KDHE Announces HHS Grant For Adolescents and Young Adults

The grant will be used for the Lifting Young Families Toward Excellence Program

TOPEKA – The Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) has been awarded a $941,475 grant from the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Adolescent Health to provide parent education and life-skills support to pregnant and parenting teenagers and young adults through the Lifting Young Families Toward Excellence (LYFTE) project.

Key partners in delivering LYFTE services include the Community Health Center of Southeast Kansas, the Geary Community Healthcare Foundation and Baby Talk Pregnancy and Newborn Education of Sedgwick County. Program goals include developing a support network for young parents and their families, integrating strategies that reinforce parenting skills and enhance family relationships, fostering the economic stability of young families through education completion and employment, and improving relationship-related skills among young parents.

A comprehensive process and outcome evaluation conducted by the University of Kansas Center for Public Partnerships and Research (KU-CPPR) will ensure accountability through quality improvement and performance monitoring throughout this project. Grant writing support for this application was also provided by KU-CPPR.

“The LYFTE project provides support for young families to navigate systems, achieve health goals and move toward self-sufficiency,” said Rachel Sisson, Director of the Bureau of Family Health at KDHE. “We are excited to partner with several communities across Kansas to help young families thrive.”

The HHS Office of Adolescent Health awards grants to provide education and life-skills supports through a competitive application and review process. The opportunity, formally known as Support for Expectant and Parenting Teens, Women, Fathers, and Their Families grants, provides funds for programs that implement evidence-based and evidence-informed practices to help young families live full, healthy lives.