Introduction A common concern of federal funders and grant recipients is how to sustain program activities once their federal funding period ends. Federal funding can be intended to develop or seed a program but not necessarily to continue its activities indefinitely. Understanding the importance of programmatic sustainability, the Office of Population Affairs (OPA) conducted research in 2015 on the elements that contribute to sustainability. As part of the Sustainability Study, OPA collected information from former Pregnancy Assistance Fund (PAF) program grantees. Methods Grantees that were awarded cohort 1 PAF program funding (2010–2014) but not awarded cohort 2 funding (2014–2017) were eligible for study inclusion because their OPA funding ended more than 1 year prior to the Sustainability Study, allowing for an assessment of sustainability after federal funding. Seven former PAF grantees were identified as eligible. Interviews were conducted with six of these grantees; grant applications and interim final reports from all seven were reviewed. Results Five lessons emerged from interviews and review of grant documentation. Programs successfully continuing beyond the federal grant period tended to (1) diversify funding sources, (2) communicate regularly with key stakeholders, (3) form partnerships with like-minded programs, (4) consider implementing evidence-based interventions, and (5) begin planning for sustainability early. Discussion By considering these lessons learned from the research, grantees can be well positioned to continue beyond a federal grant period. The lessons garnered from the Sustainability Study have informed, expanded, and affirmed OPA’s sustainability toolkit, sustainability framework, and technical assistance.

ObjectiveTo assess the 1‐year impacts of a healthy marriage and relationship education (HMRE) program for high school students.BackgroundResearch on HMRE programming for youth has found that programs can improve youth's relationship skills, attitudes, and knowledge around the time the program ends. However, there is less evidence on whether these impacts are sustained over time or when providers do not have enough time to deliver the full program.MethodA three‐arm cluster randomized trial involving 1,862 students from two schools. The two intervention groups received either a 12‐lesson HMRE curriculum or a shortened eight‐lesson version of the same curriculum. Students completed surveys at baseline and 1 year later.ResultsStudents in all three groups reported similar levels of relationship skills, attitudes, and knowledge for 9 of the 10 outcomes examined at the one‐year follow up. For the one exception, students offered the 12‐lesson curriculum were more likely than students in the control group to disagree that feelings of love are enough to sustain a happy marriage.ConclusionWe found limited evidence of sustained impacts and no evidence of an effect from shortening the curriculum.ImplicationsOffering HMRE to high school students might plant the seeds of healthy relationships, but more programming will probably be needed to sustain the types of short‐term impacts found in prior research.