OPA's 2022 Year in Review

Published January 2023

As we look to the year ahead, the Office of Population Affairs (OPA) is reflecting on the accomplishments of our grantee community in the face of extraordinary challenges. OPA grantees demonstrated excellence, resilience, and adaptability in the face of challenging circumstances. OPA is grateful for our grantees' work that is so important to supporting the health and well-being of millions.

Click each link to jump directly to the following stories:

OPA awarded more than $392 million to support reproductive health services and adolescent health

OPA funds grants that enable states, tribes, and local programs to offer a broad range of health services and supports. Grantees work to prevent teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections (STIs), advance adolescent health and well-being, connect youth to services and opportunities, provide family planning services, and increase awareness of embryo donation/adoption programs. Learn more about OPA’s grant programs and the impact our grantees have made in their communities.

In 2022, OPA awarded:

$6.6 million for organizations in seven states to help meet the need for emergency contraception and other family planning care.
$264.9 million to 89 grantees to deliver equitable, affordable, client-centered, and high-quality Title X family planning services.
$16.3 million to 31 grantees to enhance and expand the telehealth infrastructure and capacity of Title X family planning clinics.
$90 million to 79 Teen Pregnancy Prevention (TPP) program grantees to continue to develop and evaluate new and innovative approaches to prevent teen pregnancy, prevent STIs among adolescents, and promote positive youth development.
$800,000 to three Embryo Adoption Awareness and Services program grantees to increase public awareness of embryo donation/adoption.
$7.75 million, including nearly $3 million in new funding, to provide training and technical assistance for staff working in the nationwide network of Title X and TPP grantees through the Reproductive Health National Training Center and the National Clinical Training Center for Family Planning.
$6.2 million in Title X Family Planning Research grants, Research to Practice Center grants, and Teenage Pregnancy Prevention Evaluation and Research grants as part of OPA’s work to protect and expand access to reproductive healthcare.

In 2023, OPA will release three TPP program notices of funding opportunities (NOFOs). Subscribe to announcements on Grants.gov to ensure you receive updates once each NOFO is officially released.

OPA's grantees hosted site visits and led discussions of community needs

DASPA and four grantee staff posing indoors and wearing masks

Ahead of and in the wake of the Supreme Court's Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Population Affairs Jessica Swafford Marcella visited Title X family planning program and TPP program grantees. Assistant Secretary for Health, Admiral Rachel L. Levine and HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra participated in some of these site visits.

Grantees shared challenges, opportunities, innovations, and best practices for providing services, programs, and information in their communities. They discussed how to improve equity in family planning services, expanding access to high-quality programs to improve adolescent health outcomes, and the impact of the Dobbs decision on their ability and capacity to meet community needs. The grantees hosted visits in the following 16 states and U.S. territories:

Arizona
Illinois
New Jersey
Rhode Island

California
Massachusetts
New Mexico
Tennessee

Colorado
Missouri
New York
Texas

Georgia
New Hampshire
Puerto Rico
Washington, D.C.

OPA partnered across HHS to support access and rights to reproductive health care and services

In January, HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra launched the first ever Intra-agency Task Force on Reproductive Health Care Access. Secretary Becerra established the Task Force in response to new state laws restricting reproductive health care. The Task Force facilitates and coordinates policy initiatives, programs, and activities that will protect and bolster access to sexual and reproductive health care services. Assistant Secretary for Health, Admiral Rachel L. Levine, and Assistant Secretary for Global Affairs Loyce Pace serve as co-chairs.

Clinician and client in talking in clinic. Text: Learn how to access reproductive health care, ReproductiveRights.gov

Following the Dobbs decision, OPA supported the launch of Reproductiverights.gov as a part of the HHS's commitment to providing accurate and up to date resources about access to and insurance coverage for reproductive health care. This website has information on birth control, medication, abortion services, and other preventive health services. The website also shares information about how people with and without health insurance can obtain reproductive health care. OPA also launched a digital public education campaign to inform the public about their rights to reproductive health care and where to access services.

Snapshot of Title X Family Planning Clinic Locator Widget

Both the public education campaign and the website direct people to the more than 3,200 Title X family planning clinics that deliver the highest national standards of care to clients across the United States. To find services in your area, use OPA’s Family Planning Clinic Locator.

OPA celebrated National Adolescent Health Month

OPA previously observed National Teen Pregnancy Prevention Month (NTPPM) each May to mark historic declines in U.S. teen pregnancy. This year, OPA revamped the observance to address adolescent health more broadly. OPA worked with grantees and federal partners to create a new name and themes for the first ever National Adolescent Health Month (NAHM).

NAHM emphasizes the benefits of building on young people’s strengths and potential while encouraging and supporting meaningful youth engagement in adolescent health activities. NAHM 2022 highlighted key topics in adolescent health, including the following themes:

HHS Assistant Secretary for Health, Admiral Rachel L. Levine, invited viewers to celebrate NAHM and support adolescents’ health now and into the future. We look forward to celebrating NAHM 2023 with you!

Banner with National Adolescent Health Month logo

Youth from OPA's TPP programs shared their perspectives with Youth Create!

Snapshot of Youth Create! gallery webpage

For the second year, Youth Create! invited submissions from youth who participated in OPA’s TPP programs. The 2022 themes focused on the importance of being heard and how adults can support adolescents. In response to the prompts, youth from across the country talked about their mental health, experiences in school and at home, self-discovery, healing the planet for future generations, and effecting community change. They also discussed how participating in TPP programs has affected their lives. Explore OPA’s new gallery that shares young people’s original poems, essays, artwork, performance art, spoken word recordings, and story-telling videos.

TPP program grantees convened to reconnect, reflect, and reinvigorate

In July, OPA hosted its annual Teen Pregnancy Prevention Grantee Conference. The conference encouraged participants to learn with and from one another in sessions on youth mental health, systems thinking application, equity in adolescent health, and more. Learn more about OPA’s TPP program.

Artistic interpretations of equity in adolescent health and youth mental health

Spread the words with these posts

Explore #AdolescentHealth and #ReproductiveHealth topics and learn about OPA’s grant programs and research on @HHSPopAffairs’ website. https://opa.hhs.gov/
The Title X Family Planning Clinic Locator provides information about clinics that offer a broad range of #ReproductiveHealth services. Use @HHSPopAffairs’ clinic locator to find a family planning clinic near you. https://reproductivehealthservices.gov/