58226 Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 192 / Wednesday, October 5, 2005 / Notices 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES 

Administration for Children and 

Families 

Notice of Public Comment on the 

Proposed Adoption of ANA Program 

Policies and Procedures 

AGENCY: Administration for Native 

Americans (ANA). 

SUMMARY: Pursuant to section 814 of the 

Native American Programs Act of 1974 

(the Act) as amended by 42 U.S.C. 

2991b–1, ANA herein describes its 

proposed interpretive rules, general 

statement of policy and rules of agency 

procedure or practice in relation to the 

Social and Economic Development 

Strategies (SEDS), Native Language 

Preservation and Maintenance 

(hereinafter referred to as Native 

Language), Environmental Regulatory 

Enhancement (hereinafter referred to as 

Environmental) and Environmental 

Mitigation (hereinafter referred to as 

Mitigation) programs and any Special 

Initiatives. Under the statute, ANA is 

required to provide members of the 

public an opportunity to comment on 

proposed changes in interpretive rules, 

statements of general policy and rules of 

agency procedure or practice and to give 

notice of the final adoption of such 

changes at least thirty (30) days before 

the changes become effective. The 

notice also provides additional 

information about ANA’s plan for 

administering the programs. 

DATES: The deadline for receipt of 

comments is thirty (30) days from date 

of publication in the Federal Register. 

ADDRESSES: Comments in response to 

this notice should be addressed to 

Sheila K. Cooper, Director of Program 

Operations, Administration for Native 

Americans, 370 L’Enfant Promenade, 

SW., Mail Stop: Aerospace 8-West, 

Washington, DC 20447. Delays may 

occur in mail delivery to Federal offices; 

therefore, a copy of comments should be 

faxed to: (202) 690–7441. Comments 

will be available for inspection by 

members of the public at the 

Administration for Native Americans, 

Aerospace Center, 901 D Street SW., 

Washington, DC 20447. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Sheila K. Cooper, Director of Program 

Operations, toll-free at (877) 922–9262. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 

814 of the Native American Programs 

Act of 1974, as amended, requires ANA 

to provide notice of its proposed 

interpretive rules, statements of policy 

and rules of agency organization, 

procedure or practice. These proposed 

clarifications, modifications and new 

text will appear in the ANA FY06 

Program Announcements (PAs): SEDS, 

Native Language, Environmental, 

Mitigation and SEDS Special Initiatives. 

This notice serves to fulfill this 

requirement. 

Additional Information: 

I. Environmental Regulatory 

Enhancement 

ANA Evaluation Criteria 

Project Approach: In an effort to 

adhere to the Congressional intent of the 

legislation and to clarify the program 

purpose that has historically prompted 

numerous questions and created 

application and project development 

inconsistencies, ANA will now request 

the following information from 

applicants to be addressed within the 

ANA evaluation criterion: 

Applicants are required to describe a 

land base or other resource, i.e., river or 

body of water, over which they exercise 

jurisdiction to implement Tribal 

regulation of environmental quality. 

II. Definitions 

The following definition will be used 

in the appropriate program-specific 

FY06 PAs. ANA has clarified many 

areas that applicants have historically 

found difficult to understand and that 

have previously prompted numerous 

questions and created application and 

project development inconsistencies. 

The ANA PAs will now include an 

additional definition for the following 

term: 

Logic Model: A logic model is a 

systematic and visual way to present 

and share your understanding of the 

relationships among the resources you 

have to operate your program, the 

activities you plan and the changes or 

results you hope to achieve. 

III. Impact Monitoring 

Section 811(a)(1) of the Act requires 

that the Commissioner provide for the 

evaluation of projects assisted under 

this title, including evaluations that 

describe and measure the impact of 

such projects, their effectiveness in 

achieving stated goals, their impact on 

related programs and their structure and 

mechanisms for delivery of services. 

Section 811 (a) 2 of the Act requires that 

ANA evaluate projects awarded under 

the Act not less frequently than once 

every third year. ANA will consider (1) 

geographic location; (2) grant award 

amount; and (3) length of project period, 

when selecting projects for evaluation. 

Grantees will be given a notification of 

ANA’s intent to review thirty (30) days 

prior to the on-site evaluation. 

Evaluations shall be conducted by 

persons not directly involved in the 

administration of the project evaluated. 

In FY03 ANA began a process to 

enhance its capacity to conduct program 

monitoring and evaluation. This process 

allows ANA to monitor the completion 

of applicant project goals, effective use 

of Federal funds, and the applicant’s 

success in accomplishing its project 

mission. The process includes 

improving ANA’s capacity through 

enhanced information technology 

systems to track performance-based 

indicators such as jobs, project 

outcomes and community impacts. Each 

applicant for ANA funding must 

propose a stand-alone project that will 

be completed or self-sustained by the 

end of the grant term, and must have 

measurable results. (See Notice of 

Public Comment on the Proposed 

Adoption of ANA Program Policies and 

Procedures: 68 FR 64686; November 14, 

2003.) 

Performance indicators have been 

introduced as application criteria and 

are measurement descriptions used to 

identify outcomes or results of the 

project. Outcomes or results must be 

measurable to determine that the project 

achieved its desired objective and can 

be independently verified through 

monitoring and evaluation. (Legal 

authority: Sections 803(a) and (d) and 

803C of the Native American Programs 

Act of 1974 as amended by 42 U.S.C. 

2991b and 2991b–3. (See Notice of 

Public Comment on the Adoption of 

Impact Indicators: 70 FR 6686 February 

8, 2005.) 

In addition, ANA Training and 

Technical Assistance (T/TA) providers 

will be performing on-site technical 

assistance visits for those grantees 

identified as potentially at-risk for 

project implementation. 

IV. Training and Technical Assistance 

On-Site Activity 

45 CFR 74.51(g) and 92.40(e) allow 

Department of Health and Human 

Services staff or representatives to 

conduct on-site monitoring of grantees 

as warranted by program needs. Based 

on the authority provided, on-site 

monitoring and evaluation is necessary 

to determine if the amount awarded is 

a productive and effective use of funds 

and serves the community’s needs. 

When determined as appropriate, 

ANA’s T/TA providers will conduct an 

on-site visit to validate progress and 

outcomes proposed by the grantee to 

ensure project integrity and to offer 

technical assistance and guidance to 

support project activities. Such 

instances when an on-site visit is 

deemed appropriate are: nonVerDate Aug<31>2005 16:03 Oct 04, 2005 Jkt 208001 PO 00000 Frm 00048 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 E:\FR\FM\05OCN1.SGM 05OCN1
Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 192 / Wednesday, October 5, 2005 / Notices 58227 

submission or untimely progress 

reporting; delayed start in project 

implementation; inconsistent Federal 

funds draw-downs in relation to 

approved work plan; or other grant/ 

project management concerns. 

In the case of a multi-year grant, this 

activity will help ANA determine if 

continued funding is justified. In 

addition, 45 CFR 1336.40 requires that 

progress reports and continuation 

applications from ANA grantees contain 

sufficient information for ANA to 

determine the extent to which the 

recipient satisfies ANA project 

evaluation standards. Sufficient 

information means information 

adequate to enable ANA to compare the 

recipient’s accomplishments with the 

goals and activities of the grantee’s 

approved work plan and with ANA 

project evaluation criteria. Grantees 

identified as potentially at-risk for 

project implementation will receive an 

on-site visit by one of ANA’s T/TA 

providers. In collaboration, the T/TA 

provider and the grantee will identify 

challenges or barriers to the project and 

develop a plan to bring the project into 

compliance with its approved Objective 

Work Plan. On-site visits shall be 

conducted by persons not directly 

involved in the administration of the 

project. 

V. Electronic Application Submission 

Pursuant to the Federal Financial 

Assistance Management Improvement 

Act (Pub. L. 106–107), HHS is 

improving the efficiency and 

coordination of its grant-making 

processes by participating in the Federal 

Government’s Grant Streamlining 

Initiative. For all FY06 competitions, 

ANA will participate in the Grants.gov 

process, which allows applicants the 

opportunity to submit applications 

electronically. Applicants are not 

required to submit electronically and 

can still submit hard copy applications. 

The applicant is responsible for 

ensuring on-time electronic submission 

is fully achieved. The following 

activities and application submission 

requirements will become effective in 

FY06: 

• ANA will no longer publish PAs in 

the Federal Register. Official ANA PAs 

will be posted on the Grants.gov Web 

site. PAs will also be posted on the ANA 

Web site and on the ANA T/TA 

providers’ Web sites. 

• Due to limitations on the number of 

times the Objective Work Plan form can 

be replicated within the Grants.gov 

system, applicants will be limited to no 

more than six (6) project objectives per 

budget period. This limitation applies to 

all applicants regardless of type of 

submission format: Hard copy or 

electronic submission. 

VI. Environmental Mitigation 

ANA received pass-through funds 

from the Department of Defense for 

Tribal and Tribal organizations to offset 

the effects of military actions at 

Formerly Used Defense Sites (FUDS). 

ANA will announce the availability of 

these funds in FY06. A request for 

financial assistance in this program area 

does not require a non-Federal share 

match requirement. 

VII. SEDS Special Initiatives 

ANA has the discretionary authority 

to make awards in support of special 

initiatives, including but not limited to, 

healthy marriage and relationships, 

fatherhood, positive youth development 

and emergency support to Native 

communities affected by man-made or 

natural disasters. In FY06, ANA will 

announce the availability of funding for 

special initiatives when practicable. A 

request for financial assistance for any 

of the special initiatives will require a 

non-Federal share match requirement. 

VIII. Post Award Training 

ANA, through contracted services, 

conducts regional post award training. 

Past practice has been to provide 

funding to new grantees for attendance 

at this training in order to provide 

additional assistance and information 

on managing a Federal award. In FY06, 

ANA will require all applicants to 

include in their Federal budget request 

the costs associated for the proposed 

project’s finance person and the project 

manager to attend this regional training. 

It is determined that due to many 

reasons, largely grantee staff turnover, 

every grantee receiving an ANA award 

will benefit from the information 

provided at post award training, and 

therefore the expense is considered 

reasonable for all applicants to include 

in their budget request and also reflect 

in the activity in their Objective Work 

Plans. 

IX. ANA Administrative Policy 

The following policy will be used in 

all FY06 PAs. ANA has clarified many 

areas that applicants have historically 

found difficult to understand and that 

have previously prompted numerous 

questions and created application and 

project development inconsistencies. 

The ANA PAs will now include this 

clarified policy: 

• If the applicant, other than a Tribe 

or an Alaska Native Village government, 

is proposing a project benefiting Native 

Americans, Alaska Natives, or both, it 

must provide assurance that its duly 

elected or appointed board of directors 

is representative of the community to be 

served. An applicant’s governing board 

will be considered representative of the 

community to be served if the applicant 

demonstrates that at least a majority of 

the board individuals fall into one or 

more of the following categories: (1) A 

current or past member of the 

community to be served; (2) a 

prospective participant or beneficiary of 

the project to be funded; (3) have 

experience working with the 

community to be served by the project; 

or (4) have a cultural relationship with 

the community be to served. 

Dated: September 28, 2005. 

Quanah Crossland Stamps, 

Commissioner, Administration for Native 

Americans. 

[FR Doc. 05–19908 Filed 10–4–05; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4184–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES 

Food and Drug Administration 

[Docket No. 2005N–0218] 

Vision 2006—A Conversation With the 

American Public; Notice of Public 

Meetings on Specific Food and Drug 

Administration Issues; Notice of 

Cancellation of Meetings 

AGENCY: Food and Drug Administration, 

HHS. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The Food and Drug 

Administration (FDA) is canceling a 

series of three public meetings entitled 

‘‘Vision 2006—A Conversation With the 

American Public.’’ These meetings were 

to be a forum where consumers could 

interact directly with FDA’s leadership 

to discuss issues of public interest. 

These meetings were announced in the 

Federal Register of August 16, 2005 (70 

FR 48160). 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Philip L. Chao, Food and Drug 

Administration (HF–23), 5600 Fishers 

Lane, Rockville, MD 20857, 301–827–

0587, FAX: 301–827–4774, e-mail: 

philip.chao@fda.hhs.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In the 

Federal Register of August 16, 2005, we 

announced a series of public meetings 

entitled ‘‘Vision 2006—A Conversation 

with the American Public.’’ These 

meetings were to be held in three cities 

(Miami, FL; Boston, MA; and Phoenix, 

AZ), and they were to be an open forum 

where consumers could interact with 

FDA’s leadership. The meetings were 

also to be an opportunity for us to