[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 66 (Wednesday, April 6, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-8153]
[[Page Unknown]]
[Federal Register: April 6, 1994]
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Part VI
Department of Health and Human Services
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Public Health Service
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Family Planning Nurse Practitioner Training Program; Grant
Availability; Notice
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Public Health Service
RIN 0905-ZA29
Announcement of Availability of Grants for Family Planning Nurse
Practitioner Training Program
AGENCY: Office of Family Planning, OPA, PHS.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The Office of Family Planning (OFP) of the Office of
Population Affairs requests applications for grants under the Family
Planning Services Training Program authorized under section 1003 of the
Public Health Service (PHS) Act (42 U.S.C. 300a-1(a)). Funds are
available to train nurse practitioners in order to maintain the high
level of performance of family planning service projects funded under
Title X of the PHS Act. The training programs to be funded will provide
skill-based knowledge for registered professional nurses employed in
Title X clinics and will enable Title X service grantees to improve the
delivery of family planning services to persons from low-income
families and other persons desiring such services.
ADDRESSES: Application kits may be obtained from and applications must
be submitted to: Grants Management Office, Office of Population
Affairs, East-West Towers, suite N1115, 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville,
MD 20857.
DATES: Applications must be postmarked or received at the above address
no later than June 6, 1994. Private metered postmarks will not be
acceptable as proof of timely mailing. Applications which are
postmarked or delivered to the Grants Management Office later than June
6, 1994 will be judged late and will not be accepted for review.
Applications which do not conform to the requirements of this program
announcement or meet the applicable requirements of 42 CFR part 59,
subpart C will not be accepted for review. Applicants will be so
notified, and the applications will be returned.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Mr. Sam Taylor, Acting Director, Office of Family Planning at (301)
594-4008 is available for assistance on scientific, technical and
program aspects, or Mrs. Barbara N. Rosenberg, Grants Management
Officer at (301) 594-4012 is available for business management issues.
Staff are available to answer questions and provide limited technical
assistance in the preparation of grant applications.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Title X of the PHS Act, 42 U.S.C. 300, et
seq., authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to award
grants for projects to provide training for family planning services
personnel. (Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number 93.260). This
notice announces the availability of approximately $1.8 million in
funding and solicits applications for grants for the five nurse
practitioner training projects described below:
(1) One grant with a range of $270,000-$360,000 to train nurse
practitioners from the following regions:
Region I (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode
Island and Vermont);
Region II (New Jersey, New York, Puerto Rico and the Virgin
Islands);
Region III (Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West
Virginia and the District of Columbia).
(2) One grant with a funding range of $245,000-$325,000 to train
nurse practitioners from the following region:
Region IV (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, N.
Carolina, S. Carolina and Tennessee).
(3) One grant with a funding range of $200,000-$275,000 to train
nurse practitioners from the following region:
Region V (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Wisconsin).
(4) One grant with a funding range of $300,000-$395,000 to train
nurse practitioners from the following regions:
Region VI (Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas);
Region VII (Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska).
(5) One grant with a funding range of $350,000-$455,000 to train
nurse practitioners from the following regions:
Region VIII (Colorado, Montana, N. Dakota, S. Dakota, Utah,
Wyoming);
Region IX (Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada, American Samoa,
Federated States of Micronesia, Republic of Marshall Islands,
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Republic of Palau and
Guam);
Region X (Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, Washington).
Statutory and Regulatory Background
Title X of the Public Health Service Act, enacted by Public Law 91-
572, authorizes grants for projects to provide family planning services
to persons from low-income families and others. Section 1001 of the
Act, as amended, authorizes grants ``to assist in the establishment and
operation of voluntary family planning projects which shall offer a
broad range of acceptable and effective family planning methods and
services (including natural family planning methods, infertility
services, and services for adolescents).'' Section 1003 of the Act, as
amended, authorizes the Secretary to make grants to entities to provide
the training for personnel to carry out the family planning services
programs. The regulations set out at 42 CFR part 59, subpart C, govern
grants for family planning service training. Prospective applicants
should refer to the regulations in their entirety.
Role and Operation of the Training Program
The nurse practitioner is an integral part of the family planning
system and performs a critical role in the delivery of high quality
family planning and women's health services. Nurse practitioner
training programs are focused on the preparation of registered
professional nurses to function in an advanced nursing role as
obstetric-gynecologic or women's health nurse practitioners.
Successful applicants will be required to work closely with Central
and Regional Office staffs and a network of agencies, including Title X
service delivery providers and nurse practitioner training advisory
committees. Title X service grantees from the regions serve on the
nurse practitioner training advisory committees. Successful applicants
will be required to review and consider policy and program goals of
both the Title X family planning training and services programs,
solicit advice from the regional training advisory committee, and
consult with Title X service delivery providers about training
priorities, course content, and curriculum.
The nurse practitioner training curriculum must focus on
preparation of obstetric-gynecologic or women's health care nurse
practitioners [hereafter referred to as nurse practitioner(s)] for
advanced nursing practice. The nurse practitioner training curriculum
must include content sufficient to prepare graduates to perform the
full range of services required for nurse practitioners in the Title X
family planning services program. The nurse practitioner training
program graduate should acquire, through the training program, special
knowledge and skills in health promotion and maintenance, disease
prevention, psychosocial and physical assessment, and management of
health-illness needs in the primary care of women, provided
predominantly in an ambulatory setting. The nurse practitioner will
provide such care in collaboration with the physician as well as with
other members of the health-care team.
The design of the nurse practitioner training program, including
the curriculum, must be consistent with national and regional Title X
goals. The program must be eligible for accreditation as a nurse
practitioner program by a national nursing accrediting body and must
meet national or State recognition requirements as a provider of
continuing education through a national nursing organization or one of
its constituents. Graduates of the nurse practitioner training program
must be eligible for State and/or national certification and meet State
requirements for licensure or recognition.
The application should set out how the nurse practitioner training
program will address the national health objectives relating to family
planning that are discussed in section 5 of the PHS document, Healthy
People 2000, discussed below. Specific attention should be given to
training which would enable nurse practitioners to work more
effectively to: Reduce teen pregnancy; reduce unintended pregnancy
among all women; reduce the initiation of sexual activity by teenagers;
increase the effectiveness of contraception, including barrier
contraception, among all women; implement pre-conception care; and
reduce sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV.
Successful applicants will be responsible for the overall
management of a nurse practitioner training program within the
geographic area for which the grant is made. This responsibility
includes:
Developing an annual nurse practitioner training plan,
which reflects national Title X program goals and regional priorities
and the training needs of local Title X services grantees;
Developing and implementing a high quality curriculum for
a certificate nurse practitioner program specific to the education and
role of the nurse practitioner;
Developing criteria for selection of candidates for nurse
practitioner training, including prerequisite qualifications. Such
criteria should reflect a sensitivity to the unique needs to grantees
or trainees for certain types of training, priority for recruitment of
minority nurse practitioner trainees, priority for training nurses
serving in rural areas or Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSA's),
or other relevant factors;
Developing a process to review applications submitted by
nurse practitioner training applicants from Title X service grantees.
The nurse practitioner training program will make the final decision
about candidates' suitability for training applying the criteria
discussed above;
Maintaining data on nurse practitioner training
characteristics sufficient to allow evaluation by credentialing bodies,
and by the Office of Population Affairs, and to allow self-evaluation
by the nurse practitioner training grantee;
Developing and implementing nurse practitioner training
plans and continuing professional education programs which include
measurable objectives;
Monitoring the preceptorship phase of the nurse
practitioner training program based upon written criteria;
Sharing materials developed with other training programs
so as to avoid unnecessary duplication of effort. All materials
developed with Title X funds must be made available at cost to other
Title X projects upon request;
Facilitating nurse practitioner trainee receipt of
continuing education units where appropriate; and
Planning an annual continuing education conference and
attending at least one national training meeting annually.
Application Requirements
Applications must be submitted on the forms supplied (PHS-5161-1)
(OMB Approval No. 0937-0189) and in the manner prescribed in the
application kits available from the Office of Grants Management
Applicants are required to submit an application signed by an
individual authorized to act for the applicant agency or organization
and to assume for the organization the obligations imposed by the terms
and conditions of the grant award. Applicants are required to submit an
original application and two copies.
Accepted applications will be subjected to a competitive review
process. The results of this review will assist the Deputy Assistant
Secretary for Population Affairs in considering competing applications
and in making the final funding decisions.
Any public or private nonprofit organization or agency is eligible
to apply for a grant. The application must meet the standards of the
nursing profession which allow approval from the State Board of Nurse
Examiners, continuing education approval bodies, if required, and
national accrediting and certifying agencies. It is not required that
an entity applying for a grant be physically located in the region or
regions the proposed project will serve.
A copy of the legislation and regulations governing this program
will be sent to applicants as part of the application kit package.
Applicants should use the legislation, regulations and other
information included in this announcement to guide them in developing
their applications. Applications should be limited to 50 doubled-spaced
pages, not including appendices providing curriculum vitae, curriculum,
or statements of organizational capabilities. Awards will be made only
to those applicants who have met all applicable requirements.
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 which involves the establishment and
pursuit of goals designed to prevent disease and promote health. This
announcement is related to the priority areas of Family Planning and
Educational and Community-Based Program. 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 20402-0325 (Telephone (202) 783-3238).
Grant Award
Eligible applications will be reviewed and assessed against the
following criteria:
(1) The extent to which the proposed nurse practitioner training
program will increase the delivery of services to Title X clients,
particularly persons from low-income families. (15 points)
(2) The extent to which the proposed nurse practitioner training
program proposes to fulfill the family planning services delivery needs
of the area to be served, including: (a) The extent to which the nurse
practitioner training curriculum and objectives will improve the family
planning service delivery skills of family planning registered nurses;
(15 points) and (b) The extent to which the nurse practitioner training
program proposes appropriate strategies to recruit and train nurse
practitioners to provide family planning services in rural areas and
HPSAs. (15 points)
(3) The capacity of the applicant to make rapid and effective use
of the nurse practitioner training grant. (5 points)
(4) The administrative and management capacity and competence of
the applicant. (15 points)
(5) The competence of the project staff in relation to the services
to be provided. (10 points)
(6) The degree to which the project plan adequately provides for
the requirements set forth in 42 CFR 50.205, including the applicant's
presentation of the project's objectives, the methods for achieving
project objectives, the ability to involve providers and the regional
office, and the results or benefits expected. (25 points)
In making grant award decisions the Deputy Assistant Secretary for
Population Affairs (DASPA) will fund those projects which will in his
judgment best promote the purposes of section 1003 of the Act, within
the limits of funds available for such projects.
Grants will be approved for project periods of up to 5 years and
will be funded in annual increments (budget periods). Funding for all
approved budget periods beyond the first year of the grant is
contingent upon satisfactory progress of the project, efficient and
effective use of grant funds provided, and availability of funds.
Review Under Executive Order 12372
Applications under this announcement are subject to the review
requirements of Executive Order 12372, State Review of Applications for
Federal Financial Assistance, as implemented by 45 CFR part 100. As
soon as possible, the applicant should discuss the project with the
State Single Point of Contact (SPOC) for each State in the area to be
served. The application kit contains the currently available listing of
the SPOCs which have elected to be informed of the submission of
applications. For those States not represented on the listing, further
inquiries should be made by the applicant regarding the submission to
the relevant SPOC. The SPOCs comment(s) should be forwarded to the
Grants Management Office, Office of Population Affairs, East-West
Towers, suite N1115, Rockville, MD 20857. Such comments must be
received by the Office of Population Affairs by August 4, 1994 to be
considered.
When final funding decisions have been made, each applicant will be
notified by letter of the outcome of their application. The official
document notifying an applicant that a project application has been
approved for funding is the Notice of Grant Award, which specifies to
the grantee the amount of money awarded, the purposes of the grant, and
terms and conditions of the grant award.
Dated: February 22, 1994.
Gerald J. Bennett,
Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Population Affairs.
[FR Doc. 94-8153 Filed 4-5-94; 8:45 am]
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