[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 115 (Monday, June 16, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 32648-32649]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-15706]
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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration U.S.-
Mexico Border Four-State Substance Abuse Initiative
AGENCY: Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP), Substance Abuse
and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), HHS.
ACTION: Availability of funds for grant awards to the Single State
Alcohol and Drug Abuse Agencies (SSAs) of Arizona, California, New
Mexico and Texas for delivery of community-based substance abuse
prevention programs and services.
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SUMMARY: This notice is to inform the public that CSAP is making
available approximately $800,000 for four awards of $200,000 each in FY
1997 to these State governments so they may provide community-level
substance abuse prevention services in U.S. towns and communities
within 60 miles of the U.S.-Mexico Border. Upon receipt of satisfactory
applications that are recommended for approval by an Initial Review
Group and the CSAP National Advisory Council, Federal funds may be
awarded.
Eligibility for these funds is limited to the SSA in the states of
Arizona, California, New Mexico and Texas--the only states that are on
the U.S.-Mexico border. Grants may be awarded to the SSA, which, in
turn, will issue subgrants or contracts for locally developed
prevention programs and services. Subrecipients could include: local
prevention providers, local civic groups and associations, county
prevention councils, and other health-oriented providers that apply on
behalf of themselves or on behalf of community-based anti-drug
coalitions. Applicants are encouraged to consider community
partnerships and coalitions, which may be strategically located and
well suited to administer community-based prevention activities along
the border.
The U.S.-Mexico Border Initiative is consistent with the ONDCP and
HHS/SAMHSA approach for working collaboratively with State agencies and
local communities to refine and strengthen their ability to provide
more efficient and responsive prevention services. Accordingly,
eligibility is
[[Page 32649]]
limited to the SSA so that consistent State-wide strategies on
substance abuse prevention will be implemented in the targeted border
areas. The SSA is also the administrator of the Substance Abuse
Prevention and Treatment (SAPT) Block Grant, which sets aside 20
percent of the funds for primary prevention activities. This set-aside
is a large resource available to the State for prevention activities,
and could be used to expand support for the resources available under
this initiative.
The SSA's historic leadership role and commitment to substance
abuse prevention, along with the infrastructure developed through the
SAPT Block Grant funds, can spur the support of other State and
community organizations to ensure that border substance abuse
prevention initiatives assume a high priority.
The SSAs are responsible for ensuring community-based prevention
program development in all communities within the State. Therefore,
SSAs operate at an optimum jurisdictional level to support the type(s)
of activities required for overseeing this multi-community, border area
effort. In particular, their broad-based authority will help ensure the
following: (1) successful implementation of the State evaluation plan,
which requires the sharing of data and information across subrecipient
projects; (2) optimal use of the State's technical assistance resources
to support border efforts implemented with these grant funds; and (3)
greater likelihood of sustaining these prevention efforts following the
end of the Federal grant period.
Moreover, SSAs have access to both border area and State-wide
substance abuse incidence and prevalence data. They are uniquely
positioned to track State-wide and border community trends, assess the
severity of substance abuse-related problems, and identify
appropriately targeted programmatic responses.
Finally, by continuing to work cooperatively with the State Border
Health Desks, which were established to address the specific needs of
the border, SSAs further strengthen their ability and authority to
carry out the U.S.-Mexico Border Initiative. Working together, the SSAs
and the Border Health Desks help ensure that the most appropriate
subrecipient communities with concentrated substance abuse prevention
needs will receive these limited grant funds.
Authority: Awards will be made under the authority of Section
501 (d) (5) of the Public Health Service Act, as amended (42 USC
290aa).
The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CDFA) number is 93.230.
CONTACT: Dan Fletcher, Division of State and Community Systems
Development, Center for Substance Abuse Prevention, Substance Abuse and
Mental Health Services Administration, Rockwall II, 9th floor, 5600
Fishers Lane, Rockville, MD 20857, 301) 443-5660.
Dated: June 10, 1997.
Richard Kopanda,
Executive Officer, SAMHSA.
[FR Doc. 97-15706 Filed 6-13-97; 8:45 am]
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