
(1) Authorize the application and potential acceptance of the grant award for funding to the Department of Community and Human Services (DCHS) requesting the maximum grant amount of $750,000 annually, for the duration of three years with no match required. Funding will be used to implement adolescent pregnancy prevention programming in the City of Alexandria.
(2) Approve the following positions currently supported by PREP grant revenues if the competitive grant is awarded: one Grant Coordinator (1 FTE) to oversee grant activities and one Outreach Specialist (1 FTE) to provide implementation support for grant activities.
(3) Authorize the City Manager to execute all necessary documents that may be required.
BACKGROUND: The funding notice for this grant opportunity was issued by ACF FYSB on April 23, 2024. The ACF FYSB is accepting applications for the development and implementation of the Personal Responsibility Education Program (PREP). The purpose of the Competitive PREP program is to educate youth and young adults on both abstinence and contraception to prevent pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including HIV/AIDS, and promote successful transition of youth to adulthood through education on key topics. Applicants will also be required to provide programming on at least three of six adulthood preparation subjects (APS). The application deadline is June 24, 2024, and the grant award will be announced in September. ACAP successfully applied for the first PREP grant in 2012 and has received PREP grant funding continuously through its current funding cycle which ends in September 2024.
DISCUSSION: Alexandria’s teen pregnancy rate for youth 10-19 years of age remains high and is currently the second highest in Northern Virginia. According to data from the Virginia Department of Health, the 2022 teen pregnancy rate in Alexandria was 12.4 for every 1,000 females. This rate is significantly higher than the state’s rate (8/1,000). Although there was a significant decline in Alexandria’s teen pregnancy rate from 2012 (30.9/1,000) to 2021 (9.3/1,000), the current teen pregnancy rate in Alexandria represents a 31.9% increase from 2021-2022. Rates are highest among Hispanic females at a rate of 32.8/1,000 in 2022.
The 2024 PREP grant proposal includes ACAP continuing to work with existing community-based partnerships to provide evidence-based teen pregnancy prevention programs. The partners and program implementation locations are:
• Capitol Youth Empowerment Program:
• Charles Houston Recreation Center,
• Alexandria City High School,
• The Seaport Foundation,
• Brent Place,
• Northern Virginia JDC,
• ShelterCare,
• Summer soccer program at Limerick Field,
• Link Club sites,
• Dunbar Alexandria-Olympic Boys and Girls Club.
• Alexandria City Public Schools:
• Curriculum provided during 6-10th grade FLE lessons.
The proposal will include a comprehensive curriculum that is composed of an array of interventions such as the arts, wellness, and academic support programming through a partnership with Alexandria Recreation, Parks, and Cultural Activities Department and the “YHelp” program. This program supports the required adulthood preparation subjects (APS) and will provide additional adolescent development and life skills to develop a positive body image, strong self-esteem, healthy values and attitudes about themselves and others, critical decision-making and goal-setting skills, and stress management strategies, resulting in the ability to improve coping skills, strategies, and wellness.
This funding supports the Keep it 360 Peer Advocates, who are paid, peer mentors who provide education, information, and resources on making healthy life choices to their peers. The Keep It 360 Peer Advocates plan and implement middle school and community workshops, presentations, activities, and events for youth in the Alexandria community. Keep It 360 Peer Advocates also create social media content for Alexandria Teen Life and act as youth representatives at community meetings including being members of the ACAP Leadership Council.
This proposal also includes support for Wrap Up, Alexandria, a free condom distribution launched in Alexandria in 2023, that aims to make condoms more readily available with strategically placed condom dispensers in the city. This program is designed to help people make positive choices about their sexual health. Research has shown, that by working together to provide easier access to internal and external condoms (i.e., female and male condoms), the number of STIs and unintended pregnancies can be reduced.
This grant application is consistent with the City Council‘s priority to eliminate community disparities, Goal #2: Coordinate seamless cross-agency support services for the physical, social, and emotional well-being of youth and their families, with a specific focus on families who disproportionately experience disparate health and economic outcomes) and the Alexandria Children and Youth Community Plan 2025 (Goals One, Two, and Three).
FISCAL IMPACT: If awarded the funding for this grant will be $750,000. The grant period is September 30, 2024, to September 29, 2027, with no required matching funds. Staff funded through this award will be notified that their positions are contingent upon receipt of the grant and will end when the grant period ends. The City is responsible for the normal administrative costs associated with this grant. These costs include financial and reporting oversight provided by DCHS, the administering agency. Existing administrative staff will provide these functions.
Grant funding will be used for personnel, grant-required training/travel, contractual, and associated program costs.
ATTACHMENTS: None.
STAFF:
Alethea Predeoux, Deputy City Manager
Kate Garvey, Director, Department of Community and Human Services (DCHS)
Federico Gutierrez, Deputy Director, Department of Community and Human Services
Barbara Paulson, Director, Center for Children and Families, DCHS
Raphael Obenwa, Fiscal Officer III, DCHS
Nancy Sarpong, Fiscal Officer II, DCHS
Noraine Buttar, Division Chief, Youth Development Team, DCHS
Elizabeth Ryan, ACAP Coordinator/Supervisory Program Analyst, DCHS
Felicia Parks, ACAP PREP Grant Coordinator/Management Analyst II, DCHS