[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 1 (Tuesday, January 3, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 141-143]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-31975]



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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Public Health Service


Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health; Availability of 
Grants for Minority Community Health Coalition Demonstration Projects.

AGENCY: Office of Minority Health, Office of the Assistant Secretary 
for Health, USPHS, DHHS.

ACTION: Notice of Availability of Funds and Request for Applications 
for Minority Community Health Coalition Demonstration Project Grants 
(Coalition Outreach Grants).

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AUTHORITY: This program is authorized under section 1707(d)(1) of the 
Public Health Service Act, as amended in Public Law 101-527.

PURPOSE: The OMH announces the availability of grants to provide 
support to minority community health coalitions to develop, implement, 
and conduct demonstration projects which coordinate integrated 
community-based screening and outreach services and include linkages 
for access and treatment, to minorities in high risk, low income 
communities. These projects are to address socio-cultural and 
linguistic barriers to care and should have the potential for 
replication in similar communities.

APPLICANT ELIGIBILITY: Eligible applicants are public and private 
nonprofit organizations which will serve as the grantee organization 
for a coalition which has a history of OMH coalition grant support. 
This means prior support under: the Minority Community Health Coalition 
Demonstration Grant Program; the Minority Male Demonstration Grant 
Program (Intervention or Coalition Development); the Hispanic/Latino 
Community Health Coalition Development Project Grants; and the OMH/HRSA 
AIDS Coalition grants funded under the Rural Health Outreach for AIDS 
Education grants and Health Care Services for Residents of Public 
Housing. In most cases the applicant organization will be the same 
organization that served as the grantee on the original OMH grant. 
However, in a few instances: (1) The coalition has become a free 
standing entity, or (2) another member of the coalition has been 
designated to serve as the lead, grantee agency. In this case, the 
application must include a letter from the original grantee 
organization verifying that the new applicant organization is a member 
of the coalition and is now designated to serve as lead for the same 
coalition which received prior OMH support. Only one application shall 
be submitted on behalf of any eligible coalition.
    Applicant coalitions must include a health care facility such as a 
community health center, migrant health center, health department or 
medical center. The coalition should have the capacity to plan and 
coordinate services which reduce existing socio-cultural barriers. 
Specifically, the coalition will be called upon to carry out screening, 
outreach and enabling services to ensure that clients follow up with 
treatment and treatment referrals.
    In order to verify that a viable coalition exists, the following 
must be provided: (1) The grant number of the prior OMH grant, (2) a 
concise narrative history of the existing minority community health 
coalition; (3) a copy of the coalition's mission statement and 
organizational chart; current membership roster indicating the race/
ethnicity and roles of each coalition member organization; and (4) a 
dated copy of the founding bylaws or memorandum of agreement, and 
recent minutes or equivalent documents as proof that the coalition has 
been viable and operational over a sustained period.

Background

    In prior fiscal years, the Office of Minority Health has focused on 
the establishment and enhancement of minority coalitions. Many 
coalition-conducted interventions included provision of health 
assessments and screening as an approach to improving the health of the 
targeted communities. Consistent with the broader public health 
experience, OMH found that many programs needed to go beyond provision 
of screening to provision of more systematic follow-up for access and 
treatment. Therefore, in FY 1995, OMH's coalition grants will focus on 
projects that address socio-cultural barriers and that will demonstrate 
effective coordination of integrated community-based screening, 
outreach and other enabling services thus insuring linkage to treatment 
or other indicated follow-up.

ADDRESSES/CONTACTS: Applications must be prepared on Form PHS 5161-1 
(Revised July 1992). Application kits and technical assistance on 
budget and business aspects of the application may be obtained from Ms. 
Carolyn A. Williams, Grants Management Officer, Office of Minority 
Health, Rockwall II Building, Suite 1000, 5515 Security Lane, 
Rockville, MD, 20852, (telephone 301/594-0758). Completed applications 
are to be submitted to the same address.
    Technical assistance on the programmatic content for the Coalition 
Grants may be obtained from Ms. Joan S. Jacobs. She can be reached at 
the Office of Minority Health, Rockwall II Building, Suite 1000, 5515 
Security Lane, Rockville, MD 20852, (telephone 301/594-0769) or by 
Interest E-mail [Jacobs OASH.SSW.DHHS.GOV].
    In addition, OMH Regional Minority Health Consultants (RMHCs) are 
available to provide technical assistance. A listing of the RMHCs and 
how they may be contacted in provided in the grant application kit. 
Applicants also can contact the OMH Resource Center (OMH/RC) at 1-800/
444/6472 for health information and generic information on preparing 
grant applications.

DEADLINE: To receive consideration, grant applications must be received 
by the Grants Management Officer by March 6, 1995. Applications will be 
considered as meeting the deadline if they are either: (1) Received at 
the above address on or before the deadline date and received in time 
for orderly processing. A legibly dated receipt from a commercial 
carrier or U.S. Postal Service will be accepted in lieu of a postmark. 
Private meeting postmarks will not be accepted as proof of timely 
mailing. Applications which do not meet the deadline will be considered 
late and will be returned to the applicant unread.

AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS: It is anticipated that in Fiscal Year 1995, the 
Office of Minority Health will have approximately $2.0 million 
available to support approximately 14 awards of up to $150,000 each 
under the Minority Community Health Coalition Grant Program.

PERIOD OF SUPPORT: Support may be requested for a total project period 
not to exceed 3 years. Non competing continuation awards will be made 
subject to satisfactory performance and availability of funds.

PROJECT BUDGETS: Budgets of up to $150,000 total direct and indirect 
costs per year may be requested to cover: The cost of personnel; 
consultants; support services; materials; and travel. Project budget 
must include travel for one project staff member to meet with the OMH 
Coalition Grant Program Director in Washington, DC. Funds may not be 
used for building alternations, renovations, or to purchase equipment 
except as may be acceptability justified in relation to conducting the 
project activities. Funds are to be used to [[Page 142]] support 
outreach, screening, case management and other enabling services such 
as transportation, and child care. Grant funds are not intended to be 
used for medical treatment.

AWARD CRITERIA: Funding decisions will be determined by the Office of 
Minority Health and will take under consideration: the recommendations/
ratings of review panels as well as program balance which includes 
geographic and race/ethnicity distribution, and health problem areas 
having the greatest impact on minority health in terms of causes of 
death.

REVIEW OF APPLICATIONS: Applications will be screened upon receipt. 
Those that are judged to be incomplete, nonresponsive to the 
announcement, or nonconforming will be returned without comment. Each 
coalition may submit no more than one proposal under this announcement. 
If a coalition submits more than one proposal, all will be deemed 
ineligible and returned without comment. Applications judged to be 
complete, conforming, and responsive will be reviewed for technical 
merit in accordance with PHS policies.
    Applications will be evaluated by federal and non-federal reviewers 
chosen for their expertise in minority health, experience with similar 
projects, and their understanding and special knowledge of outreach and 
screening programs.
    Applicants are advised to pay close attention to program 
guidelines, and the general and supplemental instructions provided in 
the application kit. Applications will be reviewed and evaluated for 
technical merit and consistency with the requirements of this 
announcement. Of specific importance will be the criteria found in the 
supplemental instructions and program guidelines under these listed 
headings. The percentage weight for each section appears in the 
parentheses after each heading: Background (20%); Goals and Objectives 
(15%); Methodology (45%); and Evaluation (20%).

DEFINITIONS: For the purpose of this grant program, the following 
definitions are provided:
    (1) Community--A defined geographical area in which persons live, 
work, and play and characterized by: (a) Formal and informal leadership 
structures for the purpose of maintaining order and improving 
conditions; and (b) its capacity to serve as a focal point for 
addressing societal needs including health needs.
    (2) Minority Community Coalition--An entity comprised of 
organizations/institutions which have come together in a minority 
community for the purpose of collaborating on specific concerns, 
seeking coordination of related services, and resolution of those 
concerns. The coalition must include a health care facility such as a 
community or migrant health center, health department, or medical 
center, capable of providing treatment services. The coalition must 
have a formalized structure and process for member organizations to 
work together.
    (3) Enabling services--Services, such as outreach, case management, 
child care, and transportation, which enable clients to effectively 
follow-up on screening findings and to access health care services.
    (4) Socio-cultural barriers--Examples of socio-cultural barriers 
are: cultural differences between individuals and institutions; 
cultural differences of beliefs about health and illness, customs and 
lifestyles; cultural differences in languages or nonverbal 
communication styles; cultural differences in organizational policies 
and practices that create obstacles to service delivery.
    (5) Minority populations--As defined by the Office of Management 
and Budget (OMB) Circular #15, include: Asian/Pacific Islanders; 
Blacks; Hispanics; and Native American/Alaska Native.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This announcement for Fiscal Year 1995 
Coalition Outreach Grants focuses on the six health problems identified 
by the Secretary's Task Force on Black and Minority Health as having 
the greatest impact on minority health in terms of causes of death: (1) 
Cancer; (2) cardiovascular disease and stroke; (3) chemical dependency; 
(4) diabetes; (5) homicides; and (6) infant mortality. Additional areas 
of concern under this announcement include HIV infection, access to and 
financing of health care, health professions personnel development, 
data collection and analysis, and surveillance. Proposals should 
address these problems in a culturally competent and linguistically 
appropriate manner.
    These health priorities also are addressed in the Health Objectives 
for the National, Healthy People 2000, which the Public Health Service 
(PHS) is committed to achieving. Potential applicants may obtain a copy 
of Healthy People 2000 (Full Report: Stock No. 017-00100474-0) 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).

STATE REVIEWS: EO 12372 sets up a system for State and local government 
review of proposed Federal assistance applications. Applicants (other 
than federally-recognized Indian tribal governments) should contact 
their State Single Point of Contact (SPOCs) as early as possible to 
alert them to the prospective applications and 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. All comments from a State office must be received by 60 
days after the application deadline by the Office of Minority Health's 
Grants Management Officer. A list of addresses of the SPOCs is enclosed 
with the application kit material.

PROVISION OF SMOKE-FREE WORKPLACE AND NON-USE OF TOBACCO PRODUCTS BY 
RECIPIENTS OF PHS GRANTS: 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.

PUBLIC HEALTH SYSTEM REPORTING REQUIREMENTS: This program is subject to 
Public Health Systems Reporting Requirements. Under these requirements, 
a 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 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 health agencies.
    The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance number is 93-137.

    [[Page 143]] Dated: December 21, 1994.
Audrey F. Manley,
Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Minority Health.
[FR Doc. 94-31975 Filed 12-29-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4160-17-M