[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 83 (Friday, April 28, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 24963-24965]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-10677]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

[Program Announcement 00053]


Cooperative Agreement for Collaborating Centers for Public Health 
Law; Notice of Availability of Funds

A. Purpose

    The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announces the 
availability of fiscal year (FY) 2000 funds for a cooperative agreement 
program for the development and operation of a collaborating center (or 
centers) for public health law. This program addresses all the Healthy 
People 2010 focus areas, but especially focus area 23, the public 
health infrastructure objectives. For the conference copy of ``Healthy 
People 2010'' visit the Internet site: http://www.health.gov/healthypeople.
    Laws serve as a framework for public health and can be used as a 
public health intervention. A large and diverse array of laws and 
legally enforceable policies of federal, state, and local jurisdictions 
affect public health. These laws include statutes, ordinances, and 
bylaws that authorize public health programs and specific authorities 
of public health agencies and officials; case law; taxes and fees; 
rules, regulations, and contracts; and laws enacted for other purposes 
that indirectly or directly affect public health.
    Healthy People 2010 recognizes that laws are an essential part of 
the public health infrastructure, and calls on local, State, Tribal, 
and federal jurisdictions to ``review and evaluate the extent to which 
their statutes, ordinances, and bylaws assure the delivery of essential 
public health services.'' In support of this goal, CDC proposes to fund 
one or more organizations that will work toward establishing a strong 
legal foundation for effective public health practice through training 
and education, collaboration, communication, and analysis. Specific 
goals of the collaborating center(s) will be to: (a) improve the 
effectiveness of laws as a type of public health intervention; (b) 
improve the quality, accessibility, and scientific basis of information 
about laws related to public health; (c) improve the knowledge of laws 
related to public health among public health practitioners, the legal 
community, and public policy makers; and (d) stimulate contributions by 
organizations and individuals to improvement of the legal foundation 
for public health. (See Addendum 1 for the definition of the term 
``public health law'' used in this announcement.)

B. Eligible Applicants

    Applications may be submitted by public and private nonprofit 
organizations and by governments and their agencies; that is, 
universities, colleges, research institutions, other public and private 
nonprofit organizations, and State and local governments or their bona 
fide agents, and federally recognized Indian tribal governments, Indian 
tribes, or Indian tribal organizations. CDC specifically encourages 
applications from consortia composed of accredited schools of public 
health or medicine, accredited schools of law, and accredited schools 
of public policy and/or public administration.

    Note: Public Law 104-65 states that an organization described in 
section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 that engages 
in lobbying activities is not eligible to receive Federal funds 
constituting an award, grant, cooperative agreement, contract, loan, 
or any other form.

C. Availability of Funds

    Approximately $300,000 is available in FY 2000 to fund one to three 
awards. It is expected that the awards will begin on or about September 
30, 2000, and will be made for a 12-month budget period within a 
project period of up to 3 years. Funding estimates may change, and 
awards could be supplemented by additional funding.
    Continuation awards within an approved project period will be made 
on the basis of satisfactory progress as evidenced by required reports 
and the availability of funds.

D. Program Requirements

    In conducting activities to achieve the purpose of this program, 
the recipient will be responsible for the activities under 1. 
(Recipient Activities), and CDC will be responsible for the activities 
listed under 2. (CDC Activities).

1. Recipient Activities

    a. Identify and evaluate existing training and continuing education 
in the area of public health law for public health practitioners, 
professionals in the legal community, and public policy makers; develop 
training and continuing education to address identified gaps; conduct 
training using both existing and newly developed training and 
continuing education materials, with priority on training for public 
health practitioners. Newly developed training and continuing education 
materials should support core competencies as outlined in Essential 
Service 6 of ``The Public Health Workforce: An Agenda for the 21st 
Century''. Addendum 2, full text available at the following Internet 
site: http://www.health.gov/phfunctions/pubhlth.pdf
    b. Research laws that affect public health, addressing the 
following general objectives: (1) Identify and analyze existing and 
proposed laws relevant to public health; (2) assess the distribution, 
provisions, and trends in laws that affect public health; (3) develop 
and implement a research agenda for public health law with broad 
stakeholder involvement; (4) synthesize and translate research on laws 
affecting public health; and (5) disseminate results and findings from 
analyses.
    c. Stimulate collaboration and communication among organizations 
active in public health, law, public policy, and related fields by 
developing, linking, and disseminating information regarding laws and 
public health through an Internet website and/or other means; convening 
conferences and other meetings; and producing, sponsoring, and 
disseminating reports, analyses, and other publications.

2. CDC Activities

    a. Provide technical assistance to the grantee(s) on an as-needed 
basis.
    b. Collaborate with the grantee(s) to identify appropriate 
audiences, content, and media for training and continuing education, 
for information dissemination, for conferences and other meetings, and 
for publications.
    c. Collaborate with the grantee(s) in developing a research agenda 
for public health law.
    d. Provide appropriate scientific information and data relating to 
prevention, health promotion, public health practice, and related 
topics.

E. Application Content

    Use the information in the Program Requirements, Other 
Requirements, and

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Evaluation Criteria sections to develop the application content. 
Applications must address each of the ``Recipient Activities.'' Your 
application will be evaluated on the criteria listed, so it is 
important to follow them in laying out your program plan. The 
application narrative should be no more than 25 double-spaced pages, 
printed on one side, with 1-inch margins, and unreduced font.

F. Submission and Deadline

Letter of Intent (LOI)

    Prospective applicants are asked to submit, by June 23, 2000, an 
LOI that includes the program announcement number and title, the name, 
address, and telephone number of the Principal Investigator, and the 
identities of other key personnel and participating institutions. 
Although a LOI is not required, is not binding, and is not used in the 
review of an application, the information it contains is used to 
estimate the potential reviewer workload and avoid conflict of interest 
in the review.
    Send the letter of intent to the Grants Management Specialist 
listed in ``Where to Obtain Additional Information'' section of this 
announcement.

Application

    Submit the original and two copies of PHS-398 (OMB Number 0925-
0001) (adhere to the instructions on the Errata Instruction Sheet for 
PHS 398). Forms are available at the following Internet address: 
www.cdc.gov/od/pgo/forminfo.htm. On or before July 14, 2000, submit the 
application to the Grants Management Specialist identified in the 
``Where to Obtain Additional Information'' section of this 
announcement.
Deadline
    Applications shall be considered as meeting the deadline if they 
are either: (a) Received on or before the deadline date; or (b) Sent on 
or before the deadline date and received in time for submission to the 
independent review group. (Applicants must request a legibly dated U.S. 
Postal Service postmark or a legibly dated receipt from a commercial 
carrier. Private metered postmarks shall not be acceptable as proof of 
time and date of mailing.)
Late Applications
    Applications which do not meet the criteria in (a) or (b) above are 
considered late applications, will not be considered, and will be 
returned to the applicant.

G. Evaluation Criteria

    Each application will be evaluated individually against the 
following criteria:

1. Background and Need (10 Points)

    a. The extent to which the applicant clearly describes the need 
for, and benefits of, a collaborating center in public health law, 
including delineation of target audiences and proposed benefits they 
would realize from the collaborating center program.
    b. The applicant's experience in working with public health 
agencies, academia, and other organizations active in public health 
law.

2. Goals and Objectives (15 Points)

    a. The extent to which the application addresses the goals listed 
under ``Purpose'' in this announcement.
    b. The extent to which the application specifies objectives, 
activities, work products, and timelines which are supportive of the 
goals, measurable, and feasible.

3. Project Management and Staffing (20 Points)

    a. The extent to which the project staff is clearly identified, 
possesses appropriate skills and knowledge, and has clearly described 
roles.
    b. The extent to which the application provides details regarding 
the level of effort and allocation of time for each staff position.
    c. The extent to which the applicant possesses management and other 
systems to assure successful and responsible program implementation.
    d. The applicant's experience in the management of resources and 
production of successful outcomes.

4. Methods and Plan of Operation (20 Points)

    a. The soundness of the methods the applicant proposes to use to 
develop and conduct each of the ``Recipient Activities.''
    b. The specificity, relevance, and feasibility of the plan of 
action the applicant proposes to take to develop and conduct each of 
the ``Recipient Activities.''

5. Collaboration (25 Points)

    a. The extent to which the applicant documents evidence of past or 
current collaboration with partners active in public health practice 
and public health law.
    b. The extent to which the applicant proposes relevant and feasible 
collaboration with other organizations in conducting the ``Recipient 
Activities'' and methods for stimulating collaboration among other 
organizations.
    c. The extent to which the application includes signed agreements 
specifying the roles and responsibilities of each organization that 
will be collaborating with the applicant.

6. Evaluation Plan (10 Points)

    The extent to which the applicant provides a detailed description 
of the methods to be used to evaluate program effectiveness, including 
identification of the variables to be evaluated, identification of the 
person(s) or organization(s) that will conduct evaluations, and 
specification of the time line for evaluations.

7. Budget (Not Scored)

    The extent to which the budget is clearly explained, adequately 
justified, reasonable, sufficient for the proposed project activities, 
and consistent with the intended use of the cooperative agreement 
funds.

H. Other Requirements

Technical Reporting Requirements

    Provide CDC with original plus two copies of:
    1. Detailed, semi-annual progress reports;
    2. A financial status report, no more than 90 days after the end of 
the budget period; and
    3. Final financial status and performance reports, no more than 90 
days after the end of the project period.
    Send all reports to the Grants Management Specialist identified in 
the ``Where to Obtain Additional Information'' section of this 
announcement.
    The following additional requirements are applicable to this 
program. For a complete description of each, see Attachment I in the 
application kit.

AR-2  Requirements for Inclusion of Women and Racial and Ethnic 
Minorities in Research
AR-7  Executive Order 12372 Review
AR-8  Public Health System Reporting Requirements
AR-9  Paperwork Reduction Act Requirements
AR-10  Smoke-Free Workplace Requirements
AR-11  Healthy People 2010
AR-12  Lobbying Restrictions
AR-13  Prohibition on Use of CDC Funds for Certain Gun Control 
Activities
AR-15  Proof of Non-Profit Status

[[Page 24965]]

I. Authority and Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number

    This program is authorized under sections 301, 310, and 311 of the 
Public Health Service Act [42 U.S.C. sections 241, 242o, and 243], as 
amended. The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance number is 93.283.

J. Where To Obtain Additional Information

    To receive additional written information and to request an 
application kit, call 1-888-GRANTS4 (1-888 472-6874). You will be asked 
to leave your name and address and will be instructed to identify the 
Announcement number of interest.
    If you have questions after reviewing the contents of all the 
documents, business management technical assistance may be obtained 
from: Van Malone, Grants Management Specialist, Grants Management 
Branch, Procurement and Grants Office, Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention 2920 Brandywine Road, Room 3000, Atlanta, GA 30341-4146, 
Telephone number 770-488-2764, Email address [email protected].
    For additional information on obtaining a copy of the application 
package, see also the CDC home page on the Internet: www.cdc.gov/od/pgo/funding/grantmain.htm.
    For program technical assistance, contact: Anthony D. Moulton, 
Ph.D., Associate Director for Policy, Program Analysis and Academic 
Programs, Public Health Practice Program Office, Centers for Disease 
Control and Prevention, 4770 Buford Hwy. (K-36), Atlanta, GA 30341-
3724, Phone 770-488-2404/Fax 770-488-2420, E-mail: [email protected].

    Dated: April 24, 2000.
John L. Williams,
Director, Procurement and Grants Office, Centers for Disease Control 
and Prevention (CDC).
[FR Doc. 00-10677 Filed 4-27-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4163-18-P