[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 87 (Monday, May 6, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 30386-30388]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-11117]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

[Program Announcement 02115]


National Asthma Health Education Enhancement Program; Notice of 
Availability of Funds

A. Purpose

    The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announces the 
availability of fiscal year (FY) 2002 funds for a cooperative agreement 
program for National Asthma Health Education Enhancement. This program 
addresses the ``Healthy People 2010'' focus areas of Environmental 
Health and Respiratory Diseases.
    The purpose of the program is to strengthen the nation's capacity 
to carry out public health activities in the area of asthma education. 
The objectives are to: (1) Disseminate educational information on a 
national level to families impacted by asthma; (2) help families learn 
to cope with challenges they face due to having a child with asthma; 
and (3) serve as a resource for families impacted by asthma.
    Organizations that are well-established and have a history and 
demonstrated capacity of providing asthma education to a national 
audience are targeted with this announcement. This announcement is not 
intended to build capacity of start up organizations.
    Measurable outcomes of the program will be in alignment with one or 
more of the performance goals of the Government Performance Results 
Act: increasing the understanding of the relationship between 
environmental exposures and health effects.

1. Use of Funds

    No research may be conducted as a part of this cooperative 
agreement.

2. Funding Preferences

    Preference may be given to organizations who have demonstrated 
their capacity and ability to reach a national audience with asthma 
education materials that were developed within the National Asthma 
Education and Prevention Program (NAEPP) guidelines.

B. Eligible Applicants

    Assistance will be provided only to the applicants that are well-
established national, non-profit organizations with experience in 
development and dissemination of asthma educational materials and whose 
membership includes families of children with asthma or others affected 
by the disease.
    To be eligible, applicants must:
    1. Demonstrate that your organization's mission is explicitly 
committed to improving the lives of families impacted by asthma, or 
other similar lung diseases, through the provision of timely, accurate, 
and useful information about the disease and how it can be controlled. 
You must have experience providing asthma education to a nationwide 
audience. The foregoing may be demonstrated by submission of your 
charter, articles of incorporation, or other governing documents.
    2. Demonstrate that your organization is non-profit and recognized 
as tax exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. 
This may be demonstrated through inclusion of your Internal Revenue 
Service determination letter.
    3. Demonstrate your organization has capacity and experience 
providing educational services to families with asthma on a nationwide 
basis. This may be demonstrated through letters of support.
    4. Demonstrate that you have a national membership of families or a 
national network of local organizations. This may be done through a 
letter from your organization's leadership which describes your 
national network/membership (number of members and national coverage of 
the membership).
    This information should be placed directly behind the face page 
(first page) of your application. Applications that fail to submit 
evidence requested above will be considered non-responsive and returned 
without review.

    Note: Title 2 of the United States Code section 1611 states that 
an organization described in section 501(c)(4) of the Internal 
Revenue Code that engages in lobbying activities is not eligible to 
receive Federal funds constituting an award, grant or loan.

C. Availability of Funds

    Approximately $300,000 is available in FY 2002, to fund 
approximately two to three awards. It is expected that the award will 
range from $100,000 to $150,000. It is expected that the awards will 
begin on or about September 1, 2002, and will be made for a 12-month 
budget period within a project period of up to three years. Funding 
estimates may change.

[[Page 30387]]

    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. Review and disseminate asthma currently available education 
information to reach your members and other community members on both a 
local and national level. Materials must be reviewed to insure they are 
in accordance with sound asthma management practices and appropriate 
NAEPP Guidelines.
    b. In cases where appropriate educational information does not 
exist and a need for such material is identified, develop 
scientifically-based, accurate, user-friendly, culturally-appropriate 
educational materials to be used to educate your members and other 
community members, or any targeted group for which a gap in currently 
available information is identified. Literacy level and appropriate 
demographics of your target audience should be considered.
    c. Conduct community and outreach education at the local level, 
aimed at your members and community members affected by asthma.
    d. Collaborate with partners, including CDC, and appropriate asthma 
education organizations, to insure that best practices are used in the 
development and dissemination of asthma education materials for your 
target group(s).
    e. For all of the above activities ``a. through d.'' develop and 
implement an evaluation plan which measures the effectiveness of your 
activities involved in each step indicated.

2. CDC Activities

    a. Collaborate with recipients in the development of 
scientifically-based, accurate, user-friendly, culturally-appropriate 
educational information concerning asthma, reaching a variety of 
literacy levels and considering appropriate demographic information for 
the target audience. Ensure coordination of this activity among all 
recipients and facilitate information sharing.
    b. Review recipients' identification of currently available 
educational materials and gap analysis. Ensure coordination of this 
activity among all recipients and facilitate information sharing and to 
eliminate duplication of efforts.
    c. Facilitate and coordinate meetings to bring together national 
groups as collaborators, as appropriate.
    d. Collaborate with recipients on the development of an appropriate 
evaluation plan which measures the effectiveness of recipient 
activities involved in each step indicated, and approve the plan.
    e. Coordinate recipient activities with asthma education partners 
(such as the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Allies Against Asthma 
resource bank) to insure no duplication of activities occurs.

E. Content

Letter of Intent (LOI)

    A non-binding LOI is requested for this program. The Program 
Announcement title and number must appear in the LOI. The narrative 
should be no more than one, double-spaced page, printed on one side, 
with one inch margins, and unreduced font. It should identify the name 
of your proposed project director and name of the organization. Your 
letter of intent will be used to allow CDC to determine the level of 
interest in the announcement, to plan the review more efficiently.

Applications

    The Program Announcement title and number must appear in the 
application kit. 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 the program 
plan.
    The narrative should be no more than 20 pages, double spaced, 
printed on one side, with one inch margins, and unreduced font. The 
narrative should consist of, at a minimum, a Plan, Objectives, Methods, 
Evaluation and Budget.

F. Submission and Deadline

Letter of Intent (LOI)

    On or before May 15, 2002, submit the LOI to the Grants Management 
Specialist identified in the ``Where to Obtain Additional Information'' 
section of this announcement.

Application

    Submit the original and two copies of PHS 5161-1 (OMB Number 0920-
0428). Forms are available in the application kit and at the following 
Internet address: www.cdc.gov/od/pgo/forminfo.htm.
    Application forms must be submitted in the following order:
Cover Letter
Table of Contents
Application
Eligibility Documents
Budget Information Form
Checklist
Assurances
Certifications
Disclosure Form
Indirect Cost Rate Agreement (if applicable)
Narrative

    On or before 5:00 PM Eastern Time on June 24, 2002, submit the 
application to: Technical Information Management Section, PA #02115, 
Procurement and Grants Office, Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention (CDC), 2920 Brandywine Road, Room 3000, Atlanta, GA 30341-
4146
    Deadline: Applications shall be considered as meeting the deadline 
if they are received before 5:00 PM Eastern Time on the deadline date.
    Applicants sending applications by the United States Postal Service 
or commercial delivery services must ensure that the carrier will be 
able to guarantee delivery of the application by the closing date and 
time. If an application is received after closing due to (1) carrier 
error, when the carrier accepted the package with a guarantee for 
delivery by the closing date and time, or (2) significant weather 
delays or natural disasters, CDC will, upon receipt of proper 
documentation, consider the application as having been received by the 
deadline.
    Applications which do not meet the above criteria will not be 
eligible for competition and will be discarded. Applicants will be 
notified of their failure to meet the submission requirements.

G. Evaluation Criteria

    Applicants are required to provide Measures of Effectiveness that 
will demonstrate the accomplishment of the various identified 
objectives of the cooperative agreement. Measures of Effectiveness must 
relate to the performance goal as stated in section A. ``Purpose'' of 
this announcement. Measures must be objective and quantitative and must 
measure the intended outcome. These Measures of Effectiveness shall be 
submitted with the application and shall be an element of evaluation.
    Each application will be evaluated individually against the 
following criteria by an independent review group appointed by CDC.

[[Page 30388]]

    1. History and Experience (30 points)
    The extent to which the proposal clearly demonstrates the 
applicant's solid reputation and history of serving families affected 
by asthma. The proposal should demonstrate that the applicant has a 
broad range of knowledge and expertise in the field of asthma, as well 
as significant years of experience in the dissemination and application 
of this knowledge and expertise. The proposal should also demonstrate 
that the applicant's membership is comprised of families affected by 
asthma and that this membership is national in scope.
    2. Proposed Program (30 points)
    The extent to which the proposal clearly demonstrates the 
applicant's understanding of the issues surrounding asthma and asthma 
education activities and addresses gaps in the current state of asthma 
educational materials and activities. The proposal demonstrates that 
the applicant has a clear understanding of the gaps and needs and has a 
clear plan of activities which will address these gaps. The applicant 
must demonstrate their educational materials are in adherence to the 
NAEPP guidelines and when these guidelines are updated, materials are 
appropriately updated.
    3. Evaluation Plan (30 points)
    The extent to which the applicant describes a realistic plan to 
accurately measure the effectiveness of their activities and which has 
mechanisms to insure quality improvement occurs over the life of the 
project.
    4. Facilities, Staff, and Resources (10 points)
    The extent to which the applicant can provide adequate facilities, 
staff and/or collaborators, and resources to accomplish the proposed 
goal(s) and objectives during the project period. The extent to which 
the applicant demonstrates staff and/or collaborator availability, 
expertise, previous experience, and capacity to perform the undertaking 
successfully.
    5. Budget (not scored)
    The extent to which the proposal demonstrates appropriateness and 
justification of the requested budget relative to the activities 
proposed.

H. Other Requirements

Technical Reporting Requirements

    Provide CDC with original plus two copies of:
    1. Semiannual progress reports (The progress report will include a 
data requirement that demonstrates measures of effectiveness.) The 
progress report shall include the following items.
    a. A brief project description;
    b. A comparison of actual accomplishments to the goals and 
objectives established for the period;
    c. In the case that established goals and objectives may not be 
accomplished or are delayed, documentation of both the reason for the 
deviation and the anticipated corrective action or a request for 
deletion of the activity for the project;
    d. A financial summary of obligated dollars to date as a percentage 
of total available dollars;
    e. Other pertinent information (i.e. curriculum vitae for new key 
personnel).
    2. Financial status report, no more than 90 days after the end of 
the budget period; and
    3. Final financial 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 of the 
announcement.

AR-7  Executive Order 12372 Review
AR-8  Public Health System Reporting Requirements
AR-10  Smoke-Free Workplace Requirements
AR-11  Healthy People 2010
AR-12  Lobbying Restrictions
AR-14  Accounting System Requirements
AR-21  Small, Minority, Women-Owned Businesses

I. Authority and Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number

    This program is authorized under section 301 and 317(k)(2) of the 
Public Health Service Act, [42 U.S.C. 241 and 247b(k)(2)], as amended. 
The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance number is 93.283.

J. Where to Obtain Additional Information

    This and other CDC announcements can be found on the CDC home page 
Internet address--http://www.cdc.gov Click on ``Funding'' then ``Grants 
and Cooperative Agreements.''
    If you have questions after reviewing the contents of all the 
documents, business management technical assistance may be obtained 
from:

Sonia Roswell, Grants Management Specialist
Acquisition Assistance Branch B, Procurement and Grants Office
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Announcement 02115
2920 Brandywine Road, Room 3000
Atlanta, GA 30341-4146
Telephone number (770) 488-2724
email address [email protected]

    For program technical assistance, contact:

Sheri Disler, Public Health Advisor
National Center for Environmental Health
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
1600 Clifton Road, NE, MS E-17
Atlanta, GA 30333
Telephone number (404) 498-1018
email address [email protected]

    Dated: April 30, 2002.
Sandra R. Manning, CGFM,
Director, Procurement and Grants Office, Centers for Disease Control 
and Prevention (CDC).
[FR Doc. 02-11117 Filed 5-3-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4163-18-P