[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 90 (Wednesday, May 9, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23703-23705]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-11614]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

[Program Announcement 01069]


Cooperative Agreement for Suicide Prevention Research Center; 
Notice of Availability of Funds

A. Purpose

    The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announces the 
availability of fiscal year (FY) 2001 funds for a cooperative agreement 
program for a Suicide Prevention Research Center (SPRC). This program 
addresses the ``Healthy People 2010'' focus area of Violent and Abusive 
Behavior and Unintentional Injuries. The purpose of this cooperative 
agreement is to support existing activities of an SPRC that target at-
risk populations including American Indian/Alaskan Natives, African-
American males, young adolescents and the elderly. SPRC activities 
include both research-related projects and efforts to facilitate and/or 
coordinate suicide prevention efforts for a geographically defined 
area. Examples of these activities include, but are not limited to: (1) 
Behavioral research of populations at-risk for suicide, and the (2) 
development and evaluation of a suicide surveillance system that 
includes information collected from multiple data sources.

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, hospitals, other public 
and private nonprofit organizations, State and local governments or 
their bona fide agents, including the District of Columbia, the 
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, the Commonwealth of 
the Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa, Guam, the Federated 
States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the 
Republic of Palau, federally recognized Indian tribal governments, 
Indian tribes, or Indian tribal organizations.
    To be eligible, applicants must provide the following:
    1. Acceptable documentation, at a minimum, includes a letter from 
the director of the agency authorizing access to the records 
delineating what records/data are available for use and by whom, the 
time of availability of records and the specific calendar years, the 
availability of unique identifiers, how the records/data can be used, 
etc.;
    2. How the records/data are to be linked, the existence of a 
unified database, and existing infrastructure to conduct the suicide 
prevention research;
    3. Evidence of existing staff and resources to carry out the 
activities; and 4) evidence of existing partnerships with national, 
state, and local suicide prevention agencies that includes letters from 
all agencies from the director of the agency, documenting the nature of 
the partnership, the length of the relationship, what role and/or 
resources provided, etc.
    The documentation to fulfill the eligibility requirement must 
appear immediately following the face sheet of the application. All 
documentation must appear on agency letterhead. Applications that fail 
to submit evidence of the above will be considered non-responsive and 
will be returned without review.

    Note: Title 2 of the United States Code, chapter 26, section 
1611 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 $400,000 is available in fiscal year (FY) 2001 to 
fund one award. It is expected that the award will begin on or about 
September 1, 2001, and will be made for a 12-month budget period within 
a project period of up to three years. Funding estimates may change.
    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. Programmatic Interest

    Specific research activities of particular interest to CDC are:
    1. Evaluation of the benefits resulting from the development of a 
unified suicide surveillance system as described above and an 
assessment of the barriers encountered during the development phase;
    2. Identification of existing state and regional suicide prevention 
efforts;
    3. Determination of existing death investigation protocols used by 
medical examiners and coroners regarding suicide; and the
    4. Development of recommendations for a standard protocol to aid in 
the investigative process improvement of these protocols.

E. Program Requirements

    The following are applicant requirements:
    1. Demonstrate expertise in some form of suicide behavior 
prevention research as a core component of the SPRC (as defined in the 
Section Background and Definitions of the program announcement included 
in the application kit).
    2. Provide a director (Principal Investigator) who has specific 
authority and responsibility to carry out the project.
    3. Provide a Program Coordinator/Manager, with suicidal behavior 
research expertise, who will be responsible for day to day programmatic 
and fiscal management, establishment and maintenance of communication 
between and among members of the expert panel, national advisory 
committee(s), community advisory committee, and other organizations and 
agencies, including CDC.

F. Cooperative Agreement Activities

    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).

[[Page 23704]]

1. Recipients Activities

    a. Conduct epidemiologic research regarding suicide and suicidal 
behavior. Such research should provide information about potentially 
modifiable risk and protective factors that can be used as a basis to 
develop prevention programs or identify avenues for intervention.
    b. Collaborate with outside agencies and other entities which will 
allow for implementation of any proposed intervention activities. At 
least one of the agencies must be a national organization that has 
suicide prevention as its major objective and whose members are 
actively engaged in suicide prevention activities. Provide evidence of 
established relationships, demonstrated by letters of commitment, with 
suicide prevention programs being carried out in the State or region in 
which the SPRC is located. Cooperation with private-sector programs is 
encouraged.
    c. Collaborate with specialists or experts in medicine, 
epidemiology, behavioral and social sciences, and/or public health as 
needed to complete the plans of the SPRC. These are considered the 
disciplines and fields for the SPRC.
    d. Establish a community advisory board composed of representatives 
from public health, mental health, social services, community-based 
organizations and suicide survivors (family members, friends, etc., who 
have experienced the loss of a loved one due to suicide) who have an 
interest in suicide prevention.
    e. Coordinate geographic efforts within the state and region to be 
served by the SPRC.
    f. Facilitate and/or coordinate suicide prevention efforts to 
address the elimination of health disparities among minority 
populations with disproportionate burdens of adverse health outcomes.
    g. Publicize and disseminate the findings.

2. CDC Activities

    a. Assist in the development of a research protocol for 
Institutional Review Board (IRB) review. The CDC IRB will review and 
approve the protocol initially and on at least an annual basis until 
the research is completed.
    b. Provide technical assistance, as needed, to the SPRC.
    c. Assist in the publicizing and dissemination of the findings.

G. Application Content

    Use the information in the Program Requirements, Other 
Requirements, and Evaluation Criteria sections to develop the 
application content. Your application will be evaluated on the criteria 
listed, so it is important to follow them in laying out your program 
plan.

H. Submission and Deadline

    Submit the original and five 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 or in the application kit.
    On or before July 9, 2001, 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 obtain a legibly dated 
receipt from a commercial carrier or U.S. Postal Service. Private 
metered postmarks shall not be acceptable as proof of timely 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.

I. Evaluation Criteria

    Each application will be evaluated individually against the 
following criteria by an independent review group appointed by CDC.
    Applicants will be evaluated according to the following criteria 
(Maximum of 100 total points):

1. Core Faculty, Staff, and Organizational Capacity (30 points)

    a. Core faculty: Qualifications, experience, and/or ability of core 
faculty in conducting research relevant to suicide prevention. Faculty 
history and experience in receiving research support from competitive 
sources of funding.
    b. Staffing plan: Qualifications, adequacy, appropriateness of 
personnel, level of effort devoted to the SPRC, and ability to 
accomplish the proposed activities. The director must report to an 
appropriate institutional official, e.g., dean of a school, vice 
president of a university, or commissioner of health and devote not 
less than 30 percent effort solely to this project. The Project 
Coordinator or Manager must be a full-time equivalent (1FTE) who is 
responsible for managing the day to day activities of the SPRC and 
responsible for providing coordination among and between the national, 
state, and local organizations, the expert panel, and the community 
advisory board.
    c. Organizational capacity: Existence and availability of 
organizational resources and support for achieving research and 
prevention goals.

2. Organizational Collaboration (30 points)

    a. The extent to which the applicant describes the nature of the 
collaborative relationships (joint activities and access to the 
collaborative organization's membership for promoting prevention 
activities).
    b. The extent to which one of the collaborating organizations is a 
national organization that has suicide prevention as its major 
objective and whose members are actively engaged in suicide prevention 
activities.
    c. The extent to which the applicant documents geographic 
coordination of all suicide prevention efforts within the state and 
region to be served by the SPRC to include but not limited to 
surveillance efforts, involvement of experts and national organization 
and others referenced in the program requirements, inventory of 
evaluated diverse suicide prevention programs targeting a 
representative mixture of target groups, the inclusion of and linkage 
of disparate data sources, etc.
    3. Research and Prevention Plan (40 points)
    a. The extent to which the applicant documents a high incidence of 
suicide in the state and region to be served. The extent to which the 
applicant documents the public health impact of suicide within the 
state and region to be served by the SPRC.
    b. The extent to which the applicant has the capacity to develop a 
research plan that identifies and is responsive to needed research in 
the area of suicide prevention.
    c. The extent to which the applicant documents plans to develop a 
model self-directed violence surveillance system that has the capacity 
to link records between disparate data bases either within a specific 
geographic area (e.g., including the state and region). At a minimum, 
the applicant should document access to uniform hospital discharge data 
bases, trauma registries, and vital statistics.
    d. The extent to which the applicant documents the ability of the 
surveillance system to identify geographic areas with a high incidence 
of attempted or completed suicides.

[[Page 23705]]

    e. The extent to which the system have the capability to identify 
demographic groups at high risk, e.g., racial/ethnic groups, age, 
economic class, etc.
    f. The extent to which the applicant documents utility of a 
standard protocol for follow-back studies to aid in the investigative 
process to validate or invalidate undetermined causes of death. 
Specifically, can the data collection and analysis enhance the follow-
back study process to address the following issues: determine the 
manner of death in equivocal or undetermined deaths, establish the 
decedent's intent to die, and establish motivations for suicide and 
pathways toward suicidal death.
    g. The extent to which the applicant describes the distribution of 
suicidal behavior/correlates in a state and region, and plans to 
develop and pilot test suicide questions for future use in state level 
surveys.
    h. The extent to which the applicant can identify existing instate 
and inter-region suicide prevention programs, in existence for a 
minimum of five years and have been evaluated, that target a 
representative mixture of target groups, specifically African-American 
males and Native American/Alaska Natives, and young adolescents and the 
elderly. The inventory of existing prevention programs, referenced 
above, should represent a diversity of intervention strategies and 
settings.
    i. The extent to which the applicant documents how specific 
activities address minority populations with disproportionate burdens 
of adverse health outcomes.
    j. The degree to which the applicant will meet the CDC Policy 
requirements regarding the inclusion of women, ethnic, and racial 
groups in the proposed research. This includes:
    1. The proposed plan for the inclusion of both sexes and racial and 
ethnic minority populations appropriate representation.
    2. The proposed justification when representation is limited or 
absent.
    3. A statement as to whether the design of the study is adequate to 
measure differences when warranted.
    4. A statement as to whether the plans for recruitment and outreach 
for study participants include the process of establishing partnerships 
with community(ies) and recognition of mutual benefits.

4. Budget (not scored)

    The extent to which the budget is reasonable, clearly justified, 
and consistent with stated objectives and proposed activities. 
Soundness of the proposed budget in terms of adequacy of resources and 
their allocation.

5. Human Subjects (Not scored; however an application can be 
disapproved if the research risks are sufficiently serious and 
protection against risks is so inadequate as to make the entire 
application unacceptable.) Does the application adequately address the 
requirements of Title 45 CFR 46 for the protection of human subjects?

    Yes __  No __

J. Other Requirements

1. Technical Reporting Requirements Provide CDC with original plus two 
copies of

    a. progress reports (semiannual);
    b. financial status report, no more than 90 days after the end of 
the budget period;
    c. final financial report and performance report, 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.

2. Additional Requirements

    The following additional requirements are applicable to this 
program. For a complete description of each see Attachment I of the 
announcement.

AR-1  Human Subjects Requirements
AR-2  Requirements for Inclusion of Women and Racial and Ethnic 
Minorities in Research
AR-10  Smoke-Free Workplace Requirements
AR-11  Healthy People 2010
AR-12  Lobbying Restrictions
AR-13  Prohibition of Use of CDC Funds for Certain Gun Control 
Activities
AR-21  Small Minority
AR-22  Research Integrity

K. Authority and Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number

    This program is authorized under the Public Health Service Act 301, 
317, and 391-394A (42 U.S.C. section 241, 247b and 280b-280b-3), as 
amended. The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance number is 93.136.

L. Where to Obtain Additional Information

    This and other CDC announcements can be found on the CDC homepage 
Internet address--http://www.cdc.gov. Click on ``Funding'' then 
``Grants and Cooperative Agreements.''
    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: Angie Nation, Grants Management Specialist, Grants Management 
Branch, Procurement and Grants Office, Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention, 2920 Brandywine Road, Suite 3000, Atlanta, GA 30341-4146, 
Telephone: (770) 488-2719, E-mail address: [email protected].
    For program technical assistance, contact: M. Joyce McCurdy, 
Deputy, Etiology and Surveillance Branch, National Center for Injury 
Prevention and Control, Division of Violence Prevention, Mailstop K60, 
4770 Buford Highway, Atlanta, GA 30341-3717, Telephone number: (770) 
488-4410, Email address: [email protected].

    Dated: May 2, 2001.
John L. Williams,
Director, Procurement and Grants Office Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention (CDC).
[FR Doc. 01-11614 Filed 5-8-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4163-18-P