[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 72 (Thursday, April 13, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20060-20062]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-9148]



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Part VI





Department of Health and Human Services





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Office of Public Health and Science



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Announcement of Availability of Grants for Adolescent Family Life 
Demonstration Projects; Notice

  Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 72 / Thursday, April 13, 2000 / 
Notices  

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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 demonstration grants under the Adolescent Family 
Life (AFL) Demonstration Projects Program. These Title XX grants are 
for community-based and community-supported demonstration projects to 
establish comprehensive and integrated approaches to the delivery of 
care services to pregnant adolescents, adolescent parents, their 
children, their extended family members, and their male partners.
    Funds will be available for approximately 15-20 care demonstration 
projects, which may be located in any State, the District of Columbia, 
and United States territories, commonwealths and possessions.

DATES: The closing date for this grant announcement is May 30, 2000. 
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 am and 5:00 pm on or before the above closing 
date. Applicants 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.dhhs.gov/progorg/opa. If you do not have access to the INTERNET, 
you may obtain a kit from the Grants Management Office, Office of 
Populations 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 
provision 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 $4 million to support an estimated 15-20 new care 
demonstration projects. The awards for care projects will range from 
$250,000 to $350,000.
    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 for 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 fifth 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.
    Applications are encouraged from experienced organizations which 
are currently operating programs and which 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 the heading entitled CARE SERVICES.
    The following application requirements contain information 
collections subject to OMB approval under Paperwork Reduction Act of 
1995 (Pub. L. 104-13). These information collections have been approved 
by OMB under control number 0937-0198.

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.

Youth Development Approach

    Socio-economic factors such as poverty, substandard housing, 
violence within a community, racial disparities, and gender inequality 
all contribute to early sexual activity and pregnancy. An adolescent's 
ability to plan for their future is hampered not only by their family's 
inability to meet basic needs, but also by the societal disparities 
that create unequal access to enrichment programs, job opportunities, 
support groups and mental health care, etc.
    Adolescent health experts, public health officials, sociologists, 
and the medical community have long agreed that to effectively prevent 
secondary adolescent pregnancy among youth, Federal, state and local 
level programs must include multiple and complementary approaches to 
teen pregnancy prevention.
    A more holistic approach to preventing secondary teen pregnancies 
is often termed ``youth development.'' It has been documented that 
successful youth development projects are those where adolescents 
themselves are an integral part of the design, implementation, and 
evaluation phases over the life of the project. Adolescents need to see 
hope for a future, acquire the skills necessary to turn hopes into 
reality, and be provided with an array of opportunities to get them to 
that reality.
    The OAPP encourages applicants to take a youth development approach 
that works to address the societal disparities that contribute to 
repeat adolescent pregnancy and poor health outcomes for young mothers, 
their children, fathers and extended families. In addition, the OAPP 
encourages applicants to provide opportunities for improving the 
adolescents' senses of self through cultural understanding, sports and 
recreation,visual and performing arts, and other activities that build 
an adolescent's sense of self-worth and self-efficacy. All services 
provided by

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AFL grantees, however, including all activities that are part of a 
youth development approach, must be within the scope of the Title XX 
care services listed below.

Care Services

    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 populations, (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, (5) involve 
males and promote male responsibility, and (6) provide STD and HIV 
prevention counseling. 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
    (3) Primary and preventive health services, including prenatal 
and postnatal care;
    (4) Nutrition information and counseling;
    (5) Referral for screening and treatment of STDs, including HIV/
AIDS;
    (6) Referral to appropriate pediatric care;
    (7) 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 partents 
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 education 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 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 
section, 2006(a)(17) of the Title XX (42 U.S.C. 300z-5(a)917)), 
applicants must make maximum use of services 2006(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 of maternity home 
services;
    (2) Child care sufficient to enable the adolescent parent to 
continue education or to enter into employment;
    (3) Consumer education;
    (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.

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. Waivers above 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)). 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
    Section 2006(b)(2) of Title XX requires that the evaluations 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 assist in 
providing monitoring and evaluation of the proposed program. The OAPP 
strongly recommends extensive collaboration between the applicant 
organization and the proposed evaluator in the development of the 
program goals and objectives of the intervention, identification of the 
variables to be measured, a clear and organized timetable for 
initiation of the intervention, baseline measurement, and ongoing 
evaluation data collection and analysis strategies. Additionally, it is 
also important to establish this collaborative relationship between the 
applicant organization and the proposed evaluator early to ensure that 
the project's proposed goals and objectives and the evaluation are in 
full alignment with each other. The proposed evaluator should be 
included in program planning meetings to ensure that there is 
uniformity in the intended outcomes of the program.

Application Requirements

    Applications must be submitted on the forms supplied (PHS 516 1-1, 
Revised 6/99) complete in the manner prescribed in the application kits 
provided by the OAPP. Incomplete applications will be returned to the 
applicant. 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 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 familiar 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 
applicant is located at the same time the application is submitted 
to OAPP.

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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). Applicants 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 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 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, incomplete or which do 
not conform to the requirements of this program announcement will not 
be accepted for review. Applicants will be so notified, and the 
application 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) Youth and 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 7, 2000.
Denese O. Shervington,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Population Affairs.
[FR Doc. 00-9148 Filed 4-12-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4160-17-M