[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 138 (Wednesday, July 17, 1996)] [Notices] [Pages 37280-37281] From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] [FR Doc No: 96-18067] ----------------------------------------------------------------------- DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Minority Fellowship Program AGENCY: Center for Mental Health Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), HHS. ACTION: Notice of planned awards for renewal clinical training grants under the Minority Fellowship Program (MFP) to the American Nurses Association (ANA) and the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE). ----------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY: The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS) plans to award renewal MFP grants to the ANA and the [[Page 37281]] CSWE for the clinical training of nursing and social work trainees who are committed to careers for service to ethnic minorities with mental and/or addictive disorders. The project period for the renewal grants is anticipated to be 3 years. The first year will be funded with approximately $300,000 for each grantee. This is not a general request for applications. The renewal clinical training grants will only be made to the ANA and the CSWE based on the receipt of satisfactory applications that are recommended for approval by an Initial Review Group and the CMHS National Advisory Council. AUTHORITY: The awards will be made under the authority of section 303 of the Public Health Service (PHS) Act. The authority to administer this program has been delegated to the Director, CMHS. The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance number for this program is 93.244. BACKGROUND: CMHS has the responsibility for mental health workforce development, including the clinical training of mental health professionals concerned with the treatment of underserved priority populations; i.e., adults with serious mental illness; children with serious emotional disturbance; and elderly, and/or ethnic minority, and/or rural populations with mental and addictive disorders. The CMHS MFP is specifically designed to significantly increase the number of professionals trained at the doctoral level to teach, administer, and provide direct mental health and substance abuse services to members of ethnic minority groups. Renewal applications may be submitted only by the ANA and the CSWE. Each of these two professional organizations has unique access to those students entering its professions. Both the fields of social work and psychiatric nursing have been nationally recognized for decades as part of the four core mental health disciplines (along with psychiatry and psychology). Social workers and nurses provide parts of an essential core of services for individuals with serious mental illness and also less severe mental disorders. The ANA is the largest national professional nurses organization in the country. The ANA and its affiliates have activities in all major areas of national policies affecting nursing as a profession, including education and training. The CSWE is a specialized organization for the field of social work, focussing exclusively on the education and training of social workers. Both ANA and CSWE along with their affiliates have direct involvement in curriculum development, school accreditation, and pre/ postdoctoral training. The ANA and CSWE have had decades of experience in working directly with the university training programs in their respective fields. Because of the above unique characteristics and long experience, the National Institute of Mental Health, the original funding agency for this program, chose ANA and CSWE as the exclusive representatives for their fields. For over 20 years, the ANA and CSWE have administered the MFP exceptionally well, have recruited excellent students, assured that all program requirements were satisfied, and effectively monitored the progress of fellows during and after the fellowship period. These two MFP grantees continue in their unique position to represent these two core mental health disciplines and eligibility has been restricted to them accordingly. Therefore, because the ANA and CSWE grant support will end in FY 1996, CMHS is providing additional support for up to 3 years via renewal grant awards. The American Psychiatric Association and the American Psychological Association have ongoing CMHS MFP grant support. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: Questions concerning the CMHS MFP may be directed to Paul Wohlford, Ph.D., Acting Chief, Human Resources Planning and Development Branch, CMHS, Room 15C-18, 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, Maryland 20857, telephone (301)443-4257. Dated: July 11, 1996. Richard Kopanda, Executive Officer, SAMHSA. [FR Doc. 96-18067 Filed 7-16-96; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4162-20-P