[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 93 (Monday, May 16, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-11753]
[[Page Unknown]]
[Federal Register: May 16, 1994]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Public Health Service
RIN: 0905-2A56
Office of Minority Health; Cooperative Agreement for Family and
Community Violence; Prevention Demonstration Program; Notice of
Availability of Funds and Request for Application
Introduction
The Office of Minority Health (OMH) announces the availability of
Fiscal Year 1994 funds to support a cooperative agreement with a
consortium of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs).
Specifically, the intent of this project is to design, develop,
implement, and test a series of models that may be effective in
preventing minority male related violence in such communities.
Models developed under this project should address behavioral
patterns and environmental influences that may precipitate violence
within the family or the community. Such factors may contribute to
dysfunctional patterns of individual behavior or dysfunctional
relationships within families. They include breakdowns in family
structure, alcoholism and drug abuse, lack of economic and job
opportunities, educational deficiencies, poverty, and crime. With
respect to domestic violence, these issues may include spousal and
child abuse and rape; transmission of violent behavior to subsequent
generations; societal and family relationships.
Multi-purpose family support systems are planned through both
linkages and consortiums of campus based centers and participating
official and private community based organizations providing a range of
prevention and service interventions. Interventions will be directed
toward several different target populations including primary school
(k-5), junior high school (6-8), and high school as well as young
adults, adults, parents, and the elderly. They will involve, but not be
limited to certain common strategies such as target group focused
education; individual counseling, treatment and individually relevant
assistance; and referral to public and private agencies, which includes
the college and university based family support center or the
participating professionals, institutions and organizations within the
community. The provider system encompasses colleges and university
students and faculty, parents, school officials and teachers, a large
array of professionals and official community agencies. The system is
designed to utilize and expand the expertise of these educational
institutions and other community resources in the areas to be
addressed. The consortium consists of 16 Historically and Predominantly
Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and a number of key public and
private entities functioning together to improve the lives of
individuals residing throughout the communities in which they live.
The Public Health Service (PHS) is committed to achieving the
health promotion and disease prevention objective of Healthy People
2000, a PHS-led national activity to reduce morbidity and mortality and
to improve the quality of life. This announcement is related to the
priority area of Violence and Abusive Behavior, which includes the
following sub-areas: homicide, suicide, weapon-related deaths, child
abuse and neglect, spousal abuse, assault injuries, suicide attempts by
adolescents, physical fighting among youth, weapon-carrying youth and
comprehensive violence programs.
Authority
This project is authorized under, section 1707(d)(1), Public Health
Service Act.
Eligible Applicant
Approximately $4,250,000 is available to support a family and
community violence prevention effort. Assistance will be provided to
Central State University of Wilberforce, Ohio, which will serve as the
lead entity for the consortium of 16 Historical and Predominately Black
Colleges and Universities, specifically the Consortium for Practicum
and Research on Minority Males/Minority Males Consortium (MIN-MALES.
The Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Minority Health has
determined that this consortium is uniquely qualified to receive this
award because it is a pre-existing proven consortium which can respond
rapidly to the OMH requirement to complete the award process this
fiscal year. Each institution participating in this existing consortium
is already actively involved in on-campus or in neighborhoods/community
based projects that are designed to remedy minority male and family
educational and health problems. Furthermore, all participating
institutions are working in an official and coordinated capacity to
focus specifically on violence-related problems faced by minority
communities. In addition, the consortium members are geographically
distributed in such a manner that allows them to access and service a
large and diverse number of racial and ethnic minorities.
They have established functional working relationships with
community-based organizations, churches, schools, prisons, etc. * * *
which demonstrates the existence of a viable network with cultural
competence and existing outreach mechanisms targeting multiple racial
and ethnic family populations. This consortium is uniquely prepared by
virtue of its expertise, geographic distribution and existing network
to implement a model family domestic violence program expeditiously. No
other applications will be solicited.
Availability of Funds
Approximately $4,250,000 (indirect and direct costs) will be
available in Fiscal Year 1994 to fund this cooperative agreement. The
project is expected to begin on September 30, 1994, for a 12 month
budget period within a project period not to exceed 3 years.
Continuation awards within the project period will be made on the basis
of satisfactory progress and availability of funds. The funding
estimate above may vary and is subject to change.
Background
Violent and abusive behavior exacts a large toll on the physical
and mental health of Americans. Child abuse, spouse abuse, and other
forms of intrafamilial violence continue to threaten the health of
thousands of American families, particularly minorities.
In 1986, an estimated 1.6 million children nationwide experienced
some form of abuse or neglect. Physical abuse accounted for the
greatest portion of abuse incidents. Studies suggest that between 2
million and 4 million women are physically battered each year by their
partners. On an annual basis, more than 1 million women seek medical
assistance for injuries caused by battering. Also, the vast majority of
domestic homicides are preceded by episodes of violence. Domestic
violence is a major context for suicide attempts, substance abuse, and
mental illness among women and 45 percent of mothers of abused children
are themselves battered women.
The characteristics of homicides indicate a clear and consistent
pattern of friend and family violence. Half of the yearly 23,000
homicide victims in the United States die at the hands of an
acquaintance. For example, family members are responsible for 20
percent of the deaths whereas casual acquaintances are responsible for
30 percent.
During 1985, the Surgeon General and the U.S. Public Health Service
provided a national focus on violence as a leading public health
problem in the United States. Since that time, public health
perspectives in preventing death and disability due to violent and
abusive behavior have emerged across the country.
Violence in America is a public health problem that takes its
greatest toll on young minority males. Minority males have the highest
rates of contact with the criminal justice system of any group in the
nation. In 1987, more than half of all prison inmates in the nation
were Black or Hispanic males. Problems confronting minority males are
those particularly associated with poverty, violence, single parent
households, school drop-out rates, delinquency, unemployment, access to
higher education and health status. The American Council on Education
recently reported that African American Male enrollment in colleges and
universities declined by five percent, while the enrollment among
Hispanic males remained constant, between 1990-1992.
Purpose
The purpose of this cooperative agreement is to design, implement,
and assess the use of a consortium to conduct model centers for the
development and demonstration of interventions related to minority
male, family and community violence.
Program Requirements
The consortium will design, implement, and assess Minority Male,
Family and Community Violence Prevention Models which maximize the
leadership of minority institutions of higher education in: (1)
Organizing a total ``town and gown'' initiative with respect to both
their own functions and responsibilities and those of entities to be
involved throughout the community, e.g., primary/secondary schools,
churches, public agencies; (2) The life centers should at a minimum
conduct the following:
Assess local community resources dedicated to address
problems of family and community violence.
Coordinate with local violence efforts currently in place
to minimize duplication of efforts and to maximize use of local
resources.
Specifically, though not exclusively, address the problem
of interpersonal family violence by designing and implementing an
educational/prevention intervention.
Design and implement a student assessment project to
identify students from dysfunctional families and to delineate positive
and negative coping strategies.
(3) developing educational experiences, preventive measures and
therapeutic interventions designed to address the issues of
dysfunctional males and families; and (4) formulating methods and
strategies for execution of the initiatives through a variety of
avenues within the minority institutions of higher education and
throughout the community. This initiative seeks to address the
escalating national problems experienced by dysfunctional families and
individuals in the minority community. These national problems are
precipitated by such conditions as breakdowns in family structures,
alcoholism and drug abuse, educational deficiencies, poverty, crime,
and violence.
The consortium will establish a maximum of sixteen (16) Family Life
Centers on the campuses of minority institutions of higher education. A
complete organizational structure will be developed for initiatives to
be executed through this program with respect to both the minority
institutions of higher education and community components involved
including methodologies and strategies for their operation. The
consortium will develop and test the interventions and other
programmatic content for all facets of the program that are internal
and external to the minority institutions of higher education. These
include, methods of their delivery and the competencies necessary for
all students and professionals involved (mentor, counselors, faculty,
etc.) in carrying out the interventions.
Use of Cooperative Agreement: A cooperative agreement will be
awarded because of the anticipated substantial programmatic involvement
by OMH staff. OMH will take the lead programmatic responsibility for
this activity and will work in collaboration with other PHS and DHHS
co-sponsoring entities. Substantial programmatic involvement is as
follows:
(1) OMH shall arrange an initial orientation meeting to discuss and
finalize a project management plan, to clarify roles and
responsibilities of the consortium and OMH staff, to establish clear
lines of communication, to introduce the consortium participants to
other PHS and DHHS co-sponsors, and to discuss and review a workplan.
(2) OMH staff shall provide technical assistance and oversight as
necessary for the overall design, implementation and assessment of the
project activity.
(3) OMH staff shall provide technical assistance to the consortium
in the design, development, and implementation of the evaluation plans
and strategies.
(4) OMH staff shall review and approve all consortium evaluation
plans and strategies prior to implementation.
(5) OMH staff shall provide non-financial assistance to the
consortium to arrange an annual meting and to provide briefings
regarding programmatic outcomes, evaluation plans, strategies,
agreement, and to provide expertise regarding the identification of
evolving areas of concern affecting the minority populations.
Technical Assistance
OMH will collaborate with representatives of the Consortium in the
identification of specific areas of intervention activities and the
development of research areas. The following document has been provided
by OMH to the Consortium: Healthy People 2000
Application Content
In a narrative form, the applicant shall submit sufficient
supporting evidence to satisfy all items in the ``Evaluation
Criteria''. This information should be presented using the PHS
Application form PHS 5161 (Approved by OMB under control no 0937-0189).
The application submitted under this cooperative agreement will contain
multiple subparts addressing the individual contributions of consortium
members. It is anticipated that the application received will contain
technical proposal(s) that may cover up to a three-year period.
Evaluation Criteria
A. The application will be evaluated according to the following
criteria:
1. The extent to which the proposed family community violence
intervention model(s) will address the needs of the targeted minority
populations as expressed by clear and measurable goals and objectives;
the reasonableness of the effort required to incorporate the model into
the long-term institutional goals as expressed by letters of long-term
institutional commitment. (40%)
2. The appropriateness of the proposed model design, purpose,
methodology, scope, assessment, and timetable. (40%)
3. Evidence for collaborative effort within the consortium and with
other significant participants such as community based organizations.
(5%)
4. Adequacy of resources; including background and training of key
personnel and percentage effort allocation to achieve stated objectives
and goals. (10%)
5. Potential for the proposed interventions and reports to lead to
publishable results. (5%)
6. Budget and Cost-effectiveness; the extent to which the total
budget is reasonable and will be adequate to achieve stated project
goals. The budget cost of the project to the Government must be
reasonable. (Not Scored)
Contacts: For program information, contact Mr. Michael A. Douglas,
Project Officer, Division of Policy Coordination, Office of Minority
Health, 5515 Security Lane, Suite 1000, Rockville, Maryland, 20852,
telephone number (301) 443-9923. For grants management information,
contact Ms. Carolyn A. Williams, Grants Management Officer, Division of
Grants Management, Office of Minority Health, 5515 Security Lane, Suite
1000, Rockville, Maryland, 20852, telephone number (301) 594-0758.
Application Deadline: The application deadline is June 15, 1994.
Guide for Grants and Contracts: The Public Health Service strongly
encourages all grant recipients to provide a smoke-free workplace and
promote the non-use of all tobacco products. This is consistent with
the PHS mission to protect and advance the physical and mental health
of the American people.
State Reviews: Executive Order 12372 sets up a system for State and
local review of proposed Federal assistance applications. Applicants
(other than federally-recognized Indian tribal governments) should
contact their State Single Points of Contact (SPOCs) as early as
possible to alert them to the prospective applications and receive any
necessary instructions on the State process. A current list of SPOCs is
included in the application kit. SPOCs will have 60 days to provide
comments. SPOC comments must be received by July 15, 1994. The Office
of Minority Health does not guarantee to accommodate or explain State
process recommendations after that date. SPOC comments are to be sent
to: Office of Minority Health, Grants Management Officer, Rockwall II
Building, suite 1000, 5515 Security Lane, Rockville, MD 20852.
Public Health System Reporting Requirement: This program is subject
to Public Health Systems Requirements. Under these requirements, a
community-based nongovernmental applicant must prepare and submit a
Public Health System Impact Statement (PHSIS) (Approved by OMB under
control no. 0937-0195). 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 applications (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 or
local agencies.
(The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance number is 93.105).
Dated: March 29, 1994.
Audrey F. Manley,
Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Minority Health.
[FR Doc. 94-11753 Filed 5-13-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4160-17-M