[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]


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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]
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