[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 121 (Tuesday, June 24, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 37500-37502]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-15838]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention


Statement of Organization, Functions, and Delegations of 
Authority

    Part C (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) of the 
Statement of Organization, Functions, and Delegations of Authority of 
the Department of Health and Human Services (45 FR 67772-76, dated 
October 14, 1980, and corrected at 45 FR 69296, October 20, 1980, as 
amended most recently at 68 FR 7118-7123, dated February 12, 2003) is 
amended to reorganize the National Center for HIV, STD, and TB 
Prevention.
    Section C-B, Organization and Functions, is hereby amended as 
follows:
    Delete in its entirety the functional statement for the Division of 
Tuberculosis Elimination and insert the following:
    Division of Tuberculosis Elimination (CK4). To promote health and 
quality of life by preventing, controlling, and eventually eliminating 
tuberculosis from the United States, and by collaborating with other 
countries and international partners in controlling tuberculosis world-
wide. For the purpose of fulfilling the mission, the Division 
administers and promotes a national program for the prevention, 
control, and elimination of tuberculosis (TB); provides leadership and 
formulates national policies and guidelines; conducts behavioral, 
health systems, and clinical research; supports a nationwide framework 
for surveillance of tuberculosis and evaluation of national TB 
prevention and control program performance; provides administrative 
support for the Federal TB Task Force, and supports and collaborates 
with the National Tuberculosis Controllers Association to promote 
effective national communications and coordinated feedback on urgent 
policy and program performance issues; provides technical supervision 
and training to Federal assignees working in the state and local 
tuberculosis control programs; develops training and educational 
materials, and provides technical assistance on communications and 
training needs; participates in the development of policies and 
guidelines for TB prevention and control within populations at high 
risk, such as persons with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV); provides 
programmatic consultation, technical assistance, and outbreak response 
assistance to state and local health departments; and, provides 
technical assistance to TB programs in other countries by collaborating 
with international partners.
    Office of the Director (CK41). (1) Provides leadership and guidance 
in program planning and management, policy formulation, and development 
of training, surveillance, and research programs; (2) directs and 
evaluates the operations of the Division; (3) establishes contact with, 
and promotes tuberculosis activities of, other national organizations 
which have an important role to play in achieving tuberculosis 
elimination; (4) provides administrative support services for the 
Division; (5) collaborates and coordinates Division activities with 
other components of the National Center for HIV, STD, and TB Prevention 
(NCHSTP) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC); (6) 
provides administrative and technical support to the Advisory Council 
for the Elimination of Tuberculosis (ACET); and, (7) provides 
administrative and technical support for the National Coalition for the 
Elimination of Tuberculosis (NCET).
    Communications, Education, and Behavioral Studies Branch (CK42).
    (1) Provides technical assistance to health departments and other 
health care providers in assessing and meeting their TB training, 
education, and communication needs and in assessing the impact of their 
training and education activities; (2) provides technical assistance to 
health departments and other TB health care providers regarding 
behavioral studies research and intervention development; (3) 
collaborates with the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Bank, 
the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases 
(IUATLD), and the United States Agency for International Development 
(USAID), and others, in assessing and meeting TB training, education, 
and communication needs in other countries; (4) provides consultation 
and assistance in coordinating TB training, education, behavioral 
studies and interventions, and communication activities carried out by 
other CDC programs, Model TB Centers, and NCET members; (5) develops, 
markets, and maintains a list serve of persons with TB-related 
education, training, and communication responsibilities; (6) assists in 
planning and coordinating agendas necessary to conduct tuberculosis 
conferences and workshops sponsored by the Division; (7) provides 
coordination and oversight for duty officer functions; (8) organizes 
and maintains a library of scientific and non-scientific information 
related to TB; (9) conducts formative research and evaluation on 
approaches to patient, provider, and public education; (10) conducts 
research on individuals and social factors affecting health-care 
seeking and treatment outcomes related to tuberculosis; (11) based on 
research conducted, develops behavioral interventions targeted to 
health care providers, persons with or at risk for TB, and other high 
risk populations; (12) provides consultation to national and 
international organizations on behavioral research needs and study 
designs, and on the technical transfer of behavioral research findings 
into TB program practice and TB training and educational strategies; 
(13) provides consultation, technical assistance, and coordination to 
other branches within the division regarding development and 
implementation of behavioral interventions and training for branch 
specific activities such as TIMS, ARPE, and surveillance activities; 
(14) provides consultation and assistance in coordinating the writing 
of studies for publication of manuscripts in scientific journals; (15) 
presents findings at national and scientific meetings; (16) develops, 
produces, disseminates, and evaluates training and educational 
materials and courses providing tuberculosis information to the 
scientific and public health communities, as well as the general 
population; (17) conducts training and education needs assessments and 
identifies resources available for health department TB control 
officers and senior managers, TB nurse consultants, TB training and 
education directors and for senior staff carrying out TB activities in 
other programs or facilities serving persons at high risk for TB; (18) 
develops, conducts, and coordinates training courses on tuberculosis 
for state and big city TB program managers and nurse consultants; (19) 
based on needs assessments, develops and conducts or coordinates 
training courses and materials for staff who train and/or supervise 
front-line TB program staff; (20) plans, coordinates, and maintains the 
Division's Internet and Intranet Web sites; (21) conducts and/or 
coordinates communications programs designed to build public support 
and sustain public

[[Page 37501]]

interest and commitment to the elimination of TB; (22) conducts 
communications and research and identifies communications resources 
available for health department TB control officers and senior 
managers, TB nurse consultants, and for senior staff carrying out TB 
activities in other programs or facilities serving persons at high risk 
for TB; (23) provides writer/editor support to Division and coordinates 
and tracks materials for purposes of editing, clearance and approval 
for publications and presentations; (24) provides graphic support to 
the Division and senior field staff; (25) provides coordination and 
oversight for Division responses and relations with the media and 
public and serves as point of contact for telephonic, written, and 
electronic (e-mail) requests for information from the media and public; 
(26) maintains information and procedures for duty officer functions; 
(27) develops, coordinates, and staffs the Division's exhibit booth at 
conferences/meetings; (28) develops and provides support for, or 
coordinates a TB Voice and FAX Information System; (29) assists in 
developing or coordinating a clearing house of TB training and 
education resources; (30) maintains inventory of TB training 
opportunities and coordinates with employees and supervisors for 
training necessary to carry out their duties; and, (31) presents 
communication issues to the Advisory Council for the Elimination of 
Tuberculosis and to Division management staff.
    Information Technology and Statistics Branch (CK43). (1) Provides 
computer programming, systems analysis, information management, and 
statistical services to the Division; (2) consults and assists in the 
development and implementation of appropriate data collection and 
management methods for scientific studies conducted Division-wide; (3) 
collaborates in the analysis of data and in the preparation of 
materials for publication; (4) maintains expertise in information 
science and technology to effect the best use of the Division's 
resources; (5) provides technical assistance in the selection and use 
of equipment, systems, and services to process information; (6) manages 
security for the Division's information systems; (7) maintains computer 
hardware; (8) provides training and consultation to headquarters and 
field staff in the use of computer hardware and software; and (9) 
develops, distributes, provides training for and supports the TB 
Information Management System (TIMS) to facilitate the collection and 
analyses of data, both patient and program, to improve the 
effectiveness of prevention and control activities.
    Field Services and Evaluation Branch (CK44). (1) Provides medical 
and programmatic consultation to assist state and local health 
departments in developing, implementing and evaluating their activities 
toward achieving tuberculosis prevention, control, and elimination; (2) 
promotes adoption of CDC tuberculosis-related policies by national 
organizations, health departments and health care providers; (3) acts 
as advocate for health departments when conveying resource needs; (4) 
participates in development of national policies and guidelines for 
tuberculosis elimination; (5) evaluates tuberculosis program 
performance; (6) provides technical assistance to states and localities 
for improving program operations; (7) develops funding guidelines, 
assists in application reviews, makes funding recommendations, and 
monitors performance of programmatic portion of Tuberculosis 
Cooperative Agreements with state and local health departments; (8) 
provides supervision to medical staff assigned to state and local 
health departments; (9) analyzes data to assess progress toward 
achieving national TB objectives and prepares program management and 
evaluation reports for publication; (10) supports program consultants 
in providing technical assistance and recommendations to health 
departments; (11) encourages and facilitates the transfer of new 
technology and guidelines into clinical and public health practice; 
(12) participates in the development of comprehensive evaluation 
methods for TB prevention and control programs; (13) serves as liaison 
or focal point to assist TB controllers in linking with proper resource 
persons and obtaining technical assistance, both within and outside the 
Division; (14) conducts a continuing analysis of the effectiveness of 
field personnel and utilization of other resources in relation to the 
tuberculosis problems; (15) provides consultation and assists state and 
local health departments in the methodology and application of 
tuberculosis control techniques recommended by CDC; (16) acts as 
advocate for state and local health department during needs assessments 
and requests for resources; (17) provides technical supervision and 
support for the CDC field staff; (18) identifies specific management, 
operational, and staff performance problems associated with not 
achieving TB control objectives or with not implementing essential TB 
components, and recommends solutions; (19) provides input into the 
development of Branch and Division policy, priorities and operational 
procedures; (20) coordinates technical reviews of cooperative agreement 
applications and makes appropriate funding recommendations; and (21) 
serves as an agent of technology transfer to ensure that good program 
methodology in one program is known and made available to other state 
and local programs.
    Clinical and Health Systems Research Branch (CK45). (1)Assesses the 
need for and conducts studies of new drug regimens used in the 
prevention and treatment of tuberculosis, including dosage, duration, 
and toxicity; (2) supports the TB Trials Consortium in the conduct of 
studies of new drugs, drug delivery systems, immunologic agents and 
other treatments for active tuberculosis and latent tuberculosis 
infection; (3) conducts studies to evaluate the safety and efficacy of 
recommended regimens for the treatment and prevention of tuberculosis; 
(4) provides clinical support and oversight for the distribution of 
investigational drugs for the treatment and prevention of tuberculosis 
by NCID/SR/Drug Service; (5) assesses the need for and conducts 
clinical and field trials of more specific and rapid tests to diagnose 
active tuberculosis and latent tuberculosis infection and to identify 
drug-resistant tuberculosis; (6) collaborates with and provides 
consultation and technical assistance to national and international 
organizations on the design and conduct of clinical trials and research 
needs; (7) conducts multidisciplinary studies (including the analysis 
of behavioral, economic, and epidemiologic factors) of health care 
systems to assess the cost, effectiveness, and impact of public health 
policies, programs, and practices on tuberculosis outcomes to further 
the goal of tuberculosis elimination in the U.S.; (8) targets these 
studies toward various populations at high risk for tuberculosis, 
including persons from high tuberculosis prevalent countries, homeless 
persons, HIV-infected persons, residents of correctional facilities, 
substance abusers, and health care workers; (9) provides consultation 
to local, state, national, and international organizations on health 
care systems research needs, study designs, and analyses; (10) conducts 
or facilitates training of tuberculosis program field staff in decision 
and economic analyses, epidemiology, evaluation techniques, and 
qualitative research methods; (11) reports study results to public 
health practitioners through direct

[[Page 37502]]

communication, articles in scientific journals and CRC publications, 
and oral/poster presentations at national and international scientific 
meetings; (12) provides input into statements and guidelines issued by 
the CRC, the Advisory Council on the Elimination of Tuberculosis, and 
other professional organizations.
    Surveillance, Epidemiology, and Outbreak Investigations Branch 
(CK44).
    (1) Directs national surveillance of tuberculosis to provide 
accurate and timely national data and to monitor progress toward the 
elimination of tuberculosis in the United States; (2) conducts analyses 
of national TB surveillance data to monitor national trends in TB in 
order to assist in program planning, evaluation, and policy development 
and to identify areas for further study to guide elimination efforts; 
(3) conducts surveillance related studies that evaluate current TB 
surveillance systems and develops new surveillance methods and systems 
in order to better monitor and accelerate TB elimination efforts; (4) 
provides technical surveillance expertise to state, local, and 
international tuberculosis control programs, other federal agencies, 
and other organizations involved in TB prevention and control; (5) 
conducts epidemiologic research to assess the characteristics of 
persons with M. tuberculosis disease and infection in the United 
States; (6) analyzes research findings to develop improved 
interventions for eliminating tuberculosis and better analytic tools 
for future studies; (7) provides technical epidemiologic expertise to 
state, local, and international tuberculosis control programs.; (8) 
supports the TB Epidemiologic Studies Consortium in the conduct of 
studies of pro grammatically relevant epidemiologic, behavioral, 
economic, laboratory, and operational research concerning the 
identification, diagnosis, prevention and control of TB disease and 
latent infection; (9) investigates outbreaks of tuberculosis; (10) 
provides consultation and technical expertise on TB surveillance, 
epidemiology, and outbreaks to state, local, and international 
tuberculosis control programs; (11) analyzes TB outbreak investigation 
findings in order to improve the ability of tuberculosis control 
programs to detect future outbreaks and respond to them promptly and 
appropriately to limit transmission; (12) supervises Epidemiologic 
Intelligence Service (EIS) officers in the conduct of their two year 
assignments; (13) prepares manuscripts for publication in scientific 
journals; and, (14) presents findings at national and international 
scientific meetings.
    International Research and Programs Branch (CK47). (1) Coordinates 
Division and Center international TB activities; (2) coordinates the 
assessment of immigration and its impact on TB patterns in the United 
States and assists with the evaluation of overseas TB screening 
procedures for immigrants and refugees; (3) conducts and coordinates 
operational research and demonstrations to improve both the overseas 
screening for tuberculosis of immigrants and refugees and the domestic 
follow-up those entering with suspected TB (done in collaboration with 
Division of Global Migration and Quarantine, NCID); (4) promotes the 
improved recognition and management of tuberculosis among the foreign-
born through special studies on the U.S./Mexico border and at other 
overseas sites; (5) collaborates with the World Health Organization 
(WHO), the World Bank, the International Union Against Tuberculosis and 
Lug Diseases (IUATLD), the United States Agency for International 
Development (USAID), and others to improve the quality of TB programs 
globally by supporting implementation of the WHO-recommended directly 
observed therapy, short-course (DOTS) strategy; (6) collaborates with 
the nation of Botswana, the WHO, the World Bank, the IUATLD, the USAID, 
and others, to conduct investigations into the diagnosis, management 
and prevention of tuberculosis in persons with and without HIV 
infection; (7) collaborates with the Global AIDS Program (GAP) in 
addressing the AIDS pandemic in countries where both HIV and TB are 
reported in epidemic proportions; (8) collaborates with the WHO, USAID, 
and several nations to reduce the impact of multi-drug resistant TB on 
global TB control; (9) prepares manuscripts for publication in 
scientific journals; (10) presents findings at national and 
international scientific meetings; and, (11) supervises Epidemic 
Intelligence Service (EIS) officers in the conduct of their two year 
assignments.

Delegations of Authority Statement

    All delegations and redelegations of authority remain in effect 
until otherwise modified, superseded, or cancelled.

Section C-C, Order of Succession

    Delete in its entirety Section C-C, Order of Succession, and insert 
the following:
    During the absence or disability of the Director, CDC, or in the 
event of a vacancy in that office, the first official listed below who 
is available shall act as Director, except that during a planned period 
of absence, the Director may specify a different order of succession:
    1. Director of CDC
    2. Deputy Director for Public Health Science
    3. Deputy Director for Public Health Service
    4. Chief Operating Officer
    5. NCCDPHP Director

    Dated: June 3, 2003.
William H. Gimson,
Chief Operating Officer, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 
(CDC).
[FR Doc. 03-15838 Filed 6-23-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4160-18-M