69562 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 223 / Friday, November 17, 2000 / Notices

and modifications. The Tribal Plan

(ACF–118A) is not affected by this

notice.

Respondents: State and Territorial

Lead Agencies.

Annual Burden Estimates:

Instrument Number of respondents

Number of responses per

respondent

Average burden hours per

response

Total burden

hours

ACF–118 .......................................................................................................... 56 .5 162.57 4,552

Estimated Total Annual Burden

Hours:

Additional Information: Copies of the

proposed collection may be obtained by

writing to The Administration for

Children and Families, Office of

Information Services, 370 L’Enfant

Promenade, SW., Washington, DC

20447, Attn: ACF Reports Clearance

Officer.

OMB Comment: OMB is required to

make a decision concerning the

collection of information between 30

and 60 days after publication of this

document in the Federal Register.

Therefore, a comment is best assured of

having its full effect if OMB receives it

within 30 days of publication. Written

comments and recommendations for the

proposed information collection should

be sent directly to the following: Office

of Management and Budget, Paperwork

Reduction Project, 725 17th Street, NW.,

Washington, DC 20503, Attn: Desk

Officer for ACF.

Dated: November 8, 2000.

Bob Sargis,

Reports Clearance Officer.

[FR Doc. 00–29463 Filed 11–16–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4184–01–M

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND

HUMAN SERVICES

Health Resources and Services

Administration

Maternal and Child Health Federal SetAside Program; Special Projects of

Regional and National Significance;

Community-Based Abstinence

Education Project Grants

AGENCY: Health Resources and Services

Administration, HHS.

ACTION: Notice of availability of funds.

SUMMARY: The Health Resources and

Services Administration (HRSA)

announces that approximately $17

million in fiscal year (FY) 2001 funds is

available for making competitive grants

to implement strategies to provide

abstinence education to adolescents,

ages 12 through 18, in communities

across the Nation. Eligibility is open to

public and private entities which clearly

and consistently focus on a designated

definition of ‘‘abstinence education’’

and agree not to provide a participating

adolescent any other education

regarding sexual conduct in the same

setting. All awards will be made under

the program authority of section

501(a)(2) of the Social Security Act, the

Maternal and Child Health (MCH)

Federal Set-Aside Program (42 U.S.C.

701(a)(2)). These grants (CFDA

#93.110NO) will be administered by the

Maternal and Child Health Bureau

(MCHB), HRSA. Approximately $1.5

million will be available for up to 15–

20 one-year planning grants, with

awards ranging from $75,000 to

$100,000, and approximately $15.5

million will be available for up to 25–

50 three-year implementation grants,

with annual awards ranging from

$250,000 to $1 million, depending on

continued availability of funds. Projects

may be located in any State, the District

of Columbia, and United States

territories, commonwealths, and

possessions. Funds for CommunityBased Abstinence Education project

grants are appropriated by Public Law

106–246.

This announcement will appear in the

Federal Register and on the HRSA

Home Page at: http://

www.hrsa.dhhs.gov/. Federal Register

notices are found by following

instructions at: http://

www.access.gpo.gov/su docs/aces/

aces140.html.

DATES: Entities which intend to submit

an application for this grant program are

expected to notify MCHB’s Division of

State and Community Health by

December 1, 2000. The deadline for

receipt of applications is February 2,

2001. Applications will be considered

‘‘on time’’ if they are either received on

or before the deadline date or

postmarked on or before the deadline

date. The projected award date is April

27, 2001.

ADDRESSES: To receive a complete

application kit, applicants may

telephone the HRSA Grants Application

Center at 1–877–477–2123 (1–877–

HRSA–123) beginning November 15,

2000, or register on-line at: http://

www.hrsa.dhhs.gov/, or by accessing

http://www.hrsa.gov/g order3.htm

directly. This program uses the standard

Form PHS 5161–1 (rev. 7/00) for

applications (approved under OMB No.

0920–0428). Applicants must use the

appropriate Catalog of Federal Domestic

Assistance (CFDA) number when

requesting application materials. The

CFDA is a Government wide

compendium of enumerated Federal

programs, projects, services, and

activities which provide assistance. The

CFDA Number for the CommunityBased Abstinence Education project

grant program is: #93.110NO. All

applications should be mailed or

delivered to: Grants Management Officer

(MCHB), HRSA Grants Application

Center, 1815 N. Fort Meyer Drive, Suite

300, Arlington, Virginia 22209,

telephone: 1877–HRSA–123 (477–2123),

E-mail: hrsagac@hrsa.gov.

This application guidance and the

required form for the Community-Based

Abstinence Education project grant

program may be downloaded in either

WordPerfect 6.1 or Adobe Acrobat

format (.pdf) from the MCHB HomePage

at http://www.mchb.hrsa.gov/. Please

contact Joni Johns at 301–443–2088 or

jjohns@hrsa.gov/, if you need technical

assistance in accessing the MCHB Home

Page via the Internet.

Letter of Intent: To assist MCHB in

planning for an orderly review of

applications, entities which intend to

submit an application for this grant

program are invited to notify MCHB’s

Division of State and Community Health

in one of three ways: telephone, 301–

443–2204; fax, 301–443–9354; or mail,

MCHB, HRSA; Division of State and

Community Health; Parklawn Building,

Room 18–31; 5600 Fishers Lane;

Rockville, MD 20857.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Michele Lawler, 301–443–2204 (for

questions specific to project activities of

the program, program objectives, or the

Letter of Intent described above); and

Dorothy Kelley, 301–443–3288 (for

grants policy, budgetary, and business

questions).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 223 / Friday, November 17, 2000 / Notices 69563

Program Background and Objectives

Title II of the Departments of Labor,

Health and Human Services, and

Education, and Related Agencies

Appropriations Act, 2000 (Public Law

106–113) included an advance

appropriation for FY 2001 of $20

million for the Adolescent Family Life

(AFL) program, authorized under Title

XX of the Public Health Service Act, to

support prevention-oriented abstinence

education project grants.

Title II, chapter 4, of Public Law 106–

246, the ‘‘Military Construction

Appropriations Act of 2001,’’ rescinded

this advance $20 million appropriation

for the AFL program. Instead, it

appropriated $20 million for the MCH

Block Grant’s Federal Set-Aside

Program—which supports Special

Projects of Regional and National

Significance (SPRANS)—to support

community-based Abstinence Education

project grants for FY 2001. The law

provides that funds be used:

* * * for making competitive grants to

provide abstinence education (as defined in

section 510(b)(2) of such Act) to adolescents

* * * Provided further, That such grants

shall be made only to public and private

entities which agree that, with respect to an

adolescent to whom the entities provide

abstinence education under such grant, the

entities will not provide to that adolescent

any other education regarding sexual

conduct, except that, in the case of an entity

expressly required by law to provide health

information or services the adolescent shall

not be precluded from seeking health

information or services from the entity in a

different setting than the setting in which the

abstinence education was provided * * *.’’

The pending FY 2001 Labor-HHSEducation Appropriations Act (H. R.

4577) includes an advance

appropriation, under SPRANS, of $30

million for the Community-Based

Abstinence Education grant program for

FY 2002. The House report

accompanying the bill (H. Rpt. 106–645)

elaborates upon rules for projects

funded under the program:

The Committee supports abstinence

education for adolescents, ages 12 through

18, and supports expansion of efforts to

present an abstinence-only message to

America’s youth. The preliminary results

from these program[s] in states such as

Oklahoma are promising. It is important,

however, to ensure that America’s youth do

not receive mixed message[s], or medically

inaccurate information. The legislation

directs that abstinence messages given to a

group of youth[s] by a grantee must not be

diluted by any instructor or materials from

the same grantee. Nothing in the legislation

is intended to prevent these adolescents from

seeking health information or services.

Nothing shall preclude entities who are

teaching these abstinence-only classes and

who have a public health mandate from

discussing other forms of sexual conduct or

providing services, as long as this is

conducted in a different setting than where

and when the abstinence-only course is being

conducted. In allocating grant funds, priority

should be given to those organizations which

have a strong record of support of abstinence

education as defined in sections (a) through

(h) of title 5, section 510(b)(2) of the Social

Security Act.

In the laws cited above, Congress also

earmarked a portion of the total

amounts appropriated to support

comprehensive evaluations, including

longitudinal evaluations, of abstinence

education. These evaluation activities

are beyond the purview of this

announcement.

Abstinence-only education programs

are one way to educate young people

and create an environment within

communities that supports teen

decisions to postpone sexual activity. In

1999, 49.9 percent of high school

students reported having had sexual

intercourse and 36.3 percent reported

having had sexual intercourse within

the previous three months. (CDC,

MMWR, June 9, 2000). There are some

indications that early sexual intercourse

by adolescents can have negative effects

on social and psychological

development. Research shows that teen

pregnancy is linked to a list of risk

factors similar to those for other

problem behaviors of adolescence, such

as alcohol and drug use, violence,

delinquency, and school drop-out. Teen

parenting is associated with the lack of

high school completion and the

initiation of a cycle of poverty for

mothers. The Department of Health and

Human Services established the

reduction of teen pregnancies as a

priority goal in its 1997 strategic plan.

Overall, the teen birth rate declined by

18 percent from 1991 to 1998, with all

States reporting a decline in the birth

rate of teens 15–19 years of age between

1991 and 1998. (CDC, NCHS, Vital

Statistics Reports, March 28, 2000).

In addition to the rules Congress has

established for the program, SPRANS

Community-Based Abstinence

Education project grants are subject to

regulations, at 42 CFR Part 51a, that are

applicable to all SPRANS projects. The

Federal SPRANS authority was enacted

as part of the MCH Block Grant under

Section 501(a)(2) of the Social Security

Act, by the Omnibus Budget

Reconciliation Act (OBRA) of 1981

(Public Law 97–35). In general, the setaside in section 502(a) permits the

Secretary to retain 15 percent of the

total MCH Block Grant appropriation

each fiscal year to support discretionary

grants in certain categories: MCH

Research; MCH Training; Genetic

Disease Testing, Counseling and

Information Dissemination; Newborn

Screening; Hemophilia Diagnostic and

Treatment Centers; and Other Special

Projects to Improve Maternal and Child

Health. No percentage of the available

funds is specified by law for any

particular category of SPRANS grant.

H. R. 4577 adds Community-Based

Abstinence Education as a SPRANS

project category. However, the funds

made available for Abstinence

Education grants under H. R. 4577 are

specified or ‘‘earmarked’’ only for this

purpose; they will not be counted

toward compliance with the statutorilydetermined 15 percent SPRANS setaside amount.

The projects funded under this

announcement are also intended to

complement the existing categorical

program of Grants to States for

Abstinence Education, authorized under

section 510(b)(2) of Title V by Public

Law 104–193, the ‘‘Personal

Responsibility and Work Opportunity

Act of 1996.’’ The purpose of that block

grant program is to enable States to

support abstinence education, and, at

the option of the State, where

appropriate, mentoring, counseling, and

adult supervision to promote abstinence

from sexual activity with a focus on

those groups most likely to bear

children out-of-wedlock. The law

provides for a mandatory annual

appropriation of $50 million for FY

1998 through FY 2002. Grants are

awarded to each State based on a

statutory formula determined by the

proportion that the number of low

income children in the State bears to the

total number of low income children in

all States. Grant applications are

accepted only from the State health

agency responsible for the

administration (or supervision of the

administration) of the Title V MCH

Block Grant, with funds disbursed at the

discretion of the Governor unless

otherwise established under State law or

judicial precedent. There is a required

match of three non-Federal dollars for

every four Federal dollars awarded. If a

State chooses not to apply for a grant,

the State’s allocation is returned to the

Treasury and is not available for

redistribution among remaining States.

Consistent with other SPRANS grant

programs, the Bureau encourages

coordination and collaboration between

the State agencies administering a

Section 510 Abstinence Education grant

and community-based organizations

applying for a SPRANS CommunityBased Abstinence Education project

grant. Such coordination and

collaboration is considered beneficial in

promoting complementary efforts

69564 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 223 / Friday, November 17, 2000 / Notices

between State and community agencies

and advancing maternal and child

health.

Projects funded through the SPRANS

Community-Based Abstinence

Education grant program share a

common definition of ‘‘abstinence

education’’ with the Section 510-funded

State programs. For purposes of both

programs (as well as abstinence

education programs funded under the

Title XX AFL program), the term

‘‘abstinence education’’ means ‘‘an

educational or motivational program

which—

(A) Has as its exclusive purpose,

teaching the social, psychological, and

health gains to be realized by abstaining

from sexual activity;

(B) Teaches abstinence from sexual

activity outside marriage as the

expected standard for all school age

children;

(C) Teaches that abstinence from

sexual activity is the only certain way

to avoid out-of-wedlock pregnancy,

sexually transmitted diseases, and other

associated health problems;

(D) Teaches that a mutually faithful

monogamous relationship in context of

marriage is the expected standard of

human sexual activity;

(E) Teaches that sexual activity

outside of the context of marriage is

likely to have harmful psychological

and physical effects;

(F) Teaches that bearing children outof-wedlock is likely to have harmful

consequences for the child, the child’s

parents, and society;

(G) Teaches young people how to

reject sexual advances and how alcohol

and drug use increases vulnerability to

sexual advances; and

(H) Teaches the importance of

attaining self-sufficiency before

engaging in sexual activity.’’

Curricula developed or selected for

implementation in the SPRANS

Community-Based Abstinence

Education grants program are expected

to be responsive to the eight elements of

the Section 510 abstinence education

definition and may not be inconsistent

with any aspect of that definition.

Authorization

Section 501(a)(2) of the Social

Security Act, 42 U.S.C. 701(a)(2), and

Public Law 106–246.

Purpose

The purpose of the SPRANS

Community-Based Abstinence

Education grant program is to provide

support to public and private entities for

the development and implementation of

abstinence education programs for

adolescents, ages 12 through 18, in

communities across the country. This

program funds the planning and

implementation of community-based,

abstinence-only educational

interventions designed to reduce the

rate of births to teenagers, the

proportion of adolescents who have

engaged in sexual intercourse, and the

proportion of teenagers who have

engaged in risk behaviors, such as

tobacco, alcohol, and drug use.

Specific objectives for the SPRANS

Community-Based Abstinence

Education planning and implementation

grants are to:

• Support programmatic efforts that

foster the development of abstinenceonly education for adolescents, ages 12

through 18, in communities across the

country.

• Develop and implement abstinenceonly programs that target the prevention

of teenage pregnancy and premature

sexual activity.

• Develop abstinence education

approaches that are culturally sensitive

and age-appropriate to meet the needs of

a diverse audience of adolescents, ages

12 through 18.

• Implement curriculum-based

community education programs that

promote abstinence decisions to

adolescents, ages 12 through 18.

The SPRANS Community-Based

Abstinence Education grant program

project activities are expected to

complement and enhance State

grantees’ required efforts to achieve

performance goals and objectives

established for the existing Title V

‘‘Section 510’’ projects in accordance

with the requirements of the

‘‘Government Performance and Results

Act (GPRA) of 1993’’ (Pub. L. 103–62).

This Act requires the establishment of

measurable goals for Federal programs

that can be reported as part of the

budgetary process, thus linking funding

decisions with performance. SPRANS

Community-Based Abstinence

Education program grantees will be

required to report annually on the four

national performance measures

presented in Figure 1.

FIGURE 1.—SPRANS COMMUNITYBASED ABSTINENCE EDUCATION

GRANT PROGRAM

[National Performance Measures]

#1 ...... Proportion of program participants

who successfully complete or remain enrolled in an abstinenceonly education program.

#2 ...... Proportion of program participants

who have engaged in sexual intercourse.

FIGURE 1.—SPRANS COMMUNITYBASED ABSTINENCE EDUCATION

GRANT PROGRAM—Continued

[National Performance Measures]

#3 ...... Proportion of program participants

who report a reduction in risk behaviors, such as tobacco, alcohol,

and drug use.

#4 ...... The rate of births to female program

participants.

In addition, each SPRANS Abstinence

Education grantee will be required to

submit to MCHB an annual report on its

activities, including a narrative

discussion of the project’s progress

toward achieving the goals, objectives

and performance measures, an

unduplicated count of clients served,

total number of client encounters, and a

list of the communities served.

Applicants for SPRANS CommunityBased Abstinence Education

implementation grants must submit

three-year targets for each national

performance measure. Applicants for

the planning grants are not required to

submit performance measure targets for

the one-year planning period. Further

information on performance

measurement for this program and

instructions regarding performance

measurement-related application

requirements are included in the

Program Guidance.

OMB approval for the data reporting

will be sought, as required under the

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

Curricula developed or selected for

implementation in the SPRANS

Community-Based Abstinence

Education grants program must address

all eight elements of the Section 510

abstinence education definition and

may not be inconsistent with any

element of that definition.

Applicants may choose, but are not

required, to have their selected curricula

reviewed by the State Agency

Director(s) of the State or States that will

be affected by the proposed project.

MCHB encourages consultation and

collaboration between grantees and the

State agencies throughout the life of the

project.

Applicants should be aware that

grantees may not teach or promote

religion in their SPRANS CommunityBased Abstinence Education projects.

Non-profit organizations and other

community-based organizations,

including faith-based organizations, are

eligible to apply (see Eligibility, below),

but must provide assurance that they

will respect this requirement. Each grant

project must be accessible to the public

generally, not just to those of a

particular religious affiliation.

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 223 / Friday, November 17, 2000 / Notices 69565

Background information on this issue is

available via the Internet at:

www.mchb.hrsa.gov.

In addition, this program is subject to

Title IX of the Education Amendments

of 1972 (20 U.S.C. §§ 1861–62), which

prohibits discrimination based on sex in

programs which receive Federal

financial assistance.

Eligibility

Under SPRANS project grant

regulations at 42 CFR Part 51a.3, any

public or private entity, including an

Indian tribe or tribal organization (as

defined at 25 U.S.C. 450(b)), is eligible

to apply for grants covered by this

announcement. Projects must clearly

and consistently focus on the designated

definition of ‘‘abstinence education’’

and applicants must agree not to

provide a participating adolescent any

other education regarding sexual

conduct in the same setting.

Applicants proposing to provide

abstinence-only education and who

have a public health mandate, such as

State or local health departments,

community health centers or other

community-based clinics, must provide

assurance that any discussion of other

forms of sexual conduct or provision of

services is conducted in a setting

different from where and when the

abstinence-only course is being

conducted.

Funding Level/Project Period

Two types of grants will be awarded

in FY 2001 under this program—oneyear planning grants, with awards

ranging from $50,000 to $75,000; and

three-year implementation grants, with

awards ranging from $250,000 to

$1,000,000 per year. Planning grant

funding will support program planning,

training and community assessment

activities. Implementation grant funding

will support the development and

implementation of three-year projects.

Approximately $1.5 million will be

awarded to support 15 to 20 planning

grants; about $15.5 million will be

awarded to support 25 to 50

implementation grants. Some

adjustment in funding amounts between

categories may be made, depending on

the number and quality of applications

received.

The project period consists of one or

more budget periods, each generally of

one year duration. Continuation of any

project from one budget period to the

next is subject to satisfactory

performance, availability of funds, and

program priorities.

Funding Priorities

Priority for funding will be given to

entities in local communities which

demonstrate a strong record of support

for abstinence education among

adolescents. An approved proposal that

reflects this priority will receive a 5-

point favorable adjustment in the

priority score, before funding decisions

are made.

Review Criteria

The following are generic review

criteria applicable to all MCHB

programs:

(1) The extent to which the project

will contribute to the advancement of

maternal and child health and/or

improvement of the health of children

with special health care needs;

(2) The extent to which the project is

responsive to policy concerns

applicable to MCH grants and to

program objectives, requirements,

priorities and/or review criteria for

specific project categories, as published

in program announcements or guidance

materials;

(3) The extent to which the estimated

cost to the Government of the project is

reasonable, considering the anticipated

results;

(4) The extent to which the project

personnel are well qualified by training

and/or experience for their roles in the

project and the applicant organization

has adequate facilities and personnel;

and

(5) The extent to which, insofar as

practicable, the proposed activities, if

well executed, are capable of attaining

project objectives.

The final review criteria used to

review and rank applications for the

SPRANS Community-Based Abstinence

Education grant program are included in

the application kit. Applicants should

pay strict attention to addressing these

criteria, as they are the basis upon

which their applications will be judged.

Public Health System Reporting

Requirements

This program is subject to the Public

Health System Reporting Requirements

(approved under OMB No. 0937–0195).

Under these requirements, the

community-based nongovernmental

applicant must prepare and submit a

Public Health System Impact Statement

(PHSIS). The PHSIS is intended to

provide information to State and local

health officials to keep them apprised of

proposed health services grant

applications submitted by communitybased nongovernmental organizations

within their jurisdictions.

Community-based nongovernmental

applicants are required to submit the

following information to the head of the

appropriate State and local health

agencies in the area(s) to be impacted no

later than the Federal application

receipt due date:

(a) A copy of the face page of the

application (SF 525).

(b) A summary of the project (PHSIS),

not to exceed one page, which provides:

(1) A description of the population to

be served.

(2) A summary of the services to be

provided.

(3) A description of the coordination

planned with the appropriate State and

local health agencies.

Executive Order 12372

The MCH Federal Set-Aside program

has been determined to be a program

which is not subject to the provisions of

Executive Order 12372 concerning

intergovernmental review of Federal

programs.

Dated: November 13, 2000.

Claude Earl Fox,

Administrator.

[FR Doc. 00–29425 Filed 11–16–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4160–15–P

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND

HUMAN SERVICES

National Institutes of Health

National Cancer Institute; Notice of

Closed Meeting

Pursuant to section 10(d) of the

Federal Advisory Committee Act, as

amended (5 U.S.C. Appendix 2), notice

is hereby given of the meeting of the

Board of Scientific Counselors, National

Cancer Institute.

The meeting will be closed to the

public as indicated below in accordance

with the provisions set forth in sections

552b(c)(6) and 552b(c)(9)(B), Title 5

U.S.C., as amended. The discussions

could reveal information of a personal

nature where disclosure would

constitute a clearly unwarranted

invasion of personal privacy and the

premature disclosure of discussions

related to personnel and programmatic

issues would be likely to significantly

frustrate the subsequent implementation

of recommendations.

Name of Committee: Board of Scientific

Counselors, National Cancer Institute

Subcommittee A—Clinical Sciences and

Epidemiology.

Date: November 27–28, 2000.

Closed: November 27, 2000, 7:00 p.m. to

9:15 p.m.

Agenda: Discussion of personnel and

programmatic issues and review and evaluate

individual Principal Investigators.