Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 55 / Friday, March 21, 1997 / Notices 13657

portion of a meeting shall inform the

contact person listed above, either orally

or in writing, prior to the meeting. Any

person attending the hearing who does

not in advance of the meeting request an

opportunity to speak will be allowed to

make an oral presentation at the

hearing’s conclusion, if time permits, at

the chairperson’s discretion.

The agenda, the questions to be

addressed by the committee, and a

current list of committee members will

be available at the meeting location on

the day of the meeting.

Transcripts of the open portion of the

meeting may be requested in writing

from the Freedom of Information Office

(HFI–35), Food and Drug

Administration, rm. 12A–16, 5600

Fishers Lane, Rockville, MD 20857,

approximately 15 working days after the

meeting, at a cost of 10 cents per page.

The transcript may be viewed at the

Dockets Management Branch (HFA–

305), Food and Drug Administration,

rm. 1–23, 12420 Parklawn Dr.,

Rockville, MD 20857, approximately 15

working days after the meeting, between

the hours of 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., Monday

through Friday. Summary minutes of

the open portion of the meeting may be

requested in writing from the Freedom

of Information Office (address above)

beginning approximately 90 days after

the meeting.

This notice is issued under section

10(a)(1) and (a)(2) of the Federal

Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. app.

2), and FDA’s regulations (21 CFR part

14) on advisory committees.

Dated: March 13, 1997.

Michael A. Friedman, M.D.,

Deputy Commissioner for Operations.

[FR Doc. 97–7136 Filed 3–20–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4160–01–F

Health Resources and Services

Administration

Program Announcement for

Scholarships for Health Professions

Students From Disadvantaged

Backgrounds

The Health Resources and Services

Administration (HRSA) announces that

applications for fiscal year (FY) 1997

Scholarships for Disadvantaged

Students (SDS) program are being

accepted under the authority of section

737 of the Public Health Service Act

(the Act), Title VII, Part B, as amended

by the Health Professions Education

Extension Amendments of 1992, Pub. L.

102–408, dated October 13, 1992.

Schools that received funds for

academic year 1996–97 will be funded

based on the information provided in

last year’s Financial Status Report

(FSR), and do not need to reapply.

Purpose

The SDS program provides funds to

health professions and nursing schools

for the purpose of assisting such schools

in providing scholarships to individuals

from disadvantaged backgrounds who

are enrolled (or accepted for enrollment)

as full-time students in the schools, as

well as to undergraduate students who

have demonstrated a commitment to

pursuing a career in health professions.

For purposes of the SDS program in

FY 1997, an ‘‘individual from

disadvantaged background’’ is defined

in 42 CFR part 57.1804, subpart S, as

one who:

(1) Comes from an environment that

has inhibited the individual from

obtaining the knowledge, skill, and

abilities required to enroll in and

graduate from a health professions

school, or from a program providing

education or training in allied health

professions; or

(2) Comes from a family with an

annual income below a level based on

low-income thresholds according to

family size published by the U.S.

Bureau of the Census, adjusted annually

for changes in the Consumer Price

Index, and adjusted by the Secretary for

use in all health professions and nursing

programs. The Secretary will

periodically publish these low income

levels in the Federal Register.

The following income figures

determine what constitutes a lowincome family for purposes of the SDS

program for FY 1997.

Size of parents’ family 1 Income

level 2

1 .................................................... $10,500

2 .................................................... 13,700

3 .................................................... 16,300

4 .................................................... 20,800

5 .................................................... 24,600

6 or more ...................................... 27,600

1 Includes only dependents listed on Federal

income tax forms. 2Adjusted gross income for calendar year

1996, rounded to nearest $100. These low income figures are published in this issue of the

FEDERAL REGISTER.

Under the Omnibus Consolidated

Appropriations Act, for FY 1997,

approximately $18.6 million has been

appropriated for this program. Of the

funds available for FY 1997, 30 percent

shall be made available to schools

agreeing to expend the funds only for

nursing scholarships. An estimated $5.6

million will support approximately

4,300 scholarships averaging $1,300 for

students at schools of nursing. The

balance of $13 million will support

approximately 4,225 scholarships

averaging $3,100 for eligible health

professions students. The period of fund

availability will be for one academic

year.

Use of Funds

Funds awarded to a school under this

program may be used as follows:

(1) To award scholarships to eligible

students enrolled in the school, to be

expended only for tuition expenses,

other reasonable educational expenses,

and reasonable living expenses (as

defined by the school for all students

attending the school) incurred while

enrolled in a school as a full-time

student. The amount of the scholarship

may not, for any year of attendance,

exceed the total amount required for the

year for the expenses specified above.

(2) To provide financial assistance to

undergraduate students who have

demonstrated a commitment to

pursuing a career in the health

professions, in order to facilitate the

completion of the educational

requirements for such careers, provided

that the total amount used for this

purpose may not exceed 25 percent of

the funds awarded to the school under

this program.

Any school receiving SDS funds will

be required to maintain separate

accountability for these funds.

School Eligibility

Funds under this program will be

made available to accredited public or

nonprofit private health professions

schools. For purposes of the SDS

program, as defined in section 737(a)(3)

of the Act, the term ‘‘health professions

schools’’ means schools of medicine,

nursing, osteopathic medicine,

dentistry, pharmacy, podiatric

medicine, optometry, veterinary

medicine, public health, or allied health

or schools offering graduate programs in

clinical psychology and which are

accredited as provided in section

799(l)(E) of the Act, schools of allied

health as defined in section 799(4) of

the Act, and which are located in States

as defined in section 799(9) of the Act,

and schools of nursing as defined in

section 853 of the Act.

As required by statute, to qualify for

participation in the SDS program, a

school must be:

(1) carrying out a program for

recruiting and retaining students from

disadvantaged backgrounds, including

racial and ethnic minorities; and

(2) carrying out a program for

recruiting and retaining minority

faculty.

In addition, each school that received

funds in FY 1996 must be carrying out
13658 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 55 / Friday, March 21, 1997 / Notices

all of the statutory requirements listed

below:

(1) Ensure that adequate instruction

regarding minority health issues is

provided for in the curricula of the

school. This does not include normal

course work, that by definition includes

minority health issues (e.g., sickle cell

anemia in a pathology class), but refers

to course work reflecting an

institutional awareness of the special

health needs of minority populations;

(2) Enter into arrangements with one

or more health clinics providing

services to a significant number of

individuals who are from disadvantaged

backgrounds, including members of

minority groups, for the purpose of

providing students of the school with

experience in providing clinical services

to such individuals;

(3) Enter into arrangements with one

or more public or nonprofit private

secondary educational institutions and

undergraduate institutions of higher

education (feeder schools), for the

purpose of carrying out programs

regarding:

(a) the educational preparation of

disadvantaged students, including

minority students, to enter the health

professions; and

(b) the recruitment of disadvantaged

students, including minority students,

into the health professions; and

(4) Establish a mentor program for

assisting disadvantaged students,

including minority students, regarding

the completion of the educational

requirements for degrees from the

school. This program may include the

involvement of students, community

health professionals, faculty, alumni,

past recipients of Health Career

Opportunity Program (HCOP) funds,

faculty/staff of feeder schools, etc., in

institutionally organized activity (e.g.,

tutoring, counseling, and summer/

bridge programs).

Each school funded for the first time

in FY 1997 will also be required to carry

out each of the activities specified above

by not later than 12 months from receipt

of award. Funds awarded to a school

under the SDS program may not be used

to carry out any of the above activities

which the school must be doing, or

must agree to do. In addition, a school

will be required to continue to carry out

all described activities, and also the

student/faculty recruitment and

retention activities, for as long as the

SDS program is in operation at the

school.

Evaluation Criteria for Fiscal Year 1997

For FY 1997, applications from newly

participating schools will be evaluated

on the degree to which the schools meet

the statutory requirements listed above.

Guidance for presenting the information

will be provided in the FY 1997

application materials. Schools that

received funds for academic year 1996–

97 will be funded based on the

information provided in last year’s

financial status report, and do not need

to reapply.

Student Eligibility

As required by statute, to qualify for

the SDS program, a student must:

(1) be a resident of the U. S. and either

be a U. S. citizen, a U.S. national, an

alien lawfully admitted for permanent

residence in the U.S., a citizen of the

Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana

Islands, a citizen of the Commonwealth

of Puerto Rico, or a citizen of the

Republic of Palau, or a citizen of the

Marshall Islands, or a citizen of the

Federated States of Micronesia;

(2) meet the definition of an

‘‘individual from a disadvantaged

background’’ as defined above; and

(3) (a) be enrolled in or accepted by

an eligible school for enrollment as a

full-time student; or

(b) be an undergraduate student who

has demonstrated a commitment to

pursuing a career in health professions,

including nursing.

Statutory Preference

The law requires that in providing

SDS scholarships, the school give

preference to students who are from

disadvantaged backgrounds and for

whom the cost of attending an SDS

school would constitute a severe

financial hardship. Severe financial

hardship will be determined by the

school in accordance with standard

need analysis procedures prescribed by

the Department of Education for its

Federal student aid programs.

The following Criteria for

Undergraduate Students, Definitions,

Methodology for Implementing the

Statutory Special Consideration, the

Nonstatutory Special Consideration for

Baccalaureate Nursing Programs, and

the Procedures for Calculating

Scholarship Awards were established in

FY 1991 after public comment (at 56 FR

49779) on October 1, 1991, and are

being extended in FY 1997. The

Funding Preference and Priority were

established in FY 1994 after public

comment (at 59 FR 44740) on August

30, 1994, and are being extended in FY

1997.

Criteria for Undergraduate Students

In the instance of (3)(b) above, it has

been established that the undergraduate

students eligible for scholarships must

be at feeder schools and have signed

statements that they are interested in

health professions or nursing careers.

Definitions

‘‘Black’’ means a person having

origins in any of the black racial groups

of Africa.

‘‘Hispanic’’ means a person of

Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Central

or South American or other Spanish

culture or origin, regardless of race.

‘‘American Indian or Alaskan Native’’

means a person having origins in any of

the original peoples of North America,

and who maintains cultural

identification through tribal affiliation

or community recognition.

Definitions listed above are contained

in Directive No. 15 of Office of

Management and Budget Circular No.

A–46, dated May 3, 1974.

‘‘Native American’’ as defined in Pub.

L. 101–527, means American Indian,

Alaskan Native, Aleut, or Native

Hawaiian.

‘‘Minority’’ with respect to faculty,

refers to Blacks, Hispanics, Native

Americans, Filipinos, Koreans, Pacific

Islanders, and Southeast Asians whose

percentage among the total supply of

practitioners in the applicable health

profession is below that group’s

percentage in the total population.

Methodology for Implementing the

Statutory Special Consideration

In accordance with the statute, in

making awards under section 737(a), the

Secretary shall give special

consideration to eligible schools that

have enrollments of underrepresented

minorities above the national average

for its particular discipline.

For purposes of determining

eligibility of a school, Asians will not be

included in the definition of

underrepresented minorities for the

school. Although certain Asian

subgroups (i.e, Filipinos, Koreans,

Pacific Islanders, and Southeast Asians)

are considered to be underrepresented

in the health professions and are

included as minorities for purposes of

program requirements relating to faculty

recruitment and retention (see above),

national data on these subgroups are not

available as a basis for establishing

national average enrollment of

underrepresented minorities.

For purposes of the FY 1997 award

cycle, the national average enrollments

of Blacks, Hispanics, and Native

Americans (in combination) are: for

medicine 15.2 percent; osteopathic

medicine 7.9 percent; nursing (RN only)

13.6 percent; dentistry 12.0 percent;

pharmacy 11.5 percent; optometry 9.1

percent; podiatric medicine 9.6 percent;

veterinary medicine 5.8 percent; public
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 55 / Friday, March 21, 1997 / Notices 13659

health 17.1 percent; allied health 18.2

percent; and clinical psychology 18

percent.

Nonstatutory Special Consideration for

Baccalaureate Nursing Programs

Among schools of nursing, additional

special consideration will be given to

baccalaureate programs. One of the

distinguishing features of baccalaureate

education is the substantial focus on

preparation for community health

practice. Training nurses for community

health practice is an integral component

of the Department’s access strategy.

It is not required that new applicants

request consideration for a funding

factor. Applications from new schools

which do not request consideration for

funding factors will be reviewed and

given full consideration for funding.

Procedures for Calculating Awards

Awards to eligible schools will be

calculated by comparing the enrollment

of disadvantaged students in each

eligible school with the total enrollment

of the disadvantaged students in all

eligible schools.

A school with an enrollment of

underrepresented minority students

which is above the national average (for

each discipline) will be given double

credit (i.e., its enrollment of

disadvantaged students would be

doubled for awarding purposes). A

baccalaureate nursing school will be

given double credit. A baccalaureate

nursing school with an

underrepresented minority enrollment

above the national average will be given

quadruple credit (i.e., its enrollment of

disadvantaged students will be

multiplied by four for awarding

purposes).

Other Consideration

Other funding factors may be applied

in determining the funding of eligible

schools.

A funding preference is defined as the

funding of a specific category or group

of eligible schools ahead of other

categories or groups of eligible schools.

A funding priority is defined as the

favorable adjustment of aggregate review

scores of individual approved

applications when applications meet

specified criteria.

It is not required that new applicants

request consideration for a funding

factor. Applications from new schools

which do not request consideration for

funding factors will be reviewed and

given full consideration for funding.

Funding Preference and Priority

For fiscal year 1997, among allied

health schools or programs, preference

will be given to the following

baccalaureate and graduate programs:

dental hygiene, medical laboratory

technology, occupational therapy,

physical therapy and radiologic

technology. In addition, priority among

allied health applicants will be given to

dental hygiene. A priority for dental

hygiene will be implemented by taking

the total funds allocated to the allied

health disciplines in the initial

allocation and recalculating this part of

the allocation. Dental hygiene schools

will receive double credit for their

disadvantaged enrollments in the

reallocation of the allied health funds.

National Health Objectives for the Year

2000

The Public Health Service is

committed to achieving the health

promotion and disease prevention

objectives of Healthy People 2000, a

PHS-led national activity for setting

priority areas. The Scholarships for

Disadvantaged Students program is

related to the priority area of Academic

and Community Partnership Programs.

Potential applicants may obtain a copy

of Healthy People 2000 (Full Report;

Stock No. 017–001–00474–0) or Healthy

People 2000 (Summary Report; Stock

No. 017–001–00473–1) through the

Superintendent of Documents,

Government Printing Office,

Washington, D.C. 20402–9325

(Telephone (202) 783–3238).

Smoke-Free Workplace

The Public Health Service strongly

encourages all award recipients to

provide a smoke-free workplace and

promote the non-use of all tobacco

products, and Public Law 103–227, the

Pro-Children Act of 1994, prohibits

smoking in certain facilities that receive

Federal funds in which education,

library, day care, health care, and early

childhood development services are

provided to children.

Application Requests

Applications are not required from

schools of medicine, osteopathic

medicine, dentistry, pharmacy,

optometry, podiatric medicine,

veterinary medicine, nursing, public

health, clinical psychology and allied

health which received SDS awards in

FY 1996. Upon request, materials will

be mailed to schools in the disciplines

identified above which did not

participate in the SDS program in FY

1996.

Requests for materials and questions

regarding business management and

program policy should be directed to:

Office for Campus Based Programs,

Division of Student Assistance, Bureau

of Health Professions, Health Resources

and Services Administration, Parklawn

Building, Room 8–34, 5600 Fishers

Lane, Rockville, Maryland 20857.

Telephone: (301) 443–4776; FAX: (301)

443–0846.

The deadline date for submitting

materials from new schools is April 21,

1997. Applications shall be considered

as meeting the deadline if they are

either:

(1) Received on or before the

established deadline date, or

(2) Sent on or before the established

deadline and received in time for

orderly processing. (Applicants should

request a legibly dated U.S. Postal

Service postmark or obtain a legibly

dated receipt from a commercial carrier

or the U.S. Postal Service. Private

metered postmarks shall not be

acceptable as proof of timely mailing.)

Late applications not accepted for

processing will be returned to the

applicant.

The materials for this program (SF

269) have been approved by the Office

of Management and Budget (OMB)

under the Paperwork Reduction Act.

The OMB clearance number is 0348–

0039. In addition, applicants are

required to provide certification that

there is at least one minority faculty

member on staff at the applicant

institution.

The Catalog of Federal Domestic

Assistance Number for the Scholarships for

Disadvantaged Students program is 93.925.

This program is not subject to the provisions

of Executive Order 12372, Intergovernmental

Review of Federal Programs (as implemented

through 45 CFR part 100).

This program is not subject to the

Public Health System Reporting

Requirements.

Dated: March 13, 1997.

Ciro V. Sumaya,

Administrator.

[FR Doc. 97–7140 Filed 3–20–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4160–15–P

Public Health Service

Notice Regarding Section 602 of the

Veterans Health Care Act of 1992—

Withdrawal of Rebate Mechanism

AGENCY: Health Resources and Services

Administration (HRSA), Department of

Health and Human Services (HHS).

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: Section 602 of Public Law

102–585, the ‘‘Veterans Health Care Act

of 1992,’’ enacted section 340B of the

Public Health Service Act, ‘‘Limitation

on Prices of Drugs Purchased by

Covered Entities.’’ Section 340B