[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 89 (Thursday, May 8, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 24746-24749]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-11395]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Indian Health Service


Nursing Recruitment Program for American Indians/Alaska Natives

AGENCY: Indian Health Services (IHS), HHS.

ACTION: Notice of availability of funds for the Nursing Recruitment 
Program for American Indian/Alaska Natives (AI/AN).

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SUMMARY: The IHS announces that competitive grant applications are now 
being accepted for the Nursing Education Program for AI/AN authorized 
by section 112 of the Indian Health Care Improvement Act Public Law 94-
437, as amended. There will be only one funding cycle during Fiscal 
Year (FY) 2003. This program is described at 93.970 in the Catalog of 
Federal Domestic Assistance. Costs will be determined in accordance 
with applicable OMB Circulars and 45 CFR Part 74 or 45 CFR Part 92 (as 
applicable). Executive Order 12372 requiring intergovernmental review 
does not apply to this program. This program is not subject to the 
Public Health System Reporting Requirements.
    The Public Health Service (PHS) is committed to achieving the 
health promotion and disease prevention objectives of Healthy People 
2010, a

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PHS-led activity for setting priority areas. This program announcement 
is related to the priority area of Educational and Community-based 
programs. You may obtain the objectives from the latest Healthy People 
2010, Review. A copy may be obtained by calling the national Center for 
Health Statistics, telephone (301) 436-8500.

Smoke Free Workplace

    The PHS strongly encourages all grant recipients to provide a 
smoke-free workplace and promote the non-use of all tobacco products. 
Public Law 103-227, the Pro-Children Act of 1994, prohibits smoking in 
certain facilities that receive Federal funds in which education, 
library, day care, health care, and early childhood development 
services are provided to children.

DATES: Application Receipt Date: An original and two copies of the 
completed grant application must be submitted, with all required 
documents, to the grants Management Branch, Division of Acquisitions 
and Grants Operations, 801 Thompson Avenue, Rockville, MD 20852, by 
close of business (c.o.b.) June 17, 2003. COB means 5 p.m. Eastern 
Daylight Time. Applications shall be considered as meeting the deadline 
if they are either: (1) received on or before the deadline with hand 
carried applications received by close of business 5 p.m.; or (2) 
postmarked on or before the deadline date and received in time to be 
reviewed along with all other timely applications. A legibly dated 
receipt from a commercial carrier or the U.S. Postal Service will be 
accepted in lieu of a postmark. Private metered postmarks will not be 
accepted as proof of timely mailing. Late applications will be returned 
to the applicant and will not be considered for funding.

Additional Dates

    (a) Application Review Completed By: July 26, 2003.
    (b) Applicants Notified of Results (approved, approved unfunded, or 
disapproved): July 31, 2003.
    (c) Anticipated Start Date: August 1, 2003.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For program information, contact 
Celissa G. Stephens, MSN, Acting Director, Division of Nursing 
Services, Office of Clinical and Preventative Services, Indian Health 
Service, 801 Thompson Avenue, Reyes Building, Suite 300, Rockville, MD 
20852, (301) 443-1840. For grants information, contact Ms. Martha 
Redhouse, Grants Management Specialist, grants Management Branch, 
Division of Acquisition and Grants Management, Indian Health Service, 
801 Thompson Avenue, Suite 120, Rockville, MD 20852, (301) 443-5204. 
(The telephone numbers are not toll-free.)

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This announcement provides information on 
the general program purpose and objectives, programmatic priorities, 
eligibility requirements, funding availability, application process, 
required documentation, review process, and review criteria.
    (a) General Program Purpose: To increase the number of nurses, 
nurse practitioners, nurse anesthetists, and nurse midwives who deliver 
health care service to AI/AN.
    (b) Eligibility and Preference: The following organizations are 
eligible: (1) Public or private schools of nursing; (2) Tribally 
controlled community colleges and Tribally controlled posts-secondary 
vocational institutions (as defined in section 239h (2) of Title 20); 
and (3) nurse midwife programs, and nurse practitioner programs, that 
are provided by public or private institutions, for the purpose of 
increasing the number of nurse midwives, nurse practitioners, and 
nurses who deliver care to AI/AN's.
    Preference will be given to programs which: (1) Provide a 
preference to AI/AN; (2) programs that train nurse midwives and nurse 
practitioners; (3) programs that are interdisciplinary; and (4) 
programs that are conducted in cooperation with the center for gifted 
and talented Indian students established under section 2624(a) of this 
Title 1616e(d). If an eligible organization claims preference in order 
to be given priority, the organization must submit verifying 
documentation.
    (c) Program Priorities: All complete, eligible applications will be 
considered. If more than one application is received from an IHS Area 
only one award will be made to that particular area providing a MSN, 
BSN, ADN or LPN program.
    Priority I--At least one project to a public or private college or 
university, school of nursing, which provides MSN (nurse midwife, nurse 
practitioner, or nurse anesthetist) degrees not to exceed $350,000 per 
year up to project period of five years.
    Priority II--At least three projects to a public or private college 
or university, school of nursing which provides BSN or ADN degrees, not 
to exceed $400,000 per year up to a project period of five years.
    Priority III--At least one project to a Tribally controlled 
community college, school of nursing, which provides LPN training, not 
to exceed $200,000 per year up to a project period of five years.
    (d) Program Objectives: The primary objectives of a grant awarded 
under this program are to: (1) Recruit and train AI/AN individuals to 
be nurses (MSN, BSN, ADN, LPN); (2) provide scholarships to individuals 
enrolled in schools of nursing to pay tuition, books, fees, and 
stipends for living expenses; (3) provide a program that encourages 
nurses (MSN, BSN, ADN or LPN), to provide or continue to provide, 
health care services to AI/AN; and (4) provide a program that increases 
the skills of and provides continuing education to nurses (MSN, BSN, 
ADN, LPN).
    Each proposal must respond to at least two of the above four 
objectives.
    (e) Program Activities Considered for Support: The grant program 
must be developed to locate and recruit students with potential for 
nursing and provide support services to students who are recruited. 
Support services may include providing career counseling and academic 
advice; assistant students to identify academic deficiencies and to 
develop plans to correct those deficiencies; assisting students to 
locate financial aid; monitoring students to identify possible 
problems; assisting with the determination of need for and location of 
tutorial services; and other related activities which help to retain 
students in school.
    (f) Required Affiliation: The applicant must submit documentation 
that it is an accredited school of nursing, or a Tribally controlled 
community college. The term ``accredited'' when applied to any program 
of nurse education means a program accredited or assured accreditation 
by a recognized body or bodies, or by a State agency, approved for such 
purpose by the Secretary of Education and when applied to a school, 
college or university (or a unit thereof) which is accredited by a 
recognized body or bodies, or a State agency, approved for such purpose 
by the Secretary of Education. In order to establish the connection 
between the program of the applicant and a health care facility that 
primarily serves Indians the Secretary requires and information 
regarding the accessibility of the application to target Indian 
communities or tribes, including evidence of past or potential 
cooperation between the application of such communities or Tribes. When 
the target population of a proposed project includes a particular 
Indian Tribe or Tribes, an official document, i.e., a letter of support 
or tribal resolution, must be submitted indicating that the Tribe or 
Tribes will cooperate with the applicant.
    Related objectives of the program are the proper administration of 
a project,

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selection of scholarship recipients by fair and consistent means, 
monitoring of recipients to assure compliance with scholarship 
requirements and eventual job placement within the service area of the 
grantee to fulfill service obligation. A student must serve one year 
for every year funded. One of the monitoring objectives in assuring 
satisfactory academic performance which is defined as: (1) A 2.50 grade 
point average (GPA); and (2) the GPA required by the college/
university.
    (g) Fund Availability: Approximately $1.7 million is available per 
year, for a five year cycle. The anticipated start date for selected 
projects will be August 1, 2003. A total of five projects will be 
awarded with funding for succeeding years based on satisfactory level 
of performance; the availability of appropriation in future years; and 
the continuing need of IHS for the project. Funding will be available 
to fund only one project (MSN, BSN, ADN, LPN) grant within an IHS Area.
    (h) Period of Support: Projects will be funded with annual budget 
periods and project periods of five years. The second, third, fourth 
and fifth year funding will be based on the following: (1) Satisfactory 
progress of the grantee; (2) availability of funds; and (3) continuing 
need of the IHS or the program.
    (i) Application Process:
    (1) An IHS Recruitment Grant Application Kit may be obtained from 
the Grants Management Branch, Division of Acquisition and Grants 
Management, Indian Health Service, 801 Thompson Avenue, Reyes Building, 
Rockville, MD 20852, (301) 443-5204. This kit includes Standard Form 
PHS 5161-1 (Rev. 7/00); Standard Forms 424, 424A, and 424B (Rev. 7/97); 
Application Receipt Card--PHS 3038-1 (Rev. 4/97); instructions for 
preparing the program narrative; IHS Application Check List; a copy of 
the Federal Register Notice for Nursing Recruitment Grants; and a copy 
of Section 112 of the Act.
    (2) The application must be signed and submitted by an individual 
authorized to act for the applicant and to assume on behalf of the 
applicant the obligations imposed by the terms and conditions of any 
award.
    (3) The available funding level is inclusive of both direct and 
indirect costs. Because this project is for a training grant, the 
Department of Health and Human Services' policy limiting reimbursement 
of indirect cost to 8 percent of total direct costs (exclusive of 
trainee costs and expenditures for equipment) is applicable. This 
limitation applies to all institutions of higher education other than 
agencies of State and local government.
    (4) Each application will be reviewed by the Grants Management 
Branch for eligibility, compliance with the announcement, and 
completeness. All acceptable applications will be subject to a 
competitive objective review and evaluation. An unacceptable 
application will be returned to the applicant without further 
consideration.
    (5) Applicants will be notified by July 31, 2003, of their status 
as approved, approved unfunded, or disapproved.
    (6) The project period may not exceed five years. Applications must 
include Narrative and Budget information for the entire anticipated 
project period. The application must comply with the following format:
    (a) Table of Contents (one page)
    (b) Narrative (up to five pages)
    (c) Budget and Justification
    (d) Appendix (Tribal resolution, verification of accreditation, 
r[eacute]sum[eacute]'s and position descriptions of staff who will 
administer the program, an organizational chart of placement of the 
administrative staff within the Tribes or Tribal organization, and 
supporting documentation.
    (j) Narrative: The following instructions for the preparation of 
the narrative are to be used in lieu of the instructions on pages 21-23 
of form PHS 5161-1. The narrative section of the application must 
include: (1) Description of administration of the grant; (2) 
description of applicant's previous experience with nursing recruitment 
grants; (3) methodology for recruiting, selecting, paying, and 
monitoring students; (4) number of nurses to be funded; (5) 
justification of need; and (6) description of proposed payback services 
by graduates. The narrative section should be written in a manner that 
is clear to outside reviewers unfamiliar with activities of the 
applicant. It should be well organized, succinct, and contain all 
information necessary for reviewers to understand the project fully. 
The narrative may not exceed five single-spaced pages in length, 
excluding attachments, budget, and required documentation. Pages must 
be numbered. Provide a narrative for year two, three, four, and five of 
the project; however, provide information only for those narrative 
items which you anticipate will change from year to year.

(a) Administration of the Grant

    (1) Describe the organization submitting the application, include 
an organizational chart in appendix showing the grant's placement 
within the organization.
    (2) Describe who will be responsible for administering the grant 
project. In the appendix, provide biographical sketches (resumes) and 
position descriptions for the program director and key personnel as 
described on pages 21-23 of form 5161-1.

(b) Prior Experience

    Describe any previous experience the organization has had with 
nursing recruitment grant programs including information on the types 
of grants and funding.

(c) Methodology

    (1) Describes how students will be recruited to assure maximum 
distribution of information about the availability of the scholarships.
    (2) Describe the process by which scholarship recipients will be 
selected to assure fairness and consistent treatment.
    (3) List, and if necessary, explain the criteria to be used in 
selecting recipients.
    (4) Describe how and when students will be paid.
    (5) Describe the process of monitoring to assure acceptable 
academic standing (refer to Section D--PROGRAMMATIC OBJECTIVES).

(d) Types of Scholarships

    Provide information on the types and numbers of nursing 
scholarships to be funded.

(e) Service Payback

    (1) A student must service one year for every year funded.
    (2) The training institution must provide information on each 
scholarship recipient funded per semester, and academic year to the 
Section 112 Indian Health Service (IHS) Database.
    (3) Indicate a plan for tracking placement of graduates and 
retention of nursing students in the nursing program.

(f) Evaluation

    (1) Provide a narrative addressing how the conduct of the program 
will be evaluated. Define the procedures for determining whether the 
proposed methodology has been successful in announcing and carrying out 
the project. An evaluation should be conducted annually.
    (2) Provide a narrative addressing how results of the program will 
be evaluated to determine the success of the Tribal scholarship 
program. This should be done at the end of year four to assist the IHS 
in determining the effectiveness of the program in meeting Tribal needs 
for nurses.

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    (3) Provide potential effectiveness of the proposed project in 
carrying out the purposes of Section 112, with special emphasis on the 
objectives and methodology portion of the application. This includes 
relevance of project objectives to grant program objectives; 
appropriateness and soundness of the procedures for identifying, 
recruiting, and retaining target population(s); and feasibility of 
project within proposed resources in time frames.
    (4) Demonstrate capability of the applicant to successfully conduct 
the project, including organizational and scholarly commitment to the 
recruitment, education, and retention of students.
    (5) The submission of verifying documentation when an applicant 
claims preference in order to be given priority.
    Preference is given for programs which: (1) Provide a preference to 
AI/AN; (2) train nurse midwives or nurse practitioners; (3) are 
interdisciplinary; or (4) are conducted in cooperation with a center 
for gifted and talented AI/AN students established under section 5324 
(a) of the Indian Education Act of 1988. Consideration will be given to 
the relationship of project objectives to Indian Health manpower's 
deficiencies, indicating the number of potential AI/An students to be 
contacted and recruited as well as potential cost per student 
recruited; (6) those projects that have the potential to serve a 
greater number of AI/AN will be given first consideration; (7) the 
soundness of the fiscal plan for assuring effective utilization of 
grant funds; and (8) the completeness and responsiveness of the 
application.
    (k) Budget: An itemized estimate of costs must be provided on 
Standard Form 424A. All applications shall include funding requirements 
for the second, third, fourth and fifth budget periods. Project funding 
will be based on an average of $18,500 per scholarship. Projects must 
be for a minimum of five scholarship per academic year for all nursing 
programs.

Required Documentation

(a) Tribal Resolution

    A resolution from the Tribal government specifically supporting 
this grant project must accompany the application submission. 
Resolution shall address the Tribal government's commitment to 
placement of program graduates. Applications by Tribal organizations 
will not require resolution(s) if the current Tribal resolution(s) 
under which they operate would encompass the proposed grant activities. 
A statement of proof of a copy of the current operational resolution 
must accompany the application. If a resolution or a statement is not 
submitted, the application will be considered incomplete and will be 
returned without consideration.
    (1) Review Process and Criteria: Applications that meet eligibility 
requirements, are complete, and conform to this announcement will be 
reviewed by an Ad Hoc Review Committee. Applications will be reviewed 
against established criteria. The Ad Hoc Review Committee will assign a 
numerical score to each application, which will be used to rank 
applications. The Program Director will consider geographic location in 
order to limit only one grant within an IHS Area.
    Applications will be evaluated against the following criteria and 
weights:
Weights--Criteria
40%--Methodology--Is the applicant's plan for conducting the project 
sound and effective? Has the applicant fully addressed the process of 
recruiting and selecting students? Will this process assure fair and 
consistent treatment of students? Is the monitoring process adequate to 
assure that students are complying with requirements? Will the process 
for placing, tracking, and retaining graduates be adequate to assure 
compliance with terms of the service obligation contract?
30%--Demonstrated capacity of the applicant to successfully conduct the 
project (accreditation). Is the applicant capable of successfully 
conducting the project from a technical and business standpoint? Are 
the qualification of the key personnel appropriate and adequate to 
carry out the projects? Is the applicant fiscal plan sound for use of 
both Federal and Non-federal funds?
15%--Need--Is the need for the project justified? Is there supporting 
documentation for conducting recruiting activities within the 
applicant's area?
10%--Evaluation--Does the applicant present a sound annual evaluation 
plan capable of determining success in announcing and carrying out the 
project? Does the applicant provide an evaluation plan for determining 
the success of the program within the applicant's organization at the 
end of the project period?
5%--Prior experience with similar programs.

    (m) Results of the Review: Successful applicants will be notified 
through official Notice of Grant Award (NGA) documents. The NGA will 
state the amount of the Federal funds awarded, the terms and conditions 
of the grant award, the effective date of the award, the project 
period, and the budget period.

    Dated: April 22, 2003.
Charles W. Grim,
Assistant Surgeon General, Interim Director, Indian Health Service.
[FR Doc. 03-11395 Filed 5-7-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4160-16-M