HHS ends 53 teen pregnancy prevention grants totaling about $67 million, two years early

The Trump administration has terminated millions of dollars in teen pregnancy prevention grants, according to a report by The Hill. The Department of Health and Human Services said the awards were being ended because they no longer matched HHS priorities, leaving grantees without funding that had been scheduled to run longer.

HHS cut 53 grants worth about $67 million, the report says. The termination occurred roughly two years before the funding was set to expire, according to the same account, which described the action as part of an effort to redirect resources.

The affected grants were tied to teen pregnancy prevention efforts, with the cuts reaching organizations including universities, community groups, and public health grantees. The report did not identify specific awardees, but it characterized the shutdown as spanning multiple types of recipients.

A central element in HHS’s decision, as described by The Hill, was alignment with agency priorities. HHS reportedly determined that the terminated grants no longer fit its current program direction, which the department used as its stated basis for ending the funding.

The timing means organizations that had planned staffing and program activities for the remaining years of the awards would have to adjust to the loss of federal support earlier than expected. For grantees that relied on the awards for programming, the early termination can affect continuity, contracts, and the scheduling of prevention initiatives.

The termination also raises questions for how HHS manages award compliance and closeout steps when grants are ended before their planned end dates. Federal grant administration typically requires recipients to wind down activities in line with grant terms and manage remaining funds, though the specific closeout requirements in this instance were not detailed in the report.

For the Department of Health and Human Services, the action reflects an administrative choice to change which prevention activities receive federal funding. For the recipients, the practical effect is the loss of grant resources tied to teen pregnancy prevention that were previously authorized to run for additional time.

Under HHS’s explanation, the cuts were not described as a finding tied to program performance in the reporting, but rather as a reassessment of priority alignment. How grantees respond, including whether they seek reconsideration or other remedies, was not addressed in the report.