FY27 TFCA Optional Prep Phase Guidance

STEPP is pleased to announce the release of the Prep Phase Guidance for the FY27 Tobacco-Focused Community Assessment (TFCA). A HUGE thank you to our grantee volunteers from rural, urban, and frontier agencies, who reviewed the draft guidance and provided excellent feedback. While the prep phase is optional, participation is strongly encouraged for any current grantee with new staff and anyone who wants to begin early. If your agency will be joining the STEPP grant program starting on July 1, as a new grantee, you will begin the TFCA after your contract is executed. You will receive a separate communication at that time. This phase will run for three months, from June to August. The optional time allows grantees to begin work on the Commercial Tobacco-Focused Community Assessment before the September release of the complete STEPP Commercial Tobacco and Other Nicotine Product statewide surveillance data sets, which include:

• The Attitude and Behaviors Surveys on Health (TABS)
• Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS)
• Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS)
• Healthy Kids Colorado Survey (HKCS)
• The STEPP Commercial Tobacco/Nicotine Behavior Data Dashboard

The complete TFCA guidance will be released in September 2026. All of the prep-phase activities are also included in the TFCA. This prep guidance includes a broad menu of activities for grantees to consider. Grantees are not expected to complete every option included in this document before the official launch of the TFCA. Support is provided throughout this phase. Contact information is included for STEPP’s Subject Matter Experts and the Training and Technical Assistance providers dedicated to this phase. Suggested Prep Phase activities include options for:

• Strengthening knowledge of commercial tobacco control research and best practices
• Beginning commercial tobacco data collection and analysis
• Starting conversations with your network of support
• Community engagement, including:
  • Starting informal engagement with the community, and
  • Initial relationship-building activities
  • Youth engagement
  • Completing the Practicing Cultural Humility course to become a better partner to the communities experiencing the most significant tobacco-related disparities

Thank you for your steadfast commitment to data-driven planning and equitable public health practices. Access the FY27 TFCA Prep Phase Guidance here.

The associated files and links are available below.