[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 97 (Friday, May 18, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 27663-27665]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-12530]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Indian Health Service


Mental Health and Community Safety Initiative for American 
Indian/Alaska Native Children, Youth, and Families

AGENCY: Indian Health Service, HHS.

ACTION: Notice of funding availability for competitive grants for the 
Mental Health and Community Safety Initiative for American Indian/
Alaska Native (AI/AN) Children, Youth, and Families.

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SUMMARY: The Indian Health Service (IHS) announces the availability of 
competitive grants under the Mental Health and Community Safety 
Initiative for American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) Children, Youth, 
and Families for fiscal year (FY) 2001. Grants under this Initiative 
will be administered by the following Federal Agencies:
    (1) The Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT) and the Center 
for Mental Health Services (CMHS), Substance Abuse and Mental Health 
Services Administration (SAMHSA), United States Department of Health 
and Human Services (HHS);
    (2) The Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) and 
the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), 
United States Department of Justice (DOJ); and
    (3) The Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE), United 
States Department of Education (ED).

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    The Initiative will provide tribes and tribal organizations with 
easy-to-access assistance in developing innovative strategies that 
focus on the mental health, behavioral, substance abuse, and community 
safety needs of AI/AN young people and their families through a 
coordinated Federal grant process. Total funding for the four grant 
programs involved in the Initiative is approximately $4.95 million.
    The primary purpose of the Initiative is to promote AI/AN youth 
mental health, education, and substance abuse-related (alcohol as well 
as drug abuse) services, and to support juvenile delinquency prevention 
and intervention through the creation and implementation of culturally 
sensitive programs. Grant funds will be available for the Initiative 
beginning in FY 2001, and a coordinated grant program may continue 
subject to the availability of funds.
    The Initiative will support tribes in providing a range of youth 
support services and programs to address the mental health and related 
needs of AI/AN young people and their families through various settings 
within the community, such as in the home, in the schools, in violence 
prevention education programs, in health care treatment programs, and 
in the juvenile justice system. Interagency programs are included in 
this effort based upon their combined potential to comprehensively 
address mental health, juvenile justice, and related issues. As part of 
this Initiative, tribes are encouraged to promote coordination and 
collaboration among the local programs that serve young people in their 
communities.
    Tribes are strongly encouraged to apply for one or more of the 
grant programs included in the Initiative. In submitting an 
application(s), tribes should identify the complex community issues 
involved and demonstrate how the proposed application(s) will provide 
for a comprehensive approach to addressing and attempting to solve 
these issues.

Government Agencies Providing Grants Funding

    A. The HHS agency providing grant funding for the Initiative is 
SAMHSA; two Centers, CSAT and CMHS, are providing separate funding.
    1. CSAT
    The CSAT has available approximately $1 million in FY 2001 for 1-
year grant awards for the AI/AN Community Planning Program. The average 
award may range from $100,000 to $150,000 depending on the size of the 
identified service population of the applicant. The focus of the grant 
program is to support planning and consensus building, lending to the 
development of local substance abuse treatment plans, especially in 
those communities not previously successful in applying for service 
funding. The average award may range from $100,000 to $150,000 in total 
(direct and indirect) costs. Actual funding will depend on availability 
of funds to SAMHSA. Grants will be awarded for a period of 12 months.
    This program will support the development of plans that describe 
how tribal governments and organizations providing services to urban 
Indian communities, and other indigenous community organizations, will 
work together to deliver integrated substance abuse treatment and 
related services, such as HIV/AIDS prevention, mental health services, 
primary care, and other public health services. The grants are made up 
of two types: (1) Development of a community planning process, and (2) 
Implementation of a services integration plan. The current announcement 
is for Phase I grants only. Subject to the availability of future 
funding and accomplishment of Phase I, CSAT may issue a Phase II 
announcement in the future.
    This program is described in the Catalog of Federal Domestic 
Assistance under #93.230. The deadline for receipt of applications is 
July 10, 2001.
    For information regarding this SAMHSA program contact Maria Burns, 
Program Management Officer, Division of Practice and Systems 
Development, Center for Substance Abuse Treatment, 5600 Fishers Lane, 
RWII, Suite 740, Rockville, MD 20857, (301) 443-7611, Fax: (301) 443-
3543, 
e-mail:[email protected].
    2. CMHS
    The CMHS has approximately $2.4 million available for 3-year grant 
awards to AI/AN tribal governments and urban organizations for the 
Circles of Care Initiative. The average award may range from $250,000 
to $350,000 depending on the size of the identified service population. 
This Initiative supports planning, designing, and assessing the 
feasibility of implementing a culturally appropriate system of care for 
AI/AN children and their families who are experiencing or are at risk 
of serious emotional/behavioral disturbance. This is the second 
issuance of the grant program which seeks to provide tribal communities 
with tools and resources to design systems of care for their children 
that reflect the unique needs of their communities. This grant program 
will not fund actual services. An important focus will be to integrate 
traditional healing methods indigenous to the communities with 
conventional treatment methodologies.
    This program is described in the Catalog of Federal Domestic 
Assistance under #93.230. The deadline for receipt of applications is 
May 10, 2001.
    For information regarding this SAMHSA program, contact Jill Shepard 
Erickson, M.S.W., Public Health Advisor, or Gary De Carolis, M.Ed., 
Chief, Child, Adolescent and Family Branch, Center for Mental Health 
Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 
Suite 11C-16, Parklawn Building, 5600 Fishers Ln., Rm. 6A-54, 
Rockville, MD 20857, (301) 443-1333, Fax: (301) 443-3693, e-mail: 
[email protected].
    B. DOJ agencies providing grant funding for the Initiative are COPS 
and OJJDP.
    1. COPS
    The DOJ/COPS announces the availability of $550,000 for the Mental 
Health and Community Safety Initiative for AI/AN Children, Youth, and 
Families. Grants will be awarded for salaries and benefits for new 
police officers, as well as law enforcement training and equipment, 
including technology and vehicles, for new and existing police 
officers. Resources funded under this program (officer positions, 
equipment, and/or training) must be used to address the mental health, 
behavioral, and substance abuse needs of Native American youth and 
their families and provide a range of youth support services and 
programs both in the community and in the school arena. Sworn police 
officers must be deployed as Community Resource Officers or as School 
Resource Officers that engage in community policing activities. 
Salaries and benefits cover a 3-year period. A 25% local match 
requirement may be waived on the basis of demonstrated fiscal distress. 
All applicants must submit a written plan to retain their COPS-funded 
officer positions after Federal funding has ended.
    Included in this $550,000 offering is $50,000 made available by the 
U.S. Department of Education, Safe and Drug-Free Schools and 
Communities, to support activities that combat alcohol, tobacco, and 
other drugs, as well as violence prevention education activities in 
school- or community-based settings. These activities will be 
implemented by police officers serving as School Resource or Community 
Resource Officers. Training in these topic areas will be provided as 
well as technical assistance to assess needs and to develop a 
community-wide collaborative implementation plan to address these 
needs. Once an

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implementation plan is developed, Community and/or School Resource 
Officers will be expected to engage in activities--along with their law 
enforcement activities--as part of the plan to address those community 
and/or school issues. Examples of such activities might include:
    Teach school-based drug or crime prevention programs;
    Teach problem-solving courses and supervise tailored responses to 
problems;
    Run after-school programs and recruit parents and other volunteers 
to assist;
    Form task forces of students, parents, teachers, and others to 
identify concerns;
    Implement crime prevention through environmental design projects in 
the community or school settings;
    Refer youth/students to appropriate treatment programs; and
    Focus on specific problems like truancy.
    This program is described in the Catalog of Federal Domestic 
Assistance under #16.710. The deadline for receipt of applications is 
June 22, 2001.
    For further information regarding this COPS program, please 
contact: Linda Rosen, Policy Analyst, Office of Community Oriented 
Policing Services (COPS), U.S. Department of Justice, 1100 Vermont 
Avenue, NW., 8th Floor, Washington, DC 20530, (202) 616-2879, Fax: 
(202) 514-9272, e-mail: [email protected].
    2. OJJDP
    The purpose of the Tribal Youth Program (TYP) Mental Health 
Initiative is to support and enhance tribal efforts for comprehensive 
delinquency prevention and control as well as improve juvenile justice 
systems for Native American youth. In FY 2001, $1 million of the total 
appropriation for the TYP has been set aside to provide mental health 
services to adjudicated youth in Tribal and/or State juvenile justice 
systems. The programs or projects to be funded must provide mental 
health services through one or more of the following activities:
    (1) Reduce, control, and prevent crime and delinquency both by and 
against tribal youth;
    (2) Provide interventions for court-involved tribal youth;
    (3) Improve tribal juvenile justice systems; and
    (4) Provide prevention programs focusing on alcohol and drugs.
    This program is described in the Catalog of Federal Domestic 
Assistance under #16.731. The deadline for receipt of applications is 
July 6, 2001.
    For more information, please contact: Laura Ansera, Program 
Manager, Tribal Youth Program, Office of Juvenile Justice and 
Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), State Relations and Assistance 
Division, U.S Department of Justice, 810 Seventh Street, NW., 
Washington, DC 20531, (202) 307-5924, Fax: (202) 307-2819, e-mail: 
[email protected].

Distribution of Grant Application Kits

    The SAMHSA, COPS, and OJJDP are preparing a single, consolidated 
grant application package that will include the program announcement 
and application kit for each of the four grant programs described 
above. The consolidated application package will be distributed on or 
about May 1, 2001. A package will be sent directly to (1) the Tribal 
Chairman of every federally recognized tribe; (2) the Director of every 
tribal organization as defined by section 4(1) of Publication Law 93-
638, Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act, as 
amended; and (3) the Director of every tribal health department.
    To request additional application packages, please contact: Office 
of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Juvenile Justice 
Clearing House, 2277 Research Boulevard, Rockville, Maryland 20850.
    Reference: Mental Health and Community Safety Initiative for 
American Indian/Alaska Native Children, Youth, and Families 
(Solicitation #476), Telephone: 1-800-638-8736.

    Dated: May 14, 2001.
Michel E. Lincoln,
Deputy Director, Indian Health Services.
[FR Doc. 01-12530 Filed 5-17-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4160-16-M