Updated December 6, 2018
The Pregnancy Assistance Fund
The Pregnancy Assistance Fund (PAF) program focuses on
performance; and describes its achievements in meeting the
meeting the educational, social service, and health needs of
needs of participants, including the frequency with which
vulnerable expectant and parenting individuals and their
they used services. Grantees must prepare an annual report
families during pregnancy and the postnatal period. The
to HHS on this subgrantee information, the number of
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA; P.L.
subgrantees that were awarded funds, and the number of
111-148, as amended) established the program and
individuals who were served with funds.
provided $25 million in annual mandatory funding for each
of FY2010 through FY2019. The law identifies eligible
IHEs, High Schools, and Community Service
populations as expectant and parenting teens, college
Providers
students, and women of any age who experience domestic
Subgrants can be provided to high schools (schools that
violence, sexual violence, sexual assault, or stalking.
serve grades 7-12), community service organizations
(organizations that provide social services directly or by
Background
government contract), and IHEs (vocational schools,
The research literature indicates that pregnancy has high
community colleges, universities, etc.). Only IHEs must
costs for the individuals eligible for the PAF program.
provide a 25% match of their awards with funds or non-
Teenage mothers and fathers tend to have less education
monetary support such as services and facilities.
and are more likely to live in poverty than their peers who
are not parenting. Nearly one-third of adolescent females
The law specifies that subgrantees can carry out selected
who have dropped out of high school and college cite
activities on campuses and in communities, such as
pregnancy or parenthood as a reason. One analysis found
conducting a needs assessment to examine pregnancy and
that single young women who had children after enrolling
parenting resources on a campus and within a community,
in community college were 65% more likely to drop out
as well as setting goals for improving such resources and
than their same-age peers who did not have children after
access to them. Other activities can include annually
enrolling. Studies further indicate that approximately 3% to
assessing the performance of the subgrantee in meeting
9% of women experience domestic violence during
needs of participants with regard to child care, flexible or
pregnancy.
alternative academic scheduling, parenting education, basic
provisions, and including maternity coverage and
Grant Categories and Requirements
availability of riders for additional family members in
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
student health coverage.
administers the PAF program, and funding is awarded
competitively to the 50 states, District of Columbia (DC),
Offices of State Attorneys General
U.S. territories, and tribal entities (hereinafter, state
State grantees must partner with their state’s office of the
grantees) that apply successfully. The grantees may use the
attorney general to provide specified activities—
funds as follows:
intervention services, accompaniment services, and
supportive social services—targeted to individuals of any
 to provide subgrants to institutions of higher education
age who are pregnant or have been pregnant in the past year
(IHEs), high schools, or community service providers to
and are victims of domestic violence, sexual violence,
enable these subgrantees to establish, operate, or
sexual assault, or stalking. “Intervention services” refers to
maintain pregnancy or parenting services for the
24-hour telephone hotline services for police protection and
expectant and parenting population;
referral to shelters. “Accompaniment services” means
assisting, representing, and accompanying a woman in
 to provide, in partnership with the state attorney
seeking judicial relief for restraining orders and help with
general’s office, certain legal and supportive services for
filing criminal charges, among other activities. “Supportive
women who experience domestic violence, sexual
social services” means transitional and permanent housing,
violence, sexual assault, or stalking while they are
vocational counseling, and individual and group counseling
pregnant or parenting an infant; and
aimed at preventing domestic violence, sexual violence,
sexual assault, or stalking.
 to support, either directly or through a subgrantee,
public awareness about PAF services for the expectant
These partnership grants also focus on providing training
and parenting population that is eligible for the program.
and technical assistance (related to domestic violence,
sexual violence, sexual assault, or stalking against pregnant
The PAF authorizing law requires each subgrantee to
women or women pregnant within the past year) to
provide an annual report to the state grantee that itemizes
specified entities, such as government agencies,
program expenditures; reviews and evaluates its
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The Pregnancy Assistance Fund
professionals working in social service settings, and
greatest number received educational services (7,195),
nonprofit organizations.
followed by parenting skills training (7,161) and case
management (7,157). Approximately one-third of
Public Awareness Activities
participants (5,194) received health care services. Some
State grantees and/or their subgrantees can fund public
services were more likely to be provided directly by
awareness activities for individuals who are eligible for the
grantees or subgrantees (e.g., case management and home
PAF program. Such activities can include print materials,
visiting services), while other services were more likely to
in-person events, social media campaigns, public services
be provided by organizations to which recipients were
announcements, and websites. State grantees are
referred (e.g., health care, child care, and food and
responsible for setting guidelines or limits on how much
clothing).
funding is to be used for public awareness activities. HHS
has specified in guidance that grantees may not use PAF
Evaluation
funding exclusively for public awareness activities.
An HHS study by Mathematica Policy Research, a social
policy research organization, is evaluating the effectiveness
Grantees
of the program in shaping youth outcomes. The evaluation
HHS has provided funding to 36 grantees from FY2010
is measuring selected outcomes of PAF participants in three
through FY2018. This includes 30 states, DC, and five
jurisdictions. Findings are available for the program in one
tribal entities (see Figure 1). In general, these grantees have
of the jurisdictions (DC), where PAF-funded services were
provided PAF subgrants to high schools, community
provided in nine high schools through a voluntary program
service organizations, and IHEs.
known as New Heights. Researchers found that teen
mothers improved in school engagement and credits earned
Figure 1. Jurisdictions with PAF Grants
per year compared to teen mothers who attended the high
Each grantee received funds in at least one year over the
schools immediately before the program was introduced.
period from FY2010 through FY2018
Case coordinators from the program were embedded at the
schools to provide case management, weekly educational
workshops, and in-kind incentives.
Issues for Congress
If Congress considers reauthorizing the PAF program
beyond FY2019, it may look to emerging findings from the
evaluation. In addition, Congress may also consider
whether to establish guidelines regarding how the program
should interact with other, similar federal programs.
Because of its cross-cutting approach to meeting the needs
of the expectant and parenting population, PAF may
overlap with activities of other programs serving the needs
of other populations. PAF can also play a role in referring
expectant and parenting individuals to other programs as
appropriate—including those in education, social services,

and health policy—though the authorizing law does not
Source: Prepared by the Congressional Research Service (CRS).
reference such programs. HHS does not require state

grantees to report on how PAF funds interact with other
Participants
sources of payment for similar services; however, grantees
HHS collects and reports data on expectant and parenting
must describe in their funding application how PAF funds
individuals and their children who receive PAF services. In
will contribute to and enhance, rather than supplant, the
FY2016, 20 grantees (17 state grantees and 3 Indian tribes)
services that are already available.
served 16,053 individuals. Of these participants, 55% were
expectant or parenting mothers, 37% were children, and 8%
Congress may also consider whether PAF should play a
were expectant or parenting fathers.
role in building the evidence base for programming that
supports participants. HHS has directed grantees to provide
HHS provides participant age and race data for expectant
services that are evidence-informed or evidence-based. An
and parenting mothers and fathers, but not their children.
HHS study by Mathematica Policy Research found that
More than half (56%) of the participants were ages 16 to
many PAF grantees had used evidence-based models, most
19, and almost one-quarter were ages 20 to 24. Data on race
commonly those for home visiting and parenting education;
are available for about 6 out of 10 participants. Of these,
however, some grantees reported challenges with finding
nearly half were white, about one-third were black, and the
programming more narrowly tailored to the PAF-eligible
rest were another race or multiracial. Nearly half (46%) of
population.
the participants who reported on ethnicity were Hispanic.
For further information, see CRS Report R45426, The
Services Provided to Participants
Pregnancy Assistance Fund: An Overview.
Grantees provide a range of services to meet the needs of
participants within each of the program’s purpose areas. Of
Adrienne L. Fernandes-Alcantara, Specialist in Social
the 16,053 PAF parents and children in FY2016, the
Policy
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The Pregnancy Assistance Fund

IF11040


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