The Center for Innovative Public Health Research (CiPHR) is a left-of-center organization that conducts programs targeting LGBT children and is almost entirely funded by government programs. Its programs discuss sex with teenagers to address issues related to teenage pregnancy and the spread of sexually-transmitted diseases. ¹

Between 2016 and April 2025, CiPHR received over $22 million in federal funding, which makes up over 99 percent of its total funding. ²

Background

The Center for Innovative Public Health Research is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that was founded in 2003 and engages in outreach programs aimed at youth. It has sparked controversy due to the inclusion of questionable sexual education content and for non-educational sexual topics included in its minor-targeted programs. ^{3 1}

CiPHR was originally named Internet Solutions for Kids, Inc. (ISK). ³ It seeks to use an “innovating and progressive” approach to address issues with technology use by minors and promotes the employment of select behaviors by minors. ⁴

Programs

Project Girl2Girl

Project Girl2Girl (Project GTG) is a Center for Innovative Public Health Research Program that was founded in 2017 and collects data through text exchanges with teenage lesbian, gay, and bisexual girls about sex. It claims the data is used to “prevent teenage pregnancy.” ⁵ On the frequently asked questions portion of Project GTG’s website, it lists the question, “Why are the teens getting so many questions about sex?” Its answer states that it is a “critical” aspect of the program and argues that it discusses sexual topics to prevent pregnancies amongst the lesbian, gay, and bisexual participants. ⁶

Project GTG accepts anyone who verbally identifies through its text questionnaire as a girl and lists anyone who is in sixth grade or above as eligible for the program. Also, as part of its questionnaire, it asks what sexuality the participant is and only accepts into the program those who respond as anything other than heterosexual. Additionally, Project GTG inquires about whether the prospective program participant has had sex before. ⁷

In April 2025, the Manhattan Institute’s City Journal published an article revealing that Project GTG has included topics about sex toys, lubrication, and how to increase pleasure during sex. ¹ In a 2017 presentation about Project GTG by CiPHR founder Michele Ybarra, she revealed some text topics that are discussed with the teens, including inquiring about the use or exploration of sex toys, and shows that Project GTG offers to teach participants how to clear their search history and use private browsers if they feel uncomfortable about the topics discussed. ⁸

Transcendent Health

In 2023, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services awarded CiPHR a $1.3 million grant from to fund its Transcendent Health program. The program targets teenage transgender boys (biological females who identify as males) to address sexual health issues and advertises as a pregnancy prevention program. CiPHR’s published proposal for public funding of the Transcendent Health Program argues that typical sex education excludes the information necessary for transgender individuals to prevent pregnancy or sexually transmitted diseases. ⁹

Transcendent Health’s proposal for funding reported that it intends to use the grant funding to modify the text programming of CiPHR’s Project GTG to be applicable to teenage biological females who identify as males. It goes on to state that the text messaging program will address what it describes as the “social and structural influences of sexual behavior” of its program participants to include content related to factors of their “sexual decision making.” The program also advocates for the increased usage of chemical and physical contraceptives by teenagers, sexually transmitted disease (STD) testing, and HIV prevention medication. ⁹

Leadership

Michele Ybarra is the founder and president of the Center for Innovative Public Health Research. Ybarra previously worked as a project manager for the Center for Healthcare Information and as a marketing manager for various nursing facilities. She later moved on to working for the Youth Internet Safety Survey before founding CiPHR. ⁴

Financials

In 2023, the Center for Innovative Public Health Research received over $2.5 million in total revenue, 99 percent of which came from government grants. ¹⁰ It also reported $2.5 million in total expenses, including $1.2 million in salaries and compensation of employees. ¹¹

1. “This Nonprofit Got $22 Million in Government Grants to Teach Kids about Sex Toys.” City Journal, April 7, 2025. https://www.city-journal.org/article/center-for-innovative-public-health-research-minors-sex-toys-federal-funding
2. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). 2016-2023. Part VIII.
3. “About.” Center for Innovative Public Health Research.  Accessed April 21, 2025. https://www.innovativepublichealth.org/about/.
4. “Why We Changed Our Name.” Center for Innovative Public Health Research. Accessed April 21, 2025. https://www.innovativepublichealth.org/blog/ciphr/.
5. Girl2Girl. Center for Innovative Public Health Research. Accessed April 21, 2025. https://www.innovativepublichealth.org/projects/g2g-4/.
6. Home. Project GTG. Accessed April 21, 2025. http://projectg2g.com/.
7. “Girl2Girl RCT Phone Screeners.” Center for Innovative Public Health Research. Accessed April 21, 2025. https://www.innovativepublichealth.org/wp-content/uploads/Girl2Girl_RCT_Phone_Screeners.pdf.
8. “Developing Girl2Girl: A text messaging-based pregnancy prevention program for LGB girls 14-18 years of age.” Center for Innovative Public Health Research. Accessed April 21, 2025. https://www.innovativepublichealth.org/publications/developing-girl2girl-a-text-messaging-based-pregnancy-prevention-program-for-lgb-girls-14-18-years-of-age/.
9. Grant for Center for Innovative Health Research. USASpending.Gov. Accessed April 21, 2025. https://www.usaspending.gov/award/ASST_NON_R01NR020846_7529.
10. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). 2023. Part VIII.
11. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). 2023. Part I, Lines 15-18.