Fact Forward Receives Additional Funding from the Office of Population Affairs

Fact Forward is one of 13 new grantees receiving funding from the Office of Population Affairs (OPA) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. 

This week OPA awarded $19,285,680 to organizations across the country for “Tier 2 Innovation and Impact Network Grants: Achieving Optimal Health and Preventing Teen Pregnancy in Key Priority Areas.” The grant started on July 15, 2020 for a three-year project period.

According to the OPA release, “Funded grantees will establish, fund, coordinate, and support a multidisciplinary network of partners to develop and test innovative interventions in seven key priority areas and will disseminate those interventions that demonstrate effectiveness.” Fact Forward’s funded project falls under OPA’s “Youth Access to and Experience with Sexual Healthcare” key priority area. 

Fact Forward’s project is purposefully named emPOWERed SC: Creating Linkages for Youth of Color in South Carolina. POWER is an acronym for Partners Optimizing Wellness & Education through Referrals. emPOWERed SC will establish innovation networks throughout two South Carolina counties: Orangeburg and Richland. This network will include high schools, historically black colleges and universities (HBCU), local health departments (Title X clinic) and/or federally qualified health centers, community-based organizations, local businesses, parents and other youth-supporting adults.

Using a systems-thinking approach, Fact Forward aims to mobilize communities to develop, test, refine, evaluate, and disseminate innovative strategies to increase access and linkages to sexual health services for youth of color ages 15-19. This multi-disciplinary network of partners will participate in a learning collaborative based on the Institute for Healthcare Improvement’s (IHI) Breakthrough Series (BTS) Model.

"This funding is a unique opportunity to create new strategies focused on providing youth of color in South Carolina with culturally tailored programming that is not only evidence based but innovative,” Rena Dixon, Fact Forward Director of Health Services, said. “We look forward to engaging new and previous partners increasing adolescent access to reproductive health."

If you have any questions about the project, contact communications@factforward.org.