[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 132 (Tuesday, July 9, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36069-36071]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-17317]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Health Resources and Services Administration


Maternal and Child Health Bureau; Special Project Grants; 
Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Services; Community Integrated Service 
Systems (CISS) Set-Aside Program; Community-Based Intervention Research 
Grants

AGENCY: Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA).

ACTION: Notice of availability of funds.

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SUMMARY: The HRSA announces that applications will be accepted for 
fiscal year (FY) 1996 funds for Maternal and Child Health (MCH) 
Community Integrated Service Systems (CISS) grants to support 
community-based intervention research. The purpose of these projects is 
to support research on CISS-sponsored early intervention services 
programs in the context of developing and expanding local service 
delivery systems. Awards are made under the program authority of 
Section 502(b)(1)(A) of the Social Security Act, the CISS Federal Set-
Aside Program. Within the HRSA, CISS projects are administered by the 
Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB).
    About $900,000 will be available to support up to 3 new projects at 
an average of about $300,000 per award per year. The actual amounts 
available for awards and their allocation may vary, depending on the 
volume and quality of applications. Awards are made for grant periods 
of not more than 4 years in duration. Funds are appropriated by Public 
Law 104-134.
    The Public Health Service (PHS) is committed to achieving the 
health promotion and disease prevention objectives of Healthy People 
2000, a PHS-led national activity for setting priority areas. The CISS 
Federal Set-Aside Program addresses issues related to the Healthy 
People 2000 objectives of improving maternal, infant, child and 
adolescent health and developing service systems for children with 
special health care needs. 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 PHS strongly encourages all grant recipients to provide a 
smoke-free workplace and promote the non-use of all tobacco products. 
In addition, Public Law 103-227, the Pro-Children Act of 1994, 
prohibits smoking in certain facilities (or in some cases, any portion 
of a facility) in which regular or routine education, library, day 
care, health care or early childhood development services are provided 
to children.

ADDRESSES: Grant applications for MCH research and training grants must 
be obtained from and submitted to: Chief, Grants Management Branch, 
Office of Operations and Management, Maternal and Child Health Bureau, 
Health Resources and Services Administration, Room 18-12, Parklawn 
Building, 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, Maryland 20857, (301) 443-1440. 
Applicants for these projects will use application Form PHS 398 (Rev. 
5/95), approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 0925-0001. 
An MCHB supplement, with instructions specifically applicable to 
Community-Based Intervention Research Grants, is included in the 
application package, which can be obtained from the address given 
above. You must obtain application materials in the mail.
    Federal Register notices and application guidance for MCHB programs 
are available on the World Wide Web via the Internet at address: http:/
/www.os.dhhs.gov/hrsa/mchb. Click on the file name you want to download 
to your computer. It will be saved as a self-extracting (Macintosh or) 
Wordperfect 5.1 file. To decompress the file once it is downloaded, 
type in the file name followed by a . The file will expand to a 
Wordperfect 5.1 file. If you have difficulty accessing the MCHB Home 
Page via the Internet and need technical assistance, please contact 
Linda L. Schneider at 301-443-0767 or ``[email protected]''.

DATES: Potential applicants are invited to request application packages 
and to submit their applications for funding consideration. The 
application deadline is August 26, 1996.

[[Page 36070]]

    Applications will be considered to have met the deadline if they 
are either: (1) received on or before the deadline date, or (2) 
postmarked on or before the deadline date and received in time for 
orderly processing. Applicants should request a legibly dated receipt 
from a commercial carrier or the U.S. Postal Service, or obtain a 
legibly dated U.S. Postal Service postmark. Private metered postmarks 
will not be accepted as proof of timely mailing. Late applications or 
those sent to an address other than specified in the ADDRESS section 
will be returned to the applicant.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For programmatic or technical 
information, contact Dr. Gontran Lamberty, Director, MCH Research 
Program, Research and Training Branch, MCHB, 5600 Fishers Lane, Room 
18A-55, Rockville, MD 20857, telephone: 301 443-2190. For information 
concerning business management issues, contact Ms. Constance Davenport, 
Grants Management Branch, MCHB, Room 18-12, 5600 Fishers Lane, 
Rockville, MD, telephone 301 443-1440.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

1. Program Background and Objectives

    The purpose of the Community-Based Intervention Research Grant 
projects covered by this announcement is to generate new knowledge on 
early intervention services models and on how to integrate these models 
into existing systems of care at the community level while sustaining 
the essential nature and demonstrated effectiveness of the original 
prototypes.
    Intervention is the name given to a variety of programs and 
clinical management approaches designed to improve adverse conditions 
in individuals and groups or prevent or limit these conditions. From 
the standpoint of research, interventions are scientific experiments in 
which an investigator, through a particular effort, treatment, or 
program, seeks to purposively influence an outcome or outcomes in an 
individual or group under controlled conditions. Intervention studies 
may also be viewed as prospective, formal investigations of prototypes 
of programs or subcomponents of programs (e.g., outreach, one-stop 
shopping or home visiting). These prototypes, if proven effective under 
controlled conditions, are then ready for further testing and 
refinement in real-life settings.

2. Special Concerns

    In its administration of the MCH Services Block Grant, the MCHB 
places special emphasis on improving service delivery to women and 
children from racial and ethnic minority populations who have had 
limited access to accessible care. This means that CISS projects are 
expected to serve and appropriately involve in project activities 
individuals from the populations to be served, unless there are 
compelling programmatic or other justifications for not doing so. The 
MCHB's intent is to ensure that project interventions are responsive to 
the cultural and linguistic needs of special populations, that services 
are accessible to consumers, and that the broadest possible 
representation of culturally distinct and historically underrepresented 
groups is supported through programs and projects sponsored by the 
MCHB. This same special emphasis applies to improving service delivery 
to children with special health care needs.
    In keeping with the goals of advancing the development of human 
potential, strengthening the Nation's capacity to provide high quality 
education by broadening participation in MCHB programs of institutions 
that may have perspectives uniquely reflecting the Nation's cultural 
and linguistic diversity, and increasing opportunities for all 
Americans to participate in and benefit from Federal public health 
programs, a funding priority will be placed on projects from 
Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) or Hispanic Serving 
Institutions (HSI) in all categories and subcategories in this notice 
for which applications from academic institutions are encouraged. An 
approved proposal from a HBCU or HSI will receive a 0.5 point favorable 
adjustment of the priority score in a 5=point range before funding 
decisions are made.

3. Project Review and Funding

    Within the limit of funds determined by the Secretary to be 
available for the activities described in this announcement, the 
Secretary will review applications for funds as competing applications 
and may award Federal funding for projects which will, in her judgment, 
best promote the purpose of title V of the Social Security Act, with 
special emphasis on improving service delivery to women and children 
from culturally distinct populations; best address achievement of 
Healthy People 2000 objectives related to maternal, infant, child and 
adolescent health and service systems for children at risk of chronic 
and disabling conditions; and otherwise best promote improvements in 
maternal and child health.

4. Criteria for Review

    The criteria which follow are used, as pertinent, to review and 
evaluate applications for CISS awards announced in this notice. Further 
guidance in this regard is supplied in application guidance materials, 
which may specify other criteria.

--The quality of the project plan or methodology.
--The need for the research or training.
--The extent to which the project will contribute to the advancement of 
maternal and child health and/or improvement of the health of children 
with special health care needs;
--The extent to which the project is responsive to policy concerns 
applicable to MCH grants and to program objectives, requirements, 
priorities and/or review criteria for specific project categories, as 
published in program announcements or guidance materials.
--The extent to which the estimated cost to the Government of the 
project is reasonable, considering the anticipated results.
--The extent to which the project personnel are well qualified by 
training and experience for their roles in the project and the 
applicant organization has adequate facilities and personnel.
--The extent to which, insofar as practicable, the proposed activities, 
if well executed, are capable of attaining project objectives.
--The strength of the project's plans for evaluation.
--The extent to which the project will be integrated with the 
administration of the MCH Block Grant, State primary care plans, public 
health, and prevention programs, and other related programs in the 
respective State(s).
--The extent to which the application is responsive to the special 
concerns and program priorities specified in this notice.

    Comments on this notice which members of the public wish to make 
are welcome at any time and may be submitted to: Director, MCHB, at the 
address listed in the ADDRESSES section. Suggestions will be considered 
when priorities are developed for the next solicitation.

5. Grants/Amounts

    A total of about $900,000 per year will be available to support a 
maximum of 3 projects. The project period will not exceed 4 years.

[[Page 36071]]

6. Eligible Applicants

    Applicants eligible to compete are public or nonprofit institutions 
of higher learning and public or nonprofit private agencies and 
organizations engaged in research or in maternal and child health or 
children with special health care needs programs.

7. Public Health System Reporting Requirements

    This program is subject to the Public Health System Reporting 
Requirements (approved under OMB No. 0937-0195). Under these 
requirements, the 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 date: (1) A copy 
of the face page of the application (PHS-398 (Rev. 5/95); (2) a 
summmary of the project PHSIS, not to exceed one page, which provides a 
description of the population to be served, a summary of the services 
to be provided, and a description of the coordination planned with the 
appropriate State and local health agencies.

8. Executive Order 12372

    The CISS Federal Set-Aside Program has been determined to be a 
program which is not subject to the provisions of Executive Order 12372 
concerning intergovernmental review of Federal programs.


    The OMB Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance number is 93.110.

    Dated: July 1, 1996.
Ciro V. Sumaya,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 96-17317 Filed 7-8-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4160-15-P