[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 103 (Thursday, May 29, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 32053-32055]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-13442]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Administration on Aging

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

[Program Announcement Nos. AoA-03-05 and CMS-2185-N]


Fiscal Year 2003 Program Announcement; Availability of Funds and 
Notice Regarding Applications

AGENCY: Administration on Aging, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid 
Services, HHS.

ACTION: Announcement of availability of funds and request for 
applications.

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SUMMARY: The Administration on Aging (AoA) and the Centers for Medicare 
& Medicaid Services (CMS) announce that under this program announcement 
they will hold a competition for grant awards to be issued as 
cooperative agreements for up to sixteen (16) projects at a federal 
share of up to $800,000 over 3 (three) years.
    Legislative authority: AoA's authority for these grants is under 
the Older Americans Act, Public Law 106-501 (Catalog of Federal 
Domestic Assistance 93.048, Title IV and Title II, Discretionary 
Projects). CMS' legislative authority for these grants is under section 
1110 of the Social Security Act. Funding to CMS and Congressional 
language was provided in the Consolidated Appropriations Resolution, 
2003 (Pub. L. 108-7). AoA and CMS are the designated HHS agencies with 
administrative responsibility for their respective portion for funding 
this joint effort. See Supplementary Information below for additional 
discussion of CMS' authority under section 1110.
    Purpose of grant awards: The awards are to be used by states to 
develop Aging and Disability Resource Center programs that will provide 
citizen-centered ``one-stop shop'' entry points into the long term 
support system and will be based in local communities accessible to 
people who may require long term support. Resource Centers will serve 
individuals who need long term support, their family caregivers, and 
those planning for future long term support needs. They will also serve 
as

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a resource for health and long term support professionals and others 
who provide services to the elderly and to people with disabilities.
    Resource Centers supported under this program must, at a minimum, 
include the elderly population, and at least one of the following major 
target groups by the first quarter of the second year: (a) Individuals 
with physical disabilities, (b) individuals with serious mental 
illness, and/or (c) individuals with mental retardation/developmental 
disabilities.
    These grants will be issued as cooperative agreements because AoA 
and CMS anticipate having substantial involvement with the recipients 
during performance of funded activities. The involvement may include 
collaboration, participation, or intervention in the funded activities. 
AoA and CMS will also be involved in the development and implementation 
of the funded projects by way of conducting a joint review of the 
applications and providing technical assistance, training, guidance and 
oversight throughout the project period. More specifically, letters of 
intent and applications may be submitted to AoA and CMS through the AoA 
``single point of application'' address listed in this solicitation. 
AoA will ensure that all appropriate parties in both AoA and CMS 
receive the letter and application. AoA and CMS will make final 
decisions on the grant awards jointly. AoA and CMS project officers 
will jointly perform the day-to-day federal responsibilities. Grantees 
will be expected to keep in contact with AoA and CMS project officer 
staff on a regular basis. Grantees will also be expected to share all 
significant products that result from their projects with AoA and CMS.
    Eligibility for grant awards and other requirements: Eligibility 
for grant awards (cooperative agreements) is limited to state agencies 
or instrumentalities of a state. Only one application per state will be 
accepted. The applicant agency must have the support and active 
participation of the Single State Agency on Aging and the Single State 
Medicaid Agency. Grantees are required to provide at least 5% of the 
project's total cost with non-Federal cash or non-financial recipient 
contribution (match) in order to be considered for the award. Non-
financial recipient contributions may include the value of goods and/or 
services contributed by the Grantee (e.g., salary and fringe benefits 
of staff devoting a percentage of their time to the grant not otherwise 
included in the budget or derived from federal funds). Recipient 
contributions must be included in the applicant's budget in Item 15 
(Estimated Funding) on Standard Form 424A and described in the budget 
narrative/justification section of the application. The non-financial 
match requirement may also be satisfied if a third party participating 
in the grant makes an ``in-kind contribution,'' provided that the 
Grantee's contribution and/or the third-party in-kind contribution 
equals 5% of the total grant award (including all direct and indirect 
costs). Third-party ``in-kind contributions'' may include the value of 
the time spent by citizen task force members (using appropriate cost 
allocation methods to the extent that non-Federal funds are involved) 
who specifically contribute to the design, development and 
implementation of the grant.
    Executive Order 12372 is not applicable to these grant 
applications.
    Screening criteria: In order for an application to be reviewed, it 
must meet the following screening requirements:
    1. Applications must be postmarked by midnight, July 28, 2003, or 
hand-delivered by 5:30 p.m. Eastern Time, on July 28, 2003, or 
submitted electrically by midnight, July 28, 2003. Electronic 
submissions must be sent to: http://www.aoa.gov/egrants.
    2. The Project Narrative section of the Application must be double-
spaced, on single-sided 8\1/2\'' x 11'' plain white paper with 1'' 
margins on both sides, and a font size of not less than 11.
    3. The Project Narrative must not exceed 25 pages.
    Review of applications: Applications will be evaluated against the 
following criteria: Problem Statement/Need for Assistance (5 points); 
Approach, Work Plan and Activities (25 points); Formative Learning and 
Information Management (10 points); Capabilities (10 points); 
Significance and Sustainability (15 points); Stakeholder Input and 
Partnerships (15 points); and Budget and Resources (20 points).

DATES: The deadline date for the submission of applications is July 28, 
2003. Potential applicants are encouraged to submit a letter of intent 
to apply for a cooperative agreement not later than June 19, 2003. AoA 
and CMS will conduct an Applicants' Teleconference on June 12, 2003. 
Information regarding the time and call-in number for this open 
teleconference will be available on the AoA Web site at http://www.aoa.gov and on the CMS Web site at http://www.cms.hhs.gov/newfreedom/default.asp.

ADDRESSES: Application kits are available by writing to the U.S. 
Department of Health and Human Services, Administration on Aging, 
Center for Planning and Policy Development, Washington, DC 20201; by 
calling 202/357-3461; or online at http://www.aoa.gov/egrants or http://www.cms.hhs.gov/newfreedom/default.asp.
    Applications may be mailed to the U.S. Department of Health and 
Human Services, Administration on Aging, Office of Grants Management, 
Washington, DC 20201, attn: Margaret Tolson (AoA-03-05).
    Applications may be delivered to the U.S. Department of Health and 
Human Services, Administration on Aging, Office of Grants Management, 
One Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Room 4604, Washington, D.C. 20001, attn: 
Margaret Tolson (AoA-03-05).
    If you elect to mail or hand deliver your application you must 
submit one original and two copies of the application; an 
acknowledgement card will be mailed to applicants. Instructions for 
electronic mailing of grant applications are available at http://www.aoa.gov/egrants.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: All grant applicants are encouraged to 
obtain a D-U-N-S number from Dun and Bradstreet. It is a nine-digit 
identification number, which provides unique identifiers of single 
business entities. The D-U-N-S number is free and easy to obtain from 
http://www.dnb.com/US/duns_update/.
    These Aging and Disability Resource Center grants are a part of 
CMS' ``Real Choice Systems Change Grants for Community Living'' 
demonstration grants authorized under section 1110 of the Social 
Security Act. Funding and Congressional language was provided in the 
Consolidated Appropriations Resolution, 2003 (Pub. L. 108-7). In FY 
2003, Congress appropriated an additional $40 million for Real Choice 
Systems Change Grants for Community Living. Congress also passed a 
0.65% general reduction in the FY 2003 appropriation that has been 
distributed across Federal programs, including this appropriation, so 
the final amount available for grant awards will be slightly less than 
$40 million. The Administration on Aging (AoA), in collaboration with 
the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), is inviting through 
this notice, proposals for a portion of this funding, totaling 
approximately $5 million dollars from CMS. A separate Notice of Funding 
Availability covering the CMS' other $35 million in Real Choice Systems 
Change Grants for Community Livingwill soon be published in the Federal 
Register.
    Section 1110 (a)(1)(A) of the Social Security Act authorizes CMS 
make

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``grants to States and public and other organizations and agencies for 
paying part of the cost of research or demonstration projects such as 
those * * * which will help improve the administration and 
effectiveness of programs carried on or assisted under the Social 
Security Act and programs related thereto * * *.'' CMS has restructured 
its efforts under Sec.  1110 into eight themes. The Aging and 
Disability Resource Center Grants are part of CMS's Research and 
Demonstration efforts under Theme 5: Strengthening Medicaid, State 
Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), and State Programs. This 
effort includes research and demonstrations on ways to improve access 
to and delivery of health care to the persons served by Medicaid. These 
Resource Center grants, to be awarded as cooperative agreements, are a 
part of the President's New Freedom Initiative. The New Freedom 
Initiative calls for the removal of barriers to community living for 
people with disabilities. CMS is the designated HHS agency with 
administrative responsibility for the Real Choice Systems Change Grant 
program. Because funding for this program appears as part of the 
agency's FY 2003 budget, all awards will be made to eligible entities 
before October 1, 2003.
    We will not fund through these grants those efforts or activities 
that are already being funded under an existing Real Choice Systems 
Change Grant (funded in FY 2001 or FY 2002) or other grant funds. If a 
Grantee proposes to significantly expand an earlier-funded project, the 
applicant must specifically describe this expansion in its application. 
We also encourage states to seek private sector grant opportunities 
(e.g., grants from foundations) to augment or coordinate with the Real 
Choice Systems Change Grants for Community Living.
    Information Collection Requirements. The information collection 
requirements associated with this program announcement are under review 
by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). A separate notice will be 
published in the Federal Register to solicit comments on this 
collection.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kari Benson, U.S. Department of Health 
and Human Services, Administration on Aging, Center for Planning and 
Policy Development, Washington, DC, 20201, telephone: (202) 357-3461 or 
[email protected]. Questions about the Real Choice Systems Change 
Grants for Community Living Program, and this notice, may also be 
directed to: Mary Guy, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Center 
for Medicaid and State Operations, DEHPG/DCSI, Mail Stop: S2-14-26, 
7500 Security Boulevard, Baltimore, MD 21244-1850, (410) 786-2772, E-
mail: [email protected].

    Dated: May 22, 2003.
Josefina G. Carbonell,
Assistant Secretary for Aging.
[FR Doc. 03-13442 Filed 5-28-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4154-01-P