[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 244 (Wednesday, December 18, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 66688-66692]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-32074]
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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Program Announcement for Grant Programs Administered by the
Division of Disadvantaged Assistance, Bureau of Health Professions for
Fiscal Year 1997
The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) announces
that applications will be accepted for two grant programs for fiscal
year (FY) 1997 under the authority of title VII of the Public Health
Service (PHS) Act (herein referred to as the Act). These programs
include:
Grants for Health Careers Opportunity Program (HCOP) (section 740, PHS
Act, 42 CFR, part 57, subpart S)
Grants for the Minority Faculty Fellowship Program (MFFP) (section
738(b), PHS Act)
For the Health Careers Opportunity Program, it is anticipated that
$7 million will be available to support approximately 38 competitive
(new and renewal) projects. The average cost for each competitive award
is estimated to be $184,210.
For the Minority Faculty Fellowship Program, it is estimated that
$200,000 will be available to support approximately 6 fellowship
awards. The average cost for each fellow is estimated to be $35,000.
Health Careers Opportunity Program (HCOP) (Catalog of Federal Domestic
Assistance No. 93.822)
Eligibility and Purpose: Section 740 authorizes the Secretary to
make grants to and enter into contracts with schools of allopathic
medicine, osteopathic medicine, public health, dentistry, veterinary
medicine, optometry, pharmacy, allied health, chiropractic and
podiatric medicine, and public and non-profit private schools which
offer graduate programs in clinical psychology and other public or
private nonprofit health or educational entities to carry out programs
which assist individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds to enter and
graduate from such schools.
Grant funds may be used to:
(1) Identify, recruit, and select individuals from disadvantaged
backgrounds for education and training in a health profession;
(2) Provide, for a period prior to the entry of such individuals
into the regular course of education of such a school, preliminary
education designed to assist them to complete successfully, such
regular course of education at such a school or referring such
individuals to institutions providing such preliminary education;
(3) Facilitate the entry of such individuals in health and allied
health professions schools;
(4) Provide counseling or other services designed to assist such
individuals to successfully complete their education at such a school;
and
(5) Inform such individuals of sources of financial aid available
to assist them in their health professions education.
Applicants must carry out at least 2 of the five purposes, even if
grant funds are requested or awarded for only one of them. It is
permissible to request grant support for only one of the purposes if
other purposes are financed with non-Federal funds. The project period
of Federal support will not exceed 3 years.
Comprehensive HCOP Programs
HHS encourages the consolidation into one proposal HCOP grants
among existing HCOP projects in the same institution or among entities
in a geographic area of the applicant institution. Grant funds may also
support comprehensive HCOP programs-involving formal linkages among
several community-based entities and educational institutions in a
defined geographic area to achieve an educational continuum.
Comprehensive HCOP programs may include: A designated geographic area
with recognized minority/disadvantaged demographics; a program building
on existing strengths; and formal linkages among educational
institutions, community health care entities, and community
organizations.
Eligible Student Participants
Individuals participating in HCOP programs must:
(1) Be from disadvantaged backgrounds;
(2) Have completed the junior year of high school (or its
equivalent);
(3) Be a resident of the United States and either a U.S. citizen, a
U.S. national, an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence in
the U.S., a citizen of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana
Islands, or a citizen of the Republic of Palau, or a citizen of the
Republic of the Marshall Islands, or a citizen of the Federated States
of Micronesia; and
(4) Must be enrolled and in good standing at the grantee
institution or participating school(s).
Review Criteria: The review of applications will take into
consideration the following factors:
(1) The degree to which the proposed project adequately provides
for the requirements in 42 CFR, Sec. 57.1805;
(2) The number and types of individuals who can be expected to
benefit from the project;
(3) The administrative and management ability of the applicant to
carry out the proposed project in a cost effective manner, including
the validity of the proposed methodology, attainability of objectives,
their measurability and outcomes;
(4) The adequacy of the staff and faculty, including experience and
academic background relevant to the training of disadvantaged
background students;
(5) The appropriateness of budget for assuring effective use of
Federal funds; and
(6) The potential of the project to continue without further
support under this program.
Statutory Funding Priorities: Section 740 provides that the
Secretary shall give funding priority to the following schools:
[[Page 66689]]
1. Schools which previously received HCOP grants and increased
their first-year enrollment of individuals from disadvantaged
backgrounds by at least 20 percent over that enrollment in the base
year 1987 (for which the applicant must supply data) by the end of 3
years from the date of the award of the HCOP grant; and
2. Schools which had not previously received an HCOP grant that
increased their first-year enrollment of individuals from disadvantaged
backgrounds by at least 20 percent over that enrollment in the base
year 1987 (for which the applicant must supply data) over any period of
time (3 consecutive years).
Administrative Funding Priorities: The following funding priorities
were established in fiscal year 1990 after public comment at 55 FR
11264, dated March 27, 1990, and is being continued in FY 1997, with
the exception that wording related to alternative means of documenting
enrollment in terms of increases and retention rates for disadvantaged
students has been deleted. Progress in these areas is considered as a
part of the merit review process for this program and applicants will
be informed of relevant benchmarks in application materials.
Funding priorities will be given to HCOP applications from:
(1) Health professions schools that have a disadvantaged student
enrollment of 20 percent or more; and (2) to schools of allied health
offering baccalaureate or higher level programs in physical therapy,
physician assistant, respiratory therapy, medical technology or
occupational therapy that have a disadvantaged student enrollment of 20
percent or more among those programs.
Statutory Allocation of Funds: Section 740 provides that the
Secretary shall obligate amounts in accordance to the following:
(A) 70 percent shall be obligated for grants or contracts to
institutions of higher education.
(B) 10 percent shall be obligated for community-based programs.
(C) Not more than 5 percent may be obligated for grants and
contracts having the primary purpose of informing individuals about the
existence and general nature of health careers.
Minority Faculty Fellowship Program (MFFP) (Catalog of Federal Domestic
Assistance No. 93.923)
Purpose: The purpose of the MFFP is to increase the number of
underrepresented minority faculty members in health professions
schools, by providing fellowships to individuals who have the potential
for teaching, administering programs, or conducting research as faculty
members. To be eligible for a grant, an institution must demonstrate
that it has or will have the commitment and ability to: (1) identify,
recruit, and select underrepresented minorities in the health
professions; (2) provide fellows with the techniques and skills needed
to secure a tenured faculty position at the applicant school, including
competence in: pedagogical skills, research methodology, development of
research grant proposals, writing and publication skills, working with
minority populations; (3) assist fellows in their preparation for an
academic career, including the provision of mentors; and (4) provide
health services to medically underserved communities. Fellows must work
under the direct supervision of a senior level faculty member engaged
in the disciplines mentioned above. The institution must offer the
fellow a teaching position at the institution upon successful
completion of the program.
The period of Federal support will not exceed one year for each
fellowship award to an applicant institution, but a fellowship award to
an individual recipient must be for a minimum of two years. HRSA does
not contribute to the support of the fellow in the second year. The
applicant institution (school) will be required to support the fellow
for the second year at a level not less than the total of Federal and
institutional funds awarded for the first year.
The fellowship award includes a stipend in an amount not exceeding
50 percent of the regular salary of a similar faculty member, or
$30,000, whichever is less. Grant awards are to support fellow costs
only and are limited to stipend, tuition and fees, and travel. Stipends
must be paid by the grantee institution in accordance with its usual
institutional payment policy, schedule and procedures. Stipend funds
may be supplemented through other resources. Direct financial
assistance to fellows may not be received concurrently with any other
Federal education award (fellowship, traineeship, etc.), except for
educational assistance under the Veterans Readjustment Benefits Act
(``GI Bill''). Loans from Federal funds are not considered Federal
awards. Any fellow who continues to receive full institutional salary
is not eligible for stipend support from these grant funds.
Eligible Applicants: Eligible applicants are schools of allopathic
medicine, osteopathic medicine, dentistry, veterinary medicine,
optometry, podiatric medicine, pharmacy, public health, clinical
psychology, and other public or private nonprofit health or educational
entities.
The Applicant Institution Shall Agree to the Following Assurances:
* Provide an assurance that the applicant institution will make
available (directly through cash donations) $1 for every $1 of Federal
funds received under the fellowship.
* Provide an assurance that institutional support will be provided
for the individual for a second year at a level not less than the total
amount of Federal and institutional funds provided in the year in which
the grant was awarded;
* Provide an assurance that the fellowship recipient is from a
minority group underrepresented in the health professions; has at a
minimum, appropriate advanced preparation (such as a master's or
doctoral degree in a health profession) and special skills necessary to
enable that individual to teach and practice;
* Provide an assurance that the recipient of the fellowship will be
a member of the faculty of the applicant institution; and
* Provide an assurance that the recipient of the fellowship has not
been a member of the faculty of any school at any time during the 18-
month period preceding the date on which the individual submits a
request for the fellowship.
Fellowship recipients must also:
* Have completely satisfied any other obligation for health
professional service which is owed under an agreement with the Federal
Government, State Government, or other entity prior to beginning the
period of service under this program; and
* Be a resident of the United States and either a U.S. citizen, a
U.S. national, an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence in
the U.S., a citizen of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana
Islands, or a citizen of the Republic of Palau, or a citizen of the
Marshall Islands, or a citizen of the Federated States of Micronesia.
Breach of Fellowship Funds: The school will be required to return
fellowship funds received if it does not honor the terms of the
fellowship award. Such sums must be paid within 1 year from the day the
Secretary determines that the breach occurred. If payment is not
received by the payment date, additional interest, penalties and
administrative charges will be assessed in accordance with Federal Law
(45 CFR 30.13).
Review Criteria: The review of applications will take into
consideration the following review criteria:
1. The extent to which the institution demonstrates that it has the
commitment and ability to identify,
[[Page 66690]]
recruit, and select underrepresented minority faculty, and its ability
to provide health services to rural or medically underserved
populations;
2. The extent to which the institution's training program will
provide the fellow with the preparation, training and skills needed to
secure an academic career. Training may include: Pedagogical skills,
program administration, grant writing and publication skills, research
methodology and development of research grant proposals, and community
service abilities;
3. The degree to which the institution's senior faculty are
involved in the training and preparation of fellows pursuing an
academic career, and the potential of the institution to continue the
program without Federal support beyond the approved project period; and
4. The extent to which the institution meets the eligibility
requirements set forth in section 738(b) of the Public Health Service
Act.
Definitions
The following definitions were established after public comment of
56 FR 22440, dated May 15, 1991.
``Minority'' means an individual whose race/ethnicity is classified
as American Indian or Alaskan Native, Asian or Pacific Islander, Black,
or Hispanic.
``Underrepresented Minority'' means, with respect to a health
profession, racial and ethnic populations that are underrepresented in
the health profession relative to the number of individuals who are
members of the population involved. This definition encompasses Blacks,
Hispanics, Native Americans, and, potentially, various subpopulations
of Asian individuals.
Applicants must evidence that any particular subgroup of Asian
individuals is underrepresented in a specific discipline.
The following definitions were established in OMB Directive No. 15.
``American Indian or Alaskan Native'' means a person having origins
in any of the original people of North America, and who maintain
cultural identification through tribal affiliation or community
recognition. This definition applies to the Health Careers Opportunity
Program.
``Asian or Pacific Islander'' means a person having origins in any
of the original people of the Far East, Southeast Asia, the Indian
subcontinent, or the Pacific Islands. This area includes, for example,
China, India, Japan, Korea, the Philippine Islands, and Samoa.
``Black'' means a person having origins in any of the black racial
groups of Africa.
``Hispanic'' means a person of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban,
Central or South American or other Spanish culture or origin,
regardless of race.
Following are additional definitions as defined in section 799.
``Accredited'' when applied to a school of medicine, optometry,
podiatry, pharmacy, public health or chiropractic, or a graduate
program in health administration, clinical psychology, clinical social
work, or marriage and family therapy, means a school or program that is
accredited by a recognized body or bodies approved for such purpose by
the Secretary of Education, except that a new school or program that,
by reason of an insufficient period of operation, is not, at the time
of application for a grant or contract under this title, eligible for
accreditation by such a recognized body or bodies, shall be deemed
accredited for purposes of this title, if the Secretary of Education
finds, after consultation with the appropriate accreditation body or
bodies, that there is reasonable assurance that the school or program
will meet the accreditation standards of such body or bodies prior to
the beginning of the academic year following the normal graduation date
of the first entering class in such school or program.
``Graduate program in health administration'' and ``graduate
program in clinical psychology'' means an accredited graduate program
in a public or nonprofit private institution in a State that provides
training leading, respectively, to a graduate degree in health
administration or an equivalent degree and a doctoral degree in
clinical psychology or an equivalent degree.
``Schools of allied health'' means a public or nonprofit private
college, junior college, or university or hospital-based educational
entity that:
(1) Provides, or can provide, programs of education to enable
individuals to become allied health professionals or to provide
additional training for allied health professionals;
(2) Provides training for not less than a total of 20 persons in
the allied health curricula (except that this subparagraph shall not
apply to any hospital-based educational entity);
(3) Includes or is affiliated with a teaching hospital; and
(4) Is accredited by a recognized body or bodies approved for such
purposes by the Secretary of Education or which provides to the
Secretary satisfactory assurance by such accrediting body or bodies
that reasonable progress is being made toward accreditation.
``Schools of medicine, dentistry, osteopathic medicine, pharmacy,
optometry, podiatric medicine, veterinary medicine, public health, and
chiropractic'' means an accredited public or nonprofit private school
in a State that provides training leading, respectively, to degrees of
doctor of medicine, dentistry, osteopathy, a degree of bachelor of
science in pharmacy, degrees of doctor of pharmacy, doctor of
optometry, doctor of podiatric medicine, doctor of veterinary medicine,
a graduate degree in public health, a degree of doctor of chiropractic
medicine, or appropriate equivalent degrees for the above training, and
including advanced training related to such degrees provided by any
such school.
``State'' includes the 50 states, the District of Columbia, the
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana
Islands, the Republic of Palau, the Republic of the Marshall Islands,
the Federated States of Micronesia, Virgin Islands, Guam and American
Samoa.
Other Definitions
``Community-based Program'' means a program with organizational
headquarters located in and which primarily serves: a Metropolitan
Statistical Area, as designated by the Office of Management and Budget;
a Bureau of Economic Analysis, U.S. Department of Commerce designated
non-metropolitan economic area or a county; or Indian tribe(s) as
defined in 42 CFR 36.102(c), i.e., an Indian tribe, band, nation,
rancheria, Pueblo, colony or community, including an Alaskan Native
Village or regional or village corporation.
``Funding Priority'' means a favorable adjustment of aggregate
review scores of individual approved applications when they meet
specific criteria.
For the Health Careers Opportunity Program, ``health professions
schools'' mean schools of allopathic medicine, dentistry, osteopathic
medicine, pharmacy, optometry, podiatric medicine, veterinary medicine,
public health, chiropractic, or graduate programs in clinical
psychology and health administration.
As defined in 42 CFR 57.1804(c) (1) and (2), an ``individual from a
disadvantaged background'' means an individual who:
(1) Comes from an environment that has inhibited the individual
from obtaining the knowledge, skills and abilities required to enroll
in and graduate from a health professions
[[Page 66691]]
school or from a program providing education or training in an allied
health profession or;
(2) Comes from a family with an annual income below a level based
on low-income thresholds according to family size, published by the
U.S. Bureau of the Census, adjusted annually for changes in the
Consumer Price Index and adjusted by the Secretary for use in all
health professions programs. The following income figures determine
what constitutes a low-income family for purposes of these Health
Careers Opportunity Program grants for fiscal year 1997:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Income
Size of parents' family \1\ level
\2\
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1............................................................. $10,200
2............................................................. 13,200
3............................................................. 15,700
4............................................................. 20,200
5............................................................. 23,800
6+............................................................ 26,700
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Includes only dependents listed on Federal income tax forms.
\2\ Adjusted gross income for calendar year 1995, rounded to nearest
$100.
``Metropolitan Statistical Area'' means a city of 50,000 or more
population; or a Census Bureau defined urbanized area of at least
50,000 population, provided that the component county/counties have a
total population of at least 100,000 (75,000 in New England).
For the Minority Faculty Fellowship Program, ``minority'' means an
individual from a racial or ethnic group that is under-represented in
the health professions, as defined in section 738.
``Stipend'' means a level of support for pre-doctoral students for
participation in programs that meet specific HCOP requirements. The
stipend level is $40 a day based on the actual number of days a
participant attends classes. The time period covered is the first day
of classes to the end of final examination week for each quarter or
semester. Stipends may also be given for a minimum of 6 weeks or a
maximum of 8 weeks in a summer program. A stipend may not be provided
between the end of the academic year and the beginning of a summer
program.
``Structured Program'' means a formal educational program of a
specified length with a specially designed curriculum or set of
activities in which designated trainees are required to participate
(e.g., summer and/or academic year enrichment program which focus on
such areas as mathematics, science, learning/communication skills,
professional school entrance exams, and the like).
Other Information
National Health Objectives for the Year 2000
The Public Health Service urges applicants to submit work plans
that address specific objectives of Healthy People 2000. 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, D.C. 20402-9325 (Telephone 202-783-3238).
Academic and Community Partnerships
As part of its cross-cutting program priorities, HRSA will be
targeting its efforts to strengthening linkages between U.S. Public
Health Service health professions education programs and programs which
provide comprehensive primary care services to the underserved.
Smoke-Free Workplace
The Public Health Service strongly encourages all grant recipients
to provide a smoke-free workplace and to promote the non-use 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.
Application Availability
Application materials are available on the World Wide Web at
address: ``http//www.hrsa.dhhs.gov/bhpr/grants.html''. In Fiscal Year
1997, the Bureau of Health Professions (BHPr) will use Adobe Acrobat to
publish the grants documents on the Web page. In order to download,
view and print these grants documents, you will need a copy of Adobe
Acrobat Reader. This can be obtained without charge from the Internet
by going to the Adobe Web page (``http://www.adobe.com'') and
downloading the version of the Adobe Acrobat Reader which is
appropriate for your operating system, i.e., Windows, Unix, Macintosh,
etc. A set of more detailed instructions on how to download and use the
Adobe Acrobat Reader can be found on the BHPr Grants Web page under
``Notes on this WWW Page.''
If additional programmatic information is needed, please contact
the Division of Disadvantaged Assistance, Bureau of Health Professions,
Health Resources and Services Administration, Parklawn Building, Room
8A-09, 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, Maryland 20857. Questions
regarding grants policy and business management issues should be
directed to the Grants Management Branch in Room 8C-26 at the above
address. Please refer to Table 1 for specific BHPr contact names and
phone numbers.
For applicants who are unable to access application materials
electronically, a hard copy will be provided by contacting the HRSA
Grants Application Center. The Center may be contacted by: Telephone
Number: 1-888-300-HRSA, FAX Number: 301-309-0579, E-mail Address:
[email protected]
Completed applications should be returned to: Grants Management
Officer (CFDA#), HRSA Grants Application Center, 40 West Gude Drive,
Suite 100, Rockville, Maryland 20850.
Table 1
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Grants management contact Programmatic contact e-
PHS Section number title CFDA number e-mail: wjohnson mail: bbrooks
regulation @hrsa.dhhs.gov FAX: (301) @hrsa.dhhs.gov FAX: (301) Deadline date
443-6343 443-5242
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740 Health Careers Opportunity Program Wilma Johnson (301) 443- Mario A. Manecci, MPH, 2/7/97
93.822 42 CFR part 57 subpart S. 6880. (301) 443-4493.
738(b) Minority Faculty Fellowship Wilma Johnson (301) 443- Lucille Revels (301) 443- 2/7/97
Program 93.923. 6880. 4493.
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[[Page 66692]]
Application Forms
The standard application form PHS 6025-1, HRSA Competing Training
Grant Application, General Instructions and supplement for these grant
programs have been approved by the Office of Management and Budget
under the Paperwork Reduction Act. The OMB Clearance Number is 0915-
0060.
Deadline Dates
The deadline dates for receipt of applications for each of these
grant programs are shown in Table 1. Applications will be considered to
be ``on time'' if they are either:
(1) Received on or before the established deadline date, or
(2) Sent on or before the established deadline date and received in
time for orderly processing. (Applicants should 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.)
Late applications not accepted for processing will be returned to
the applicant. In addition, applications which exceed the page
limitation and/or do not follow format instructions will not be
accepted for processing and will be returned to the applicant.
Paperwork Reduction Act
The standard application form PHS 6025-1 (Revised 9/96), HRSA
Competing Training Grant Application, and General Instructions have
been approved by the Office of Management and Budget under the
Paperwork Reduction Act. The OMB Clearance Number is 0915-0060.
These programs are not subject to the provisions of Executive Order
12372, Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs (as implemented
through 45 CFR part 100). These programs are also not subject to the
Public Health System Reporting Requirements.
Dated: December 12, 1996.
Ciro V. Sumaya,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 96-32074 Filed 12-17-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4160-15-P