JUNE 30, 2026
Last Friday, June 26, 2026, in an unprecedented move, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) abruptly canceled 53 out of 67 current awards under the federal Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program (TPPP). The Department instructed awardees to cease project operations immediately.
HHS is attempting to justify the terminations by claiming that the projects no longer align with agency priorities. It is important to affirm that the terminated projects do indeed meet the TPPP’s requirements and the program expectations set forth in HHS’s notices of funding opportunity.
Why It Matters
The Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program (TPPP), established in 2010, awards federal funds to community-based, public, and higher education organizations to use programs proven effective through rigorous evaluation to provide adolescents with the knowledge and tools needed to improve sexual and reproductive health outcomes. The TPPP also funds the evaluation of promising new approaches to continually expand the menu of programs communities can use to deliver evidence-based sexual health education to young people.
1. These Terminations Harm Young People.
These programs provide the medically accurate, age-appropriate sex education young people need to make healthy choices about their bodies and futures.
The terminated TPP programs have been proven to work—rigorous evaluation has demonstrated that they change behaviors and improve health outcomes. These programs provide the medically accurate, age-appropriate sex education young people need to make healthy choices about their bodies and futures. The terminations actively harm young people by depriving them of essential education.
2. These Terminations Are Unlawful.
Congress mandated TPPP funding for “medically accurate and age appropriate” programs and specified that at least 75% of the funding must replicate proven-effective programs. These terminations are unlawful.
3. Abrupt Terminations Waste Taxpayer Dollars.
Terminating successful, evidence-based programs midway through the program or study wastes taxpayer dollars, disrupts service continuity, produces inconclusive research, eliminates jobs, and denies young people access to programs that work.
(Get more information on more talking points and how to share why all young people deserve sex education in this previous post.)
Take Action Now
Please act now to ensure our nation’s young people have access to the sexual health education programs proven to improve health outcomes.
Are You or Your Community Affected by the Terminations?
For Those Directly Affected by the Terminations
A majority of current TPPP awardees were terminated. Healthy Teen Network urges TPPP awardees, subawardees, and community organizations and families affected by these unwarranted and abrupt terminations to report this situation to their Congressional delegations.
- Ask your two U.S. Senators and your U.S. Representative(s) (one or more, depending on the geographic scope of your project) to protest your award termination to HHS and insist that the Department restore your award.
- We also encourage you to alert your partners, community stakeholders, and project beneficiaries to the termination and ask your colleagues and beneficiaries to join you in your Congressional communications, either individually or as a group.
For Those Not Directly Affected by the Terminations
While we may not all be directly affected by the current TPPP award terminations, the fallout affects young people and communities across the country.
We urge you to contact your two U.S. Senators and your one U.S. Representative. Ask them to fully fund the TPPP with at least $109 million for fiscal year 2027 and include strict language protecting the program from political interference, to administer the TPPP in the manner and for the purposes that Congress has set forth since its inception.
What to Say
Not sure how to get started? Adapt this sample script to share your message via email or phone.
Hi, my name is [Name], and I am a constituent from [City/State].
I am reaching out to urge [Senator/Representative ___________ ] to take immediate action to protect the federal Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program (TPPP). The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recently canceled 53 existing, evidence-based TPP programs midstream.
Instead of following the law, HHS is attempting to redirect this funding to unauthorized, abstinence-only approaches that push young people—especially girls—toward early marriage and childbearing. This directly contradicts Congress’s intent for medically accurate, rigorously evaluated programs. Terminating these grants mid-cycle wastes taxpayer dollars, disrupts critical services, and harms young people who rely on these programs not just for pregnancy prevention, but to reduce bullying, improve mental health, and increase academic performance.
I urge [Senator/Representative ___________] to demand that HHS follow the law and restore the canceled funding. Furthermore, please insist that Appropriations Committee leaders fully fund the TPPP at $109 million for fiscal year 2027 and include strict report language ensuring these dollars are administered exactly as Congress intended, free from ideological interference.
Thank you for your time and leadership.
Sincerely,
[Your Name]
[Your Zip Code/Phone Number]
Spread the Word
Share this post with your colleagues, friends, and family. Re-share our social media posts or make your own. Amplify young people raising their voices about why effective and medically accurate sexual health education matters to them.
Thank you for taking the time to sound the alarm about these abrupt terminations affecting young people across the country.
