[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 52 (Friday, March 17, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13851-13852]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-3932]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Administration on Aging


Availability of Funding Opportunity Announcement

    Funding Opportunity Title/Program Name: Senior Medicare Patrol 
Projects.
    Announcement Type: Initial.
    Funding Opportunity Number: HHS-2006-AoA-SM-0603.
    Statutory Authority: The Older Americans Act, Public Law 106-501.
    Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 93.048, Title 
IV and Title II, Discretionary Projects, and the Health Insurance 
Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (Pub. L. 104-191).
    Dates: The deadline date for the receipt of applications is April 
28, 2006.

I. Funding Opportunity Description

    This announcement seeks proposals for the Senior Medicare Patrol 
(SMP) Projects which will serve as model projects that demonstrate 
effective ways of utilizing retired persons as volunteer expert 
resources and educators in community-based efforts to prevent and 
identify health care error, fraud and abuse in the Medicare/Medicaid 
programs. Applicants under this announcement must provide a 
comprehensive plan for statewide SMP program coverage targeting 
isolated and hard-to-reach, beneficiaries, their families or caregivers 
and address the five SMP program objectives. A detailed description of 
the funding opportunity including the program objectives and 
application materials may be obtained at http://www.aoa.gov/doingbus/fundopp/fundopp.asp or http://www.grants.gov.

II. Award Information

1. Funding Instrument Type

    Cooperative Agreement. Grantees will carry out cooperative 
agreement awards to train retired persons to serve in their communities 
as volunteer expert resources and educators in preventing and 
identifying health care error, fraud, and abuse. The award is a 
cooperative agreement because the AoA will be substantially involved in 
the development and execution of the activities of the projects. AoA 
will provide mentoring, on-line training and other technical support 
through its National Consumer Protection Technical Resource Center (the 
Center). The Center will also provide technical assistance and support 
to the grantee in volunteer recruitment and management; will ensure 
currency in Medicare and Medicaid program information, fraud prevention 
and identification techniques, outreach strategies, complaint 
management, tracking and reporting; and will share approaches for 
reaching targeted populations. The AoA project officer for the SMP 
project grant will also provide technical assistance and support on 
grant management and implementation issues, including execution of the 
cooperative agreement. The AoA will conduct at least one national 
conference and one regional meeting in alternate years for the purpose 
of providing technical assistance and training to SMP projects. Grantee 
participation in these conferences is specified as part of the 
cooperative agreement. The grantee and the AoA will work cooperatively 
to determine the priority activities to be completed by the project and 
develop the work plan for each year of the project. Within 45 days of 
the award and 45 days of each continuation award, the project will 
agree upon and adhere to a work plan that details expectations for 
major activities, products, and reports during the current budget 
period. The work plan will include specific steps and a timetable for 
implementing statewide program coverage. The plan will also specify 
actions to expand program access to target populations. The work plan 
will also include staff assignments, work locations, and other areas 
that require AoA consultation, review, and/or prior approval. Either 
the AoA or the project can propose a revision of the final work plan at 
any time.
    The AoA will specify project performance criteria and expectations 
relative to the SMP program objectives and will monitor, evaluate and 
support the projects' efforts in achieving performance goals. The 
project will provide program performance output, outcome and activity 
data semiannually utilizing the performance instrument developed by the 
AoA and the HHS Office of the Inspector General (OIG). The AoA will 
evaluate project performance data, and provide support and technical 
assistance, in coordination with the Center, to assist projects in 
improving performance.
    The AoA will provide information to grantee leadership to assist in 
understanding the strategic goals and objectives, policy perspectives 
and priorities of the Assistant Secretary for Aging and the Department 
of Health and Human Services. The AoA will also share information with 
the grantee about other SMP projects, including integration grants, and 
other federally sponsored projects and activities relevant to the 
interests of SMP projects.

2. Anticipated Total Priority Area Funding Per Budget Period

    The AoA intends to make available, under this program announcement, 
grant awards for up to twenty-eight (28) cooperative agreements at a 
federal share of up to $180,000 per year for a project period of up to 
three (3) years. With the exception of Guam and the U.S. Virgin 
Islands, grantees are required to cover 25% of the total cost of the 
project from non-federal case or in-kind assistance.

III. Eligibility Criteria and Other Requirements

1. Eligible Applicants

    Eligibility for grant awards is limited to public state and local 
agencies, federally recognized tribes, or nonprofit agencies, 
organizations, and institutions, including faith-based organizations, 
in the following 26 states and 2 territories: Alabama, California, 
Connecticut, Hawaii, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Maryland, 
Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, North Dakota, 
Nebraska, New Hampshire, Nevada, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, 
South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Wisconsin, Wyoming, Guam, 
and the Virgin Islands. The competition is limited to the 26 states and 
2 territories specified above. Competition is limited to those 
specified states and territories because the current three-year grant 
period for Senior Medicare Patrol projects within these states and the 
one-year capacity building grants in the territories will end on June 
30, 2006. The AoA is currently funding SMP projects in the remaining 24 
states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.
    In order to ensure the program reaches Medicare/Medicaid 
beneficiaries in the maximum number of states, given available funding, 
only one project from each state or territory

[[Page 13852]]

will be funded. It is strongly recommended that statewide collaborative 
efforts be forged with organizations with experience working with or 
representing the targeted population.

2. Cost Sharing or Matching

    Grantees are required to provide at least 25 percent of the total 
program costs from non-federal cash or in-kind resources in order to be 
considered for the award. In accordance with 48 U.S.C. 1469a (d), 
matching requirements are waived for grantee applicants from Guam and 
the U.S. Virgin Islands.

3. DUNS Number

    The Office of Management and Budget requires applicants to provide 
a Dun and Bradstreet (D&B) Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) 
number when applying for Federal grants or cooperative agreements on or 
after October 1, 2003. It is entered on the SF 424. It is a unique, 
nine-digit identification number, which provides unique identifiers of 
single business entities. The D-U-N-S number is free and easy to 
obtain.
    Organizations can receive a DUNS number at no cost by calling the 
dedicated toll-free DUNS Number request line at 1-866-705-5711 or by 
using this link: https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/grants/duns_num_guide.pdf.

4. Intergovernmental Review

    Executive Order 12372, Intergovernmental Review of Federal 
Programs, is not applicable to these grant applications.

IV. Application and Submission Information

    All applicants are required to submit electronically through http://www.grants.gov by midnight April 28, 2006.
    Exceptions to this requirement may only be made by the AoA grants 
management officer, Stephen Daniels on (202) 357-3464. Exceptions may 
only be made to allow for catastrophic events such as tornadoes, 
floods, etc. Applicants are responsible for mailing or hand delivering 
applications to AoA in sufficient time to be received by 5:30 p.m. 
Eastern Time, April 28, 2006.
    Please note AoA is requiring applications for this announcement to 
be submitted electronically through http://www.grants.gov. The 
Grants.gov registration process can take several days. If your 
organization is not currently registered with http://www.grants.gov, 
please begin this process immediately. For assistance with http://www.grants.gov, please contact Arthur Miller at AoA's Grants.gov 
helpdesk at (202) 357-3438. At http://www.grants.gov, you will be able 
to download a copy of the application packet, complete it off-line, and 
then upload and submit the application via the Grants.gov Web site.
    Applicants unable to submit their application via http://www.grants.gov may request permission to submit a hard copy from AoA 
Grants Management Officer, Stephen Daniels, (202) 357-3464, 
[email protected].

1. Address for Application Submission

    Hard copy submissions for which approval has been requested and 
received (per section IV(6) of the announcement), may be mailed to the 
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration on Aging, 
Office of Grants Management, Washington, DC 20201, attn: Stephen 
Daniels (HHS-2006-AoA-Initial-SM), or hand-delivered (in person, via 
messenger) to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 
Administration on Aging, Office of Grants Management, One Massachusetts 
Avenue, NW., Room 4604, Washington, DC 20001, attn: Stephen Daniels 
(HHS-2006-AoA-SM-0603).
    Applications not submitted electronically must include one original 
and two copies of the application. Please include a stamped self 
addressed postcard for acknowledgement of receipt. Instructions for 
electronic mailing of grant applications are available at http://www.grants.gov/.

2. Submission Dates and Times

    To receive consideration, applications must be received by the 
deadline listed in the DATES section of this Notice.

V. Responsiveness Criteria

    Each application submitted will be screened to determine whether it 
was received by the closing date and time. Applications received by the 
closing date and time will be screened for completeness and conformity 
with the requirements outlined in Sections III and IV of this Notice 
and the Program Announcement. Only complete applications that meet 
these requirements will be reviewed and evaluated competitively.

VI. Application Review Information

    Eligible applications in response to this announcement will be 
reviewed according to the following evaluation criteria: Purpose and 
Need for Assistance (20 points); Approach, Work Plan and Activities (30 
points); Project Outcomes, Evaluation and Dissemination (30 points); 
and Level of Effort (20 points).

VII. Agency Contacts

    Direct inquiries regarding programmatic and grant issues to:
    Project Officer: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 
Administration on Aging, Washington, DC 20201. Attn: Barbara Lewis. 
Telephone: (202) 357-3532, e-mail: [email protected].
    Grants Management Specialist: U.S. Department of Health and Human 
Services, Administration on Aging, Washington, DC 20201. Attn: Stephen 
Daniels. Telephone: (202) 357-3464, e-mail: 
[email protected].

    Dated: March 14, 2006.
Josefina G. Carbonell,
Assistant Secretary for Aging.
[FR Doc. E6-3932 Filed 3-16-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4154-01-P