[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 34 (Friday, February 18, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8374-8375]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-3917]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Health Resources and Services Administration


Notice of a Cooperative Agreement With the National Governors' 
Association Center for Best Practices

    The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) announces 
the availability of fiscal year (FY) 2000 funds for a cooperative 
agreement with the National Governors' Association (NGA) Center for 
Best Practices to develop and convene national and regional policy 
forums and provide educational and resource materials emanating from 
these forums for State policymakers on areas addressing the health care 
needs of the underserved and vulnerable populations, needs of health 
care providers who serve vulnerable populations, and related public 
health issues.
    The purpose of this project is to assist the NGA in developing a 
series of national and regional forums to facilitate a better 
understanding and coordination of public and private health programs 
designed to assist vulnerable populations and safety net providers. 
There is no ongoing forum that can convene the high-ranking 
decisionmakers representing the many Federal, State, provider, and 
private sector interests around an issue of importance to HRSA. Such a 
forum will facilitate communication on current and emerging strategies 
addressing common priorities, and will enable HRSA to better leverage 
limited resources by improving planning and program design to 
complement other public and private sector initiatives serving the 
needs of the same populations. Through this project, NGA will provide 
assistance to HRSA and HRSA grantees, such as States and local 
governments, health centers, MCH programs, rural health offices, etc., 
to evaluate the effectiveness of their programs and initiatives to 
address the needs of the underserved and targeted populations.

Authorizing Legislation

    This program is authorized under sections 330(k) and 761(b) of the 
Public Health Service Act, as amended, and sections 509 and 711 of the 
Social Security Act, as amended.

Eligible Applicants

    Assistance will be provided only to the NGA Center for Best 
Practices. No other applications are solicited.
    The NGA is the only bipartisan organization that represents 
governors and their staff of the 50 States, the commonwealths of the 
Northern Mariana Islands and Puerto Rico, and the U.S. flag territories 
of American Samoa, Guam, and the Virgin Islands. It is the only 
national conduit for governors to communicate with each other to share 
ideas. In addition, the NGA provides a unique network for sharing 
experiences and information with governors and staffs throughout the 
nation, including serving as a unique source for policy research, 
publications, consulting services, and meetings which are tailored to 
the needs of the governors.
    The NGA is the source for information on hundreds of policy issues. 
It connects governors with policy innovators and national experts. It 
also uses a variety of technologies and resources to assist governors 
and their staff that include:
    1. Research and analysis for States on emerging and priority issues 
and innovative State enterprises.
    2. Information Clearinghouse to track, evaluate, and disseminate 
information on State programs and State best practices.
    3. Publications with formats designed specifically for the State 
governors. NGA produces regular reports, policy positions, issue 
briefs, management briefs, and articles on issues critical to States.
    4. NGA conducts national meetings and intensive workshops planned 
specifically for the governors and their staff to support State-to-
State communication on technical issues and assistance in solving State 
focused problems. As the Nation's only organization that represents and 
links governors and their staff from all 50 States and the territories, 
NGA is in a unique position to disseminate information on public health 
issues to State agencies and convene information-sharing meetings among 
State government employees, executive branch officials, and staff.

Availability of Funds

    Approximately $125,000 is available in FY 2000 to fund this award. 
It is expected the award will begin on or about April 1, 2000, and will 
be for a 12-month budget period within a project period of up to 5 
years. Funding estimates may vary and are subject to change.
    Continuation awards within the approved project period will be made 
on the basis of satisfactory progress as evidenced by required reports 
and the availability of funds.

Program Requirements

    This project will provide an agency-level cooperative agreement 
with NGA to address cross-cutting publicly funded health program 
integration and health access issues identified by the governors and 
their representatives. Through this project, NGA will provide 
assistance to HRSA and HRSA grantees, such as States and local 
governments, health centers, MCH programs, rural health offices, etc., 
to evaluate the effectiveness of their programs and initiatives to 
address the needs of the underserved and targeted populations. It will 
be built around activities that are mutually agreed to by HRSA and NGA, 
including addressing HRSA priority issues and consultations on the 
experts who should be invited to participate in the forums with the 
NGA. Specifically, HRSA will have input into the planning of the 
forums, including developing the agendas and identifying participants 
who should be invited to address issues of importance from the Federal 
perspective at these forums.
    The recipient will be responsible for carrying out activities to 
support the following:
    (a) Develop and maintain an information clearinghouse for use by 
governors and their staff on issues that relate to health care access 
for underserved and vulnerable populations, to include the prevention, 
early detection, and control of disease, and strengthening the public 
health infrastructure and health professions workforce in the States.
    (b) Develop, print, and distribute articles, reports, or other 
documents relating to health care access, unmet population needs, 
provider capacity, the uses of existing data systems within States to 
address health care needs of the population, and the complexity of 
private sector initiatives for use by governors and their staffs and by 
HRSA grantees.
    (c) Convene regional or national meetings of State executive branch 
employees and others, as appropriate, for discussion of public and 
private sector strategies and best practices in HRSA priority issues to 
include appropriate topics and audiences to exchange information. Some 
of these priority issues include: creating cross-cutting or linked 
information systems for publicly funded health programs serving similar 
populations (State Children's Health Insurance Program

[[Page 8375]]

(SCHIP), Medicaid, Title V of the Social Security Act, Titles I, II, 
III, and IV of the Ryan White CARE Act) to evaluate the effectiveness 
of these programs; building upon integrated public health 
infrastructures which use data to address public health issues of the 
States; reducing the rate of uninsurance; addressing the unmet needs of 
the uninsured; addressing ways to facilitate comprehension and 
participation of low income families in the health care system; 
improving the quality of care delivered by health care providers; 
improving the health status of vulnerable populations; and serving as a 
mechanism to address agency and departmental initiatives, such as oral 
health and mental health.
    (d) Convene small group meetings comprised of selected State 
program officials and other key stakeholders to address key SCHIP/
Medicaid/Title V issues, effective integration of States' activities 
under SCHIP with HRSA program activities, SCHIP outreach assessment, 
and emerging issues, such as options for States to provide family 
coverage and employer-subsidized coverage.
    (e) Participate in HRSA-sponsored meetings and events, as 
appropriate.
    (f) Coordinate activities with State and local health department 
contacts, including public health experts, to ensure that NGA members 
are aware of public health programs and activities in their State or 
region.

Where To Obtain Additional Information

    Lynnette Araki, Program Analyst, Office of Planning, Evaluation and 
Legislation, Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), 5600 
Fishers Lane, Room 14-36, Rockville, Maryland 20857, Telephone (301) 
443-6204, E-mail: [email protected].

    Dated: February 11, 2000.
Claude Earl Fox,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 00-3917 Filed 2-17-00; 8:45 am]
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