[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 110 (Thursday, June 6, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28867-28872]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-14172]



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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
[Announcement 646]


National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health; Community 
Partners for Healthy Farming

Introduction

    The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announces the 
availability of fiscal year (FY) 1996 funds for cooperative agreements 
for the Community Partners for Healthy Farming (CPHF), a program with a 
dual purpose: to conduct community-based and action-oriented health and 
safety surveillance and to pilot and evaluate interventions that can 
reduce or prevent work related injuries and illnesses in farm workers 
and their families.
    The CDC is committed to achieving the health promotion and disease 
prevention objectives of Healthy People 2000, a national activity to 
reduce morbidity and mortality and improve the quality of life. This 
announcement is related to the priority area of Occupational Safety and 
Health. (For ordering a copy of Healthy People 2000, see the Section 
Where To Obtain Additional Information.)

Authority

    This program is authorized under Section 20(a) of the Occupational 
Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 669(a)).

Smoke-Free Workplace

    The CDC strongly encourages all grant recipients to provide a 
smoke-free workplace and promote the nonuse of all tobacco products, 
and Public Law 103-227, the Pro-Children Act of 1994, prohibits smoking 
in certain facilities that receive Federal funds in which education, 
library, day care, health care, and early childhood development 
services are provided to children.

Eligible Applicants

    Applications may be submitted by public and private, non-profit and 
for-profit organizations, governments and their agencies. Eligible 
applicants include domestic nonprofit organizations, official public 
health agencies of States, universities, colleges, research 
institutions, and other public and private organizations or their bona 
fide agents, federally recognized Indian tribal governments, Indian 
tribes or Indian tribal organizations, and small, minority- and/or 
women-owned businesses. CDC/NIOSH encourages the formation of 
partnerships between public health, research organizations and 
community based groups serving agricultural populations.

    Note: Organizations described in Section 501(c)(4) of the 
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 which engage in lobbying activities 
are not eligible for the receipt of Federal grants or cooperative 
agreements.

Availability of Funds

    Approximately $1,600,000 is available in FY 1996 to fund 
approximately 9-16 awards. It is expected that for the seven to twelve 
sentinel event surveillance projects the average award will be 
approximately $95,000, ranging from $55,000 to $105,000. It is 
anticipated that for the three to six intervention research projects 
the average award will be approximately $130,000, ranging from 
approximately $45,000 to $175,000. It is further expected that the 
awards will be effective on or about September 30, 1996 and will be 
made for a 12-month budget period within a project period of up to 
three years. Funding estimates may vary and are subject to change.
    CDC/NIOSH does not intend to fund more than one surveillance 
application per State, and intervention funding decisions may be made 
to assure an appropriate geographic distribution of awardees.
    Continuation awards within the project period will be made based on 
satisfactory progress and the availability of funds.

Recipient Financial Participation

    CDC strongly encourages in-kind and other financial support by non-
Federal agencies such as community and State organizations as well as 
private businesses (e.g., machinery and farm implement dealers). Such 
support will promote the continuation of efforts to prevent illness and 
injury in agriculture after the cessation of funding under this 
announcement.

Purpose

Surveillance

    The purpose of the surveillance component of this announcement is 
to conduct on-going, action-oriented surveillance of agriculture-
related disease, injury, and hazards in agricultural communities. This 
component continues surveillance efforts begun in 1990 under the 
Occupational Health Nurses in Agricultural Communities (OHNAC) program. 
The OHNAC program conducted community-based surveillance and 
intervention efforts and during a five-year period placed approximately 
32 nurses in communities in ten States. These nurses conducted 
surveillance for illness and injury sentinel health events in their 
communities, developed strong partnerships with agricultural and 
health-care communities, and have focused public health attention on 
problems affecting farmers, farm workers, and farm families. Each State 
conducted case-based surveillance with varying methodologies as to case 
definition, geographic regions targeted, intensity of active vs. 
passive surveillance, and reporting sources (Connon et al., 1993). 
While generally successful, some surveillance efforts were limited by 
factors including the lack of reporting laws in some States, reliance 
on self-reporting of incidents by workers themselves, and lack of 
consistent case definitions between States. There was more efficient 
use of staff time for both surveillance and interventions when nurses 
focused work in a geographic region that kept travel time to a minimum 
but permitted expansion of both surveillance and interventions to 
larger geographic regions for investigation of specific occurrences or 
dissemination of findings.
    Surveillance-driven prevention efforts in OHNAC have included the 
dissemination of surveillance findings

[[Page 28868]]

and recommendations for intervention including publications in trade 
periodicals; peer reviewed journals, an issue of a nursing journal 
dedicated to agricultural health (AAOHN, 1993); CDC's Morbidity and 
Mortality Weekly Report; and targeted mailings of NIOSH Updates and 
Alerts. Some of these sentinel events have included scalpings of women 
from inadequately protected rotating shafts; fatalities and injuries 
related to grain bins, manure pits, forage wagons, and augers; nicotine 
poisoning from dermal absorption during tobacco harvesting; cumulative 
trauma related to hand harvesting; eye injuries; tetanus; stress; 
carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning related to the use of small engines; and 
children on farms. Because of OHNAC and other NIOSH surveillance, The 
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Consumer Product Safety 
Commission (CPSC), Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) 
and NIOSH are collaborating on prevention of CO poisoning related to 
the use of small engines. Some of these findings (i.e., scalpings, CO 
poisoning, and nicotine poisoning), by virtue of their not being among 
commonly reported or researched occurrences in agriculture, may not 
have been detected by other than such community-based surveillance.

Intervention

    The prevention intervention component contributes to the prevention 
of occupationally related disease and injury in the agriculture 
industry through community-based demonstration or intervention projects 
aimed at piloting and evaluating regulatory, behavioral, education, 
control or other preventive interventions. It is intended that this be 
accomplished by linking those with research expertise to agricultural 
community groups or populations in order that prevention interventions 
are piloted and evaluated within the agricultural working population. 
The focus for agricultural workplace safety and health intervention 
efforts can include specific engineering control technologies, 
information dissemination and health communication practices, worker/
management participatory safety and health programs, and family and 
community safety and health training. Although many intervention 
strategies have been applied to various work settings, knowledge about 
what works best is limited. Employers, owner-operators, agricultural 
workers, public decision makers, cooperative extension services agents, 
and others need this information to make informed decisions about which 
prevention strategies work well and support the use of limited 
resources. Research is needed to pilot and evaluate prevention 
intervention efforts which, if successful, will be adoptable on a wider 
scale in a region or throughout the nation. This work should be done in 
cooperation with agricultural workers and employers to assure 
consideration of the economic and organizational factors that determine 
if interventions will be adopted. Cultural, educational, gender, 
geographical and other related attributes of targeted populations will 
influence how safety and health messages are designed, distributed and 
received. Farm workers (including migrant, seasonal, minority, and 
permanent employees as well as women and children of the agricultural 
community) and agricultural organizations should join efforts to 
identify appropriate techniques for information dissemination and 
develop outcome measurements which can be utilized to determine the 
effectiveness of various dissemination efforts.

Program Requirements

    In conducting activities to achieve the purpose of this program, 
the recipient will be responsible for the activities under A. 
(Recipient Activities), and CDC/NIOSH will be responsible for the 
activities listed under B. (CDC/NIOSH Activities):

A. Recipient Activities

Surveillance
    1. Select community-based staff with appropriate expertise who have 
the skills to communicate effectively with both individuals and groups 
in those communities, and preferably, with occupational and public 
health expertise. While in the OHNAC project, nurses, supplemented by 
partners in State health departments, Cooperative Extension, 
Agricultural Centers, the community, etc. effectively assumed this 
responsibility, NIOSH realizes that individuals with various 
backgrounds and training may also be appropriate.
    2. Identify a suitable location, as appropriate, for the physical 
assignment of community-based staff, most likely in a local or county 
health department or community health center, an agricultural extension 
service office, hospital or other location that serves the needs of 
that agricultural community, and where access to agricultural, migrant 
and seasonal workers, their families, and extension agents would be 
facilitated.
    3. Collaborate with other on-going occupational and agricultural 
health and safety activities in the State or region. These could 
include the following CDC/NIOSH-supported programs: the Farm Family 
Health and Hazard Surveillance (FFHHS) project; Agricultural Health 
Promotion Systems (AHPS); regional Centers for Agricultural Disease and 
Injury Research, Education and Prevention, the Sentinel Event 
Notification System for Occupational Risks (SENSOR) and the Fatality 
Assessment, Control and Epidemiology (FACE) program. In the OHNAC 
program, members of the Cooperative Extension Service, at both the 
State and local level, were invaluable partners in successful efforts.
    4. Develop and adhere to a timetable for planning and implementing 
this project.
    5. Provide training and orientation of staff to occupational safety 
and health principles and concepts in surveillance and reporting; in 
securing expertise and assistance to community-based staff and local 
health officials; in securing appropriate technical support 
(engineering/industrial hygiene expertise and data analysis) ranging 
from site investigations to supplying handout literature; and in the 
final evaluation of proposed activities.
    6. Ensure that community-based staff have personal computers and 
modems with the capability to link with CDC/NIOSH, the State or 
Territorial Health Department for reporting cases, requesting technical 
assistance, and other needs. This will permit timely responses from 
health personnel and timely requests for site investigations when 
appropriate. Each award recipient will participate in an electronic 
forum (currently via CDC/WONDER) for communication among and between 
CDC/NIOSH, other award recipients, and community-based staff.
    7. Develop, implement and maintain a community-based system of 
reporting agricultural job-related diseases and injuries in locales 
that are representative of agriculture in the State or are otherwise 
appropriate for selected condition(s) and would most benefit from such 
surveillance.
    a. Incident reports should be sought systematically in accordance 
with the planned surveillance system and other appropriate sources. 
These may include, but are not limited to: emergency rooms, hospital 
admission and discharge summaries, physicians' offices and directly 
from agricultural workers (who may not seek professional health 
services for occupational health concerns).
    b. Incident reports should range from brief summaries of relatively 
unimportant events to detailed descriptions of more notable events or

[[Page 28869]]

conditions. Current exposure information on machinery and equipment 
used by agricultural workers, including typical operating times and 
circumstances, may also be included.
    c. Ensure, regardless of selected topics, that the proposed 
surveillance system maintains a strong capacity to recognize and 
respond to unforseen occurrences in the target communities.
    8. Develop a plan for selecting events that, because of their 
public health importance (severity, number of workers potentially 
affected, potential preventability, likelihood of providing new 
information, need to increase awareness in health or agricultural 
communities, etc.) merit further investigation. These events could 
include fatalities, multiple occurrences or single occurrences 
affecting multiple individuals, occurrences of new or emerging 
problems, conditions that are of particular importance to agriculture.
    a. Report such important events to CDC/NIOSH within one week of 
ascertainment by project staff. Such reporting is not expected for all 
events but is especially important for events that may require timely 
responses, involve CDC/NIOSH in its investigation, or potential need to 
expand investigation or public health response to other States. These 
reports are expected to be brief descriptions and may be transmitted 
electronically. (Examples from the OHNAC project include carbon 
monoxide poisoning related to small engines, green tobacco sickness, 
and suffocation in wells related to flooding.)
    9. Develop a process of follow-back investigations of selected 
cases with agricultural workers and families. The purpose of such 
investigations is to ascertain preventable causes of illnesses and 
injuries leading to the development and dissemination of disease and 
injury prevention strategies. Depending on the importance of the 
problem, follow-back could range from a brief review of records and/or 
telephone contact to a detailed site investigation involving multiple 
disciplines. As indicated, applicants will collaborate with appropriate 
public health professionals, technical advisors (e.g., agricultural 
engineers), county extension agents, agricultural workers, agricultural 
worksite owners, CDC/NIOSH staff, other health department personnel in 
plan development and implementation.
    a. Data could include descriptive information on prevention efforts 
that: (a) could have prevented injury or illness, (b) could have 
diminished injuries or illness, (c) were used that prevented further 
illness or injury in this (e.g., machine guard may have prevented 
amputation) or (d) have been initiated since the incident and are 
likely to diminish the risk for further incidents.
    10. Provide sensitive, confidential attention to reported cases, 
including case confirmation and determination of appropriate follow-up.
    11. Evaluate the scientific and operational aspects of the 
surveillance project, including aspects of completeness, public health 
impact and the generalizability of methods and findings to other 
settings.
    12. Transmit data (case reports, etc.) in an electronic format to 
CDC/NIOSH in established timeframes (e.g., quarterly).
    13. Disseminate, via appropriate media and partners, findings and 
recommendations to affected populations, public health authorities and 
the scientific community.
Intervention
    1. Develop a scientific protocol for the specific intervention 
which encompasses the following elements:
    a. Design and implementation of intervention(s) based on a 
collaborative effort between those with scientific expertise and those 
who form the community base; and
    b. Identification of the target population and specific description 
of the procedures to recruit the target population into the study.
    2. Develop and conduct an appropriate independent peer review of 
the scientific protocol.
    3. Conduct the project and evaluation according to the protocol and 
assess results.
    4. Disseminate the final results of the project to a wide audience 
including, but not limited to, peer-reviewed journal articles, 
presentations at professional conferences, and presentations to 
agricultural or other client groups.

B. CDC/NIOSH Activities

    1. Secure the materials and services of other personnel necessary 
to assist and support the activities of the staff.
    2. Provide technical assistance, through site visits and other 
communication, in all phases of the development, implementation and 
maintenance of these cooperative agreements including, but not limited 
to: (a) providing guidance on occupational conditions appropriate for 
reporting; (b) recommending reporting guidelines; developing case 
reporting formats; (c) participating in peer review panels; and (d) 
providing CDC/NIOSH publications, educational materials, and other 
documents, when appropriate and needed.
    3. Foster and facilitate linkages between recipients and other 
groups, organizations and agencies involved in agricultural research 
and outreach.
    4. Provide expertise and assistance to site staff and local 
partners, as needed and as resources permit, to assist in problem 
identification and resolution, and provide technical support.
    5. Participate in the decisions to conduct field investigations and 
prevention efforts and respond to incident reports requiring field 
follow-up.
    6. Provide technical assistance in the evaluation of the results of 
the surveillance and intervention activities.
    7. Promote and facilitate scientific collaboration, as appropriate.
    8. Assist in disseminating surveillance and intervention research 
results and relevant health and safety education and training 
information to appropriate Federal, State and local agencies, health 
care providers, the scientific community, agricultural workers and 
their families, management and union representatives and other CDC/
NIOSH collaborators.
    9. Collaborate in training and orienting staff to occupational 
safety and health principles and concepts in surveillance and 
reporting; in securing expertise and assistance to community-based 
staff and local health officials; in securing appropriate technical 
support (engineering/ industrial hygiene expertise and data analysis) 
ranging from site investigations to supplying handout literature; and 
in the final evaluation of proposed activities.
    10. Cooperate in the development of case definitions that would 
allow aggregation of data among States.

Review Process

    Upon receipt, applications will be reviewed by CDC staff for:

1. Completeness and Responsiveness

    Incomplete applications and applications that are not responsive to 
the announcement will be returned to the applicant without further 
consideration.

2. Triage

    Applications that are determined to be complete and responsive to 
the announcement may be subjected to a preliminary evaluation by 
reviewers to determine if the application is of sufficient technical 
and scientific merit to be competitive. The CDC will withdraw from 
further consideration applications judged to be noncompetitive and 
promptly notify the

[[Page 28870]]

principal investigator/program director and the official signing for 
the applicant organization.

3. Objective Review Process

    Those applications judged to be competitive will be further 
evaluated by the objective review process. The review will be an 
evaluation of the scientific and technical merit of the application 
based on the following criteria:
Surveillance
(To fund 7-12 awards at $55,000--$105,000 for up to 3 years)
1. Understanding of the Objectives of the Proposed Agreement (Total 
percentage for this section: 12%)
    A. Provides a comprehensive statement of the target problem(s), 
scope, and purpose of the proposed project to demonstrate complete 
understanding of the intent and requirements. This understanding 
indicates a clear awareness of the cooperative agreement objectives. 
(4%)
    B. Ability and willingness to incorporate surveillance for 
agricultural occupational health and safety concerns as an integral 
part of public health programs for identification, investigation, 
control and prevention of agriculture related health injury, illness, 
and hazard exposure. (4%)
    C. In-kind support by community and State organizations as well as 
private businesses (e.g., machinery and farm implement dealers) will 
promote the building of the infrastructure for both surveillance and 
interventions that are likely to continue after the completion of 
Federal funding of this. (4%)
2. Soundness of Approach (Total percentage for this section: 66 %)
    A. Documentation of a State reporting requirement that incorporates 
agriculturally related injuries and illnesses. Ease of data collection, 
follow-back case investigation, and the absence of barriers to 
contacting victims are important. (5%)
    B. Documented experience conducting surveillance in agriculture. 
(4%)
    C. Capability to access surveillance data on agricultural injuries, 
illnesses, and hazards. Regardless of the presence of reporting 
requirements, a clearly defined and preferably tested means of 
collecting data is described and documented. This will include easy 
access to data sources and health records of victims. Applicants must 
document the ability to conduct timely follow-back investigations of 
cases and gain access to work sites and agricultural workers to assess 
health and safety hazards or to investigate exposures that have 
resulted in injury or illness. (6%)
    D. Selection of an efficient, cost-effective means of surveillance. 
Extent to which surveillance system makes efficient use of staff time. 
Ideally, routine activities would encompass a geographic area that does 
not require excessive travel time though with provisions for 
flexibility. Geographic area(s) is suitable for the selected 
surveillance activity. (6%)
    E. Documented capacity for creative collaboration and coordination 
with local community and/or cooperating organizations and expertise for 
the purposes of implementing the proposed surveillance and follow-back 
investigations where indicated. (5%)
    F. There is a collaborative effort involving the State or 
territorial public health agency of the State or its bona fide agent 
and other agricultural safety and health projects, e.g., those funded 
by CDC/NIOSH. (6%)
    G. Valid basis for selection of condition(s); industry subgroups; 
and/or populations (children, seasonal workers) to focus upon in this 
project, i.e., documented or perceived risk to agricultural workers and 
their families in the area. Applicants are encouraged to select at 
least one illness-related topic (e.g., respiratory hazards, pesticides, 
prevention of noise-induced hearing loss). Efforts targeting specific 
industries (e.g., poultry, dairy, pork production) and special 
populations are also encouraged. Although the majority of effort is to 
be on the selected conditions, participants will be willing and able to 
conduct follow-back investigations on other agriculturally related 
sentinel events. (7%)
    The degree to which the applicant has met the CDC policy 
requirements regarding the inclusion of women, ethnic, and racial 
groups in the proposed research. This includes:
    1. The proposed plan for the inclusion of both sexes and racial and 
ethnic minority populations for appropriate representation.
    2. The proposed justification when representation is limited or 
absent.
    3. A statement as to whether the design of the study is adequate to 
measure differences when warranted.
    4. A statement as to whether the plans for recruitment and outreach 
for study participants include the process of establishing partnerships 
with community(ies) and recognition of mutual benefits will be 
documented.
    H. Flexibility regarding target condition, geographic region, and 
population with documented ability to respond to important though 
relatively rare sentinel events. (5%)
    I. Documented technical support or capability (e.g., industrial 
hygiene, safety engineering, agricultural engineering) for 
investigations of sentinel events and health and safety hazards. Such 
support shall be readily available for telephone consultation and on-
site investigations. (6%)
    J. A feasible schedule for initiating and accomplishing the 
activities of the cooperative agreement. (9%)
    K. A feasible approach to evaluation of the surveillance system. 
(7%)
3. Personnel (Total percentage points for this section: 22%)
    A. Appropriate designation and selection of staff for conducting 
community and/or State-wide surveillance activities. Staff will need 
(supported by documentation):
    1. The expertise, education, and psychosocial skills in order to 
effectively interact with the agricultural community and health 
professionals alike. (4%)
    2. Experience/education in epidemiology, public health, 
occupational health and safety, and agriculture. (5%)
    3. To have support of the agricultural communities, health 
professionals, and others with whom they would interact. (4%)
    4. The ability to access and understand medical records. (4%)
    5. Documented capacity to conduct epidemiological studies and to 
coordinate activities involving State or Territorial Offices, members 
of the agricultural community, and health care providers. Staff must 
provide assurance of substantial time and resource commitment to the 
program. (5%)
    B. Human Subjects (Not Scored).
    Whether or not exempt from the Department of Health and Human 
Services (DHHS) regulations, are procedures adequate for protection of 
human subjects? Recommendations on the adequacy of protections include: 
(1) protections appear adequate, and there are no comments to make or 
concerns to raise, or (2) protections appear adequate, but there are 
comments regarding the protocol, or (3) protections appear inadequate 
and the Objective Review Group has concerns related to human subjects; 
or (4) disapproval of the application is recommended because the 
research risks are sufficiently serious and protection against the 
risks are inadequate as to make the entire application unacceptable.
    C. Budget (Not Scored).
    The budget will be evaluated to the extent that it is reasonable, 
clearly

[[Page 28871]]

justified, and consistent with the intended use of funds.
Intervention (To Fund 3-6 awards at $45,000--$175,000 for up to 3 
years)
    Applications will be reviewed and evaluated according to the 
following criteria:
    1. The extent to which the applicant understands the purpose of the 
cooperative agreement and the relevance of the proposal to that 
purpose. (10%)
    2. The extent to which the proposed goals and objectives are 
clearly stated, time-phased, and measurable. The extent to which they 
encompass both process and outcome features of the intervention. The 
extent to which specific research questions and/or hypotheses are 
described. (10%)
    3. The extent to which the potential effectiveness of the 
intervention is theoretically justified and supported with 
epidemiologic, methodological, or behavior research. The extent to 
which the intervention is feasible and can be expected to produce the 
expected results in the target group. The extent to which the 
intervention, its implementation, the development of all necessary 
materials, and all necessary training are clearly described. The extent 
to which the desired outcomes are specified and definitions of 
measurable endpoints are provided. The extent to which the setting in 
which the intervention is to be implemented is clearly described and 
shown to be adequate for reaching the target group and achieving the 
desired objectives. (25%)
    4. The extent to which the target group is described and access to 
the target group is demonstrated. The extent to which it is 
demonstrated that the participation of the target group will be 
sufficient to evaluate the intervention in an unbiased fashion.
    The degree to which the applicant has met the CDC policy 
requirements regarding the inclusion of women, ethnic, and racial 
groups in the proposed research. This includes:
    a. The proposed plan for the inclusion of both sexes and racial and 
ethnic minority populations for appropriate representation.
    b. The proposed justification when representation is limited or 
absent.
    c. A statement as to whether the design of the study is adequate to 
measure differences when warranted.
    d. A statement as to whether the plans for recruitment and outreach 
for study participants include the process of establishing partnerships 
with community(ies) and recognition of mutual benefits will be 
documented. (15%)
    5. The extent to which an evaluation plan has been developed to 
determine the success of the pilot intervention or demonstration 
project(s) and determine its utility as a public health prevention 
strategy with broader application in other communities. (15%)
    6. The extent to which the management staff and their working 
partners are clearly described, appropriately assigned and have 
pertinent skills and experiences. The extent to which the applicant 
proposes to involve appropriate researchers and other personnel who 
reflect the racial/ethnic composition of the target population. The 
extent to which the applicant or a full working partner has the 
capacity and facilities to design, implement and evaluate the proposed 
intervention. (10%)
    7. The extent to which the participants are clearly described and 
their qualifications for their component of the proposed work are 
explicitly stated. The extent to which the applicant provides proof of 
support (e.g. letters of support and/or memoranda of understanding) for 
proposed activities as well as commitment to participate from proposed 
partners. (15%)
    8. Human Subjects (Not Scored).
    Whether or not exempt from the DHHS regulations, are procedures 
adequate for protection of human subjects? Recommendations on the 
adequacy of protections include: (a) protections appear adequate, and 
there are no comments to make or concerns to raise, or (b) protections 
appear adequate, but there are comments regarding the protocol, or (c) 
protections appear inadequate and the Objective Review Group has 
concerns related to human subjects; or (d) disapproval of the 
application is recommended because the research risks are sufficiently 
serious and protection against the risks are inadequate as to make the 
entire application unacceptable.
    9. Budget (Not Scored).
    The extent to which the program budget is reasonable, clearly 
justified, and consistent with the intended use of funds.

Executive Order 12372 Review

    Applications are subject to the Intergovernmental Review of Federal 
Programs as governed by Executive Order 12372. Executive Order 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 Contacts (SPOCs) as early as possible to alert them to the 
prospective applications and receive any necessary instructions on the 
State process. Indian tribes are strongly encouraged to request tribal 
government review of the proposed application. For proposed projects 
serving more than one State, the applicant is advised to contact the 
SPOC for each affected State. A current list of SPOCs is included in 
the application kit.
    If SPOCs or tribal governments have any State process 
recommendations on applications submitted to CDC, they should forward 
them to Ron Van Duyne, Grants Management Officer, Grants Management 
Branch, Procurement and Grants Office, Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention (CDC), Room 300, 255 East Paces Ferry Road, NE., Atlanta, GA 
30305, no later than 60 days after the application deadline date. The 
granting agency does not guarantee to ``accommodate or explain'' State 
or tribal process recommendations it receives after that date.

Public Health System Reporting Requirements

    This program is subject to the Public Health System Reporting 
Requirements. Under these requirements, all community-based 
nongovernmental applicants must prepare and submit the items identified 
below to the head of the appropriate State and/or local health 
agency(s) in the program area(s) that may be impacted by the proposed 
project no later than the receipt date of the Federal application. The 
appropriate State and/or local health agency is determined by the 
applicant. The following information must be provided:
    A. A copy of the face page of the application (SF 424).
    B. A summary of the project that should be titled ``Public Health 
System Statement'' (PHSIS), not to exceed one page, and include the 
following:
    1. A description of the population to be served;
    2. A summary of the services to be provided; and
    3. A description of the coordination plans with the appropriate 
State and/or local health agencies.

If the State and/or local health official should desire a copy of the 
entire application, it may be obtained from the State SPOC or directly 
from the applicant.

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance

    The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number is 93.283.

[[Page 28872]]

Other Requirements

Paperwork Reduction Act

    Projects funded through a cooperative agreement that involve 
collection of information from ten or more individuals will be subject 
to review under the Paperwork Reduction Act.

Human Subjects

    If the proposed project involves research on human subjects, the 
applicant must comply with the Department of Health and Human Services 
Regulation, 45 CFR Part 46, regarding the protection of human subjects. 
Assurance must be provided to demonstrate that the project will be 
subject to initial and continuing review by an appropriate 
institutional review committee. In addition to other applicable 
committees, Indian Health Service (IHS) institutional review committees 
also must review the project if any component of IHS will be involved 
or will support the research. If any American Indian community is 
involved, its tribal government must also approve that portion of the 
project applicable to it. The applicant will be responsible for 
providing assurance in accordance with the appropriate guidelines 
provided in the application kit.

Women and Minority Inclusion Policy

    It is the policy of the CDC to ensure that women and racial and 
ethnic groups will be included in CDC supported research projects 
involving human subjects, whenever feasible and appropriate. Racial and 
ethnic groups are those defined in OMB Directive No. 15 and include 
American Indian, Alaskan Native, Asian, Pacific Islander, Black and 
Hispanic. Applicants shall ensure that women, racial and ethnic 
minority population are appropriately represented for research 
involving human subjects. Where clear and compelling rationale exist 
that inclusion is inappropriate or not feasible, this situation must be 
explained as part of the application. In conducting the review of 
applications for scientific merit, review groups will evaluate proposed 
plans for inclusion of minorities and both sexes as part of the 
scientific assessment and assigned score. This policy does not apply to 
research studies when the investigator cannot control the race, 
ethnicity and/or sex of subjects. Further guidance on this policy is 
contained in the Federal Register, Vol. 60, No. 179, Friday, September 
15, 1995, pages 47947-47951.

Application Submission and Deadline

    The original and two copies of the application PHS Form 5161-1 
(Revised 7/92, OMB Control Number 0937-0189) must be submitted to Ron 
Van Duyne, Grants Management Officer, Grants Management Branch, 
Procurement and Grants Office, Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention (CDC), Mailstop E13, 255 East Paces Ferry Road, NE., Room 
300, Atlanta, Georgia 30305, on or before July 10, 1996.
    1. Deadline: Applications shall be considered as meeting the 
deadline if they are either:
    (a) Received on or before the deadline date; or
    (b) Sent on or before the deadline date and received in time for 
submission to the independent review group. (Applicants must request a 
legibly dated U.S. Postal Service postmark or obtain a legibly dated 
receipt from a commercial carrier or U.S. Postal Service. Private 
metered postmarks shall not be acceptable as proof of timely mailing.)
    2. Late Applications: Applications which do not meet the criteria 
in 1. (a) or 1. (b) above are considered late applications. Late 
applications will not be considered in the current competition and will 
be returned to the applicant.

Where To Obtain Additional Information

    To receive additional written information call (404) 332-4561. You 
will be asked to leave your name, address, and telephone number and 
will need to refer to Announcement 646. You will receive a complete 
program description and information on application procedures and 
application forms. If you have questions after reviewing the contents 
of all the documents, business management technical assistance may be 
obtained from Oppie Byrd, Grants Management Specialist, Grants 
Management Branch, Procurement and Grants Office, Centers for Disease 
Control and Prevention (CDC), 255 East Paces Ferry Road, NE., Room 300, 
Mailstop E-13, Atlanta, GA 30305, telephone (404) 842-6546, Internet: 
[email protected], fax (404) 842-6513.
    Programmatic technical assistance for surveillance may be obtained 
from Janet Ehlers, R.N., M.S.N., Occupational Health Nurse, National 
Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Centers for Disease 
Prevention and Control (CDC), Division of Surveillance, Hazard 
Evaluations and Field Studies, 4676 Columbia Parkway, R-21, Cincinnati, 
OH 45226, telephone (513) 841-4205, fax (513) 841-4489, Internet: 
[email protected].
    Programmatic technical assistance for intervention may be obtained 
from Teri Palermo, R.N., Public Health Advisor, National Institute for 
Occupational Safety and Health, Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention (CDC), Division of Respiratory Disease Studies, Office of 
the Director, 1095 Willowdale Road, Mailstop 219, Morgantown, WV 26505-
2888, telephone (304) 285-5836, fax (304) 285-5723, Internet: 
[email protected].
    Please refer to Announcement 646 when requesting information and 
submitting an application.
    There may be delays in mail delivery as well as difficulty in 
reaching the CDC Atlanta offices during the 1996 Summer Olympics (July 
19 - August 4). Therefore, CDC suggests the following to get more 
timely responses to any questions: use Internet/email, follow all 
instructions in this announcement, and leave messages on the contact 
person's voice mail.
    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) referenced in the Introduction 
through the Superintendent of Documents, Government Printing Office, 
Washington, DC 20402-9325, telephone (202) 512-1800.

    Dated: May 30, 1996.
Diane D. Porter,
Acting Director, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health 
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
[FR Doc. 96-14172 Filed 6-5-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4163-19-P