Last month, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released the Notice of Funding Opportunity for FY2027 Title X Family Planning Services Grants (Title X NOFO), making $257 million in five-year grants available for up to 90 grantees. The new funding cycle introduces additional policy priorities and affirmative funding conditions that reflect current Administration priorities. Applications are due  January 9, 2027.

New Funding Conditions and Program Priorities

The FY2027 Title X NOFO reflects a significant shift in program expectation, moving Title X services from a traditionally neutral family-planning framework toward a more policy-directed service model that incorporates counseling and educational mandates. New focus areas include:

• Body literacy education;
• Reproductive life-planning counseling;
• Fertility-awareness methods; and
• Lifestyle and chronic disease management interventions. 

Applicants also must demonstrate how their proposals support specified agency priorities, such as: 

• Eliminating diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) practices; 
• Preventing the facilitation of illegal immigration;
• Ensuring educational materials are appropriate for adolescents; and
• Protecting parental rights informed by creed-based preferences.

Applicants should be aware that several of the new priorities use broadly framed language, including goals such as “reducing overmedicalization,” “respecting biological reality,” and “ensuring gold standard science.”

Expanded Scope of Services

The Title X NOFO also expands the scope of covered services beyond traditional family planning activities. For example, it references services related to low sperm count and motility, low testosterone, and erectile dysfunction for men, while placing comparatively less emphasis on contraception and other historically central Title X services.

In addition, the Title X NOFO invites proposals addressing chronic disease through nutrition and physical activity, sleep health, strategies to reduce pornography use, and limiting exposure to harmful chemical and environmental toxins. These additions expand upon longstanding Title X services such as pregnancy testing and counseling, basic infertility services, sexually transmitted infection services (including HIV prevention education, counseling, testing, and referrals), health literacy education, reproductive goals counseling, and other preconception health services. 

Consideration for Applicants

The FY2027 Title X NOFO’s shift toward a policy-driven service model will require applicants to evaluate whether existing clinical practices, operational policies, and program structures comply with new funding conditions. Organizations seeking Title X funding should review current policies, procedures, and service models to identify potential conflicts with NOFO requirements and assess how best to implement in-scope activities while preserving organizational mission, values, and operational priorities.