[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 180 (Thursday, September 17, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55860-55861]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-23356]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Health Resources and Services Administration


Centers of Excellence in Maternal and Child Health in Education, 
Science, and Practice Program

AGENCY: Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), Department 
of Health and Human Services (HHS).

ACTION: Notice of Single-Case Deviation from Competition Requirements 
for Program Expansion Supplement Request for Centers of Excellence in 
Maternal and Child Health in Education, Science, and Practice program 
Award to the University of Washington, Grant Number T76MC00011.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: HRSA announces the award of a program expansion supplement in 
the amount of $40,000 for the Centers of Excellence in Maternal and 
Child Health (MCH) in Education, Science, and Practice grant. The 
purpose of the Centers of Excellence in MCH program is for the training 
of graduate and post-graduate public health professionals in an 
interdisciplinary MCH setting. The purpose of this notice is to award 
supplemental funds to conduct a rigorous evaluation of the Pediatric

[[Page 55861]]

Obesity Collaborative Improvement and Innovation Network (CoIIN) to 
spread evidence-based practices, and to translate knowledge into 
practice by the University of Washington, the awardee who serves as the 
Centers of Excellence in MCH, during the budget period of June 1, 2015, 
through May 31, 2016.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Intended Recipient of the Award: University of Washington
Amount of Each Non-Competitive Award: $40,000
Period of Supplemental Funding: 6/1/2015--5/31/2016
CFDA Number: 93.110

    Authority:  Social Security Act as amended, Title V, Section 
501(a)(2) (42 U.S.C. 701(a)(2))

    Justification: The purpose of the Centers of Excellence in MCH 
program is for the training of graduate and post-graduate public health 
professionals in an interdisciplinary MCH setting. The Centers of 
Excellence in MCH program supports HRSA's Maternal and Child Health 
Bureau's (MCHB) mission to provide national leadership and to work, in 
partnership with states, communities, public-private partners, and 
families to strengthen the MCH infrastructure and build the knowledge 
and human resources in order to assure continued improvement in the 
health, safety, and well-being of the MCH population, which includes 
all U.S. women, infants, children, youth and their families, including 
fathers and children with special health care needs (CSHCN). It does so 
by training current and future workforce in applied research and state-
of-the-art public health management, planning, and leadership 
principles to promote healthier children, families, and communities and 
in the identification and solution of current MCH problems while 
anticipating the challenges of the future. It assures a prominent focus 
on MCH content and competencies such as inter-professional practice, 
systems integration, and quality improvement within schools of public 
health.
    In the summer of 2014, MCHB initiated a CoIIN on Pediatric Obesity 
in collaboration with the University of Washington and the Association 
of State Public Health Nutritionists (ASPHN). The work on this project 
(by the University of Washington) was funded through an administrative 
supplement in fiscal year (FY) 2014 to a previous grant, and the amount 
provided only allowed the grantee and its subcontractor to engage a 
limited number of steps in the CoIIN process.
    This supplement will allow the University of Washington, in 
collaboration with ASPHN, to complete the final phases of the 
evaluation component for the previously initiated Pediatric Obesity 
CoIIN. The goal of this CoIIN project is to apply quality improvement 
methodologies through a CoIIN framework to support state Title V 
agencies and others leverage for state MCH program capacity to reduce 
childhood obesity rates on a population level. Specifically, state 
teams are working to affect systems changes through the adoption of 
policies and practices in early care and education settings that 
support healthy weight behaviors and are using the CoIIN model to 
gather best practices, promote evidence-based strategies, and increase 
nutrition resources provided to young children and their families. A 
rigorous evaluation of this CoIIN is a critical and essential component 
in order to spread evidence-based practices--including qualitative and 
quantitative process and outcome measures--and translate knowledge into 
practice.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Denise Sofka, RD, MPH, Division of 
Maternal and Child Health Workforce Development, Maternal and Child 
Health Bureau, Health Resources and Services Administration, 5600 
Fishers Lane, Room 18W55, Rockville, Maryland 20857; [email protected].

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                 FY 2015       FY 2015 estimated
    Grantee/organization name         Grant number            State             authorized        supplemental
                                                                              funding level         funding
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
University of Washington........  T76MC00011.........  WA.................          $350,000            $40,000
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Dated: September 11, 2015.
James Macrae,
Acting Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2015-23356 Filed 9-16-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4165-15-P