[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 91 (Wednesday, May 12, 1999)] [Notices] [Pages 25776-25779] From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] [FR Doc No: 99-11981] [[Page 25775]] _______________________________________________________________________ Part VIII Department of Health and Human Services _______________________________________________________________________ Office of Public Health and Science; Announcement of Availability of Grants for Adolescent Family Life Demonstration Projects; Notice Federal Register / Vol. 64, No. 91 / Wednesday, May 12, 1999 / Notices [[Page 25776]] DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Office of Public Health and Science; Announcement of Availability of Grants for Adolescent Family Life Demonstration Projects AGENCY: Office of Adolescent Pregnancy Programs, Office of Population Affairs, OPHS, HHS. ACTION: Notice. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY: The Office of Adolescent Pregnancy Programs (OAPP) requests applications for care, prevention and combination care/prevention grants under the Adolescent Family Life (AFL) Demonstration Projects Program. These Title XX grants are for community-based and community- supported demonstration projects to: (1) find effective means of preventing pregnancy by encouraging adolescents to abstain from sexual activity through provision of age-appropriate education on sexually and decision-making skills, and (2) establish comprehensive and integrated approaches to the delivery of services to pregnant adolescents, adolescent parents and their children. The Title XX statute contains a provision limiting the amount of AFL funding which may be used for prevention projects to not more than one-third of the overall monies available for demonstration projects. In the Fiscal Year (FY) 1997 and 1998 appropriations for Title XX, as amended, Congress waived this limitation by enacting legislation which earmarked the majority of AFL demonstration funding for prevention grants, specifically abstinence education projects as defined in the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996. Although the Senate Committee report accompanying the FY 1999 appropriations act indicates that continued funding of more prevention projects is the intent of Congress, the FY 1999 appropriation for Title XX does not contain a similar provision waiving the statutory limit. In order to continue to fund a larger number of prevention projects than is allowable under the statute, the Department has asked Congress to amend the FY 1999 appropriation for Title XX to include a waiver of the ``not more than one-third for prevention'' restriction. The Department expects that such a waiver will be enacted. Thus, new care, prevention and combination care/prevention projects under this announcement will only be funded if the amendment to the FY 1999 appropriations act does not pass. If this amendment is enacted before the end of the fiscal year, funds will not be available to support new projects under this announcement. In the event FY 1999 funds are not available for new care, prevention and combination care/ prevention projects, applications will be held for review and consideration in the following fiscal year, although the availability of funding in FY 2000 is uncertain. To ensure that there are adequate applications which could be funded in the event the amendment is enacted, the Department is also publishing a separate notice in the Federal Register announcing the availability of funds for prevention demonstration projects. Such applications would be considered for funding in the event the amendment described above is enacted. If the amendment to the FY 1999 appropriation for Title XX is not enacted, funds will be available for approximately 40 projects (25 care projects and 15 prevention projects), which may be located in any State, the District of Columbia, the territories of Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Republic of Palau, Republic of the Marshall Islands and the Federated States of Micronesia. DATES: The closing date for this grant announcement is June 28, 1999. Applications will be considered as meeting the deadline if they are postmarked on or before the closing date. A legibly dated receipt from a commercial carrier or U.S. Postal Service will be accepted in lieu of a postmark. Private metered postmarks will not be accepted as proof of timely mailing. All hand delivered applications must be received between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. on or before the above closing date. Applications which do not meet the deadline will be considered late applications and will be returned to the applicant. Applications will not be accepted by fax or e-mail. The submission deadline will not be extended. ADDRESSES: Application kits consisting of the appropriate forms, a copy of the Title XX legislation, and guidance on the preparation of the application may be downloaded from the following Internet address: www.hhs.gov/progorg/opa/titlexx/oapp.html. If you do not have access to the Internet, you may obtain a kit from the Grants Management Office, Office of Population Affairs, 4350 East-West Highway, Suite 200, Bethesda, MD 20814. Written requests for application kits may be faxed to (301) 594-5981. All completed applications must be submitted to the Grants Management Office at the above mailing address. In preparing the application, it is important to follow ALL instructions contained in the application kit. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The OAPP Program Office at (301) 594- 4004. Staff is available to answer questions and provide limited technical assistance in the preparation of grant applications. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Title XX of the Public Health Service Act, 42 U.S.C. 300z. et seq., authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to award grants for demonstration projects to provide services to pregnant and nonpregnant adolescents, adolescent parents and their families. (Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number 93.995) Title XX authorizes grants for three types of demonstration projects: (1) projects which provide ``care services'' only (i.e., services for the provisions of care to pregnant adolescents, adolescent parents and their families); (2) projects which provide ``prevention services'' only (i.e., services to prevent adolescent sexual relations); and (3) projects which provide a combination of care and prevention services. Under this program announcement, OAPP intends to make available approximately $12 million to support an estimated 40 new demonstration projects (25 care projects and 15 prevention projects). An applicant may submit a proposal for a local care, prevention or combination care/ prevention project. The awards for care projects will range fro $250,000 to $350,000. The awards for prevention projects will range from $150,000 to $250,000. Funding for combination care/prevention projects may be higher if in proportion to the effort proposed. Grants may be approved for project periods of up to five years. Grants are funded in annual increments (budget periods). Funding for all approved budget periods beyond the first year of the grant is contingent upon the availability of funds, satisfactory progress of the project, and adequate stewardship of Federal funds. A grant award may not exceed 70 percent of the total costs of the project for the first and second years, 60 percent of the total costs for the third year, 50 percent for the fourth year and 40 percent for the fifty year. The non- Federal share of the project costs may be provided in cash expenditures or fairly evaluated in-kind contributions, including facilities, equipment and services. We encourage application from experienced organizations which are currently operating programs and which [[Page 25777]] have the capability of expanding and enhancing these services to serve significant numbers of adolescents according to the guidelines specified in this announcement. The specific services which may be funded under Title XX are listed below under Care Programs and Prevention Programs. Applicants who propose to provide a Combination of Care and Prevention Services Program must meet the requirements for each type of program. The following application requirements contain information collections subject to OMB approval under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13). These information collections have been approved by OMB under control number 0937-0189. Eligible Applicants Any public or private nonprofit organization or agency is eligible to apply for a grant. Grants are awarded only to those organizations or agencies which are determined to demonstrate the capability of providing the proposed services and meet the statutory requirements. Care Programs Under this announcement, funds are available for local care demonstrations only. The project site must be identified in the application rather than selected after the grant is awarded. Under the statute the purpose of care programs is to establish innovative, comprehensive, and integrated approaches to the delivery of care services for pregnant adolescents and adolescent parents under 19 years of age at program entry, with primary emphasis on unmarried adolescents who are 17 years old or younger and for their families. This includes young fathers and their families. The OAPP encourages the submission of care applications which propose to do the following: (1) Add care services to supplement existing adolescent health services in school, hospital or other community settings, (2) provide care services to minority or other disadvantaged population, (3) continue services to clients after the delivery of the baby to enable them to acquire good parenting skills and to ensure that their children are developing normally physically, intellectually and emotionally, (4) stress self-sufficiency skills, such as school completion (in mainstream or alternative schools and GED programs) and/or job training preparation and placement, and (5) involve males and promote male responsibility. Applicants should base their approaches upon an assessment of existing programs and, where appropriate, upon efforts to establish better coordination, integration and linkages among such existing programs. Applicants for care projects are required to provide, either directly or by referral, the following 10 core services: (1) Pregnancy testing and maternity counseling; (2) Adoption counseling and referral services which present adoption as an option for pregnant adolescents, including referral to licensed adoption agencies in the community if the eligible grant recipient is not a licensed adoption agency; (3) Primary and preventive health services, including prenatal and postnatal care; (4) Nutrition information and counseling; (5) Referral for screening and treatment of STDs; (6) Referral to appropriate pediatric care; (7) Educational services relating to family life problems associated with adolescent premarital sexual relations including: (a) Information about adoption, (b) Education on the responsibilities of sexuality and parenting. (c) The development of material to support the role of parents as the providers of sex education, and (d) Assistance to parents, schools, youth agencies and health providers to educate adolescents and preadolescents concerning self- discipline and responsibility in human sexuality; (8) Appropriate educational and vocational services; (9) Mental health services and referral to mental health services and to other appropriate physical health services; and (10) Counseling and referral for family planning services. Note: Funds provided under Title XX may not be used for the provision of family planning services other than counseling and referral services unless appropriate family planning services are not otherwise available in the community. In accordance with sec. 3006(a)(17) of Title XX (42 U.S.C. 300z-5(a)(17)), applicants must make maximum use of services available under the Title X Family Planning Program in providing this required core service. In addition to the 10 required core services listed above, applicants for care projects may provide any of the following supplemental services: (1) Referral to licensed residential care or maternity home services; (2) Child care sufficient to enable the adolescent parent to continue education or to enter into employment; (3) Consumer education and homemaking; (4) Counseling for the immediate and extended family members of the eligible person; (5) Transportation; and (6) Outreach services to families of adolescents to discourage sexual relations among unemancipated minors. Prevention Programs Under this announcement, funds are available for local prevention projects only. The project site must be identified in the application rather than selected after the grant is awarded. The primary purpose of prevention programs is to find effective means of reaching adolescents, both male and female, before they become sexually active to encourage them to abstain from sexual activity. There is general agreement that early initiation of sexual activity brings not only the risk of unintended pregnancy but also substantial health risks to adolescents, primarily infection from sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), including HIV. Accordingly, applicants must provide services that help pre-adolescents and young adolescents acquire knowledge and skills that will instill healthy attitudes and encourage and support the postponement of early sexual activity. Any information provided for adolescents who may be or become sexually active, which relates to reducing the risk of unintended pregnancy and disease, must be medically accurate and must be presented within the context that abstinence is the best choice and is what the project recommends. Under this announcement, applicants may propose to develop and test new and/or innovative approaches aimed at promoting and fostering abstinence among adolescents. These approaches may consist of a variety of activities such as health, social, cultural, educational, economic and recreational activities, or combinations of all of these. Applicants may also propose to develop and test new prevention curricula and materials, update existing curricula, use existing educational materials/curricula, or use any combination of these materials, to implement their prevention demonstration projects. However, all materials and activities must be within the scope of the Title XX services listed below. OAPP encourages the submission of prevention applications which propose to do the following: (1) Add prevention services to supplement existing adolescent health education programs or health service programs in school or [[Page 25778]] other community settings, (2) provide prevention services to minority or other disadvantaged populations, (3) include medically accurate information on sexuality, contraception, sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and HIV/AIDS, (4) offer educational services to parents to assist them in communicating with their children about sexuality, contraception, STDs and HIV/AIDS, and (5) involve males and promote male responsibility. Under the statutory requirements of Title XX, applicants for prevention programs are not required to provide any specific array of services; a proposal may include any one or more of the following services as appropriate: (1) Educational services relating to family life and problems associated with adolescent premarital sexual relations including: (a) Information about adoption, (b) Education on the responsibilities of sexuality and parenting, (c) The development of material to support the role of parents as the providers of sex education, and (d) Assistance to parents, schools, youth agencies and health providers to educate adolescents and preadolescents concerning self- discipline and responsibility in human sexuality; (2) Appropriate educational and vocational services; (3) Counseling for the immediate and extended family members of the eligible person: (4) Transportation; (5) Outreach services to families of adolescents to discourage sexual relations among unemancipated minors; (6) Referral for screening and treatment of STDs; (7) Pregnancy testing and maternity counseling; and (8) Nutrition information and counseling. Combination Care and Prevention Services Programs Applicants proposing to provide both care and prevention services must meet the requirements for both categories as described above. They must also propose to make a substantial effort in each of the two areas and indicate clearly in the application and budget the proportion of effort to be expanded in each component. It should be noted that, in all Title XX programs, including care, prevention and combination care/prevention programs, grantees may not teach or promote religion in their AFL projects. Each grant project must be accessible to the public generally, not just to those of a particular religious affiliation. All programming activities and program curriculum materials must contain medically accurate information, and must remain neutral on abortion. Upon approval for funding, all curricula and related educational materials must be submitted to OAPP for review and approval prior to use in AFL project. In addition, Under sec. 2011(a) of the Act, AFL projects may not provide abortions or abortion counseling or referral either directly or through sub-contract and may not advocate, promote or encourage abortion. However, if both the adolescent and her parents request abortion counseling, a project may provide referral for such counseling. Evaluation Section 2006(b)(1) of Title XX requires each grantee to expend at least one percent but not more than five percent of the Federal funds received under Title XX on evaluation of the project. As this is a demonstration program, all applications are required to have an evaluation component of high quality consistent with the scope of the proposed project and the funding level. All project evaluations should monitor program processes to determine whether the program has been carried out as planned and measure the program's outcomes. Waivers of the five percent limit on evaluation may be granted in cases where a more rigorous or comprehensive evaluation effort is proposed (see sec. 2006(b)(1)). Section 2006(b)(2) of Title XX requires that the evaluations required by sec. 2006(b)(1) be conducted by an organization or entity independent of the grantee providing services. To assist in conducting the evaluations, each grantee shall develop a working relationship with a college or university located in the grantee's state which will provide or assist in providing monitoring and evaluation of services. The OAPP strongly recommends extensive collaboration between the applicant organization and the proposed evaluator in the development of the intervention, development of the evaluation hypothesis(es), identification of the variables to be measured and a timetable for initiation of the intervention, baseline measurement, and ongoing evaluation data collection and analysis. In the preparation of the application for Title XX funds, OAPP encourages applicants to work with the proposed evaluator to ensure that the evaluation plan is detailed and consistent with the project's proposed goals and objectives. Application Requirements Applications must be submitted on the forms supplied (PHS 516 1-1, Revised 5/96) and in the manner prescribed in the application kits provided by the OAPP. Applicants are required to submit an application signed by an individual authorized to act for the applicant agency or organization and to assume for the organization the obligations imposed by the terms and conditions of the grant award. Applicants must be familier with Title XX in its entirety to ensure that they have complied with all applicable requirements. A copy of the legislation is included in the application kit. Additional Requirements Applicants for grants must also meet both of the following requirements (each year): (1) Requirements for Review of an Application by the Governor. Section 2006(e) of Title XX requires that each applicant shall provide the Governor of the State in which the applicant is located a copy of each application submitted to OAPP for a grant for a demonstration project for services under this Title. The Governor has 60 days from the receipt date in which to provide comments to the applicant. An applicant may comply with this requirement by submitting a copy of the application to the Governor of the State in which the appplicant is located at the same time the application is submitted to OAPP. To inform the Governor's office of the reason for the submission, a copy of this notice should be attached to the application. (2) Requirements for Review of an Application Pursuant to Executive Order 12372 (SPOC Requirements). Applications under this announcement are subject to the review requirements of E.O. 12372, ``Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs,'' as implemented by 45 CFR part 100, ``Intergovernmental Review of Department of Health and Human Services Programs and Activities.'' E.O. 12372 sets up a system for state and local government review of proposed Federal assistance applications. As soon as possible, the applicant (other than Federally- recognized Indian tribal governments) should contact the State Single Point of Contact (SPOC) for each state in the area to be served. The application kit contains the currently available listing of the SPOCs which have elected to be informed of the submission of applications. For those states not represented on the listing, further inquiries should be made by the applicant regarding submission to the relevant SPOC. The SPOC's comment(s) should be forwarded to the Grants Management Office, Office of Population Affairs, 4350 East-West [[Page 25779]] Highway, Suite 200, Bethesda, MD 20814. The SPOC has 60 days from the closing date of this announcement to submit any comments. Application Consideration and Assessment Applications which are judged to be late or which do not conform to the reqirements of this program announcement will not be accepted for review. Applicants will be so notified, and the applications will be returned. All other applications will be reviewed by a multi- disciplinary panel of independent reviewers and assessed according to the following criteria: (1) The capacity of the proposed applicant organization to provide rapid and effective use of resources needed to conduct the project, collect data and evaluate it. This includes personnel, time and facilities. (30 points) (2) The applicant's rationale for use of the proposed approach and its worth for testing and/or replication based upon its previous demonstration, review of the literature and/or evaluation findings. (20 points) (3) The applicant's presentation of an appropriate project design, consistent with the requirements of Title XX, including a clear statement of goals and objectives, reasonable methods for achieving the objectives, a reasonable workplan and timetable and a clear statement of results or benefits expected. (30 points) (4) The applicant's presentation of a detailed evaluation plan, indicating an understanding of program evaluation methods and reflecting a practical, technically sound approach to assessing the project's achievement of program objectives. (20 points) Final grant award decisions will be made by the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Population Affairs. In making these decisions, the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Population Affairs will take into account the extent to which grants recommended for approval will provide an appropriate geographic distribution of resources, the priorities in sec. 2005(a), and the other factors in sec. 2005, including consideration of: (1) The applicant's capacity to administer funds responsibly; (2) The incidence of adolescent pregnancy and the availability of services in the geographic area to be served; (3) The population to be served; (4) The community commitment to and involvement in planning and implementation of the demonstration project; (5) The organizational model(s) for delivery of service; (6) The usefulness for policymakers and service providers of the proposed project and its potential for complementing existing adolescent health models; (7) The reasonableness of the estimated cost to the government considering the anticipated results. OAPP does not release information about individual applications during the review process until final funding decisions have been made. When these decisions have been made, applicants will be notified by letter of the outcome of their applications. The official document notifying an applicant that an application has been approved for funding is the Notice of Grant Award, which specifies to the grantee the amount of money awarded, the purpose of the grant, the terms and conditions of the grant award, and the amount of funding to be contributed by the grantee to project costs. Dated: April 26, 1999. Denese O. Shervington, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Population Affairs. [FR Doc. 99-11981 Filed 5-11-99; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4160-17-M