Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 123 / Tuesday, June 26, 2001 / Notices 33971

provisions of Executive Order 12372

concerning intergovernmental review of

Federal programs by appropriate State

and local officials.

Dated: June 19, 2001.

Elizabeth M. Duke,

Acting Administrator.

[FR Doc. 01–15966 Filed 6–25–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4160–15–P

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND

HUMAN SERVICES

Health Resources and Services

Administration

Notice of A Cooperative Agreement To

Support Innovative Projects Relating

to Public Health Education and

Services

The Health Resources and Services

Administration announces that

applications will be accepted for a

Cooperative Agreement for fiscal year

(FY) 2001 to plan, develop, and

implement a series of collaborative

projects relating to public health

education and special projects. This

Cooperative Agreement is expected to

support a program of innovative training

and education projects to demonstrate

the sharing of expertise between public

health faculty and public health

practitioners in State and local

communities. The goal of the

Cooperative Agreement is to improve

public health, public health services,

and health care services at the State and

local community levels while providing

meaningful feedback to schools of

public health concerning the efficacy of

their curricula in educating and training

the future and existing public health

workforce.

There are three purposes for this

Cooperative Agreement: (1) To develop

training, placement, recruitment and

retention mechanisms to address the

shortfall of individuals in various public

health disciplines and professions as

defined by the Bureau of Labor Statistics

Standard Occupational Classification;

(2) to strengthen and institutionalize

practice oriented linkages between the

schools of public health and the public

health practice community so that

individuals are better trained to meet

the needs of HRSA-sponsored grantees

in community settings; and (3) to

provide assistance in curricula

development and related initiatives that

will address the need for better

educated and culturally competent

entry-level and mid-level public health

practitioners in public health practice

settings.

Activities under this Cooperative

Agreement must include:

(1) The convening of communities of

interest, including rural organizations,

to produce policy recommendations to

HRSA to improve education, training,

recruitment, and diversification of the

public health workforce, especially as it

impacts the needs of underserved

communities.

(2) The development of an internship

and fellowship program for students

and graduates of schools of public

health to provide exposure and work

experience in front line urban and rural

public health agencies, organizations,

and systems, and policy/program

development.

(3) The analysis of training, delivery

methods and new technologies for adult

learners.

(4) The establishment of a

geographically diverse Steering

Committee for the development and

pilot testing of activities to provide

technical assistance to public health

practice sites.

(5) The establishment of linkages

between academic training institutions

and public health practice organizations

to demonstrate innovative models and

initiatives supportive of academic

practice.

(6) The improvement of public health

research in urban and rural community

populations and linkages with these

stakeholders and other national

associations to highlight both public

health education and the efficient

delivery of health services, especially as

it impacts the needs of underserved

communities and minority and

disadvantaged practitioners.

(7) The coordination of the

development of curricula that support

health care delivery and health service

projects funded by HRSA.

(8) The evaluation of outcome

measures and performance standards

used by HRSA’s public health programs

for the delivery of various health

services, patient health status, consumer

satisfaction, systems of care and quality.

Authorizing Legislation

This Cooperative Agreement is

solicited under the authority of title VII,

section 765 of the Public Health Service

(PHS) Act, as amended. Section 765

authorizes the award of grants to

increase the number of individuals in

the public health workforce, to enhance

the quality of such workforce, and to

enhance the ability of the workforce to

meet national, State, and local health

care needs.

The Federal role in the conduct of this

Cooperative Agreement is substantial

and will be maintained by the Bureau of

Health Professions (BHPr) staff through

technical assistance and guidance to the

awardee considerably beyond the

normal stewardship responsibilities in

the administration of grant awards.

Such activities under this Cooperative

Agreement include the:

(a) Planning, development, and

implementation of all phases of the

program, including consultation

regarding contracts, agreements, and

sub-awards developed, as well as

participation in the review and selection

of contracts, agreements and subawards;

(b) Participation in the development

of all curricula for the program, and

approval of the content and delivery of

training experiences;

(c) Participation in the development

of an evaluation plan for the project

initiated at the inception of the project;

(d) Assistance with identification of

Federal and other organizations with

whom collaboration is essential in order

to further the Cooperative Agreement’s

mission and to develop specific

strategies to support the work of these

related activities;

(e) Participation in the development

of funding projections;

(f) Participation in the development of

data collection systems and procedures;

(g) Participation in all appropriate

meetings, committees, subcommittees,

and working groups related to this

Cooperative Agreement and its projects,

as well as site visits;

(h) Participation in the review of

curricula vitae documenting credentials

and experience for the Steering

Committee, key faculty, and key staff

before commitments are made by the

awardee;

(i) Participation in the identification

of emerging health management practice

issues for technical assistance purposes;

(j) Identification of HRSA

programmatic issues for special

attention through the Cooperative

Agreement;

(k) Identification of appropriate

consultation for proposed projects, and/

or annual plans for any succeeding

project years;

(l) Assistance in defining the

objective, method, evaluation and use of

project results and translation into the

knowledge, skills, and attributes for

educational objectives,

(m) Assistance in ensuring

appropriate linkages with public health

practice, health services, and health care

delivery sites; and

(n) Participation in monitoring the

implementation, conduct and results of

projects implemented under this

Cooperative Agreement.

33972 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 123 / Tuesday, June 26, 2001 / Notices

The BHPr’s Center for Public Health

will provide technical assistance for this

Cooperative Agreement.

Availability of Funds

Up to $700,000 will be available in FY

2001 to fund this Cooperative

Agreement. Funding will be for a 5-year

project period. It is expected the award

will be made on or before September 30,

2001. Continuation awards beyond the

first year of the project period will be

based on the achievement of satisfactory

progress and the availability of funds.

Background

As part of its overall mission, HRSA

is responsible for providing national

leadership to assure that high quality

health care and public health services

are provided to the most vulnerable

populations in the Nation. HRSA is also

responsible for improving the basic and

continuing education of public health

professionals to assess, develop and

assure that a high level of services is

available to these vulnerable

populations. In carrying out this

responsibility, HRSA works

collaboratively with educational

institutions, especially schools of public

health and with professional

organizations to develop and implement

improved basic and continuing

education curricula to assure competent

public health practice and leadership in

the United States.

It has been recognized that the

quality, number and diversity of public

health personnel plays a critical role in

the promotion of health, prevention and

control of disease, and the management

of health resources. The principal

purpose of schools of public health is to

promote and improve the education and

training of professional public health

personnel.

An area of major concern to HRSA is

the lack of individuals trained and

prepared to manage and/or provide

services in community settings. It is

these settings where a majority of HRSA

funding and attention is directed,

because it is at the community-level that

our most vulnerable populations need

care. The disconnect between public

health training and community settings

where these individuals are needed

continues to be a significant problem in

public health and for the efficient

delivery of HRSA-sponsored care and

services.

A second major concern of HRSA is

over the low number of faculty, students

and practitioners from minority

backgrounds in academic and practice

settings. The schools of public health

can play a crucial role in alleviating

these shortcomings, especially in

training minority and disadvantaged

public health workers. HRSA is

proposing to develop a range of

activities utilizing the strengths of the

schools of public health to address the

identified as well as emerging concerns.

This Cooperative Agreement will serve

as an incentive to the academic public

health community to become more

involved in public health practice

issues, increase the number of minority

professionals working in public health

settings, and introduce cultural

diversity training into the curriculum in

schools of public health.

By the end of the demonstration

period, the awardee must have

developed written curricula for its

program, comprehensively described its

implementation plan and local

experience in educating students,

training faculty and public health

professionals, and reported on the

effectiveness of its program in changing

its stakeholder’s knowledge, skills,

attitudes, and practices. National and

local dissemination of information and

lessons learned by the recipient is

required throughout the project period.

This Cooperative Agreement is expected

to contribute significantly to the

identification of future best practices for

the education and training of public

health professionals.

Eligible Applicants

Eligible applicants are a health

professions school (including an

accredited school or program of public

health, health administration,

preventive medicine, or dental public

health or a school providing health

management programs), academic

health centers, State or local

governments, and any other appropriate

public or private non-profit entity.

Review Criteria

The specific review criteria used to

review and rank applications are

included in the application guidance

that will be provided to each potential

applicant. Applicants should pay strict

attention to addressing these criteria, as

they are the basis upon which

applications will be judged by the

reviewers.

The following generic review criteria

are applicable to this Cooperative

Agreement:

(a) That the estimated cost to the

Government of the project is reasonable

considering the level and complexity of

activity and the anticipated results.

(b) That the budget justifications are

complete, appropriate, and costeffective.

(c) That project personnel are well

qualified by training and/or experience

for the support sought, and the

applicant organization or the

organization to provide training has

adequate facilities and manpower.

(d) That the proposed objectives are

capable of achieving the specific

program objectives defined in the

program announcement and the

proposed results are measurable.

(e) That insofar as practical, the

proposed activities, if well executed, are

capable of attaining project objectives.

(f) That the proposal includes an

integrated methodology compatible with

the scope of project objectives,

including collaborative relationships

with relevant institutions and

professional associations.

(g) That the method for evaluating

proposed results includes criteria for

determining the extent to which the

program has achieved its stated

objectives and the extent to which the

accomplishment of objectives can be

attributed to the program.

(h) That, insofar as practical, the

proposed activities, when

accomplished, are replicable, national

in scope, and include plans for broad

dissemination.

Letters of Intent and Deadline Date

Applicants are encouraged to submit

a letter of intent to apply for this

Cooperative Agreement. The letter is

requested to assist staff in planning for

the review based on anticipated number

of applications. The letter of intent is

due July 10, 2001. Simultaneously mail

or e-mail one copy of the letter to each

of the following representatives from the

Center for Public Health (CPH), within

the Bureau of Health Professions (BHPr):

Jeffrey Dunlap, Acting Director, CPH,

Bureau of Health Professions, HRSA,

Room 8–103, Parklawn Building, 5600

Fishers Lane, Rockville, MD 20857; or email address at Jdunlap@hrsa.gov. Mr.

Dunlap’s telephone number is (301)

443–6853.

Capt. Barry Stern, Sr., Environmental

Health Advisor, CPH, Bureau of Health

Professions, HRSA, Room 8–103,

Parklawn Building, 5600 Fishers Lane,

Rockville, MD 20857; or e-mail address

at Bstern@hrsa.gov. Capt. Stern’s

telephone number is (301) 443–6758.

Application Requests, Dates and

Address

Federal Register notices and the

application form and guidance for this

Cooperative Agreement are available

from the HRSA web site address at

http://bhpr.hrsa.gov/grants2001/.

Applicants may also request a hard copy

of these materials from the HRSA Grants

Application Center (GAC) at 1815 North

Fort Myer Drive, Suite 300, Arlington,

Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 123 / Tuesday, June 26, 2001 / Notices 33973

VA 22209; telephone number 1–877–

477–2123. The GAC e-mail address is:

hrsagac@hrsa.gov.

In order to be considered for

competition, applications for this

Cooperative Agreement must be

received by mail or delivered to the

GAC no later than July 26, 2001.

Completed applications must be

submitted to the GAC at the above

address. Applications received after the

deadline date or sent to any address

other than the Arlington, Virginia

address above will be returned to the

applicant and not reviewed.

National Health Objectives for the Year

2010

The PHS urges applicants to submit

their work plans that address specific

objectives of Healthy People 2010,

which potential applicants may obtain

through the Superintendent of

Documents, Government Printing

Office, Washington, D.C. 20402–9325

(telephone: (202) 783–3238). Particular

attention should focus on Healthy

People 2010 Workforce Objectives, such

as Objectives 1–8 (achieving minority

representation in the health professions)

and 23–8 (incorporating specific

competencies into the public health

workforce).

Smoke-Free Workplace

The PHS strongly encourages all grant

recipients to provide a smoke-free

workplace; to promote the non-use of all

tobacco products; and to promote Pub.

L. 103–227, the Pro-Children Act of

1994, which 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.

Additional Informaiton

Questions concerning programmatic

aspects of this Cooperative Agreement

may be directed to the same

representatives of the Center for Public

Health listed above in the Letters of

Intent section of this notice.

Paperwork Reduction Act

The standard application form HRSA–

6025–1, the HRSA Competing Training

Grant Application, has been approved

by the Office of Management and

Budget (OMB) under the Paperwork

Reduction Act. The OMB clearance

number is 0915–0060. If the methods for

developing the proposed comprehensive

outcome evaluation of all efforts

delivered through this Cooperative

Agreement (as described in the

Background section of this notice) fall

under the purview of the Paperwork

Reduction Act, the awardee will assist

HRSA in seeking OMB clearance for

proposed data collection activities.

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 also not

subject to the Public Health Systems

Reporting Requirements.

Dated: June 20, 2001.

Elizabeth M. Duke,

Acting Administrator.

[FR Doc. 01–15964 Filed 6–25–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4160–15–P

DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND

URBAN DEVELOPMENT

[Docket No. FR–4653–N–08]

Notice of Proposed Information

Collection for Public Comment: Survey

of Market Absorption

AGENCY: Office of the Assistant

Secretary for Policy Development and

Research, HUD.

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: The proposed information

collection requirement described below

will be submitted to the Office of

Management and Budget (OMB) for

review as required by the Paperwork

Reduction Act of 1995. The Department

is soliciting public comments on the

subject proposal.

DATES: Comments Due Date: August 27,

2001.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are

invited to submit comments regarding

this proposal. Comments should refer to

the proposal by name and/or OMB

Control Number and should be sent to:

Reports Liaison Officer, Officer of Policy

Development and Research, Department

of Housing and Urban Development,

451 7th Street SW, Room 8226,

Washington, DC 20410.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Ronald J. Sepanik (202) 708–1060 x5887

(this is not toll-free) for copies of the

proposed forms and other relevant

documents.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

Department will submit the proposed

information collection to OMB for

review, as required by the Paperwork

Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C.

Chapter 35, as amended). This Notice is

soliciting comments from members of

the public and affected agencies

concerning the proposed collection of

information to: (1) Evaluate whether the

proposed collection of information is

necessary for the proper performance of

the functions of the agency, including

whether the information will have

practical utility; (2) evaluate the

accuracy of the agency’s estimate of the

burden of the proposed collection of

information; (3) enhance the quality,

utility, and clarity of the information to

be collected; and (4) minimize the

burden of the collection of information

on those who are to respond, including

through the use of appropriate

automated collection techniques or

other forms of information technology,

e.g., permitting electronic submission of

responses.

This Notice also lists the following

information:

Title of Proposal: The Survey of

Market Absorption (SOMA).

OMB Number: 2528–0012 (expires 07/

31/2002).

Description of the need for the

information and proposed use: The

Survey of Market Absorption (SOMA)

provides the data necessary to measure

the rate at which new rental apartments

and new condominium apartments are

absorbed; that is, taken off the market,

usually by being rented or sold, over the

course of the first twelve months

following completion of a building.

The data are collected at quarterly

intervals until the twelve months

conclude, or until the units in a

building are completely absorbed. The

survey also provides estimates of certain

characteristics, i.e., asking rent/price,

number of units, and number of

bedrooms.

The survey provides a basis for

analyzing the degree to which new

apartment construction is meeting the

present and future needs of the public.

Additionally, beginning with new

construction in 2002, the survey will

attempt to ascertain the number and

degree of services provided by Assisted

Living type units.

Members of affected public: Rental

Agents/Builders.

Estimation of the total number of

hours needed to prepare the information

collection including number of

respondents, frequency of response, and

hours of response: 4,000 hours, number

of respondents is 12,000 taking an

estimate of 20 minutes; frequency of

response is four times (maximum). All

information will be collected in person

or via telephone.

Status of the proposed information

collection: Pending OMB approval.

Authority: Title 12, U.S.C. section 1701z.