18816 Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 71 / Thursday, April 13, 1995 / Notices

Federal Communications Commission.

Robert H. McNamara,

Acting Chief, Private Wireless Division.

[FR Doc. 95–9094 Filed 4–12–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6712–01–M

FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM

Signet Banking Corporation, et al.;

Acquisitions of Companies Engaged in

Permissible Nonbanking Activities

The organizations listed in this notice

have applied under § 225.23(a)(2) or (f)

of the Board’s Regulation Y (12 CFR

225.23(a)(2) or (f)) for the Board’s

approval under section 4(c)(8) of the

Bank Holding Company Act (12 U.S.C.

1843(c)(8)) and § 225.21(a) of Regulation

Y (12 CFR 225.21(a)) to acquire or

control voting securities or assets of a

company engaged in a nonbanking

activity that is listed in § 225.25 of

Regulation Y as closely related to

banking and permissible for bank

holding companies. Unless otherwise

noted, such activities will be conducted

throughout the United States.

Each application is available for

immediate inspection at the Federal

Reserve Bank indicated. Once the

application has been accepted for

processing, it will also be available for

inspection at the offices of the Board of

Governors. Interested persons may

express their views in writing on the

question whether consummation of the

proposal can ‘‘reasonably be expected to

produce benefits to the public, such as

greater convenience, increased

competition, or gains in efficiency, that

outweigh possible adverse effects, such

as undue concentration of resources,

decreased or unfair competition,

conflicts of interests, or unsound

banking practices.’’ Any request for a

hearing on this question must be

accompanied by a statement of the

reasons a written presentation would

not suffice in lieu of a hearing,

identifying specifically any questions of

fact that are in dispute, summarizing the

evidence that would be presented at a

hearing, and indicating how the party

commenting would be aggrieved by

approval of the proposal.

Unless otherwise noted, comments

regarding each of these applications

must be received at the Reserve Bank

indicated for the application or the

offices of the Board of Governors not

later than April 27, 1995.

A. Federal Reserve Bank of

Richmond (Lloyd W. Bostian, Jr., Senior

Vice President) 701 East Byrd Street,

Richmond, Virginia 23261:

1. Signet Banking Corporation,

Richmond, Virginia to acquire through

its subsidiaries, Virtus Capital

Management, Inc.,and Signet Financial

Services, Inc., both of Richmond,

Virginia, Sheffield Management

Company, New York, New York, and

thereby indirectly acquire Sheffield

Investments, Inc., New York, New York,

and thereby engage in acting as

investment advisor to the Blanchard

Group of Funds, pursuant to §

225.25(b)(4) of the Board’s Regulation Y,

and providing brokerage, marketing, and

related services to the Blanchard Group

of Funds, pursuant to § 225.25(b)(15) of

the Board’s Regulation Y, but will not

serve as distributor for the Blanchard

Group of Funds or any other mutual

fund.

B. Federal Reserve Bank of

Minneapolis (James M. Lyon, Vice

President) 250 Marquette Avenue,

Minneapolis, Minnesota 55480:

1. Ramsey Financial Corporation,

Devils Lake, North Dakota; to acquire

through its subsidiary, the Rugby,

Cavalier, and Bottineau branches of

Heritage Federal Savings Bank, fsb,

Cando, North Dakota, First Bank, fsb,

Fargo, North Dakota, and thereby engage

in operating a savings association,

pursuant to § 225.25(b)(9) of the Board’s

Regulation Y.

Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve

System, April 7, 1995.

Jennifer J. Johnson,

Deputy Secretary of the Board.

[FR Doc. 95–9091 Filed 4–12–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6210–01–F

Anita Bancorporation, Inc., et al.;

Formations of; Acquisitions by; and

Mergers of Bank Holding Companies

The companies listed in this notice

have applied for the Board’s approval

under section 3 of the Bank Holding

Company Act (12 U.S.C. 1842) and §

225.14 of the Board’s Regulation Y (12

CFR 225.14) to become a bank holding

company or to acquire a bank or bank

holding company. The factors that are

considered in acting on the applications

are set forth in section 3(c) of the Act

(12 U.S.C. 1842(c)).

Each application is available for

immediate inspection at the Federal

Reserve Bank indicated. Once the

application has been accepted for

processing, it will also be available for

inspection at the offices of the Board of

Governors. Interested persons may

express their views in writing to the

Reserve Bank or to the offices of the

Board of Governors. Any comment on

an application that requests a hearing

must include a statement of why a

written presentation would not suffice

in lieu of a hearing, identifying

specifically any questions of fact that

are in dispute and summarizing the

evidence that would be presented at a

hearing.

Unless otherwise noted, comments

regarding each of these applications

must be received not later than May 8,

1995.

A. Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago

(James A. Bluemle, Vice President) 230

South LaSalle Street, Chicago, Illinois

60690:

1. Anita Bancorporation, Inc.,

Newton, Iowa; to acquire 100 percent of

the voting shares of Griswold

Bancshares, Inc., Griswold, Iowa, and

thereby indirectly acquire Griswold

State Bancshares, Inc., Griswold, Iowa,

and Griswold State Bank, Griswold,

Iowa.

B. Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas

(Genie D. Short, Vice President) 2200

North Pearl Street, Dallas, Texas 75201-

2272:

1. Metrocorp, Inc., Houston, Texas; to

become a bank holding company by

acquiring 100 percent of the voting

shares of Metrocorp of Delaware, Inc.,

Wilmington, Texas, and thereby

indirectly acquire MetroBank, N.A.,

Houston, Texas.

In connection with this application,

Metrocorp of Delaware, Inc.,

Wilmington, Delaware, also has applied

to become a bank holding company by

acquiring 100 percent of MetroBank,

N.A., Houston, Texas.

C. Federal Reserve Bank of San

Francisco (Kenneth R. Binning,

Director, Bank Holding Company) 101

Market Street, San Francisco, California

94105:

1. Northeast Portland Community

Development Trust and Albina

Community Bancorp, both of Portland,

Oregon; to become bank holding

companies by acquiring 100 percent of

the voting shares of Albina Community

Bank, Portland, Oregon (in

organization).

2. Cache Valley Banking Company,

Logan, Utah; to become a bank holding

company by acquiring 92.66 percent of

the voting shares of Cache Valley Bank,

Logan, Utah.

Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve

System, April 7, 1995.

Jennifer J. Johnson,

Deputy Secretary of the Board.

[FR Doc. 95–9090 Filed 4–12–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6210–01–F
Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 71 / Thursday, April 13, 1995 / Notices 18817

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND

HUMAN SERVICES

Administration on Aging

[Program Announcement No. AOA–95–1]

Fiscal Year 1995 Program

Announcement; Availability of Funds

and Request for Applications

AGENCY: Administration on Aging, HHS.

ACTION: Announcement of availability of

funds and request for applications

under the Administration on Aging’s

Discretionary Funds Program for

research, demonstration, training,

development, and related capacitybuilding activities.

SUMMARY: The Administration on Aging

(AoA) announces its Fiscal Year (FY)

1995 Discretionary Funds Program

(DFP) of knowledge building, program

innovation and development,

information dissemination, training,

technical assistance, and related

capacity-building efforts. The FY 1995

DFP is responsive to the major strategic

initiatives of the Assistant Secretary for

Aging and to specific mandates of the

Older Americans Act. Funding for AoA

discretionary grants is authorized by

Title IV of the Older Americans Act,

Public Law 89–73, as amended.

This program announcement consists

of three parts. Part I provides

background information, discusses the

purpose of the AoA Discretionary Funds

Program, and documents its statutory

funding authority. Part II describes the

programmatic priorities under which

AoA is inviting applications to be

considered for funding. Part III

describes, in detail, the application

process and provides guidance on how

to prepare and submit an application.

All of the forms necessary to submit

an application are published as part of

this announcement following Part III.

No separate application kit is necessary

for submitting an application. If you

have a copy of this entire

announcement, you have all the

information and forms required to

prepare and submit an application.

Grants will be made under this

announcement subject to the availability

of funds for the support of the priority

area project activities described herein.

DATES: The deadline date for the

submission of applications under this

announcement is June 12, 1995.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Department of Health and Human

Services, Administration on Aging,

Office of Program Development and

Elder Rights, 330 Independence

Avenue, S.W., Room 4278, Washington,

DC 20201, telephone (202) 619–0441.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Part I Background

A. The Challenges of an Aging Society

According to the National Center for

Health Statistics, life expectancy at birth

for Americans in 1991 rose to a record

75.5 years. The Census Bureau predicts

that by the year 2020 the average life

expectancy will be 82 years for women

and 74.2 years for men. At the turn of

the century, only 4 percent of the

American population was 65 and over.

By 1990, it was 12 percent. Beginning in

approximately 2010, the percentage is

projected to increase rapidly to 20

percent by 2030 and then to increase

slowly to about 21% by 2050 and 22%

by 2060. By the year 2030, there will be

more people age 65 and older than

young people under age 15 in the

population.

The baby boom generation, which

will begin to reach retirement age in

little more than a decade, now

represents the largest age segment of the

U.S. population, numbering

approximately 75 million. The current

older population, already noted for its

heterogeneity, will be significantly more

diverse with the aging of the baby

boomers in the early decades of the 21st

century. Minority populations are

projected to represent 25% of the

elderly in 2030, up from 13% in 1990.

The great increase in the numbers and

the diversity of the elderly, combined

with dramatic changes in lifestyle (such

as four-generation households and more

women serving in both caregiving roles

and the work force) are important

factors to consider in planning for an

aging society.

If the Nation is to be well prepared

for, rather than daunted by, the

burgeoning numbers of older persons in

the 21st century, and to be equally well

equipped to take advantage of the

opportunities arising from concomitant

social and economic changes, then

today we must grasp the basic

implications of an aging society, and act

on the basis of those realizations. Our

Nation has many different policies and

agencies that impact on what people

may or may not do when they retire.

Although the Department of Health and

Human Services and the Social Security

Administration provide the bulk of

public financing for programs and

benefits that directly or indirectly affect

older persons, almost every Federal

agency is involved in providing services

to older persons including the

Departments of Housing and Urban

Development, Transportation, Justice,

Agriculture, Labor, Defense, Energy, and

Treasury. By creating the position of

Assistant Secretary for Aging, the

President and the Secretary of Health

and Human Services have provided a

focal point for aging policy, whereby the

disparate program responsibilities of

Federal government agencies can be

linked into a more coherent vision of

what is needed for an aging society.

B. Older Americans Act Responsibilities

of the Assistant Secretary for Aging and

the Administration on Aging

The Older Americans Act of 1965, as

amended, is designed to provide

assistance in the development of new or

improved programs to help older

persons, through grants to the States and

tribal organizations for community

planning and services and for research,

demonstration and training projects.

Through the Act, the Congress has

declared that it is the responsibility of

the Federal government, the States, and

Native American tribal organizations to

assist older people as they endeavor to

secure an adequate retirement income,

the best possible physical or mental

health services, suitable housing, long

term care services, employment

opportunities, and participation in a

wide range of civic, cultural,

educational and recreational activities.

Title II of the Act declares, further,

that it is the responsibility of the

Assistant Secretary for Aging to serve as

the effective and visible advocate for

older individuals within the Department

of Health and Human Services and with

other departments, agencies, and

instrumentalities of the Federal

Government. Under Title II, the

Assistant Secretary is charged with

directly assisting the Secretary of Health

and Human Services in all matters

pertaining to problems of the aged and

aging and with the responsibility to

administer the formula and

discretionary grant programs authorized

by Congress under Titles III, IV, VI and

VII of the Act.

1. The AoA Discretionary Funds

Program

The Discretionary Funds Program

authorized by Title IV of the Older

Americans Act constitutes the major

research, demonstration, training, and

development effort of the

Administration on Aging. The Title IV

mandate is aimed, generally, at building

knowledge, developing innovative

model programs, and training personnel

for service in the field of aging, and

matching these resources to the

changing needs of older persons and

their families in the coming decades.

AoA’s research, demonstrations,

training and other discretionary projects

are focused on:
18818 Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 71 / Thursday, April 13, 1995 / Notices

• Advancing our knowledge and

understanding of current program and

policy issues, such as community and

in-home long term care service systems

and programs, significant to the wellbeing of the older population;

• Improving the effectiveness of

Older Americans Act programs by

testing new models, systems, and

approaches for better providing and

delivering services to older persons; and

• Providing training, technical

assistance, and information that will

increase our ability to serve older

Americans with skill, care, and

compassion.

2. Coordination With Other Federal

Agencies

In accordance with Title II of the

Older Americans Act, the Assistant

Secretary for Aging and the

Administration on Aging (AoA)

function as focal points within the

Federal government for aging-related

concerns. In that capacity, the Assistant

Secretary advises the Secretary of

Health and Human Services on matters

affecting older Americans and provides

consultation and information to units

across the Federal government on the

characteristics, circumstances, and

needs of older persons. AoA has a

strong commitment to working with

other Federal agencies on policy and

program development in issue areas of

importance to older Americans. To carry

out its national level program and

advocacy responsibilities, AoA places

major emphasis on developing

collaborative relationships with other

Federal agencies aimed at coordinating

diverse and wide-ranging Federal

program resources and linking those

resources to the similarly diverse needs

of older persons.

Dating back two decades, AoA has

worked hard to develop and implement

a network of Federal Interagency

Agreements to better serve older

Americans, combining our resources

with those of the Departments of

Housing and Urban Development,

Labor, and Education, the Farmers

Home Administration, the Social

Security Administration, and the

Corporation for National and

Community Service (formerly ACTION),

as well as with other agencies within

the Department of Health and Human

Services, such as the Health Care

Financing Administration, the

Administration for Children and

Families, and the Public Health Service,

including the National Institute on

Aging.

Federal Interagency Agreements cover

a spectrum of program efforts—in

housing, long term care, elder abuse,

etc. They represent a strategic coupling

of AoA’s resources to serve the nation’s

elderly, especially those at risk of losing

their independence.

3. Dissemination of Title IV Project

Results and Products

In keeping with the provisions of the

Older Americans Act, all projects

funded under Title IV are required to

undertake vigorous steps to disseminate

the results and products of their projects

to appropriate audiences involved in

promoting the well-being of older

persons. This should include energetic

marketing of products and results.

Projects are strongly encouraged to

utilize appropriate promotional media

campaigns and other dissemination

strategies in order to ensure that their

outcomes receive the widest possible

attention. Such campaigns should seek

to educate consumers, providers

(including the Aging Network), the

private sector, and policy sector about

their results and to promote use of their

products.

As described below in Part III, Section

I.2, the most effective dissemination

begins at the moment a project is

conceptualized and includes the

involvement of potential user audiences

throughout the project, particularly in

the design of products. As part of their

dissemination plan, applicants are also

encouraged to consider the

development, as appropriate, of brief

products suitable for widespread

dissemination to older persons, their

families and other caregivers, and

practitioners who serve older persons.

Advice on ways to maximize the

utilization of a proposed project may be

obtained by contacting Saadia

Greenberg at the AoA Office of

Dissemination and Utilization at (202)

619–0441. Applicants may also be

interested in obtaining a publication

entitled, Dissemination by Design,

which may be requested by calling the

above number.

C. Focus of the FY 1995 Discretionary

Funds Program Announcement

Through this Title IV Program

Announcement, the Assistant Secretary

for Aging intends to focus Title IV

Discretionary Funds support on AoA’s

strategic initiatives for (1) building and

strengthening systems of home and

community based long term care and (2)

better understanding of minority aging

issues as well as the challenges of a

much more diverse aging society in the

21st century. The second major area of

emphasis in this Title IV Discretionary

Funds Program Announcement derives

from several congressional mandates

keyed to provisions of the Older

Americans Act. These mandates

concentrate discretionary funding

resources on making a number of aging

programs more effective, specifically a

national legal assistance support system

and legal hotlines to serve older

Americans, pension rights information

and counseling, and the utilization of

older volunteers in multigenerational

family program settings.

D. Technical Assistance for Prospective

Applicants

Either the central or the regional

offices of the Administration on Aging

are available to provide guidance and

technical assistance to prospective

applicants and to respond to questions

of a general nature. Questions regarding

the programmatic or technical aspects of

any of the several priority areas should

be directed to the central office in

Washington, D.C. The persons to contact

are listed below:

City AoA Contact Person(s)

Washington, D.C .... Alfred Duncker/Saadia

Greenberg, Albert

Byrd, (202) 619–

0441.

Boston, Massachusetts.Thomas Hooker, (617)

565–1158.

New York, New

York.

Judith Rackmill, (212)

264–2976.

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.Paul E. Ertel, Jr., (215)

596–6891.

Atlanta, Georgia ..... Franklin Nicholson,

(404) 331–5900.

Chicago, Illinois ...... Marion Mengert, (312)

353–3141.

Dallas, Texas ......... John Diaz, (214) 767–

2971.

Kansas City, Missouri.Larry Brewster, (816)

374–6015.

Denver, Colorado ... Percy Devine, (303)

844–2951.

San Francisco, California.Frank Cardenas, (415)

556–6003.

Seattle, Washington Chisato Kawabori,

(206) 615–2298.

E. Statutory Authority

The statutory authority for awards

made under the AoA Discretionary

Funds Program is contained in Title II

and Title IV of the Older Americans Act,

(42 U.S.C. 3001 et seq.), as amended by

the Older American Act Amendments of

1992, Public Law 102–375, September

30, 1992.

F. Public Comments on this

Announcement

AoA invites comments on this

Discretionary Funds Program

Announcement. In addition, because the

field of aging is characterized by rapidly

unfolding events, new data, findings

and interpretations, and a broad range of

issues important to older people, the
Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 71 / Thursday, April 13, 1995 / Notices 18819

Administration on Aging is considering

the publication of a FY 1996

Discretionary Funds Program (DFP)

Announcement as early as October,

1995. Among the general areas under

consideration for support in the FY

1996 DFP, Title IV funding levels

permitting, are: (1) Gerontological

education and training; (2) prevention

of crime and violence against the

elderly; (3) home and community based

long term care; (4) the national and

international aspects of contemporary

and future minority aging issues in an

increasingly aging society, and: (5)

follow-up to the salient issues raised by

the 1995 White House Conference on

Aging. We invite comments on the

content and timing of the FY 1996 DFP.

Please direct your comments to:

Administration on Aging, Office of

Program Development and Elder Rights,

330 Independence Avenue, S.W.,

Washington, D.C. 20201.

Part II—Priority Areas

Part II of the Discretionary Funds

Program (DFP) Announcement sets forth

the priority areas under which

applications will be considered for

funding by the Administration on

Aging. Part II also provides general

guidelines concerning eligible

applicants as well as project costs and

duration. More specific instructions

regarding eligibility, the Federal share of

project costs, project duration, and

deadline dates for the submission of

applications may be found under the

individual priority areas.

Applications must be directly and

explicitly responsive to the expressed

concerns of the particular priority area

under which they are submitted. AoA

reserves the option of screening out and

returning any application which

manifestly bears no relation to the

priority area under which it has been

submitted.

A. Eligible Applicants

As a general rule, any public or

nonprofit agency, organization, or

institution is eligible to apply under this

Discretionary Funds Program

Announcement. Where there are

exceptions to this rule, they are

specified in the appropriate priority area

description. The Administration on

Aging will not consider grant

applications from individuals because

they are ineligible to receive a grant

award under the provisions of Title IV

of the Older Americans Act. For-profit

organizations are not eligible applicants,

but may participate as subgrantees or

subcontractors to eligible public or

nonprofit agencies.

Any nonprofit organization applying

under this program announcement that

is not now a DHHS grantee should

include, with its application, Internal

Revenue Service or other legally

recognized documentation of its

nonprofit status. A nonprofit applicant

cannot be funded without proof of its

status.

B. Project Costs and Duration

Under each priority area, AoA has

estimated the number of projects to be

funded and offered guidelines regarding

both the duration of those projects and

the anticipated Federal share of project

costs. Because applications are reviewed

on a competitive basis within priority

areas, they are expected to be

comparable in terms of cost and

duration. Therefore, applicants are

strongly urged to adhere to those

guidelines.

C. List of Priority Areas

(1) Neighborhood Senior Care Program

(2) Enhanced Capacity and Management

of Home and Community Based Long

Term Care Service Systems

(3) Research on Minority Elders in a

Diverse Aging Society

(4) National Legal Assistance and Elder

Rights Projects

(5) Statewide Legal Hotlines for Older

Americans

(6) Pension Information and Counseling

Program

(7) National Volunteer Senior Aides/

Family Friends Projects

(1) Neighborhood Senior Care Program

Pursuant to Section 429B of the Older

American Act, this priority area is

designed to solicit proposals that

demonstrate innovative neighborhood

senior care programs which encourage

professionals to provide volunteer

services to local residents who are older

individuals and who might otherwise

have to be admitted to nursing homes

and hospitals.

The Neighborhood Senior Care

Program is intended to foster

professionally oriented, neighborhoodbased volunteer programs for the

vulnerable elderly by organizing and

providing health, social, and similar

services in coordination with other

community agencies and organizations.

Volunteer services may include peer

counseling, chore services, assistance

with mail and taxes, transportation,

socialization, and health and social

services. Health and social services may

include skilled nursing care, personal

care, social work services, homemaker

services, health and nutrition education,

health screening, home health aide

services, and specialized therapies.

Applicants shall:

(A) Describe the activities for which

assistance is sought and the

methodology for carrying out activities;

(B) Describe the neighborhood in

which services are to be provided and

a plan for integrating services within the

neighborhood;

(C) Provide assurances that nurses,

social workers, community volunteers

providing volunteer services, and an

outreach coordinator involved with the

project, live in the neighborhood. If this

is not possible, the applicant shall state

the reasons such assurances cannot be

provided and assure that the nurses,

social workers, community volunteers

and outreach coordinator who are not

neighborhood residents will be assigned

repeatedly to the neighborhood;

(D) Provide for a neighborhood

advisory board, at least two thirds of

which shall be made up of residents

from the community to be served;

(E) Describe how the proposal will be

implemented in cooperation with

appropriate local service providers,

community programs for the elderly,

and Area and State Agencies on Aging.

(F) Describe how the program will

become self sustaining by the end of the

Federal funding period.

(G) Provide for an evaluation of the

activities and outcomes of the proposed

program.

Applicants are encouraged to consider

including in their budget a technical

assistance component, as needed,

whereby they would be provided stateof-the-art information on how to best

implement an effective and innovative

neighborhood program, and on how to

sustain the program after Federal

funding is completed.

The Neighborhood Senior Care

Program was modeled in part on the

Living at Home/Block Nurse Program.

Information about the program is

available by contacting the Living at

Home/Block Nurse Program, Ivy League

Place—Suite 322, 475 Cleveland

Avenue North, St. Paul, MN 55104–

5101 (612–649–0315).

Preference in awarding funds will be

given to applicants who are experienced

in operating community programs and

meeting the independent living needs of

older individuals and who propose new

model programs or innovative

improvements in existing models.

Applicants are advised that they are

competing under a national

demonstration program authorized by

Title IV of the Older American Act.

Therefore, applications will be screened

by AoA to assure that they are not local

service projects, but rather are

responsive to issues of national

significance, such as the ability of the
18820 Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 71 / Thursday, April 13, 1995 / Notices

elderly to remain independent in their

own homes and communities, and will

result in findings, reports, and products

with national implications such as the

effective use of neighborhood resources

to promote the independence of older

persons.

AoA intends to make approximately

10–13 awards with a Federal share of

approximately $100,000-$120,000 for a

17 month project period.

(2) Enhanced Capacity and Management

of Home and Community Based Long

Term Care Service Systems

Under this priority area, AoA intends

to award, through a Cooperative

Agreement, one project grant for the

purpose of providing expert technical

assistance and training to all States

aimed at strengthening the capacity of

State and Area Agencies on Aging in

managing and improving their home

and community based long term care

service systems. Although the proposed

project has general applicability to the

critical leadership role of the Aging

Network in fostering the growth of home

and community based long term care, it

is especially timely now in light of the

enhanced leadership role of AoA in

promoting home and community-based

services, and other major legislative

changes which may impact on the

program and fiscal underpinnings of

State long-term care programs.

The Administration is seeking

additional Title IV program resources to

promote home and community-based

services which would be directed

toward meeting the major strategic

initiative of the Assistant Secretary for

Aging aimed at assisting all States and

their communities in developing better

home and community-based long term

care service systems for older persons

and persons with disabilities. The focus

is on long-term care because it is a

critical issue facing the nation. The

focus is on home and community-based

long term care services because they are,

for the overwhelming majority of older

and disabled persons and their families,

the much more preferred alternative to

institutional care. The focus is on States

and their communities because they

have been, are now, and will be the

testing and proving ground in this

nation for building an efficient and costeffective infrastructure of home and

community based services that responds

to the long term care needs of their

citizens.

The proposed Title IV increase is a

modest but very much needed down

payment toward building our country’s

future system of home and communitybased care. The States are now in

varying stages of developing home and

community-based long term care service

systems. The technical assistance,

consultation, and training project to be

funded under this priority area is

intended to provide to the States and

their communities the requisite program

information, knowledge base,

consultation, staff training guides, and

other program resources to capitalize on

the core funding provided by Title IV

and to demonstrate to critical audiences

of policy makers and taxpayers alike

that home and community-based care is

a compelling alternative to institutional

care.

The manner in which funds are

provided to States and the way in which

programs are operated is being debated.

There are divergent viewpoints about

the appropriate federal and state role in

funding long-term care services. Based

on which of these approaches is

implemented, States and local aging

entities will need assistance in

modifying their systems of care to

ensure that they remain responsive to

individual consumers and are run in an

efficient, effective and accountable

manner. Based on the approach,

decisions will need to be made about

consolidation of delivery vehicles in

light of different consumer preferences

or on how to reach consensus on

performance outcomes with federal,

state and local representatives having

different agendas.

Because of the rapidly changing

environment, it is critical that a

mechanism be developed for

communication among the States, peer

consultation, technical assistance,

training, and joint ventures for planning

and systems design.

The successful applicant under this

priority area will be responsible for

providing technical assistance and

consultation to all States that

encompasses key components of the

management of effective home and

community based long term care service

systems. The applicant must

demonstrate the ability to respond

rapidly to the specific needs of States,

and must be mobile and versatile

enough to address the diversity of issues

facing States in the enhancement of

their home and community-based

service delivery systems. In this regard,

the applicant should serve as an

institute without walls, responding

wherever assistance is needed.

The applicant must be able to:

(1) Provide opportunities for

communication between States,

consultation among States, and

consultation with experts, training

and technical assistance;

(2) Address critical issues identified by

States;

(3) Facilitate joint ventures between

States in planning and systems

design; and

(4) Develop a report on issues identified

by States and mechanisms and

solutions developed by the States.

The key components of managing an

effective systems which the applicant

must be capable of addressing include:

• Developing, designing,

implementing or enhancing data

collection, analysis and reporting

systems for programs to provide reliable

information about the services delivered

and the people served. Technical

assistance and training will be aimed at

enhancing State capacity to target and

track the services provided and to report

on program performance and

effectiveness, proving that home and

community based care is a cost-effective

means of serving those at risk of being

institutionalized.

• Providing training and consultation

programs that draw upon our already

extensive base of experience and

knowledge in building home and

community based long term care

systems, such training and consultation

programs to use proven best practices an

models, well tested guides and manuals,

as well as other useful products, for the

education and training of State staff,

local staff and providers.

• Ensuring better coordination of

programs and agencies within their

States and communities through

interagency agreements, task forces,

policy councils and work groups, with

an emphasis on leveraging and

managing other funds (Social Services

Block Grant, Medicaid, and State

General Revenue) which address the

home and community based long-term

care needs of older people and disabled

individuals of all ages.

AoA anticipates that the Federal share

of project costs for this technical

assistance project will be approximately

$250,000 per year for a project period of

up to three years.

(3) Research on Minority Elders in a

Diverse Aging Society

Although research to date has made

very important contributions to

bettering the lives of older Americans,

too little attention has been paid to

some key subgroups among the older

population. Research on racial and

ethnic minorities especially has been in

short supply. Without solid research

that advances our understanding of

minority elders, we are missing that

essential knowledge base from which to

mount policy and program efforts that

are both well informed and well

designed to make fundamental changes,

not the least of which is to empower
Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 71 / Thursday, April 13, 1995 / Notices 18821

minority elders to help themselves.

Particularly needed are studies

applicable to the economic, social, and

health status of minority elders,

research that examines and analyzes

their impact on, and role in, the

increasingly diverse aging society of the

21st century.

Among the applied and policy

research topics encompassed by this

priority area are the following:

• In the context of the future aging of

the baby boom generation, we need: (1)

To develop accurate forecasts of the

changing size and composition of racial

and ethnic minority populations and (2)

to better understand and respond to the

impact of growing proportions of racial

and ethnic minorities among this

diverse aging cohort.

• In the context of immigration and

aging: (1) What are the effects of the new

wave of immigration and of current

immigration policy on an aging society?

(2) What are the demographic,

economic, health, and related

implications of the recent surge in the

number of older immigrants (aged 50

and over) which is expected to continue

into the next century? and (3) What

opportunities and challenges are

presented by this infusion of greater

diversity into the aging society of the

21st century?

• In the context of family caregiving

and support among minority older

population groups, we need to better

understand the factors that sustain and

strengthen the family’s role as a support

network within and across generations,

the changing patterns of family support

within and across generations, and the

consequences these changes have for the

long term care of older family members.

Among the questions to be studied are:

(1) What will be the effects of the

independent life styles of current and

future generations on traditional norms

of obligation and duty to older family

members? (2) What models of long term

care services are appropriate for

minority older persons when the family

can no longer manage the care at home?

and (3) How can aging services

programs win greater acceptability in

minority communities as a suitable

complement or, when necessary,

alternative to family caregiving?

• In the context of international

transfer of knowledge, we will be able

to better serve racial and ethnic

minority elders if we have a better

understanding of their cultures of

origin. Among the questions to be

studied: (1) What are the cultural norms,

attitudes, and practices identified with

aging, particularly in those countries

with special relevance to the U.S., such

as Central and South America and the

Pacific Rim countries? (2) How do the

social, economic, and health statuses of

the elderly in these other nations

influence aging policies, programs, and

services? With what implications for the

development of a blueprint for

responding to the challenges of an aging

society in the U.S.? and (3) More

specifically, in what areas can we best

apply a fuller understanding of the

social services, programs, delivery

systems and innovations in other

countries that would be beneficial to

U.S. programs serving racial and ethnic

minority elderly? Crosscultural

comparative studies examining issues

related to the elderly both in the country

of origin and in the U.S. are among the

acceptable approaches to the questions

raised above. Federal funds may be used

for international travel.

Applications for funding under this

priority area may be either general in

scope or focus on individual racial and

ethnic groups, including African

Americans, Hispanics, Native

Americans, and Asian Americans and

Pacific Islanders. AoA intends to make

approximately 6–8 awards with a

Federal share of approximately

$100,000 per year for a project period of

up to two years.

(4) National Legal Assistance and Elder

Rights Projects

The Administration on Aging (AoA)

expects to make discretionary project

awards aimed at continued support of a

national system of legal assistance

support activities to State and Area

Agencies on Aging which will assist

them in developing an elder rights

system and providing, developing and

supporting legal assistance for older

people. In the 1992 amendments to the

Older Americans Act, legal assistance

was made an integral part of the new

Title VII, Vulnerable Elder Rights

Protection program. Therefore, AoA is

expanding the role of the national

system to encompass elder rights

systems development.

AoA now funds national resource

centers to develop knowledge and apply

research findings, provide training and

technical assistance, disseminate

information, and conduct related

activities in support of the Long-Term

Care Ombudsman and Elder Abuse

Prevention (Chapters 2 and 3 of Title

VII). Therefore, these two programs are

outside the focus of this priority area.

Awards under this priority area are

made under the authority of Title IV,

Section 424 of the Older Americans Act

and are aimed at building and

strengthening the national system of

legal assistance in support of the

vulnerable elder rights protection

program activities of State and Area

Agencies on Aging. Proposed projects

should have two principal objectives.

First, enhance the leadership capacity of

State and Area Agencies on Aging in

accomplishing the mandate of Title VII

through such efforts as:

• Assisting in the development of a

State-wide elder rights advocacy system,

involving a range of agencies involved

in elder rights activities;

• Assisting in the development of a

responsive State-wide systems of legal

assistance, including support for AAA

supported legal assistance projects;

• Assisting Area Agencies on Aging

in integrating legal assistance programs

for older people into existing

community based service delivery

systems;

• Assisting State Agencies on Aging

to develop methods to ensure that legal

counsel is available to all Long-Term

Care Ombudsmen.

Second, improve the quality and

accessibility of the legal assistance

provided to older people through such

efforts as:

• Providing training to State and Area

Agencies on Aging, legal assistance

providers, elder rights advocates, and

other staff providing assistance to older

people;

• Providing training to staff

responsible for benefits, insurance, and

pension counselling to vulnerable older

people; and

• Providing substantive assistance,

including case consultation and advice

on systems development and

implementation, to those agencies and

staff that provide legal assistance to

older people.

Title IV, Section 424 of the Older

Americans Act specifies four

component activities of a national legal

assistance support system. Each activity

is a valuable resource in developing

systems of legal assistance for older

people, and in improving the quality

and accessibility of such services, as

part of the overall system of services for

older people. AoA expects that the

projects funded under this priority area

will encompass at least these four

components:

(1) Case consultations. Appropriate

case consultation will be made available

to those legal assistance programs

funded under Title III of the Older

Americans Act. Building on the results

of case consultations, grantees should

provide such follow-up activities as:

Documenting the resolution of those

cases and issues which have precedentsetting implications; and making that

documentation and analysis available to

providers of legal assistance to older
18822 Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 71 / Thursday, April 13, 1995 / Notices

people and State Agencies on Aging

nationwide;

(2) Training. AoA expects the

applicant to propose a strategy for

meeting the training and technical

assistance needs of legal assistance

providers, benefits counselors, elder

rights advocates, and other appropriate

persons, as identified by State Agencies

on Aging. That strategy should describe

the training and technical assistance to

be provided; the intended target

audience; the materials and curricula

which will be utilized and made

available to State agencies for the

replication of such training; and any

follow-up activities to assist those who

have been trained;

(3) Provision of substantive legal

advice and assistance. AoA expects the

applicant to provide substantive

information in areas where legal

assistance can assist older people to

maintain their independence. The

applicant should analyze the

substantive issue area, explain its

importance to older people, and identify

a suitable reporting format (policy

paper, newsletter, etc.) and

dissemination plan. The substantive

areas could include, but are not limited

to, such important areas as: income;

health care; long-term care; nutrition;

housing; utilities; protective services;

abuse and neglect; guardianship; age

discrimination; pension and health

benefits; insurance; consumer

protection; surrogate decisionmaking;

public benefits; and dispute resolution.

(4) Assistance in the design,

implementation, and administration of

legal assistance delivery and elder rights

advocacy systems to local providers of

legal assistance for older individuals.

The applicant should show how it will

assist State and Area Agencies on Aging

to work toward the development of a

system for providing legal assistance

and elder rights protection to older

persons throughout the State. Areas for

assistance could include the

identification of alternative approaches

to meeting legal needs and the design of

and assistance in implementing

strategies for supporting Area Agencies

on Aging in their work with local

providers. The applicant is expected to

show how regular ongoing assistance

and consultation in systems issues will

be provided in such areas as: targeting;

access; evaluation; selection of

providers; priority setting; use of pro

bono resources; use of volunteers; issues

advocacy; and relationships with other

parts of the services system.

For each of the activities it proposes

to undertake, the applicant should:

• Present the current state of

knowledge and experience and

document what it perceives to be

serious gaps in information and

practice;

• Specify the nature and scope of

efforts needed to close those gaps, and

how those efforts will advance the rights

of older people;

• Indicate its plan for achieving

national coverage of the assistance to be

provided; and

• Provide detailed descriptions of

specific products or outcomes proposed

for development or modification.

As provided by Title IV, Section

424(c), eligibility is limited to national

nonprofit legal assistance organizations

experienced in providing support, on a

nationwide basis, to legal assistance

programs. AoA expects to fund

approximately 5–7 projects under this

priority area. The Federal share of

project costs is expected to range from

$75,000 to $150,000 per year depending

upon the scope of the component

elements of the national legal assistance

support system proposed by an

approved applicant. Projects may not

exceed three years.

(5) Statewide Legal Hotlines for Older

Americans

Consistent with Section 424(a)(2) of

the Older Americans Act, which

provides for the support of

‘‘demonstration projects to expand or

improve the delivery of legal assistance

to older individuals with social or

economic needs,’’ AoA is inviting

applications from public and/or nonprofit organizations currently engaged

in the provision of legal services to the

elderly, to continue existing Statewide

Legal Hotlines for older persons or to

develop and establish new Hotlines.

With AoA assistance, Statewide Legal

Hotlines have been established in

Arizona, northern California, the

District of Columbia, Florida, Michigan,

Maine, New Mexico, Ohio,

Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico and Texas.

An evaluation of their operations

showed that Legal Hotlines and

corresponding referral services resolved

81% of callers’ legal questions and 50%

of their legal problems. The

continuation of existing Hotlines and

expansion into other States would make

legal assistance available to many more

older people. In that regard, Legal

Hotlines are a valuable resource for

implementation of the vulnerable elder

rights protection programs set forth in

Title VII of the Older Americans Act.

To maximize discretionary program

resources and to promote a level playing

field of competition, distinctions are

made by AoA under this priority area

between (A) applicant organizations

with existing Legal Hotlines and (B)

those organizations which aspire to

develop new Legal Hotlines.

Sub-Priority Area 5A: Program

Improvement Grants for Existing Legal

Hotlines

In order for existing Legal Hotlines to

compete for program improvement

grants, they must indicate in their

application a willingness and intent to

focus future efforts of the Hotline on

those crucial and urgent concerns facing

the at-risk elderly including, but not

limited to, income, health care, longterm care, nutrition, housing, utilities,

protective services, abuse and neglect,

guardianship, age discrimination,

pension and health benefits, insurance,

consumer protection, surrogate

decisionmaking, public benefits and

dispute resolution.

To better evaluate the progress and

the potential for improvement of

existing Legal Hotlines competing under

this sub-priority area, the application

should contain the following

information for each of the past three

years:

• Number of households/persons

served in comparison to the number of

older persons in the State and the

number of low income older persons in

the State;

• Number of cases handled; number

of calls handled;

• Average number of 1) calls and 2)

cases that a Hotline attorney handles in

an hour;

• Total cost per year of operating the

Hotline over the past three years;

• Average cost per call; average call

per case;

• If available, evaluative data on the

Hotline’s performance, the source of

which is either the elderly clients

themselves, or an independent third

party, or both.

AoA expects to make 2–4 program

improvement awards to existing Legal

Hotlines, with a Federal share of

approximately $75,000–90,000 per year

for an expected project period of

approximately 3 years.

Sub-Priority Area 5B: Program

Development Grants for New Legal

Hotlines

Applications submitted under this

priority area to operate new Legal

Hotlines should be modeled after

previously funded AoA Legal Hotlines.

It is the applicant’s responsibility to

review and adapt the program

experience of the District of Columbia,

Puerto Rico and States with existing

Hotlines to the resources, needs, and

realities of their State. Applicants

should recognize and reflect in their

project plan that considerable time is
Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 71 / Thursday, April 13, 1995 / Notices 18823

needed to cement the range of

endorsements and agreements, and to

develop other resources, essential to

both the developmental and the

operational phases of the Legal Hotlines

project. The applicant is expected to

submit a fully developed Legal Hotlines

program application, including solid

commitments from the appropriate

participating organizations and

individuals.

Based upon the experience to date,

certain elements are essential to the

successful establishment and effective

operation of a Statewide Legal Hotline

to serve older persons.

The applicant must address, at a

minimum, these elements:

I. Staffing

A. A full time managing attorney;

B. The equivalent of two additional

full-time attorneys to take calls and

respond directly to older persons in

need of assistance; and

C. Staff persons to answer the phones

when the attorneys are busy.

II. Telephones

A. Two incoming toll-free lines, and

one outgoing WATTS line.

B. Experience has shown that the total

telephone budget will be a

minimum of $20,000–$25,000 per

year after the Legal Hotline is

operational.

III. Computer Equipment

A. An allocation of approximately

$20,000 for computer equipment.

B. Legal Hotline software (included in

the above mentioned $20,000) can

be researched through the American

Association of Retired Persons/

Legal Counsel for the Elderly

(AARP/LCE).

IV. Reduced Attorneys Fees

A commitment to recruit a statewide

panel of attorneys in private

practice willing to accept

significantly reduced hourly rates

as well as fee caps on common

services such as $45–$50 for a

simple will.

V. Training Program

Develop and provide a training

program for the Legal Hotlines

attorneys and modify reference

materials used in other Legal

Hotlines to conform with your State

law.

In approving applications for funding,

the Assistant Secretary for Aging will

pay particular attention to those which

focus on providing services (1) to ethnic

and/or racial minority older persons and

(2) to those elderly in greatest economic

and social need.

Applications meeting the following

criteria will receive preference:

A. Applications from States which rank

in the top third of all States in either

(1) population age 60 and above, or (2)

percentage of elderly population

whose income is less than 125% of

the poverty line, or (3) percentage of

elderly population comprised of

minority elderly (African-Americans,

Hispanics, Asians/Pacific Islanders,

and Native Americans).

B. Applications that show plans for

special outreach activities to low

income and minority older

populations;

C. Applications which demonstrate the

ability to deliver services to the nonEnglish speaking population;

D. Applications which demonstrate that

Title III/VII and Legal Services

Corporation funded legal services

programs within the State are willing

to coordinate their services with the

proposed Legal Hotline;

E. Applications that offer the largest

grantee cost sharing, and thus request

the fewest AoA dollars. (The

minimum grantee share of project

costs is 25%);

F. Applications which offer a practical

plan for funding the Legal Hotline

once the AoA grant ends.

Endorsements: Applications should

include the endorsement of the State

Agency on Aging and the State Bar

Association, the voluntary and/or

mandatory Bar, whichever is

appropriate. Special justification must

be provided by the applicant if these

endorsements are not included in the

application.

Geographic Coverage: It is highly

unlikely that a single Legal Hotline

would be adequate in responding to the

unique size and diversity of the older

population in New York and California.

With the exception of these two States,

Legal Hotlines will be expected to serve

the entire State. AoA will consider

applications which serve either (1) New

York City, Nassau, and Suffolk Counties

or (2) the rest of New York State, but not

both areas. Because AoA is now funding

a Legal Hotline which serves northern

California, only application(s) to serve

the elderly of southern California will

be considered from that State.

AoA expects to make 2–4 program

development awards for new Legal

Hotlines, with a Federal share of

approximately $100,000–120,000 per

year for an expected project period of

approximately 3 years.

(6) Pension Information and Counseling

Program

Retirement means many things to

different people. For most people, it

means an end to the regular workaday

world of full time employment and a

switch to part time work or leisure time

and volunteer activities. For most

people, retirement also means a change

in the amount and the source of their

income.

Depending on a person’s age at the

time of retirement, he or she will be

eligible for social security. But social

security does not and was not intended

to provide all the income that a person

needs in retirement. Most government

employees and many people in private

industry are covered by some sort of

pension plan to assist them in

retirement. Employee pensions account

for almost 20% of the income of older

persons. Overall, two out of every five

older household units receive income

from public and/or private pension

benefits other than Social Security.

The adequacy, availability, coverage,

and reliability of pensions remain as

issues, however. In particular, problems

arise when people move from company

to company during their careers, when

companies go out of business, or when

companies are bought out by other

companies and their pension plans take

on a different form. Compounding this

problem are the myriad of different

entitlements and restrictions that are

built into different pension plans,

occasionally rendering them almost

unintelligible to anyone but highly

trained legal experts.

Recognizing the large unmet need to

provide older Americans with

information and counseling in the area

of pension benefits, Congress provided

in Section 429J of the Older Americans

Act for the funding of Pension Rights

Demonstration Projects. In response to

that mandate, the Administration on

Aging (AoA) funded seven

demonstration projects in 1993 as well

as a training and technical assistance

project which has provided technical

support to the pension information and

counseling effort.

To build on that effort, AoA intends,

under priority area 6A, to fund

demonstration projects at the State or

local level that provide outreach,

information, counseling, referral and

assistance in the area of pension

benefits. Preference in awarding grants

will be given to applicants that propose

new model programs for providing

pension rights information and

counseling or innovative improvements

in existing models. These proposed

projects shall:

• Provide counseling and assistance

to individuals needing information that

may assist them in establishing rights to,

obtaining and filing claims or

complaints relative to pension and other

retirement benefits;

• Provide information on sources of

pension and other retirement benefits;
18824 Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 71 / Thursday, April 13, 1995 / Notices

• Make referrals to legal and other

advocacy programs;

• Establish a system of referrals to

Federal, State, and local Departments or

agencies relative to pensions and other

retirement benefits; and

• Establish outreach programs to

provide information, counseling,

assistance and referral regarding

pension and other retirement benefits

with particular emphasis on outreach to

women, minorities and low income

retirees.

Projects should consider the

possibility of locating at senior centers

or other places where seniors tend to

congregate. They should also consider

training volunteers to work with

claimants on many of the details that do

not require legal interventions. This has

proven to be a useful vehicle for several

of the pension information and

counseling projects funded by AoA in

1993. Other operational factors that can

be gleaned from the experience of this

group of pension projects, and which

applicants may wish to build upon,

include the following:

• The process of pension counseling

is a far more difficult process than

health benefits counseling and requires

volunteers who are able to cope with

complexity;

• Applicants should be established,

known presences in their respective

communities, and should be led by

experienced and enthusiastic directors;

• Imaginative and innovative use of

the media for outreach is often a

significant factor in a successful project;

• Successful projects develop

partnerships with the private sector

(e.g., lawyers and actuaries) and

community agencies, as well as with

local offices of Federal agencies.

• Finally, any of a variety of

structures can be used to develop a

successful project; e.g., the staff may or

may not include lawyers or paralegals or

volunteers or stipend volunteers.

Applicant eligibility for pension

information and counseling

demonstration project awards is limited

by statute (Section 429J of the 1992

Older Americans Act Amendments) to

State and Area Agencies on Aging and

nonprofit organizations with proven

experience in the counseling of older

persons regarding retirement benefits

and pension rights. AoA intends to fund

approximately 5–7 projects under

priority area 6A with a Federal share of

approximately $60,000–$75,000 per

year and an expected project period of

2 years. Under exceptional

circumstances, the applicant may

choose to submit a three year project

application, provided that strong

justification is made for the additional

year of activities.

Under priority area 6B, AoA intends

to fund one technical assistance project

that will strengthen the role of the

demonstration projects, State and Area

Agencies on Aging and legal services

providers, both public and private, in

providing pension assistance and

encouraging coordination among these

groups. This project will provide

technical assistance to the

demonstration projects and to legal

services projects that seek to develop

programs on pension benefits

counseling. The project will (1) develop

a cadre of trained legal experts who are

willing to work with local personnel

and claimants who need to access the

private pension sector and (2) provide

training for professional and volunteer

personnel who will work with older

Americans at the State and local level in

assisting them to understand and better

access their pension rights and options.

Applicants for this grant must

demonstrate a strong knowledge base

and a track record of providing national

information, counseling, and advocacy

in matters related to pension and other

retirement benefits. On the basis of its

strong knowledge base and its

assessment of the progress of the

demonstration projects, the grantee will

be expected to analyze the implications

of the demonstration projects in the

broader context of tax policy, pension

reform, and retirement planning, and to

offer recommendations for future

program initiatives related to pensions

and income security for older

Americans.

AoA intends to support this project at

a Federal share of approximately

$150,000 a year for a project period of

two years.

(7) Volunteer Senior Aides for Families

With Disabled or Chronically Ill

Children

In 1991, AoA began implementation

of the Volunteer Senior Aides (VSA)

Program (based on the Family Friends

model) pursuant to the legislative

mandate of Section 10404 of the 1989

Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act

(OBRA). Section 10404 authorized this

program for community-based

demonstrations to determine to what

extent volunteer senior aides, by

providing basic medical assistance and

support to disabled/chronically ill

children and their families, can reduce

the cost of care for such children. (The

prototype for these OBRA provisions

was NCOA’s Family Friends program.)

In 1991 AoA funded six VSA

demonstration sites. Upon completion

of their three year project periods, AoA

awarded six more grants to six other

organizations for new VSA

demonstrations.

Because of the continuing need for

and the proven success of Family

Friends and VSA, AoA is now soliciting

applications to develop and implement

three additional new VSA projects.

Projects should be proposed to

demonstrate the use of Volunteer Senior

Aides to assist families of disabled/

chronically ill children, thereby

reducing the cost of care for such

children. These projects will effectively

employ the unique skills, varied

experience, good will, and availability

of older volunteers in assisting the

Nation’s children who are severely

disabled or chronically ill.

VSA Project Parameters

Volunteer Senior Aides projects,

usually tri-generational, are designed to

benefit everyone involved. The

children, who have serious, chronic

illnesses or disabilities and range in age

from infancy to 12 years, receive

physical care, self-help instruction,

emotional support, and nurturing. Their

siblings may receive greater attention or

may benefit indirectly as their family is

strengthened, empowered. The parents

(or, in some cases, grandparents) of

these children are given encouragement

and respite—intangibles that they need

to carry on. The volunteers—aged 55

and older—have a mission and are

rewarded with a sense of personal pride

and accomplishment. They become less

isolated, more involved in the

community, and develop an affectionate

relationship with their new

‘‘granddaughters’’ or ‘‘grandsons’’ and/

or other family members.

The community is strengthened by

older citizens voluntarily providing

supportive services to younger citizens.

Health care costs are reduced. And

people learn to rely on each other,

connecting with an ‘‘extended family’’

in this era of disconnected families.

The older volunteers (‘‘family

friends’’) are extensively trained to find

the best way to help a family. The type

of help depends upon what’s needed at

the time. They may tutor the child,

teach personal care and self-help skills,

or take the child to recreational/cultural

events. These volunteers often act as

advocates, serving as ‘‘case coordinator’’

and speaking on behalf of the family to

the various professionals who plan and

manage the child’s care. They also

provide social and emotional support

and, in many cases, respite to weary

parents. (Respite is provided only,

however, when the child is medically

stable and by agreement of parents,

project director, and volunteer and is
Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 71 / Thursday, April 13, 1995 / Notices 18825

limited to half of the time the volunteer

spends with the child.)

VSA/Family Friends essential

program components include:

Recruitment, screening,

interviewing, and careful selection of

volunteers;

• Recruitment, interviewing, and

selection of families/children;

• Sixty (60) hours of intensive

training for volunteers;

• Careful matching of volunteers with

families, based on compatibility,

proximity/transportation, personal

styles and needs, health of volunteer,

schedules, and language barriers;

• Supervision of volunteers;

• Fund raising and promotion of the

program; and

• Project evaluation.

AoA plans to fund approximately

three (3) demonstration projects under

this priority area at a Federal share of

approximately $36,000 per year for a

project period of up to approximately

three (3) years. Eligible applicants are

restricted to public or non-profit

community-level agencies,

organizations, or institutions proposing

new Family Friends or VSA projects at

the local level. These funds may not be

used for continuation or expansion of

existing VSA or Family Friends projects.

Each proposal should include

participation of both a health care

facility and a social service agency.

Proposals should include participation

in the project by a project advisory

board or committee. Because less

funding is available this year than in

previous years, applicants are strongly

encouraged to energetically pursue

sources of matching funds beyond the

minimum required. AoA expects

applicants to propose a level of effort

which is realistic and in keeping with

their funding level (from all sources).

Proposals should follow the Family

Friends/VSA paradigm, briefly outlined

above but thoroughly documented in

materials available from NCOA’s Family

Friends Resource Center. Recommended

materials include: Bringing Family

Friends to Your Community, a manual

detailing a step-by-step approach to

developing and implementing these

projects; and Family Friends—A

Program Guide. Prospective applicants

may call or write the Family Friends

Resource Center at: Address: Family

Friends Resource Center, National

Council on the Aging, 409 Third Street

SW., Washington, DC 20024, Telephone:

(202) 479–6675, Fax: (202) 479–0735.

Demonstration projects funded under

this priority area will receive technical

assistance and guidance in the

development and implementation of

their projects from the Family Friends

Resource Center which was funded in

FY 94 for this purpose.

Part III—Information and Guidelines

for the Application Process and Review

Part III of this Announcement

contains general information for

potential applicants and basic

guidelines for submitting applications

in response to this announcement.

Application forms are provided along

with detailed instructions for

developing and assembling the

application package for submittal to the

Administration on Aging (AoA). General

guidelines on applicant eligibility were

provided in Part I. Specific eligibility

guidelines were provided in Part II

under certain priority areas.

A. General Information

1. Review Process and Considerations

for Funding

Within the limits of available Federal

funds, AoA makes financial assistance

awards consistent with the purposes of

the statutory authorities governing the

AoA Discretionary Funds Program and

this Announcement. The following

steps are involved in the review process.

a. Notification: All applicants will

automatically be notified of the receipt

of their application and informed of the

identification number assigned to it.

b. Screening: To insure that minimum

standards of equity and fairness have

been met, applications which do not

meet the screening criteria listed in

Section D below, will not be reviewed

and will receive no further

consideration for funding under this

Announcement.

c. Expert Review: Applications that

conform to the requirements of this

program announcement will be

reviewed and scored competitively

against the evaluation criteria specified

in Section F, below. This independent

review of applications is performed by

panels consisting of qualified persons

from outside the Federal government

and knowledgeable non-AoA Federal

government officials. The scores and

judgments of these expert reviewers are

a major factor in making award

decisions.

d. Other Comments: AoA may solicit

views and comments on pending

applications from other Federal

departments and agencies, State and

Area Agencies on Aging, interested

foundations, national organizations,

experts, and others, for the

consideration of the Assistant Secretary

for Aging in making funding decisions.

e. Other Considerations: In making

funding award decisions, the Assistant

Secretary for Aging will pay particular

attention to applications which focus on

older persons with the greatest

economic and social need, with

particular attention to the low-income

minority elderly. Final decisions may

also reflect the equitable distribution of

assistance among geographical areas of

the nation, and among rural and urban

areas. The Assistant Secretary for Aging

also guards against wasteful duplication

of effort in making funding decisions.

f. Other Funding Sources: AoA

reserves the option of discussing

applications with, or referring them to,

other Federal or non-Federal funding

sources when this is determined to be

in the best interest of the Federal

government or the applicant.

g. Decision-Making Process: After the

panel review sessions, applicants may

be contacted by AoA staff to furnish

additional information. Applicants who

are contacted should not assume that

funding is guaranteed. An award is

official only upon receipt of the

Financial Assistance Award (Form

DGCM 3–785).

h. Timeframe: Applicants should be

aware that the time interval between the

deadline for submission of applications

and the award of a grant is at least two

months and often three months or more

in duration. This length of time is

required to review and process grant

applications.

2. Notification Under Executive Order

12372

This is not a covered program under

Executive Order 12372.

B. Deadline for Submission of

Applications

The closing date for submission of

applications is June 12, 1995.

Applications must be either sent or

hand-delivered to the address specified

in Section D, below. Hand-delivered

applications are accepted during the

normal working hours of 9:00 a.m. to

5:30 p.m., Eastern Time, Monday

through Friday. An application will

meet the deadline if it is either:

1. Received at the mailing address on

or before the applicable deadline date;

or

2. Sent before midnight of the

applicable deadline date as evidenced

by either (1) a U.S. Postal Service

receipt or postmark or (2) a receipt from

a commercial carrier. The application

must also be received in time to be

considered under the competitive

independent review mandated by

Chapter 1–62 of the DHHS Grants

Administration Manual. Applicants are

strongly advised to obtain proof that the

application was sent by the applicable

deadline date. If there is a question as
18826 Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 71 / Thursday, April 13, 1995 / Notices

to when an application was sent,

applicants will be asked to provide

proof that they have met the applicable

deadline date. Private metered

postmarks are not acceptable as proof of

a timely submittal.

Applications which do not meet the

above deadlines are considered late

applications. The Office of

Administration and Management will

notify each late applicant that its

application will not be considered

under the applicable grant review

competition.

AoA may extend a deadline date for

applications because of acts of God,

such as floods, hurricanes or

earthquakes, when there is widespread

disruption of the mail, or when AoA

determines an extension to be in the

best interest of the government.

Depending upon the precipitating

factor(s), the extension will apply to all

potential applicants in the area affected

by the natural disaster, or to all

potential applicants across the nation.

Notice of the extension will be

published in the Federal Register.

C. Grantee Share of the Project

Under the Discretionary Funds

Program, AoA does not make grant

awards for the entire project cost.

Successful applicants must, at a

minimum, contribute one (1) dollar,

secured from non-Federal sources, for

every three (3) dollars received in

Federal funding. The non-Federal share

must equal at least 25% of the total

project cost. Applicants should note

that, among applications of comparable

technical merit, the greater the nonFederal share the more favorably the

application is likely to be considered.

There are two exceptions to this cost

sharing formula. First, for applications

submitted by Tribal Organizations the

non-Federal share must equal at least

20% of total project costs. Second,

applicants from the Virgin Islands, the

Northern Mariana Islands, American

Samoa, or Guam are covered by Section

501(d) of Public Law 95–134, as

amended, which requires the

Department to waive ‘‘any requirement

for local matching funds under

$200,000.’’

The non-Federal share of total project

costs for each budget period may be in

the form of grantee-incurred direct or

indirect costs, third party in-kind

contributions, and/or grant related

income. Indirect costs may not exceed

those allowed under Federal rules

established, as appropriate, by OMB

Circulars A–21, A–87, and A–122. If the

required non-Federal share is not met by

a funded project, AoA will disallow any

unmatched Federal dollars. A common

error is to match 25% of the Federal

share rather than 25% of the entire

project cost.

D. Application Screening Requirements

All applications will be screened to

determine completeness and conformity

to the requirements of this

announcement. These screening

requirements are intended to assure a

level playing field for all applicants.

Applications which fail to meet either of

the two criteria described below will not

be reviewed and will receive no further

consideration. Complete, conforming

applications will be reviewed and

scored competitively.

In order for an application to be

reviewed, it must meet the following

screening requirements:

1. Applications must be either

postmarked by midnight, June 12, 1995,

or hand-delivered by 5:30 p.m., Eastern

Time, on June 12, 1995 to: Department

of Health and Human Services,

Administration on Aging, Office of

Administration and Management, 330

Independence Avenue SW., Room 4644,

Washington, D.C. 20201, Attn: AoA–95–

1.

2. An application must be relevant

and responsive to the priority area

under which it was submitted for

competitive review and funding

consideration and the applicant must

meet any eligibility requirements

specified by that same priority area. (For

everyone’s benefit, the applicant should

be sure that the priority area has been

clearly identified in the application).

Only those applications meeting these

screening requirements will be assigned

to reviewers.

The applicant is also strongly advised

to adhere to the following standards in

preparing the application:

• The application should not exceed

forty (40) pages, double-spaced,

exclusive of certain required forms and

assurances which are listed below.

Applications whose typescript is singlespaced or space-and-a-half will be

considered only if it is determined the

applicant has not thereby gained a

competitive advantage.

• The following documents are

excluded from the 40 page limitation:

(1) Standard Form (SF) 424, SF 424A

(including up to a four page budget

justification) and SF 424B; (2) the

certification forms regarding lobbying;

debarment, suspension, and other

responsibility matters; and drug-free

workplace requirements; (3) proof of

non-profit status, and; (4) indirect cost

agreements.

• The following portions of the

application are subject, in the aggregate,

to the forty (40) page limitation:

—Summary description (suggested

length: one page);

—Narrative (suggested length: twentyfive to thirty pages);

—Applicant’s capability statement,

including an organization chart, and

vitae for key project personnel

(suggested length: five to ten pages)

and;

—Letters of commitment and

cooperation (suggested length: four

pages).

All applications will be checked

against the aggregate forty (40) page

limitation. Any material, of whatever

content, in excess of the forty (40) page

limitation will be withheld from the

reviewers.

E. Funding Limitations on Indirect Costs

1. Training projects awards to

institutions of higher education and

other non-profit institutions are limited

to a Federal reimbursement rate for

indirect costs of eight (8) percent of the

total allowable direct costs or, where a

current agreement exists, the

organization’s negotiated indirect cost

rate, whichever is lower. Differences

between the applicant’s approved rate

and the 8% limitation may be used as

Federal cost sharing. See Section J–2,

Item 6j, below.

2. For all other applicants, indirect

costs generally may be requested only if

the applicant has a negotiated indirect

cost rate with the Department’s Division

of Cost Allocation or with another

Federal agency. Applicants without a

negotiated indirect cost rate may apply

for one in accordance with DHHS

procedures and relevant OMB Circulars.

F. Evaluation Criteria

Applications which pass the

screening will be evaluated by an

independent review panel of at least

three individuals. These reviewers,

experts in the field, are from academic

institutions, non-profit organizations,

state and local government, and, upon

occasion, Federal government agencies

other than AoA. Based on the specific

programmatic considerations set forth in

the priority area under which an

application has been submitted, the

reviewers will comment on and score

the applications, focusing their

comments and scoring decisions on the

criteria below.

Applications are scored by assigning

a maximum of 100 points across four

criteria:

(1) Purpose and Need for Assistance (20

points),

(2) Approach/Method - Workplan and

Activities (30 points)

(3) Anticipated Outcomes, Evaluation

and Dissemination (30 points),
Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 71 / Thursday, April 13, 1995 / Notices 18827

(4) Level of Effort (20 points).

1. Purpose and Need for Assistance

Weight: 20 points

a. Does the proposed project clearly

and adequately respond to the program

and/or policy issues of the priority area

under which it was submitted?

b. Does the application adequately

and appropriately describe and

document the key problem(s)/

condition(s) relevant to its purpose? Is

the proposed project justified in terms

of the most recent, relevant, and

available information and/or

knowledge?

c. Does the applicant, where

appropriate, adequately describe the

needs of special population groups—

low income, minority, women, disabled,

rural—in addressing problem(s)/

conditions(s) relevant to its proposal?

2. Approach/Method—Workplan and

Activities Weight: 30 points

a. Does the proposal clearly express

and organize a workplan that

systematically includes specific

objectives, tasks, and activities which

are responsive to the statement of needs

and purpose?

b. Does the workplan include a

detailed schedule, with sufficient time

commitments for key staff, to

accomplish the proposed tasks and

objectives? Is the sequence and timing

of events logical and realistic?

c. Are the roles and contribution of

staff, consultants, and collaborative

organizations clearly defined and linked

to specific objectives and tasks? Does

the workplan specify who will be

responsible for managing the project; for

the preparation and dissemination of

project results, products, and reports;

and for communications with the

Administration on Aging should the

project be approved for funding?

3. Anticipated Outcomes, Evaluation

and Dissemination Weight: 30 points

a. Are the expected project benefits

and/or results clearly identified,

realistic, and consistent with the

objectives of the project? Are outcomes

likely to be achieved and will they

significantly benefit older persons

through improvement in policy or

practice, and/or contribute knowledge

to theory and research?

b. Is the plan for project evaluation

clear and relevant to the scope of

activity proposed? Does this plan

identify the type of data to be collected

and the method of analysis to be used

in measuring project achievement and

significance?

c. Does the proposal include a plan

for dissemination which is likely to

increase the awareness of project

activities and events during project

performance? Is this plan adequate for

communicating project outcomes and

products to all appropriate audiences?

4. Level of Effort Weight: 20 points

a. Do the proposed project director(s),

key staff and consultants have the

background, experience, and other

qualifications required to carry out their

designated roles?

b. Is the budget justified with respect

to the adequacy and reasonableness of

resources requested? Are budget line

items consistent with workplan

objectives?

c. Are letters from participating

organizations included and do they

express the clear commitment and areas

of responsibility of those organizations,

consistent with the workplan

description of their intended roles and

contributions?

d. Are the writers of the proposal

identified and will they be involved in

its oversight and implementation? If not,

is there a logical explanation for their

non-participation?

G. The Components of an Application

To expedite the processing of

applications, we request that you

arrange the components of your

application, the original and two copies,

in the following order:

• SF 424, Application for Federal

Assistance; SF 424A, Budget,

accompanied by your budget

justification; SF 424B (Assurances); and

the certification forms regarding

lobbying; debarment, suspension, and

other responsibility matters; and drugfree workplace requirements.

Note: The original copy of the application

must have an original signature in item 18d

on the SF 424.

• Proof of nonprofit status, as

necessary:

• A copy of the applicant’s indirect

cost agreement, as necessary;

• Project summary description;

• Program narrative;

• Organizational capability statement

and vitae;

• Letters of Commitment and

Cooperation;

• A copy of the Check List of

Application Requirements (See Section

K, below) with all the completed items

checked.

The original and each copy should be

stapled securely (front and back if

necessary) in the upper left corner.

Pages should be numbered sequentially.

In order to facilitate the handling and

reproduction of the application for

purposes of the review, please do not

use covers, binders or tabs. Do not

include extraneous materials such as

agency promotion brochures, slides,

tapes, film clips, etc. It is not feasible to

include such items in the review

process. They will be discarded if

submitted as part of the application.

H. Communications with AoA

Do not include a self-addressed,

stamped acknowledgment card. All

applicants will be notified by mail of

the receipt of their application and

informed of the identification number

assigned to it. This number and the

priority area should be referred to in all

subsequent communication with AoA

concerning the application. If

acknowledgment is not received within

seven weeks after the deadline date,

please notify the Office of Program

Development by telephone at (202) 619–

0441.

After an identification number is

assigned and the applicant has been

notified of the number, applications are

filed numerically by identification

number for quick retrieval. It will be

difficult for AoA staff to provide a

timely response to inquiries about a

specific application unless the

identification number and the priority

area are given.

Applicants are advised that, prior to

reaching a decision, AoA will not

release information to an applicant

other than that its application has been

received and that it is being reviewed.

Unnecessary inquiries delay the

process. Once a decision is reached, the

applicant will be notified as soon as

possible of the approval or disapproval

of the application.

I. Background Information and

Guidance for Preparing the Application

1. Current Projects and Previous Project

Results

In the Program Narrative of the

application (see Section J–6 below),

applicants are expected to demonstrate

familiarity with recent and ongoing

activity related to their project proposal.

With respect to AoA-supported

discretionary grant projects, information

on current AoA projects may be

obtained by contacting the Office of

Program Development at 202/619–0441.

Regarding completed AoA projects,

copies of all AoA discretionary grant

final reports and printed materials are

sent to: the National Aging Information

Center (to be established by April/May

1995); the National Technical

Information Service (NTIS), a

clearinghouse and document source for

Federally sponsored reports; Ageline

Database, a bibliographic database
18828 Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 71 / Thursday, April 13, 1995 / Notices

service sponsored by the American

Association of Retired Persons, available

online through BRS and DIALOG; and

the U.S. Government Printing Office

Library Program, a catalog and

microfiche service for 1400 depository

libraries located throughout the United

States.

Information concerning access to the

bibliographic and document referral

services provided by these

clearinghouses can be obtained through

most public and academic libraries.

For direct information, use the

following contacts:

(a) National Technical Information

Service, 5285 Port Royal Road,

Springfield, VA 22161, (703) 487–

4600

(c) Ageline Database

• BRS Customer Service, 8000

Westpark Drive, McLean, VA

22102, (800) 345–4BRS

• DIALOG Customer Service, 3460

Hillview Avenue, Palo Alto, CA

94304, (800) 3DIALOG, (415) 858–

2700 (in California)

(d) U.S. Government Printing Office

Acquisition Unit, Library Programs

Service, North Capital and H Streets

NW., Washington, DC 20401, (202)

275–1070

2. Dissemination and Utilization

The purposes and expectations

associated with Title IV discretionary

projects extend well beyond the

immediate confines of a particular

project’s local impact. Projects should

have a ripple effect in the field of aging

in terms of replicating their design,

utilizing their results, and applying

their benefits to a widening circle of

older persons. This section suggests

certain principles of dissemination to be

considered in developing your

application:

• the most useful projects make

dissemination and utilization a central,

not peripheral, component of the

project;

• dissemination starts at the

beginning of a project not when it is

completed;

• potential users should be involved

in planning the project, if possible, and

products developed with the needs of

potential users in mind;

• dissemination is a networking

process;

• at a minimum, dissemination

includes getting your final products into

the hands of appropriate users and

making presentations at conferences;

and

• coordination with other related

projects may increase the chances of

your products being used.

J. Completing the Application

In completing the application, please

recognize that the set of standardized

forms and instructions is prescribed by

the Office of Management and Budget

(approved under OMB control number

0348–0043) and is not perfectly

adaptable to the particulars of AoA’s

Discretionary Funds Program. First-time

applicants, in particular, may have some

misgivings that they have not crossed

the final ‘‘t’’ or dotted the last ‘‘i’’ of

their application. Any applicant should,

of course, take reasonable care to avoid

technical errors in completing the

application, but the substantive merits

of the project proposal are the

determining factors. In these

instructions, we offer several pointers

aimed at clarifying matters, overcoming

difficulties, and preventing the more

common technical mistakes made by

applicants. If the need arises, please call

(202) 619–0441 for assistance.

Forms SF 424, SF 424A, SF 424B, and

the certification forms (regarding

lobbying; debarment, suspension, and

other responsibility matters; and drugfree workplace requirements) have been

reprinted as part of this Federal Register

announcement for your convenience in

preparing the application. Single-sided

copies of all required forms must be

used for submitting your application.

You should reproduce single-sided

copies from the reprinted form and type

your application on the copies. Please

do not use forms directly from the

Federal Register announcement as they

are printed on both sides of the page.

To assist applicants in completing

Forms SF 424 and SF 424A correctly,

samples of completed forms have been

provided as part of this announcement.

These samples are to be used as a guide

only. Be sure to submit your application

on the blank copies. Please prepare your

application consistent with the

following guidance:

1. SF 424, Cover Page: Complete only

the items specified in the following

instructions:

Top Left of Page. In the box provided,

enter the number of the priority area

under which the application is being

submitted.

Item 1. Preprinted on the form.

Item 2. Fill in the date you submitted

the application. Leave the applicant

identifier box blank.

Item 3. Not applicable.

Item 4. Leave blank.

Item 5. Provide the legal name of

applicant; the name of the primary

organizational unit which will

undertake the assistance activity; the

applicant address; and the name and

telephone number of the person to

contact on matters related to this

application.

Item 6. Enter the employer

identification number (EIN) of the

applicant organization as assigned by

the Internal Revenue Service. Please

include the suffix to the EIN, if

known.

Item 7. Enter the appropriate letter in

the box provided.

Item 8. Preprinted on form.

Item 9. Preprinted on form.

Item 10. Preprinted on form.

Item 11. The title should describe

concisely the nature of the project.

Avoid repeating the title of the

priority area or the name of the

applicant. Try not to exceed 10 to 12

words and 120 characters including

spaces and punctuation.

Item 12. Preprinted on form.

Item 13. Enter the desired start date for

the project, beginning on or after

September 1, 1995 and the desired

end date for the project. Projects may

be from 17 to 36 months in duration.

Check the description of the priority

area under which you are applying for

the expected project duration.

Item 14. List the applicant’s

Congressional District and the

District(s), if any, directly affected by

the proposed project.

Item 15. All budget information entered

under item #15 should cover either:

(1) The total project period if that

period is 17 months or less; or (2) just

the first 12 months if the project

period is for 24 or 36 months. The

applicant should show the Federal

grant support requested under subitem 15a.

Check: Please make sure you have

presented budget amounts only for the

first year if you are proposing a multiyear project. A common error is to

present budget totals for a full project

period of 24 or 36 months in item 15.

Sub-items 15b-15e are considered costsharing or ‘‘matching funds’’.

Applicants should review cost sharing

or matching principles contained in

Subpart G of 45 CFR Part 74 before

completing not just Item 15, but the

Budget Information Sections A, B and C

that follow. It is important that the

dollar amounts entered in sub-items

15b-15e total at least 25 percent of the

total project cost (total project cost is

equal to the requested Federal funds

plus funds from non-Federal sources).

In general, costs borne by the applicant

and cash contributions of any and all

third parties involved in the project,

including sub-grantees, contractors and

consultants, are considered cash

matching funds. Most contributions

from third parties will be non-cash or
Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 71 / Thursday, April 13, 1995 / Notices 18829

in-kind and should not be combined

with cash contributions. Examples

include volunteered time and use of

facilities to hold meetings or conduct

project activities. A third form of nonFederal match, is projected program

income derived from activities of the

grant such as participant fees and sale

of publications. Only program income

which is to be used as part of the

qualifying match should be shown here.

(see Form 424, Part B and the narrative

budget justification instructions below

for how to show program income which

is not designated as qualifying nonFederal match.

Item 16. Preprinted on form.

Item 17. This question applies to the

applicant organization, not the person

who signs as the authorized

representative. Categories of debt

include delinquent audit

disallowances, loans and taxes.

Item 18. To be signed by an authorized

representative of the applicant

organization. A document attesting to

that sign-off authority must be on file

in the applicant’s office.

2. SF 424A—Budget Information

This form (SF424A) is designed to

apply for funding under more than one

grant program; thus, for purposes of this

AoA program, most of the budget item

columns/blocks are superfluous and

should be regarded as not applicable.

The applicant should consider and

respond to only the budget items for

which guidance is provided below.

Section A—Budget Summary and

Section B—Budget Categories should

include both Federal and non-Federal

funding for the proposed project

covering (1) the total project period if

that period is 17 months or less or (2)

the first 12 months if the project period

is for 24, 36, or 48 months.

Section A—Budget Summary. On line

5, enter total Federal Costs in column (e)

and total non-Federal Costs (including

third party in-kind contributions but not

program income) in column (f). Enter

the total of columns (e) and (f) in

column (g).

Section B—Budget Categories. Use

only the last column under Section B,

namely the column headed Total (5), to

enter the total requirements for funds

(combining both the Federal and nonFederal shares) by object class category.

Do not include the in-kind (third party)

match contributions shown in Item 15

on the face sheet of Form 424.

A separate budget justification should

be included which shows the

breakdown of budget cost items by

Federal, non-Federal, and total funds

and which fully explains and justifies

each of the major budget items:

personnel, travel, other, etc., as outlined

below. Non-Federal funds shown as a

separate column in the budget line item

portion of the justification is limited to

cash match contributions (see

instructions for item 15 on the face

sheet of the 424 Form). Third party inkind contributions and program income

designated as non-Federal match

contributions should be justified below

the budget line items.

All budget line and non-cash match

justifications must identify both the

purpose and basis of dollar estimation.

Formulas for application of approved

indirect cost rates must be explained.

All entries for item 15 on the 424 face

sheet and Part B must be described in

the justification. The complete budget

justification should not exceed four

typed pages and should immediately

follow the SF 424 forms.

Line 6a—Personnel: Enter total costs

of salaries and wages of applicant/

grantee staff. Do not include the costs of

consultants, which should be included

under 6h—Other.

Justification: Identify the principal

investigator or project director, if

known. Specify the key staff, their titles,

and time commitments in the budget

justification.

Line 6b—Fringe Benefits: Enter the

total costs of fringe benefits unless

treated as part of an approved indirect

cost rate.

Justification: Provide a break-down of

amounts and percentages that comprise

fringe benefit costs, such as health

insurance, FICA, retirement insurance,

etc.

Line 6c—Travel: Enter total costs of

out-of-town travel (travel requiring per

diem) for staff of the project. Do not

enter costs for consultant’s travel or

local transportation.

Justification: Include the total number

of trips, destinations, length of stay,

transportation costs and subsistence

allowances.

Line 6d—Equipment: Enter the total

costs of all equipment to be acquired by

the project. For state and local

governments, including Federally

recognized Indian Tribes, ‘‘equipment’’

is non-expendable tangible personal

property having a useful life of more

than two years and an acquisition cost

of $5,000 or more per unit. For all other

grantees, the threshold for equipment is

$500 or more per unit.

Justification: Equipment to be

purchased with Federal funds must be

justified as necessary for the conduct of

the project. The equipment, or a

reasonable facsimile, must not be

otherwise available to the applicant or

its sub-grantees. The justification also

must contain plans for the use or

disposal of the equipment after the

project ends.

Line 6e—Supplies: Enter the total

costs of all tangible expendable personal

property (supplies) other than those

included on line 6d.

Line 6f—Contractual: Enter the total

costs of all contracts, including (1)

procurement contracts (except those

which belong on other lines such as

equipment, supplies, etc.) and, (2)

contracts with secondary recipient

organizations including delegate

agencies.

Also include any contracts with

organizations for the provision of

technical assistance. Do not include

payments to individuals on this line.

Justification: Attach a list of

contractors indicating the name of the

organization, the purpose of the

contract, and the estimated dollar

amount. If the name of the contractor,

scope of work, and estimated costs are

not available or have not been

negotiated, indicate when this

information will be available. Whenever

the applicant/grantee intends to

delegate a substantial part (one-third, or

more) of the project work to another

agency, the applicant/grantee must

provide a completed copy of Section B,

Budget Categories for each contractor,

along with supporting information.

Line 6g—Construction: Leave blank

since new construction is not allowable

and Federal funds are rarely used for

either renovation or repair.

Line 6h—Other: Enter the total of all

other costs. Such costs, where

applicable, may include, but are not

limited to: insurance, medical and

dental costs; noncontractual fees and

travel paid directly to individual

consultants; local transportation (all

travel which does not require per diem

is considered local travel); space and

equipment rentals; printing and

publication; computer use; training

costs, including tuition and stipends,

training service costs including wage

payments to individuals and supportive

service payments; and staff

development costs.

Line 6i—Total Direct Charges: Show

the totals of Lines 6a through 6h.

Line 6j—Indirect Charges: Enter the

total amount of indirect charges (costs),

if any. If no indirect costs are requested,

enter ‘‘none.’’ Indirect charges may be

requested if: (1) The applicant has a

current indirect cost rate agreement

approved by the Department of Health

and Human Services or another Federal

agency; or (2) the applicant is a State or

local government agency. Applicants

other than state and local governments

are requested to enclose a copy of this

agreement. Local and state governments
18830 Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 71 / Thursday, April 13, 1995 / Notices

should enter the amount of indirect

costs determined in accordance with

HHS requirements. When an indirect

cost rate is requested, these costs are

included in the indirect cost pool and

should not be also charged as direct

costs to the grant.

In the case of training grants to other

than state or local governments (as

defined in 45 CFR Part 74), Federal

reimbursement of indirect costs will be

limited to the lesser of the negotiated (or

actual) indirect cost rate or 8 percent of

the amount allowed for total project

(Federal and non-Federal) direct costs

exclusive of any equipment charges,

rental of space, tuition and fees,

stipends, post-doctoral training

allowances, contractual items, and

alterations and renovations. As part of

the justification, applications subject to

this limitation should specify that the

Federal reimbursement will be limited

to 8%.

For training grant applications, the

entry for line 6j should be the total

indirect costs being charged to the

project. The Federal share of indirect

costs is calculated as shown above. The

applicant’s share is calculated as

follows:

(a) Calculate total project indirect

costs (a*) by applying the applicant’s

approved indirect cost rate to the total

project (Federal and non-Federal) direct

costs.

(b) Calculate the Federal share of

indirect costs (b*) at 8 percent of the

amount allowed for total project

(Federal and non-Federal) direct costs

exclusive of any equipment charges,

rental of space, tuition and fees, postdoctoral training allowances,

contractual items, alterations and

renovations.

(c) Subtract b* from a*. The

remainder is what the applicant can

claim as part of its matching cost

contribution.

Line 6k—Total: Enter the total

amounts of Lines 6i and 6j.

Line 7—Program Income: Estimate the

amount of income, if any, expected to be

generated from this project which you

wish to designate as match (equal to the

amount shown it Item 15 on Form 424).

Warning: Any program income

indicated at the bottom of Section B and

item 15 on the face sheet of Form 424

will be included as part of non-Federal

match and will be subject to the rules

for documenting completion of this

pledge. If program income is expected,

but is not needed to achieve matching

funds, do not include that portion here

or on Item 15 of the Form 424 face

sheet. Non-match anticipated program

income should be described in the Level

of Effort section of the Program

Narrative.

Section C—Non-Federal Resources

Line 12—Totals: Enter amounts of

non-Federal resources that will be used

in carrying out the proposed project. Do

not include program income unless it is

used to meet match requirements.

Section D—Forecasted Cash Needs:

Not applicable.

Section E—Budget Estimate of Federal

Funds Needed for Balance of the Project

This section should be completed only

if the total project period exceeds 17

months.

Line 20—Totals: Enter the estimated

required Federal funds (exclude

estimates of the amount of cost sharing)

for the period covering months 13

through 24 under column ‘‘(b) First;’’

and, if applicable, for months 25

through 36 under ‘‘(c) Second.’’

Section F—Other Budget Information

Line 21—Direct Charges: Not

applicable

Line 22—Indirect Charges: Enter the

type of indirect rate (provisional,

predetermined, final or fixed) to be in

effect during the funding period, the

base to which the rate is applied, and

the total indirect costs.

Line 23—Remarks: Provide any other

explanations or comments deemed

necessary.

3. SF 424B—Assurances

SF 424B, Assurances—NonConstruction Programs, contains

assurances required of applicants under

the Discretionary Funds Program of the

Administration on Aging. Please note

that a duly authorized representative of

the applicant organization must certify

that the applicant is in compliance with

these assurances.

With the possible exception of an

Assurance of Protection of Human

Subjects, no other assurances are

required. For research projects in which

human subjects may be at risk, an

Assurance of Protection of Human

Subjects may be needed. If there is a

question regarding the applicability of

this assurance, contact the Office for

Protection from Research Risks of the

National Institutes of Health at (301)

496–7041.

4. Certification Forms

Certifications are required of the

applicant regarding (a) lobbying; (b)

debarment, suspension, and other

responsibility matters; and (3) drug-free

workplace requirements. Please note

that a duly authorized representative of

the applicant organization must attest to

the applicant’s compliance with these

certifications.

5. Project Summary Description

On a separate page, provide a project

summary description headed by two

identifiers: (1) The name of the

applicant organization as shown in SF

424, item 5 and (2) the priority area as

shown in the upper left hand corner of

SF 424. Please limit the summary

description to one page with a

maximum of 1,200 characters, including

words, spaces and punctuation.

Be specific and succinct. Outline the

objectives of the project, the approaches

to be used and the outcomes expected.

At the end of the summary, list major

products that will result from the

proposed project (such as manuals, data

collection instruments, training

packages, audio-visuals, software

packages). The project summary

description, together with the

information on the SF 424, becomes the

project ‘‘abstract’’ which is entered into

AoA’s computer data base. The project

description provides the reviewer with

an introduction to the substantive parts

of the application. Therefore, care

should be taken to produce a summary

which accurately and concisely reflects

the proposal.

6. Program Narrative

The Program Narrative is the critical

part of the application. It should be

clear, concise, and, of course,

responsive to the priority area under

which the application is being

submitted. In describing your proposed

project, make certain that you respond

fully to the evaluation criteria set forth

in Section F above. The format of the

narrative should, in fact, parallel the

criteria, beginning with an integrated

discussion of (A) the project’s

purpose(s), relevance, significance, and

responsiveness to the priority area,

which answers the questions of why the

project should be undertaken and what

it intends to accomplish. The next

section of the narrative provides a

detailed explanation of (B) the

approach(es)/methodology the project

will follow to achieve its purpose(s),

leading to a discussion of (C) the

anticipated outcomes/results/benefits of

the project, how these will be evaluated,

disseminated, and utilized. The

narrative concludes with (D) the level of

effort needed to carry out the project, in

terms of the Project Director and other

key staff, funding, and other resources.

Please have the narrative typed on

one side of 8 1⁄2′′ x 11′′ plain white

paper with 1’’ margins on both sides.

All pages of the narrative (including

charts, tables, maps, exhibits, etc.)

should be sequentially numbered,

beginning with ‘‘Objectives and Need
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for Assistance’’ as page number one.

(Applicants should not submit

reproductions of larger size paper,

reduced to meet the size requirement).

The narrative should also identify the

author(s) of the proposal, their

relationship with the applicant, and the

role they will play, if any, should the

project be funded. This narrative

guidance is in accordance with that

provided in OMB Circular A–102. The

checklist (see Section K, below) is

consistent with that approved under

OMB control number 0937–0189.

7. Organizational Capability Statement

and Vitae for Key Project Personnel

The organizational capability

statement should describe how the

applicant agency (or the particular

division of a larger agency which will

have responsibility for this project) is

organized, the nature and scope of its

work and/or the capabilities it

possesses. This description should

cover capabilities of the applicant not

included in the program narrative.

Include descriptions of any current or

previous relevant experience. Describe

the competence of the project team and

its record for preparing cogent and

useful reports, publications, and other

products. Include an organization chart

showing the relationship of the project

to the current organization. Include

vitae for key project staff only.

K. Checklist for a Complete Application

The checklist below should be typed

on 81⁄2′′ x 11′′ plain white paper,

completed and included in your

application package. It will help in

properly preparing your application.

Checklist

I have checked my application

package to ensure that it includes or is

in accord with the following:

—One original application plus two

copies, each stapled securely (no

folders or binders) with the SF 424 as

the first page of each copy of the

application;

—SF 424; SF 424A—Budget Information

(and accompanying Budget

Justification); SF 424B—Assurances;

and Certifications;

—SF 424 has been completed according

to the instructions, signed and dated

by an authorized official (item 18);

—The number of the priority area under

which the application is submitted

has been identified in the box

provided at the top left of the SF 424;

—As necessary, a copy of the current

indirect cost rate agreement approved

by the Department of Health and

Human Services or another Federal

agency;

—Proof of nonprofit status, as necessary;

—Summary description;

—Program narrative;

—Organizational capability statement

and vitae for key personnel;

—Letters of commitment and

cooperation, as appropriate.

L. Points to Remember

1. There is a forty (40) double-spaced

page limitation for the substantive parts

of the application. Before submitting

your application, please check that you

have adhered to this requirement which

is spelled out in Section D.

2. You are required to send an original

and two copies of an application.

3. Indicate the priority area in the box

at the top left hand corner of the SF 424.

4. The summary description (1,200

characters or less) should accurately

reflect the nature and scope of the

proposed project.

5. To meet the cost sharing

requirement (see Section C above), you

must, at a minimum, match $1 for every

$3 requested in Federal funding to reach

25% of the total project cost. For

example, if your request for Federal

funds is $90,000, then the required

minimum match or cost sharing is

$30,000. The total project cost is

$120,000, of which your $30,000 share

is 25%.

6. Indirect costs of training grants may

not exceed 8%.

7. In following the required format for

preparing the program narrative, make

certain that you have responded fully to

the four (4) evaluative criteria which

will be used by reviewers to evaluate

and score all applications.

8. Do not include letters which

endorse the project in general and

perfunctory terms. In contrast, letters

which describe and verify tangible

commitments to the project, e.g., funds,

staff, space, should be included.

9. If duplicate applications are

submitted under different priority areas,

AoA reserves the right to select the

single priority area under which it will

be reviewed.

10. If more than one project

application is submitted, each should be

submitted under separate cover.

11. Before submitting the application,

have someone other than the author(s):

1) apply the screening requirements to

make sure you are in compliance; and

2) carry out a trial run review based

upon the evaluative criteria. Take the

opportunity to consider the results of

the trial run and then make whatever

changes you deem appropriate.

12. Each application must be mailed

by midnight, June 12, 1995 or handdelivered by 5:30 p.m., Eastern Time, on

June 12, 1995.

Mail or hand-deliver the application

to: Department of Health and Human

Services, Administration on Aging,

Office of Administration and

Management, 330 Independence

Avenue SW., Room 4644, Washington,

D.C. 20201 Attn: AoA–95–1.

Dated: April 6, 1995

Fernando M. Torres-Gil,

Assistant Secretary for Aging.

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[FR Doc. 95–8950 Filed 4–12–95; 8:45 am]

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