[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 90 (Thursday, May 9, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31334-31337]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-11561]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

[Program Announcement 02123]


Parenting Program Attrition and Compliance Efficacy Trial; Notice 
of Availability of Funds

A. Purpose

    The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announce the 
availability of fiscal year (FY) 2002 funds for a cooperative agreement 
program for a Parenting Program Attrition and Compliance Efficacy 
Trial. This program addresses the ``Healthy People 2010'' focus area: 
Injury and Violence Prevention.
    The purpose of the program is to test strategies and techniques for 
reducing attrition and enhancing compliance with extant parenting 
programs for the prevention of child maltreatment. At a minimum, 
competitive applicants must have previously demonstrated program 
efficacy or effectiveness in enhancing family functioning and reducing 
child maltreatment. The project should examine rigorous tests of 
specific interventions focused on enhancing participation and 
participant compliance in existing efficacious or effective parenting 
programs.
    Measurable outcomes of the program will be in alignment with the 
following performance goal for the National Center for Injury 
Prevention and Control: Reduce the risk of child maltreatment.

B. Eligible Applicants

    Applications may be submitted by public and private non-profit 
organizations and by governments and their agencies; that is, 
universities, colleges, research institutions, hospitals, other public 
and private non-profit 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.

    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 $400,000 is available in FY 2002 to fund one to two 
awards. It is expected that the average award will be $200,000, ranging 
from $200,000 to $400,000. It is expected that the award will begin on 
or about September 30, 2002 and will be made for a 12 month budget 
period within a project period of up four 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. 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) Design and conduct research to address the described goals of 
this cooperative agreement. This may include, formative research or 
pilot work.
    (b) Collaborate with CDC in the development of the human subjects 
protocol for the CDC Institutional Review Board (IRB), implementation 
and evaluation of project delivery.
    (c) Collaborate with CDC to write and disseminate reports of 
research activities to regional, state, and local partners.
    (d) Obtain approval of the study protocol by the recipient's local 
IRB.
    (e) Collaborate with CDC to analyze data, perform cost analyses, 
and publish findings in peer-reviewed journals.

2. CDC Activities

    (a) Provide scientific and technical assistance for the design and 
implementation of this research.
    (b) Collaborate with the grantee in the development of a research 
protocol for IRB review by all collaborating institutions. The CDC's 
IRB will review the protocol initially and on an annual basis until the 
project is complete.
    (c) Collaborate with the grantee to ensure human subjects 
assurances are in place as needed.
    (d) Participate in the analysis and dissemination of study 
findings.
    (e) Monitor and evaluate the scientific and operational 
accomplishments of the project through conference calls, site visits, 
and review of technical reports.
    (f) Provide cost analyses of the design and implementation of this 
research.

E. Content

Letter of Intent (LOI)

    A LOI is optional for this program. The program announcement title 
and number must appear in the LOI. The narrative should be no more than 
two pages, double spaced, printed on one side, with one inch margins, 
and unreduced font. Your letter of intent will be used to enable CDC to 
determine level of interests in the announcement.

Applications

    The Program Announcement title and number must appear in the 
application. 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.
    The narrative should be no more than 40 pages, double spaced, 
printed on one side, with one-inch margins, and unreduced fonts. The 
narrative should consist of, at a minimum, a Plan,

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Objectives, Methods, Evaluation and Budget.

F. Submission and Deadline

Letter of Intent (LOI)

    On or before June 1, 2002, submit the LOI to the Grants Management 
Specialist identified in the ``Where to Obtain Additional Information'' 
section of this announcement.

Application

    Submit the application on or before June 24, 2002. Forms are 
available 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 (PHS 398)
Budget Information Form
Budget Justification
Checklist
Assurances
Certifications
Disclosure Form
HIV Assurance Form (if applicable)
Human Subjects Certification (if applicable)
Indirect Cost Rate Agreement (if applicable)
Narrative

    On or before 5:00PM Eastern Time June 24, 2002, submit the 
application to the Technical Information Section, 2920 Brandywine Road, 
Suite 3000, Atlanta, Georgia 30341.
    Deadline: Letters of intent and applications shall be considered as 
meeting the deadline if they are received before 5 p.m. 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 (i.e., 
rigorous designs and direct measures of outcomes with extended follow-
up). Rigorous designs could include experimental designs in which 
families, communities, or other units are randomly assigned to the 
intervention group (with level to be determined by assessment) and 
control or comparison groups, or strong quasi-experimental designs in 
which families, communities, or other units are matched appropriately. 
Measures of Effectiveness must relate to the National Center for Injury 
Prevention and Control performance goal of reducing the risk of child 
maltreatment.
    Upon receipt, applications will be reviewed by CDC staff for 
completeness and responsiveness as outlined under the Eligible 
Applicants Section (Items 1-5). Incomplete applications and 
applications that are not responsive will be returned to the applicant 
without further consideration. It is especially important that the 
applicant's abstract reflects the project's focus, because the abstract 
will be used to help determine the responsiveness of the application.
    Applications which are complete and responsive may be subjected to 
a preliminary evaluation (triage) by a peer review committee, the 
Injury Research Grant Review Committee (IRGRC), to determine if the 
application is of sufficient technical and scientific merit to warrant 
further review by the IRGRC; CDC will withdraw from further 
consideration applications judged to be non-competitive and promptly 
notify the principal investigator/program director and the official 
signing for the applicant organization. Those applications judged to be 
competitive will be further evaluated by a dual review process.
    Competitive supplemental grant awards may be made if end of fiscal 
year funds are available, to support research work or activities not 
previously approved by the IRGRC. Competitive supplement applications 
should be clearly labeled to denote their status as requesting 
supplemental funding support. These applications will be reviewed by 
the IRGRC and the secondary review group.
    All awards will be determined by the Director of the NCIPC based on 
priority scores assigned to applications by the primary review 
committee IRGRC, recommendations by the secondary review committee 
Advisory Committee for Injury Prevention and Control (ACIPC), 
consultation with NCIPC senior staff, and the availability of funds.
    1. The primary review will be a peer review conducted by the IRGRC. 
All applications will be reviewed for scientific merit using current 
National Institutes of Health (NIH) criteria to evaluate the methods 
and scientific quality of the application. Factors to be considered 
will include:
    a. Significance: Does this study address an important problem? If 
the aims of the application are achieved, how will scientific knowledge 
be advanced? What will be the effect of these studies on the concepts 
or methods that drive this field?
    b. Approach: Are the conceptual framework, design, methods, and 
analyses adequately developed, well integrated, and appropriate to the 
aims of the project? Does the applicant acknowledge potential problem 
areas and consider alternative tactics? Does the project include plans 
to measure progress toward achieving the stated objectives? Is there an 
appropriate work plan included?
    c. Innovation: Does the project employ novel concepts, approaches 
or methods? Are the aims original and innovative? Does the project 
challenge or advance existing paradigms, or develop new methodologies 
or technologies?
    d. Investigator: Is the principal investigator appropriately 
trained and well suited to carry out this work? Is the proposed work 
appropriate to the experience level of the principal investigator and 
other significant investigator participants? Is there a prior history 
of conducting injury-related research?
    e. Environment: Does the scientific environment in which the work 
will be done contribute to the probability of success? Does the 
proposed research take advantage of unique features of the scientific 
environment or employ useful collaborative arrangements? Is there 
evidence of institutional support? Is there an appropriate degree of 
commitment and cooperation of other interested parties as evidenced by 
letters detailing the nature and extent of the involvement?
    f. Ethical Issues: What provisions have been made for the 
protection of human subjects and the safety of the research 
environments? How does the applicant plan to handle issues of 
confidentiality and compliance with mandated reporting requirements, 
e.g., suspected child abuse? Does the application adequately address 
the requirements of 45 CFR part 46 for the protection of human 
subjects? (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.) The degree to which the 
applicant has met the CDC Policy requirements regarding the

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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 for 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 or cummunities and recognition of mutual benefits.
    g. Study Samples: Are the samples sufficiently rigorously defined 
to permit complete independent replication at another site? Have the 
referral sources been described, including the definitions and 
criteria? What plans have been made to include women and minorities and 
their subgroups as appropriate for the scientific goals of the 
research? How will the applicant deal with recruitment and retention of 
subjects?
    h. Dissemination: What plans have been articulated for 
disseminating findings?
    i. Measures of Effectiveness: The peer Review panel shall assure 
that measures set forth in the application are in accordance with CDC's 
performance plans (see attachment 4). How adequately has the applicant 
addressed these measures?
    The IRGRC will also examine the appropriateness of the proposed 
project budget and duration in relation to the proposed research and 
the availability of data required for the project.
    2. The secondary review will be conducted by the Science and 
Program Review Committee (SPRS) from the ACIPC. The ACIPC Federal ex 
officio members will be invited to attend the secondary review and will 
receive modified briefing books (i.e., abstracts, strengths and 
weaknesses from summary statements, and project officer's briefing 
materials). Federal ex officio members will be encouraged to 
participate in deliberations when applications address overlapping 
areas of research interest so that unwarranted duplication in federally 
funded research can be avoided and special subject area expertise can 
be shared. The NCIPC Division Associate Directors for Science (ADS) or 
their designees will attend the secondary review in a similar capacity 
as the Federal ex officio members to assure that research priorities of 
the announcement are understood and to provide background regarding 
current research activities. Only SPRS members will vote on funding 
recommendations, and their recommendations will be carried to the 
entire ACIPC for voting by the ACIPC members in closed session. If any 
further review is needed by the ACIPC, regarding the recommendations of 
the SPRS, the factors considered will be the same as the factors that 
the SPRS considered.
    The committee's responsibility is to develop funding 
recommendations for the NCIPC Director based on the results of the 
primary review, the relevance and balance of proposed research relative 
to the NCIPC programs and priorities, and to assure that unwarranted 
duplication of federally-funded research does not occur. The Secondary 
Review Committee has the latitude to recommend to the NCIPC Director, 
to reach over better ranked proposals in order to assure maximal impact 
and balance of proposed research. The factors to be considered will 
include:
    a. The results of the primary review, including the application's 
priority score as the primary factor in the selection process.
    b. The relevance and balance of proposed research relative to the 
NCIPC programs and priorities.
    c. The significance of the proposed activities in relation to the 
priorities delineated in the National Research Agenda.
    d. Budgetary considerations.
    3. Continued Funding
    Continuation awards made after FY 2002, but within the project 
period, will be made on the basis of the availability of funds and the 
following criteria:
    a. The accomplishments reflected in the progress report of the 
continuation application indicate that the applicant is meeting 
previously stated objectives or milestones contained in the project's 
annual work plan and satisfactory progress demonstrated through 
presentations at work-in-progress monitoring workshops.
    b. The objectives for the new budget period are realistic, specific 
and measurable.
    c. The methods described will clearly lead to achievement of these 
objectives.
    d. The evaluation plan will allow management to monitor whether the 
methods are effective.
    e. The budget request is clearly explained, adequately justified, 
reasonable and consistent with the intended use of grant funds.

H. Other Requirements

Measures of Effectiveness Requirements

    Applicants are required to provide Measures of Effectiveness that 
will demonstrate the accomplishment of the various identified 
objectives of the cooperative agreement. Measures must be objective/
quantitative, and must measure the intended outcome. These Measures of 
Effectiveness shall be submitted with the application and shall be an 
element of evaluation.

Technical Reporting Requirements

    Provide CDC with original plus one:
    1. Semiannual progress reports
    2. Financial status report, no more than 90 days after the end of 
the budget period.
    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 II of the 
announcement.

AR-1  Human Subjects Requirements
AR-2  Requirements for Inclusion of Women and Racial and Ethnic 
Minorities in Research
AR-3  Animal Subjects Requirements
AR-4  HIV/AIDS Confidentiality Provisions
AR-5  HIV Program Review Panel Requirements
AR-6  Patient Care
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-14  Accounting System Requirements
AR-15  Proof of Non-Profit Status
AR-16  Security Clearance Requirement
AR-17  Peer and Technical Reviews of Final Reports of Health Studies--
ATSDR
AR-18  Cost Recovery--ATSDR
AR-19  Third Party Agreements--ATSDR
AR-20  Conference Support
AR-21  Small, Minority, Women-Owned Businesses
AR-22  Research Integrity

I. Authority and Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number

    This program is authorized under section 301,317,and 391-394 of the

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Public Health Service Act, (42 U.S.C. section 241, 247b, and 280b-280b-
3), as amended. The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance number is 
93.136.

J. Where To Obtain Additional Information

    This and other CDC announcements, the necessary applications, and 
associated forms can be found on the CDC home page Internet address-- 
http://www.cdc.gov. Click on ``Funding'' then ``Grants and Cooperative 
Agreements.''
    For business management technical assistance, contact: Angie N. 
Nation, Grants Management Specialist, Procurement and Grants Office, 
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2920 Brandywine Road, Room 
3000, Atlanta, GA 30341-4146. Telephone number: (770) 488-2719. E-mail 
address: [email protected].
    For program technical assistance, contact: Linda Anne Valle, 
Behavioral Scientist, Division of Violence Prevention, National Center 
for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention, 4770 Buford Highway, NE.,(K-60), Atlanta, GA 30341-3724, 
Telephone number: (770) 488-4297. E-mail address: [email protected].

    Dated: May 3, 2002.
Sandra R. Manning,
Director, Procurement and Grants Office, Center for Disease Control and 
Prevention.
[FR Doc. 02-11561 Filed 5-8-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4163-18-P