[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 48 (Monday, March 12, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14386-14389]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-6058]


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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.

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SUMMARY: The Office of Adolescent Pregnancy Programs (OAPP) requests 
applications for care demonstration grants under the Adolescent Family 
Life (AFL) Demonstration Projects Program, as authorized by Title XX of 
the Public Health Service Act. 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. These 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 partners, children, and extended 
family members. Faith-based organizations are eligible to apply for 
these demonstration grants. Funds are not currently available for 
primary prevention/abstinence education demonstration projects 
targeting nonpregnant adolescents.

DATES: The closing date for this grant announcement is April 30, 2001. 
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 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.dhhs.gov/opa. If you do not have access to the Internet, you may 
obtain a kit from the Grants Management Office by calling (301) 594-
4012 or by writing to the Office of Grants Management, 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. OAPP staff members are available to answer questions and provide 
limited technical assistance in the preparation of grant applications. 
Questions also may be sent to OAPP staff via e-mail at 
[email protected]. If contacting the OAPP by e-mail, please place the 
phrase ``AFL Care Application Question'' in the subject heading.

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, their 
children, young fathers, 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 $5 million to support an estimated 15-20 new care 
services demonstration projects. The awards for care projects will 
range from $250,000 to $350,000 per year. Please note, in Fiscal Year 
(FY) 2000, OAPP issued a similar Request for Applications (RFA) 
announcing approximately $4 million for new care demonstration 
projects. In response to the FY 2000 RFA, OAPP received 143 grant 
applications and was able to fund 19 new projects. With $5 million 
available for care grants in FY 2001, we anticipate funding 
approximately 15-20 new projects under this program announcement.
    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. Cost sharing by 
the grantee is a requirement per Title XX of the PHS Act. 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 guidance specified in this announcement.
    The specific services which may be funded under Title XX are listed 
below under the heading entitled Care Services. Care Services, under 
this program announcement, should be provided primarily to pregnant 
adolescents and adolescent parents, their partners, children, and 
extended family members. There are no funds available for primary 
prevention/abstinence education demonstration projects under this 
announcement.
    The following application requirements contain information 
collections subject to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
approval under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13). 
These information collections have been

[[Page 14387]]

approved by OMB under control number 0937-0198.

Technical Assistance

    The OAPP has scheduled a series of technical assistance workshops 
to help prospective applicants. At each of the one-day workshops, the 
public will be able to learn more about the purposes and requirements 
of the Title XX program, how to apply for funds under this program 
announcement, program eligibility requirements, the application 
selection process, and considerations that might help to improve the 
quality of grant applications. This workshop is offered at no cost. 
However, all participants must preregister using the form at http://www.hhs.gov/opa/titlexx/oapp.html. If you do not have access to the 
Internet, you may obtain a registration form from the Office of 
Adolescent Pregnancy Programs (OAPP) at (301) 594-4004. Written 
requests for registration forms may be faxed to (301) 594-5981. The 
address of workshop and logistical information will be faxed or e-
mailed back to you upon receipt of your registration.

Workshop Dates and Locations

March 26, 2001: Washington, DC
March 27, 2001: Kansas City, MO
March 28, 2001: Chicago, IL
March 30, 2001: San Francisco, CA

Eligible Applicants

    Any public or private nonprofit organization or agency is eligible 
to apply for a grant. However, only those organizations or agencies 
which demonstrate the capability of providing the proposed services and 
meet the statutory requirements are considered for grant awards.

Care Services

    Under this announcement, funds are available for local (not 
national or regional) 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.
    Adolescent health experts, public health officials, sociologists, 
and the medical community have long agreed that to effectively 
implement programs for youth, Federal, state and local level programs 
must include multiple and complementary approaches to providing 
services. The OAPP encourages a holistic approach to preventing 
secondary teen pregnancies and providing services to pregnant and 
parenting adolescents. It has been documented that successful 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 reach that reality. In addition, the OAPP 
encourages applicants to provide opportunities for improving an 
adolescent's sense of self through cultural understanding and other 
activities that build an adolescent's sense of self-worth and self-
efficacy. All services provided by AFL grantees, however, including all 
activities that are part of a holistic and comprehensive approach, must 
be within the scope of the Title XX care services listed below.
    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 
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 job training and placement, (5) involve males and promote 
male responsibility, and (6) provide Sexually Transmitted Infection 
(STI) and HIV prevention counseling. Applicants should base their 
approach upon a review of current literature and an assessment of 
existing programs. Where appropriate, applicants should propose to 
establish better coordination, integration and linkages among such 
existing programs or replicate existing programs in their own 
community. Letters of commitment by partner or linkage agencies should 
be included with the application.
    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 STIs, 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 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 section 
2006(a)(17) of Title XX (42 U.S.C. 300z-5(a)(17)), applicants must 
make maximum use of funds 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;
    (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

[[Page 14388]]

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.
    The OAPP encourages applications to include a proposed goal(s) and 
related outcome objectives. A goal is a general statement of what the 
project hopes to accomplish and it should reflect the long-term desired 
impact of the project on the target group(s) as well as reflect the 
program goals of the OAPP contained in this program announcement. An 
outcome objective is a statement which defines a measurable result the 
project expects to accomplish. Outcome objectives should be described 
in terms that measure the result the project will bring about (e.g., 
decrease in repeat adolescent births among treatment group, increase in 
parenting skills). Good applications should contain a few outcome 
objective that are specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and 
time-framed (S.M.A.R.T.).
    Specific: An objective should specify one major result directly 
related to the program goal, state who is going to be doing what, to 
whom, by how much, and in what time-frame. It should specify what will 
be accomplished and how the accomplishment will be measured.
    Measurable: An objective should be able to describe in realistic 
terms the expected results and specify how such results will be 
measured.
    Achievable: the accomplishment specified in the objective should be 
achievable within the proposed time line and as a direct result of 
program activities.
    Realistic: the objective should be reasonable in nature. The 
specified outcomes, expected results, should be described in realistic 
terms.
    Time-framed: An outcome objective should specify a target date or 
time for its accomplishments. It should state who is going to be doing 
what, by when, etc.
    How to Get Grants. San Francisco, CA: The Public Management 
Institute, 1981.
    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 an evaluator 
associated 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 variable 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 consistent with each other. The 
proposed evaluator should be included in program planning activities to 
ensure that there is uniformity in the intended outcomes of the 
program.

Application Requirements

    Applications must be submitted on the forms supplied in the 
application kit provided by the OAPP (PHS 5161-1, Revised 7/00). The 
PHS 5161-1 can also be downloaded from the INTERNET at the following 
address: http://forms.psc.gov/forms/PHS/phs.html. These forms must be 
completed 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 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. 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 Executive Order 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.'' Executive Order 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 
States 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 Assessment and Evaluation Criteria

    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 multi-disciplinary panels of independent reviewers and assessed 
according to the following criteria:
    (1) The applicant's provision of a clear statement of mission, 
goals, measurable (outcome) objectives, reasonable methods for 
achieving the objectives, a reasonable work plan and timetable, and 
clear statements of expected results. (25 points)
    (2) The capacity of the applicant to implement the program, 
including personnel and other resources, and the applicant's experience 
and expertise in providing programs for adolescents. (15 points)
    (3) The population the project proposes to serve, including ethnic

[[Page 14389]]

composition, number of pregnant and/or parenting adolescent clients, 
infants, male partners, family members and community members. [Healthy 
People 2010 is a set of health objectives for the Nation to achieve 
over the first decade of the new century. The two goals of Healthy 
People 2010 are to increase quality of years of healthy life and to 
eliminate health disparities. In evaluating this criterion, priority 
will be given to programs who serve minority populations in order to 
eliminate health disparities.] (15 points)
    (4) The applicant's presentation of a detailed evaluation plan, 
indicating an understanding of program evaluation methods, and 
reflecting a practical and technically sound approach to assessing the 
project's achievement of program objectives. (15 points)
    (5) The applicant's presentation of the need for the project, 
including the incidence of adolescent pregnancy in the geographic area 
to be served and the availability of services for adolescents within 
this geographic area. (10 points)
    (6) The applicant's presentation of an organizational model for 
service delivery with appropriate design, consistent with the 
requirements of Title XX. (10 points)
    (7) The community commitment to and involvement in planning and 
implementation of the project, as demonstrated by letters of commitment 
and willingness to participate in the project's implementation, 
acceptance of referrals, etc. (10 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 section 2005(a) 
of Title XX, and the other factors including consideration of:
    1. Recommendations and scores submitted by the review panels;
    2. The geographic area to be served, particularly the needs of 
rural areas;
    3. The reasonableness of the estimated cost of the project based on 
factors such as the incidence of adolescent pregnancy in the geographic 
area to be served and the availability of services for adolescents in 
this geographic area;
    4. The usefulness for policymakers and service providers of the 
proposed project and its potential for replication.
    Applicants will be notified by letter of the outcome of their 
applications, after final funding decisions are made. 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: March 2, 2001.
Mireille B. Kanda,
Acting Director for Population Affairs.
[FR Doc. 01-6058 Filed 3-9-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4160-17-M