[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 32 (Wednesday, February 16, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-3548]
[[Page Unknown]]
[Federal Register: February 16, 1994]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Public Health Service
Special Project Grants; Maternal and Child Health Services;
Federal Set-Aside Program; Collaborative Health, Education and Human
Services Systems Interprofessional Education and Training
AGENCY: Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA).
ACTION: Notice of availability of funds.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB), HRSA, announces
that fiscal year (FY) 1994 funds are available for grants to create
collaborative health, education, and human service systems for children
and their families, including children with special health care needs.
Awards will be made under the program authority of section 502(a) of
the Social Security Act, the Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Federal
Set-Aside Program, which authorizes MCH Special Projects of Regional
and National Significance (SPRANS), including special MCH improvement
projects (MCHIP) which contribute to the health of children with
special health care needs (CSHCN) and their families.
Approximately $600,000 will be available to support up to 2 grants
at a maximum of $300,000 per award per year for up to 4 years. Funds
for the MCH Federal Set-Aside Program are appropriated by Public Law
103-112. A Federal Register notice announcing the availability of funds
for other SPRANS categories will be published in the near future.
The Public Health Service (PHS) is committed to achieving the
health promotion and disease prevention objectives of Healthy People
2000, a PHS-led national activity for setting priority areas. The MCH
Block Grant Federal Set-Aside Program addresses issues related to the
Healthy People 2000 objectives of improving maternal, infant, child and
adolescent health and developing service systems for children at risk
of chronic and disabling conditions. Potential applicants may obtain a
copy of Healthy People 2000 (Full Report: Stock No. 017-001-00474-0) or
Healthy People 2000 (Summary Report: Stock No. 017-001-00473-1) through
the Superintendent of Documents, Government Printing Office Washington,
DC 20402-9325, (telephone: 202 783-3238).
ADDRESSES: Grant applications must be obtained from and submitted to:
Chief, Grants Management Branch, Office of Program Support, Maternal
and Child Health Bureau, Health Resources and Services Administration,
room 18-12, Parklawn Building, 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, Maryland
20857, (301) 443-1440. Applicants for these projects will use
application Form PHS 5161-1 with revised face page DHHS Form 424,
approved by OMB under control number 0937-0189.
DATES: The application deadline date is March 18, 1994. Competing
applications will be considered to be on time if they are either:
(1) Received on or before the deadline date, or
(2) Postmarked on or before the deadline date and received in time
for orderly processing. Applicants should request a legibly dated
receipt from a commercial carrier or the U.S. Postal Service, or obtain
a legibly dated U.S. Postal Service postmark. Private metered postmarks
will not be accepted as proof of timely mailing.
Late applications or those sent to an address other than indicated
in the ADDRESS section will be returned to the applicant.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For programmatic or technical
information contact Merle G. McPherson, M.D., 5600 Fishers Lane, room
18A-27, telephone: 301 443-2350. Requests for information concerning
business management issues should be directed to Mrs. Maxine Toense,
Grants Management Branch, telephone: 301 443-1440.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Program Background and Objectives
Grants covered by this announcement will be supported by SPRANS
funds set aside under the Maternal and Child Health Services Block
Grant in the category of special MCH improvement projects (MCHIP) which
contribute to the health of CSHCN and their families. The purpose of
these grants is to help eliminate overlap and fragmentation of services
to children and their families through creation of new community
service systems, working together with health, education and social
service professionals. Applications are solicited for projects which:
(1) Demonstrate the ability of health, social service and education
professionals to work together in communities to foster successful
physical, social and emotional growth for children and their families;
(2) Assist in the development of curricula at institutions of
higher learning, based on best practices learned in community settings;
and
(3) Disseminate a collaborative model of personnel training and
service delivery at the regional, State and national levels.
Grantees are expected to work collaboratively with the Commission
on Leadership in Interprofessional Education to field test model
curricula. The Commission, an organizational unit of the Association of
Teacher Educators which grew out of a March, 1990, symposium
cosponsored by MCHB, the American Association of Colleges for Teacher
Education, and the American Academy of Pediatrics, focuses on the study
of ways to produce a new generation of interprofessionally oriented
leaders in health, teaching, administration, social work, and other
human service professions whose members possess the knowledge, skills
and values needed to create new community service systems for children
and their families.
Preference for funding will be given to applicants with prior
experience linking health, education and social service professionals
together with policy makers in State and local health and education
agencies and private sector organizations to solve complex problems
facing children and their families that require collaboration. This
means that approved applicants with such experience will be funded
ahead of other categories or groups of applicants.
Applicants will use guidelines adapted from the FY 1993 SPRANS
Field-Initiated Project subcategory to prepare their applications.
These guidelines will be included with the grant application materials.
Information in this announcement, such as application receipt dates,
will supersede that contained in the guidelines.
Time does not permit a formal comment period on the category and
preferences described above. Any comments which members of the public
wish to make should be submitted to: Chief, Grants Management Branch,
at the address listed in the ADDRESSES section.
Special Concerns
In its administration of the MCH Services Block Grant, the MCHB
places special emphasis on improving service delivery to women and
children from culturally identifiable populations who have been
disproportionately affected by barriers to accessible care. This means
that SPRANS projects are expected to serve and appropriately involve in
project activities members of ethnoculturally distinct groups, unless
there are compelling programmatic or other justifications for not doing
so. The MCHBs intent is to ensure that project outcomes are of benefit
to culturally distinct populations and to ensure that the broadest
possible representation of culturally distinct and historically
underserved groups is supported through programs and projects sponsored
by the MCHB.
Projects supported under SPRANS are expected to be part of
community-wide, comprehensive initiatives, to reflect appropriate
coordination of primary care and public health activities, and to
target HRSA resources effectively to fill gaps in the Nations health
system for at-risk mothers and children. This applies especially to
projects in the 15 communities in the Nation which have received grants
from HRSA under the Administrations Healthy Start initiative. Grantees
in these communities providing services related to activities of a
Healthy Start program are expected to coordinate their projects with
the Healthy Start program efforts. Healthy Start communities include:
Aberdeen Area Indian Nations, NE/ND/SD; Baltimore, MD; Birmingham, AL;
Boston, MA; Chicago, IL; Cleveland, OH; Detroit, MI; Lake County, IN;
New Orleans, LA; New York, NY; Oakland, CA; Philadelphia, PA;
Pittsburgh, PA; PeeDee Region, SC; and Washington, DC.
Grants/Amounts: Up to $600,000 of SPRANS funds will be available to
support up to two projects at a maximum of $300,000 per award for a
one-year period. Awards are made for grant periods of up to four years.
Review Criteria
The following general criteria are used, as pertinent, to review
and evaluate for funding all applications for SPRANS grants and
cooperative agreements:
--The quality of the project plan or methodology.
--The need for the services, research, training or technical
assistance.
--The cost-effectiveness of the proposed project relative to the number
of persons proposed to be benefitted, served or trained, considering,
where relevant, any special circumstances associated with providing
care or training in various areas.
--The extent to which the project will contribute to the advancement of
MCH and/or CSHCN services.
--The extent to which rapid and effective use of grant funds will be
made by the project.
--The effectiveness of procedures to collect the cost of care and
service from third-party payment sources (including government
agencies) which are authorized or under legal obligation to make such
payment for any service (including diagnostic, preventive and treatment
services).
--The extent to which the project will be integrated with the
administration of the Maternal and Child Health Services block grants,
State primary care plans, public health, and prevention programs, and
other related programs in the respective State(s).
--The soundness of the project's management, considering the
qualifications of the staff of the proposed project and the applicant's
facilities and resources.
--The extent to which the project gives special emphasis to improving
service delivery to women and children from culturally identifiable
populations who have been disproportionately affected by barriers to
accessible care and ensures that members of culturally distinct groups
are appropriately represented in the activities of approved grants and
cooperative agreements.
--In communities with Healthy Start projects, a commitment by
applicants whose projects are related to activities of a Healthy Start
program to coordinate their projects with Healthy Start program
efforts.
--The strength of the project's plans for evaluation.
--The strength of the applicant's prior experience linking health,
education and social service professionals together with policy makers
in State and local health and education agencies and private sector
organizations to solve complex problems facing children and their
families that require collaboration.
In addition to the above criteria, other special review criteria
are used to assess grants announced in this notice. As detailed in the
guidance enclosed with the application packet, these special review
criteria focus closely on the quality of each element of the program
narrative section of the application: the problem; contributing
factors; project goals; outcome objectives; methodology; tracking of
project implementation; monitoring and evaluations; use of project
information; capabilities of the applicant; budget and justification;
and the overall significance of the project.
Eligible Applicants
Any public or private entity, including an Indian tribe or tribal
organization (as defined at 25 U.S.C. 450b), is eligible to apply for
grants in the MCHIP category.
Public Health System Reporting Requirements
This program is subject to the Public Health System Reporting
Requirements (approved under OMB No. 0937-0195). Under these
requirements, the community-based nongovernmental applicant must
prepare and submit a Public Health System Impact Statement (PHSIS). The
PHSIS is intended to provide information to State and local health
officials to keep them apprised of proposed health services grant
applications submitted by community-based nongovernmental organizations
within their jurisdictions.
Community-based nongovernmental applicants are required to submit
the following information to the head of the appropriate State and
local health agencies in the area(s) to be impacted no later than the
Federal application receipt due date:
(a) A copy of the face page of the application (SF 424).
(b) A summary of the project (PHSIS), not to exceed one page, which
provides:
(1) A description of the population to be served.
(2) A summary of the services to be provided.
(3) A description of the coordination planned with the appropriate
State and local health agencies.
Executive Order 12372
The MCH Federal set-aside program has been determined to be a
program which is not subject to the provisions of Executive Order 12372
concerning intergovernmental review of Federal programs.
The OMB Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance number is 93.110.
Dated: December 6, 1993.
William A. Robinson,
Acting Administrator.
[FR Doc. 94-3548 Filed 2-15-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4160-15-P