33968 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 123 / Tuesday, June 26, 2001 / Notices

and treatment services to improve

health outcomes.

(4) Increase the number of formal

linkages or referral agreements among

publicly-funded programs (e.g., CARE

Act, Medicaid, family planning,

substance abuse, Children’s Health

Insurance Program), to collaborate on

HIV service delivery and planning.

(5) Increase the knowledge of CARE

Act administrators, planning bodies and

care providers of models and best

practices for continuous quality

improvement and quality management.

(6) Increase staff abilities and service

capacity in organizations serving

underserved communities severely

impacted by HIV/AIDS.

Under this Cooperative Agreement,

HRSA will provide input and be

involved actively in the planning and

implementation of activities supported

by these funds. Proposed activities must

support the mutual goals and objectives

of HRSA and the applicant.

Service Area: The geographic service

area includes the 51 Title I EMAs across

the United States, including the

Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the

District of Columbia.

Eligible Applicants: Public or private

non-profit organizations with a national

membership or constituency whose

mission is to address the needs of

people who work with HIV/AIDS

related programs and consumers of HIV/

AIDS services. The applicant must have

representatives from Ryan White CARE

Act Title I EMAs within its membership

or constituency. The applicant must

have a history of developing and

disseminating informational materials

and providing training and technical

assistance to HIV/AIDS related

organizations within the past 3 years.

The applicant must also have

experience working on initiatives

addressing the needs of Title I EMAs.

National organizations that currently

have Technical Assistance Cooperative

Agreements with the HIV/AIDS Bureau

are not eligible to apply.

Availability of Funds: One

cooperative agreement will be

competitively awarded for a total

amount up to $200,000. It is expected

that the award will be made by

September 30, 2001. Funding will be

made available for a 12-month budget

period, with a project period of up to 3

years contingent upon the availability of

funds and satisfactory performance.

Authorization: Title XXVI, Part F of

the Public Health Service Act, (Title 42,

USC), as amended by Public Law 106–

345 the Ryan White CARE Act

Amendments of 2000, dated October 20,

2000.

Application Dates: In order to be

considered for this competition,

applications must be received at the

HRSA Grants Application Center by

close of business on August 10, 2001.

Applications shall be considered as

meeting the deadline if they are: (1)

Received on or before the deadline, or

(2) Postmarked on or before the deadline

date and received in time for orderly

processing and submission to the review

committee. Applicants should request a

legibly dated receipt from a commercial

carrier or U.S. Postal Service postmark.

Private metered postmarks shall not be

acceptable as proof of mailing.

Applications received after the deadline

will be returned to the applicant and not

reviewed.

Application Materials: The Training

and Technical Assistance Cooperative

Agreement Guidance is available on the

HIV/AIDS Bureau web site at the

following Internet address: http://

www.hrsa.gov/hab. The required

Federal grant application form (PHS

5161–1) is available at the following

Internet address: http://forms.psc.gov/

forms/PHS/phs.html. For those

applicants who are unable to access

application materials electronically,

hard copies must be obtained from the

HRSA Grants Application Center,

telephone number (877) 477–2123, fax

number is (877) 477–2345, and e-mail

address hrsagac@hrsa.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Additional technical information may

be obtained from Rene Sterling, HIV/

AIDS Bureau, Health Resources and

Services Administration, 5600 Fishers

Lane, Room 7–36, Rockville, MD 20857.

The telephone number is (301) 443–

7778, the fax number is (301) 594–2835,

and the e-mail address is

Rsterling@hrsa.gov.

Dated: June 19, 2001.

Elizabeth M. Duke,

Acting Administrator.

[FR Doc. 01–15965 Filed 6–25–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4160–15–P

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;

Partnership for Information and

Communication Cooperative

Agreement

AGENCY: Health Resources and Services

Administration (HRSA), DHHS.

ACTION: Notice of availability of funds.

SUMMARY: The Health Resources and

Services Administration (HRSA)

announces that up to $750,000 in fiscal

year (FY) 2001 funds is available to fund

one cooperative agreement under the

Partnership for Information in

Communication (PIC) program activity.

This award will be made under the

program authority of section 501(a)(2) of

the Social Security Act, the Maternal

and Child Health (MCH) Federal SetAside Program (42 USC 701(a)(2)).

Within the HRSA, grants and

cooperative agreements for Special

Projects of Regional and National

Significance (SPRANS) under this

authority are administered by the

Maternal and Child Health Bureau

(MCHB). This announcement solicits

applications only from national

membership organizations representing

certified pediatric care providers. The

award for this PIC competition will be

made for a four-year grant period, with

continuation after the first year subject

to satisfactory performance and the

continued availability of funds. Funds

will come from SPRANS funds

appropriated under Public Law 106–

554.

DATES: Entities which intend to submit

an application for this cooperative

agreement are expected to notify

MCHB’s Division of Child, Adolescent

and Family Health of their intent by July

11, 2001. The deadline for receipt of

applications is August 10, 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 September 3,

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 June 26, 2001, or

register on-line at: http://www.hrsa.gov/

lorder3.htm directly. The PIC program

uses the standard Form PHS 5161–1

(Rev.7/00). Applicants must use Catalog

of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA)

#93.110G when requesting application

kits. The CFDA is a Government wide

compendium of enumerated Federal

programs, project services, and activities

which provide assistance. 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 1–877–477–2123: E-mail:

hrsagac@hrsa.gov.

Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 123 / Tuesday, June 26, 2001 / Notices 33969

Necessary application forms and an

expanded version of this Federal

Register notice may be downloaded in

either Microsoft Office 2000 or Adobe

Acrobat format (.pdf) from the MCHB

Home Page 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.

This notice will appear in the Federal

Register and the HRSA Home Page at

http://www.hrsa.dhhs.gov/. Federal

Register notices are found on the World

Wide Web by following instructions at:

http://www.access.gpo.gov/suldocs/

aces/aces140.html.

Letter of Intent: Notification of intent

to apply can be made in one of three

ways: telephone, 301/443–4996; email,

smartone@hrsa.gov/; mail, Office of

Adolescent Health, MCHB, HRSA;

Division of Child, Adolescent and

Family Health; Parklawn Building,

Room 18A–30; 5600 Fishers Lane;

Rockville, MD 20857.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Suzanne Martone, 301/443–4996, email:

smartone@hrsa.gov/ (for questions

specific to project objectives and

activities of the program; or the required

Letter of Intent, which is further

described in the application kit); Curtis

Colston, 301/443–3438, email

ccolston@hrsa.gov/ (for grants policy,

budgetary, and business questions).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Program Background and Objectives

The PIC program was established by

MCHB in 1990 as a SPRANS initiative

to develop, strengthen and maintain

communication among governmental,

professional and private organizations

representing leaders and policy makers

on issues concerning maternal and child

health. The program provides a

mechanism for communication and

collaboration between and among the

PIC member organizations. The unifying

factor is a strong commitment to the

development, improvement and

maintenance of health care systems as

the framework for improved maternal

and child health status. PIC member

organizations, with assistance from

MCHB, utilize the cooperative

agreement to: (1) Disseminate new

information about maternal and child

health in a format most useful to policy

and decision makers concerned with

developing MCH policies and programs

in the public and private sectors at

local, State and national levels; (2)

facilitate understanding of the maternal

and child health concerns held by

policy and decision makers representing

PIC member organizations; (3)

communicate to the PIC member

organizations and/or their

constituencies the position of MCHB,

HRSA and key Federal agencies on

critical issues; (4) facilitate the exchange

of views among PIC member

organizations and/or their

constituencies concerning existing and

proposed Federal and State policies and

positions on MCH-related issues and

concerns; and (5) identify, create and

expand opportunities for collaboration

and coordinated effort in response to

new, emerging or ongoing MCH issues

or concerns or issues with the potential

to impact MCH populations or

programs.

As with existing PIC cooperative

agreements for other organization

categories, this cooperative agreement is

expected to assure improved maternal

and child health status through

improved health care systems. The

grantee and the MCHB determine what

MCH issues will be addressed, what

information will be transmitted, how

that information will be transmitted,

and how responses to the information

will be followed up.

Specific issues to be addressed in this

cooperative agreement include: (1)

Assisting pediatric practitioners in

developing components of a ‘‘medical

home,’’ as defined by the American

Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). Of

particular concern is the capacity of the

pediatric practitioner to link with other

community resources in a timely

fashion to meet the needs of children

and their families, to assure a smooth

referral of patients and families to those

resources, and to assure effective

communication among care providers to

the benefit of children and their

families. Integration of the concepts

found in Bright Futures and the Healthy

Steps initiative into the medical home is

another area of interest; (2) promoting

the concept of ‘‘family pediatrics’’ by

recognizing the impact of psychosocial

issues of the family, both as individuals

and as a group, on children and the

resources needed by families to parent

effectively, and developing a

comprehensive plan to assist practicing

pediatricians to improve their capacity

to deliver family-oriented care; (3)

assisting in developing the capacity of

pediatric care providers to recognize

family mental health issues, to develop

appropriate response plans, and to

identify and collaborate with

community resources to meet the

mental health needs of their patients

and families; (4) reviewing the functions

of pediatric practice in the U.S. as

compared to other countries (e.g., Great

Britain); (5) assisting in developing the

role of pediatricians in the provision of

oral health services and in collaborating

with dentists and other oral health

practitioners to provide early and

appropriate oral health care for

children; (6) contingent upon the

continued availability of funds, assisting

States, Territories, Tribes and

communities in developing and

strengthening linkages between

pediatricians and child care, other

health care and family support services

via the Healthy Child Care America

campaign. This is an activity for which

the AAP, with support from MCHB and

the Administration on Children and

Families’ Child Care Bureau, assumed

coordination in October 1996.

Authorization

Section 501(a)(2) of the Social

Security Act, the MCH Federal SetAside Program (42 USC 701(a)(2)).

Purpose

The purpose of this announcement is

to solicit applications for a PIC

cooperative agreement from national

membership organizations representing

certified pediatric care providers.

The overall purpose of PIC is to

facilitate, through cooperative

agreements with major governmental,

professional and private organizations

representing leaders concerned with

issues related to maternal and child

health, the dissemination of new

information in a format that will be

most useful to them when developing

MCH policies and programs in the

private and public sectors at local, state

and national levels. The forum offered

by PIC provides those individuals and

organizations a means of

communicating issues directly to each

other and with MCH programs at all

levels.

Organizations currently receiving

support as part of this cooperative

agreement represent State governors and

their staffs; State legislatures and their

staffs; State, city and county local health

officials; city and county health

policymakers; municipal policymakers;

private business; philanthropic

organizations; families of children with

special health needs; nonprofit and/or

for-profit managed care organizations;

coalitions of organizations promoting

the health of mothers and infants and;

national membership organizations

representing survivors of traumatic

brain injury (TBI), providers of

emergency medical care for children,

and State EMSC programs.

Eligibility

Under SPRANS project grant

regulations at 42 CFR 51a.3, any public

33970 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 123 / Tuesday, June 26, 2001 / Notices

or private entity, including an Indian

tribe or tribal organization (as defined at

25 U.S.C. 450b), is eligible to apply for

grants covered by this announcement.

Preference

For this competition, preference will

be given to national membership

organizations representing certified

pediatric care providers. Specific issues

of importance to be addressed in this

cooperative agreement include: medical

home; family pediatrics; mental health;

the role of the pediatrician in pediatric

care; oral health; and the Healthy Child

Care America Campaign, which is

dedicated to expanding the use of

national health and safety standards in

organized day care settings.

Funding Level/Project Period

Approximately $750,000 is available

to support this award in FY 2001, with

a project period of up to four years.

Continuation in funding of the project

from one budget period to the next is

subject to satisfactory performance,

availability of funds, and program

priorities. The initial budget period is

expected to be 12 months, with

subsequent budget periods being 12

months.

Funding Mechanism

The administrative and funding

instrument to be used for this project

will be a cooperative agreement, in

which substantial MCHB scientific and/

or programmatic involvement with the

awardee is anticipated during the

performance of the project. Under the

terms of this Cooperative Agreement, in

addition to the required monitoring and

technical assistance provided under

grants, Federal responsibilities will

include:

(1) Assurance of the availability of the

services of experienced Federal

personnel to participate in the planning

and development of all phases of this

activity.

(2) Participation in meetings and

seminars conducted during the period

of the Cooperative Agreement.

(3) Review and approval of

procedures established for carrying out

the scope of work.

(4) Assistance in establishing and

maintaining Federal interagency and

interorganizational contacts necessary to

carry out the project.

(5) Participation in the dissemination

of information about project activities.

(6) Facilitation of effective project

communications and accountability to

MCHB/HRSA, with special attention to

new program initiatives and policy

development in the public health field

relating to maternal and child health.

Review Criteria

The following review criteria will be

used to evaluate applications for this

program:

(1) Representational Capacity of

Applicant. The extent to which the

applicant provides evidence of the

capacity to identify and represent the

interest and concerns of pediatric care

providers.

(2) Specific Issues and General

Concerns in Maternal and Child Health.

The extent to which the applicant

identifies and describes programmatic

issues that further the purposes of

maternal and child health and are of

concern to both the MCHB and to the

applicant, analyzes factors relevant to

these issues, and determines their

susceptibility to change.

(3) Strategies for Addressing

Problems. The extent to which the

applicant discusses methods for

achieving a functional collaboration

with MCHB that addresses items

relating to the ‘‘Purpose,’’ in item (2),

above; and also addresses any issues

relating to ‘‘Identification and

Analysis,’’ in item (2), above. This

discussion is expected to include clear

descriptions of: (a) How the applicant

organization plans to improve

transmission to its target population of

information available from the Federal

Government about important maternal

and child health issues; and (b) how the

applicant organization plans to initiate

or increase dialogue between

organization members and the Federal

Government in order to improve

prospects for effective maternal and

child health programming.

(4) Monitoring and Evaluation. The

extent to which the applicant describes

how the project staff will determine the

successful conduct and completion of

proposed activities, based on the

objectives outlined. All key activities

that are tracked must be identified and

measured as to the achievement of

project goals and objectives.

(5) Capabilities of the Applicant. The

extent to which the applicant

demonstrates that it is capable of

successfully carrying out the project,

including: (a) The sufficiency of

proposed resources; and (b) the number

and adequacy of proposed project

personnel, based on curricula vitae that

document education, skills and

experience relevant and necessary for

the proposed project.

(6) Budget Justification. The extent to

which the applicant documents how it

plans to support the activities outlined

in the budget and justifies how each

requested item was determined relative

to the project plan, including (a) The

number of person-hours for each staff

person, in terms of the project activities

requiring the knowledge, skills, and

experience of each person; and (b) travel

times, equipment, contractual services,

supplies, and other categories. A

description of contractual services that

the applicant plans to use, including the

purpose, scope and project cost of the

contract. The derivation of travel costs

includes who, where, length of time,

purpose, and associated costs of each

proposed trip.

Additional criteria may be used to

review and rank applications for this

competition. Any such criteria will be

identified in the application kit.

Applicants should pay strict attention to

addressing these criteria in addition to

those referenced above. Also, to the

extent that regulatory review criteria

generally applicable to all Title V

programs (at 42 CFR 51a) are relevant to

this specific project, such factors will be

taken into account.

OMB approval for any data collection

in connection with this cooperative

agreement will be sought, as required

under the Paperwork Reduction Act of

1995.

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 apprized 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

This program has been determined to

be a program which is not subject to the

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.