[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 104 (Friday, May 28, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 30656-30658]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-12172]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

[CMS-2195-N]
RIN 0938-ZA47


Medicaid Program; Demonstration To Improve the Direct Service 
Community Workforce

ACTION: Notice.

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    Part 1. Overview Information.
    Funding Opportunity Title: Medicaid Program; Demonstration To 
Improve the Direct Service Community Workforce.

    Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) No: 93.779.


DATES: No new applications will be accepted.
    Part 2. Full Text of the Announcement.

I. Funding Opportunity Description

    This notice announces the award of approximately $6 million in 
funding through our ``Demonstration to Improve the Direct Service 
Community Workforce'' initiative pursuant to the President's Executive 
Order 13217 ``Community-Based Alternatives for Individuals with 
Disabilities'' and authorized under section 1110 of the Social Security 
Act. The ``Demonstration to Improve the Direct Service Community 
Workforce'' grants are designed to assist States and others develop 
innovative programs that improve recruitment and retention of direct 
service workers. The House of Representatives Conference Report (HR 
Conf. Rpt No. 108-401, at 784 [2003]) that accompanied the Consolidated 
Appropriations Act, 2004 (Pub. L. 108-199) outlines the scope of this 
project.
    These grants are a part of the President's New Freedom Initiative 
to eliminate barriers to equality and grant a ``New Freedom'' to 
children and adults of all ages who have a disability or long-term 
illness so that they may live and prosper in their communities. This 
notice also contains information about the manner in which we will 
continue the award process that originally started in fiscal year (FY) 
2003. We will not accept any new applications for the ``Demonstration 
to Improve the Direct Service Community Workforce'' grants in FY 2004.
    The purpose of this demonstration program is to develop and 
implement programs that will increase the pool of direct care service 
workers, who help support people with disabilities in the community, 
through recruitment and

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retention strategies. Examples of potentially fundable demonstration 
programs might include, but are not limited to wage or time-off 
incentives, continuing education, outreach to underserved populations, 
cultural, or logistical barriers.

II. Award Information

    On March 20, 2003, we published a notice titled ``Emergency 
Clearance: Public Information Collection Requirements Submitted to the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and Solicitation of 
Applications'' in the Federal Register (68 FR 13715). The full 
solicitation is available at http://www.cms.hhs.gov/newfreedom/dswsolicitation.pdf. Under this notice, we invited proposals from 
States and others, in partnership with their disability and aging 
communities, to create systems that will improve the recruitment and 
retention of direct service workers. Grant applications were due August 
12, 2003.
    The response of States and other eligible entities to this 
opportunity was extraordinary: we received over 100 applications for 
these grants. The response revealed a strong interest on the part of 
States and their citizens to address the need for a stable direct 
service community workforce. In October 2003, we announced the award of 
five grants totaling $4,370,000. Each of these grants had a 36-month 
budget period.
    Due to the extraordinary response we received from the 
``Demonstration to Improve the Direct Service Community Workforce'' 
solicitation in FY 2003, we will not accept any new applications in FY 
2004. Instead, we will continue to process the ranked applications 
submitted in FY 2003, beginning with the highest-ranked applications 
that were not funded in FY 2003. Each of the FY 2004 grants awarded in 
this notice has a 36-month budget period.

III. Eligibility Information

1. Eligible Applicants

    We have offered FY 2004 funding to those eligible applicants. 
Eligible applicants are those applicants who (1) submitted an 
application in FY 2003 and (2) received from us written notification 
indicating that their application received a score from the review 
panel in a range that will permit us to make an award in FY 2004.

2. Cost Sharing or Matching

    Matching funds of either in-kind or cash contributions totaling 5 
percent of the project's total value are required.

IV. Application and Submission Information

1. Address To Request Application Package

    No new applications will be accepted. Only eligible applicants will 
be funded.

2. Content and Form of Application Submission

    No new applications will be accepted.

3. Submission Dates and Times

    No new applications will be accepted.

4. Funding Restrictions

    Proposals that included a health insurance intervention were 
eligible for funding up to $1,403,000 and proposals that targeted other 
interventions were eligible for funding up to $680,500.

V. Application Review Information

1. Criteria

    Since we received far more applications in FY 2003 than we were 
able to fund, we are announcing our intention to continue the award 
process for eligible applicants (see definition of eligible applicants 
in the eligibility information section of this notice).

2. Review and Selection Process

    We have used the review panel scores from FY 2003 to determine the 
ranking of applications and will attempt to provide funding for 
applications where funding was previously unavailable. We reserve the 
right to reallocate those funds to the next highest-ranked eligible 
applicant(s) if eligible applicants are subsequently determined not to 
have met all of the requirements as detailed in the award information 
section of this notice, the terms and conditions of grant awards, or 
otherwise fail to respond to us. We have determined that we will be 
able to fund, in FY 2004, five new ``Demonstration to Improve the 
Direct Service Community Workforce'' grants.

3. Anticipated Announcement and Award Dates

    We anticipate that these grants will be officially awarded on or 
before September 30, 2004. New grantees may expend grant funds over a 
36-month period from the date of the award. New grantees are listed in 
``Chart--2004 Demonstration to Improve the Direct Service Community 
Workforce Grant Awards'' in section VIII of this notice.

VI. Award Administration Information

1. Award Notices

    No new applications will be accepted. Eligible applicants will 
receive an official Notice of Grant Award (Form CMS 6-U6-PG) along with 
terms and conditions of the grant award.

2. Administrative and National Policy Requirements

    Specific administrative and policy requirements of grantees, 
including the matching fund requirements, as detailed in the full 
solicitation, available section II of this notice, will continue to 
apply to all Eligible Applicants that receive awards in FY 2004.

3. Reporting

    Specific reporting requirements of grantees, as detailed in section 
II of this notice, will continue to apply to all eligible applicants 
that receive awards in FY 2004.

VII. Agency Contacts

    Programmatic questions about the Demonstration to Improve the 
Direct Service Community Workforce grants may be directed to: Kate 
King, 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, 410-786-1283 (voice), 410-786-9004 
(fax), or by e-mail at [email protected].
    Administrative questions about the Demonstration to Improve the 
Direct Service Community Workforce grants may be directed to: Nettie 
Faulkner, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Acquisition and 
Grants Group, AGG/DRCG, Mail Stop C2-21-15, 7500 Security Boulevard, 
Baltimore, MD 21244-1850, 410-786-6639 (voice), 410-786-9088 (fax), or 
by e-mail at [email protected].

VIII. Other Information

    Chart--2004 Demonstration to Improve the Direct Service Community
                         Workforce Grant Awards
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                State or other entity                     Grant amount
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Arkansas Department of Human Services, Little Rock,             $680,000
 Arkansas............................................
Bridges, Inc., Gary, Indiana.........................          1,403,000

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Home Care Quality Authority, Olympia, Washington.....          1,403,000
Seven Counties Services, Inc., Louisville, Kentucky..            680,000
Virginia Department of Medical Assistance Services,            1,403,000
 Richmond, Virginia..................................
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IX. Collection of Information Requirements

    This notice informs applicants of the ``Demonstration to Improve 
the Direct Service Community'' that CMS has awarded 5 grants in FY 
2003. Due to the extraordinary response received, CMS will not accept 
any new applications in FY 2004, but will continue to process the 
ranked applications submitted in FY 2003, beginning with the highest-
ranked applications that were not funded in FY 2003.
    This information collection requirement is subject to the PRA; 
however, it has already been approved under OMB control number 0938-
0836 entitled ``Real Choice Systems Grants; Nursing Facility 
Transition/Access Housing Grants; Community Personal Assistance Service 
and Supports Grants, National Technical Assistance and Learning 
Collaborative Grants to Support Systems Change for Community Living'' 
with a current expiration date of 1/31/2007.

    Dated: March 12, 2004.
Dennis G. Smith,
Acting Administrator, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
[FR Doc. 04-12172 Filed 5-27-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4120-01-P