[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 141 (Monday, July 25, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-18050]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: July 25, 1994]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
RIN: 0905-ZA71

 

Substance Abuse Treatment Conference Grants

AGENCY: Center for Substance Abuse Treatment, Substance Abuse and 
Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), HHS.

ACTION: Notice of Availability of Funds and Request for Applications.

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SUMMARY: The Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT) is issuing 
this announcement for a program to support domestic conferences for the 
purpose of coordinating, exchanging, and disseminating information in 
furtherance of its mission to ensure the availability of effective 
treatment and recovery services for individuals who suffer from 
problems related to alcohol and other drugs (AOD) of abuse. This 
program is authorized under Section 507 of the Public Health Service 
Act.
    Applications are invited for conferences relating to AOD abuse 
treatment, including conferences for the purposes of information 
dissemination to the services community and the general public, and 
development of strategies for improving substance abuse treatment. The 
intended audiences for this announcement are principally consumer and 
treatment services-oriented constituency groups, including those 
representing State and local government, professional associations, 
voluntary organizations, and self-help groups that share a mutual 
interest with CSAT with respect to community consensus building, 
leadership, and advocacy of goals relating to AOD abuse treatment.
    This notice consists of three parts:
    Part I covers information on the legislative authority and the 
applicable regulations and policies related to the Substance Abuse 
Treatment Conference Grants program.
    Part II includes the programmatic description and activities and 
discusses eligibility, availability of funds, period of support and the 
receipt dates for applications.
    Part III describes special requirements of the program, the 
application process, the review and award criteria and lists contacts 
for additional information.

Part I--Legislative Authority and Other Applicable Regulations and 
Policies

    Grants awarded under this announcement are authorized under Section 
507(b)(6) of the Public Health Service Act, as amended (42 U.S.C. 
290bb).
    Federal regulations at Title 45 CFR Parts 74 and 92, generic 
requirements concerning the administration of grants, are applicable to 
these awards.
    Grants must be administered in accordance with the PHS Grants 
Policy Statement (Revised April 1, 1994).
    The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) number for this 
program is 93.218.
    As required by the ``PHS Grants Policy Statement,'' grantees are 
responsible for submitting an original and two (2) copies of the final 
report to the Grants Management Office, CSAT, within 90 days of 
completion or termination of a grant in support of a conference.
    Consistent with CSAT policy and in view of the addictive properties 
of nicotine and the established link between use of tobacco products 
and disease, the use of smoke-free conference meeting rooms is 
encouraged.
    The Public Health Service (PHS) is committed to achieving the 
health promotion and disease prevention objectives of Healthy People 
2000, a PHS-led national public health initiative. This Program 
Announcement, Substance Abuse Treatment Conference Grants, is related 
to the priority areas of addictions as articulated in the National Drug 
Control Strategy (e.g., women and their children, hard core abusers, 
relationship between alcohol/drug abuse and violence, service needs/
delivery within the criminal justice system, comorbidity or the 
provision of mental health services as part of addictions treatment, 
health care reform). 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). The National Drug Control 
Strategy may be obtained by contacting the Drugs and Crime 
Clearinghouse (Telephone: 1-800-666-3332).

Part II--Programmatic Description and Activities, Eligibility and 
Application Receipt Date

    Program Description: CSAT will provide support for up to fifty 
percent (to a maximum of $50,000) of the total costs of planned 
meetings and conferences sponsored by new or ongoing constituent 
organizations or coalitions in their efforts to provide treatment for 
drugs of abuse. In making award decisions, CSAT will give special 
consideration to applications that demonstrate the potential for 
knowledge dissemination, interface with health promotion concepts and 
practices, promote appropriate resource utilization and/or consensus 
building, and yield a product (report or document) of specific 
relevance to furthering of the CSAT mission of improved delivery of 
addiction treatment and recovery services at the State or community 
level.
    For the purposes of this grant program, a Conference is a 
symposium, workshop, or any other organized and formal meeting lasting 
one or more days where persons assemble to exchange information and 
address information or strategy development needs in such areas as 
sharing new technologies, problem-solving, network-building or public 
policy deliberations. While a conference may result in educational 
experiences, this is not a program to impart training. The conference 
program should be consistent with the CSAT mission. Under the authority 
of Section 507, CSAT may sponsor regional workshops on improving the 
quality and availability of treatment services; however, sponsors of 
regional workshops may invite people from other regions in the country. 
The conference may be conducted at more than one site, provided that 
each separate workshop, meeting, etc., relates directly to the central 
conference topic.
    Conferences supported by this program are not intended to carry out 
research or to synthesize or disseminate research information for the 
non-clinical scientific research community. However, transmitting 
scientific information via the conference to those involved in AOD 
related services or in training to provide AOD services is supportable.
    This program addresses the HHS Secretary's themes of fostering 
independence through empowering the people served, preventing future 
problems, and improving services to customers through modern management 
approaches.

    Eligibility: Applications may be submitted by public and non-profit 
private entities. An individual is not eligible to receive grant 
support for a conference.
    Availability of Funds: It is estimated that approximately $400,000 
will be available to support approximately eight (8) awards under this 
program in FY 1995. Actual funding levels will depend upon the 
availability of appropriated funds.
    Approved awards will be limited to a maximum of fifty percent of 
the total costs or $50,000, whichever is less.
    Period of Support: Awards will be made for a maximum of 12 months. 
Support for only one conference, as defined above, may be requested in 
any single application.
    Application Receipt and Review Schedule: The first receipt date for 
applications is October 24, 1994. Thereafter, the schedule for receipt 
and review of applications under this announcement will be as follows:

                                                                        
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                                                              Earliest  
        Receipt date                  IRG review             start date 
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January 10..................  May/June...................  September.   
May 10......................  September/October..........  February.    
September 10................  January/February...........  June.        
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    Applications must be received by the above receipt date(s) to be 
accepted for review. An application received after the deadline may be 
acceptable if it carries a legible proof-of-mailing date assigned by 
the carrier (private metered postmarks are not acceptable as proof of 
timely mailing) and that date is not later than one week prior to the 
deadline date. If the receipt date falls on a weekend, it will be 
extended to Monday; if the date falls on a holiday, it will be extended 
to the following work day.
    Consequences of Late Submission: Applications received after the 
specified receipt dates are subject to assignment to the next review 
cycle or may be returned to the applicant without review.

Part III--Special Requirements, Review/Award Criteria and Contacts for 
Additional Information

    Intergovernmental Review (E.O. 12372): Applications submitted in 
response to this announcement are subject to the intergovernmental 
review requirements of Executive Order 12372, as implemented through 
DHHS regulations at 45 CFR Part 100. E.O. 12372 sets up a system for 
State and local government review of applications for Federal financial 
assistance. Applicants (other than Federally recognized Indian tribal 
governments) should contact the State's Single Point of Contact (SPOC) 
as early as possible to alert them to the prospective application(s) 
and to receive any necessary instructions on the State process. For 
proposed projects serving more than one State, the applicant is advised 
to contact the SPOC of each affected State. A current listing of SPOCs 
is included in the application kit. The SPOC should send any state 
process recommendations to the following address: Review Branch, Center 
for Substance Abuse Treatment, Rockwall II Building, 10th Floor, 5600 
Fishers Lane, Rockville, Maryland 20857, (301) 443-8923.
    The due date for state process recommendations is no later than 60 
days after the deadline date for the receipt of applications. CSAT does 
not guarantee to accommodate or explain SPOC comments that are received 
after the 60-day cut-off.
    Public Health System Reporting Requirements: The program is not 
subject to the Public Health System Reporting Requirements.
    Application Procedures: Grant application kits (including Form PHS 
5161-1, with Standard Form 424 and complete application procedures) may 
be obtained from: National Clearinghouse for Alcohol & Drug 
Information, P.O. Box 2345, Rockville, Maryland 20847-2345, 1-800-729-
6686.
    Applicants must submit: (1) an original copy signed by the 
authorized official of the applicant organization, with the appropriate 
appendices; and (2) two additional, legible copies of the application 
and all appendices to the following address: Center for Substance Abuse 
Treatment Programs, Division of Research Grants, NIH, Westwood 
Building, room 240, 5333 Westbard Avenue, Bethesda, Maryland 20892.*
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    *If an overnight carrier or express mail is used, the Zip Code 
is 20816.
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    Review Process: Applications submitted in response to this 
announcement will be reviewed for technical merit in accordance with 
established PHS/SAMHSA peer review procedures for grants.
    Applications that are accepted for review will be assigned to an 
Initial Review Group (IRG) composed primarily of non-Federal experts. 
Notification of the IRG's recommendation will be sent to the applicant 
upon completion of the review.

Review Criteria

1. Potential Significance (30%)
    The extent to which the proposed conference has potential regional 
or national significance for the field of drug abuse treatment.
2. Approach (20%)
    Clarity and justification of overall goals, objectives, and 
approach of the conference. Feasibility of the conference agenda/
content and relevance to CSAT mission to improve the delivery of 
substance abuse treatment and recovery services. Extent to which 
proposal supports inter-agency collaboration. Adequacy of plan for 
conference product (proceedings, manual, report).
3. Resources and Management (20%)
    Manner in which the conference is planned and organized. Presence 
of an administrative and organizational structure that will facilitate 
attainment of the proposed objective(s) of the conference. Capability/
experience of the proposed conference director and other key personnel. 
Participation of appropriate speakers, presenters or participants. 
Adequacy of previous reports of conferences (if any) produced by the 
applicant.
4. Budget (25%)
    Cost effectiveness and reasonableness of overall project cost 
relative to planned activities. Appropriateness of budget breakouts and 
line item justifications.
5. Evaluation (5%)
    Clarity/feasibility/appropriateness of proposed plan for evaluation 
of conference planning, content and outcome, including the production 
of the required conference product.
    Award Decision Criteria: Applications will be considered for 
funding on the basis of overall technical merit of the project as 
determined through the review process. Other criteria will include:
    1. Potential for knowledge dissemination, interface with health 
promotion concepts and practices, promotion of resource utilization 
and/or consensus building.
    2. Relevance to the CSAT/SAMHSA priorities addressed by the 
National Drug Control Strategy (e.g., women and their children, hard 
core abusers, relationship between alcohol/drug abuse and violence, 
service needs/delivery within the criminal justice system, comorbidity 
or the provision of mental health services as part of addictions 
treatment, health care reform).
    3. Programmatic balance (focus upon differing problems of drug 
treatment, including the issues of cultural sensitivity, HIV/AIDS, 
sexually transmitted diseases, and tuberculosis.
    4. Innovative conferences/conferencing techniques (e.g., 
teleconferencing, Delphi Computer conferencing).
    5. Geographic balance.
    6. Availability of funds.

CONTACTS FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Questions concerning program 
issues may be directed to: Susanne R. Rohrer, R.N., Office of 
Scientific Analysis and Evaluation, Center for Substance Abuse 
Treatment, Rockwall II Building, 10th Floor, 5600 Fishers Lane, 
Rockville, Maryland 20857, (301) 443-8831.
    Questions regarding grants management issues may be directed to: 
Grants Management Office, Center for Substance Abuse Treatment, 
Rockwall II Building, 10th Floor, 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, 
Maryland 20857, (301) 443-6533.

    Dated: July 18, 1994.
Richard Kopanda,
Acting Executive Officer, SAMHSA.
[FR Doc. 94-18050 Filed 7-22-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4162-20-P