Announcement of Availability of Grants for Family Planning General Training and Technical Assistance Projects

Title X of the PHS Act, 42 U.S.C. 300, et seq., authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to award grants for projects to provide training for family planning service personnel. (Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number 93.260). This notice announces the availability of approximately $3,200,000 in funding and solicits applications for general training and technical assistance projects to assist in the establishment and operation of regional training centers in the ten PHS regions. Grants will be funded within certain ranges as set out below. Funding of individual grants within each funding range will be based on the RHA's assessment of such factors as the training and technical assistance needs within the region and the cost and availability of personnel for the project. Competing grant applications are invited for training and technical assistance projects as follows:

------------------------------------------------------------------------ Region States Funding range ------------------------------------------------------------------------ I....................... CN, ME, MA, NH, RI, VT.. $226,000-$256,000 II...................... NJ, NY, PR, VI.......... 359,000-389,000 III..................... DE, DC, MD, PA, VA, WV.. 373,000-403,000 IV...................... KY, MS, NC, TN, AL, FL, 436,000-466,000 GA, SC. V....................... IL, IN, MI, MN, OH, WI.. 377,000-407,000 VI...................... AR, KA, NM, OK, TX...... 352,000-382,000 VII..................... IA, KS, MO, NE.......... 225,000-255,000 VIII.................... CO, MT, ND, SD, UT, WY.. 219,000-249,000 IX...................... AZ, CA, HI, and 6 US 314,000-344,000 Associated Pacific Jurisdictions. X....................... AK, ID, OR, WA.......... 219,000-249,000 ------------------------------------------------------------------------

Additional information may be obtained from the appropriate Regional Health Administrator (RHA) at the address below:

Region I: DHHS/PHS Region, I, John F. Kennedy Federal Building, Government Center, Room 2100, Boston, MA 02203; Region II: DHHS/PHS Region II, 26 Federal Plaza, Room 3337, New York, NY 10278; Region III: DHHS/PHS Region III, 150 S. Independence Mall West, Philadelphia, PA 19106; Region IV: DHHS/PHS Region IV, 61 Forsyth Street, Rm. 5B95, Atlanta, GA 30303; Region V: DHHS/PHS Region V, 105 West Adams Street, 17th Floor, Chicago, IL 60603; Region VI: DHHS/PHS Region VI, 1301 Young Street, Suite 1124, Dallas, TX 75202; Region VII: DHHS/PHS Region VII, 601 East 12th Street, Room 210, Kansas City, MO 64016; Region VIII: DHHS/PHS Region VIII, 1961 Stout Street, Room 498, Denver, CO 80294; Region IX: DHHS/PHS Region IX, 50 United Nations Plaza, Room 327, San Francisco, CA 94102; Region X: DHHS/PHS Region X, Blanchard Plaza, 2201 Sixth Avenue, M/S RX-29, Seattle 98121.

Statutory and Regulatory Background

Title X of the PHS Act, enacted Pub. L. 91-572, authorizes grants for projects to provide family planning services to persons from low- income families and others. Section 1001 of the Act, as amended, authorizes grants ``to assist in the establishment of operation and of voluntary family planning projects which shall offer a broad range of acceptable and effective family planning methods and services (including natural family planning methods, infertility services and services for adolescents).'' Section 1003 of the Act, as amended, authorizes the Secretary to make grants to entities to provide the training for personnel to carry out the family planning service programs. The regulations set out at 42 CFR part 59, subpart C, govern grants to provide training for family planning service providers. Prospective applicants should refer to the regulations in their entirety.

Role and Operation of the Training and Technical Assistance Program

The regulations set out at 42 CFR, Part 59, subpart C, define ``training'' as ``job-specific skill development, the purpose of which is to promote and improve the delivery of family planning services.'' The purpose of the general training program is to ensure that entities that

provide family planning services have the skills, knowledge and attitudes necessary for the effective delivery of family planning services. General training programs funded under this announcement are focused on the provision of specialized information that is science- based and that will enhance the ability of family planning providers to deliver high quality family planning services. Successful applicants will be responsible for the overall management of the general training program within the geographic area for which the grant is awarded. The PHS Project Officer will have final approval for all training plans and plans for the use of resources. Grantee plans must provide for flexibility in resource utilization, including training plan design. The applicant should demonstrate an awareness of electronic technologies and new training delivery techniques. The grantee will be required to work closely with other federal, state or local government entities, family planning providers and other community-based organizations in achieving program objectives. Applicants should be familiar with public health initiatives and programs, such as Healthy People 2000 health promotion and disease prevention objectives for family planning, as well as Title X program regulations. In responding to the Request for Applications (RFA), the applicant must be familiar with the Title X program priorities and key issues impacting family planning identified below:

Title X Program Priorities

• Expansion and enhancement of the quality of clinical reproductive health services through partnerships with entities that have related interests and that work with similar priority populations; • Increased emphasis on services to adolescents, including emphasis on postponement of sexual activity and more accessible provision of contraceptive counseling and services; • Increased services to hard-to-reach populations by partnering with community-based organizations and others that have a stake in the prevention of unintended pregnancy; • Expansion of comprehensiveness of reproduction health services, including STD and cancer screening and prevention, HIV prevention, education and counseling, and substance abuse screening and referral; • Increased services to males, emphasizing shared responsibility for preventing unintended pregnancy and STD/HIV infection.

Key Issues

Other key issues are impacting the current and future delivery of family planning services and will require significant specialized training efforts. These issues include: • Medicaid waivers and managed care; • Implications of welfare reform and other issues that are affecting family planning services, such as Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) as well as other Federal and State initiatives; • Electronic technology; • Research findings; • Legislative mandates, such as counseling teens on involving families and avoiding coercive sexual relationships. Specifically, the applicant will have expertise and the ability to train in areas of information, education and communication; management; and clinical activities. Within each of these areas, at a minimum, the grantee will be expected to provide training that includes the following:

Information, Education and Communication

• Assist grantees with designing, implementing and evaluating information, education and communication strategies; • Train grantee staff on how to utilize research findings and data reports in project operations; • Train grantee staff in the use of print and mass media to achieve program goals and objectives.

Management

• Improve the management skills of family planning grantee staff; • Increase the ability of family planning grantee staff to assess their requirements for the design and utilization of management information systems; • Increase the ability of family planning grantee staff to utilize computer and other electronic technologies; • Assist grantee to structure financial systems to monitor, record and control financial resources; • Assist grantees in implementing income generating activities and creating cost recovery mechanisms.

Clinical Activities

• Provide training to improve the performance of clinical staff involved in health care delivery; • Convene an annual regional clinical conference for health care providers where continuing education units are provided. Successful applicants will also need to demonstrate that they have the capacity for facilitating the provision of regional technical assistance. Technical assistance generally consists of specialized or highly skilled assistance that is usually provided to a single organization, such as the Regional Office or a grantee or clinic. The objective of this assistance is to provide projects with the technical resources needed to address Title X priorities and key issues impacting family planning. In facilitating the provision of technical assistance, the PHS Project Officer will work with the successful applicant to develop a system for providing technical assistance. All forms required for reporting and tracking technical assistance will be provided by the Project Officer. All technical assistance must have prior approval of the PHS Project Officer. The successful applicant will be responsible for identifying qualified and competent consultants who will be able to effectively address highly technical and often specialized issues that are relevant in providing family planning services. The grantee is responsible for making all necessary arrangements (transportation, per diem, fees, etc.), with consultants in association with approved requests for technical assistance. A separate budget for technical assistance will be developed between the Project Officer and the successful applicant after the training grant is awarded. Application Requirements: Applications must be submitted on the forms supplied (PHS-5161-1, Revised 5/96) (OMB Approval No. 0937-0189) and in the manner prescribed in the application kits available from the Office of Grants Management for Family Planning Services at Dallas, TX. Applicants are required to submit an application signed by an individual authorized to act for the applicant agency or organization and to assume for the organization the obligations imposed by the terms and conditions of the grant award. Applicants are required to submit an original application and two copies. Applicants should ensure that they submit their applications in accordance with the deadline requirements of this announcement. A legibly dated receipt from a commercial carrier or U.S. Postal Service will be accepted in lieu of a postmark. Private metered postmarks will not be accepted as proof of timely mailing. Applications which are postmarked or delivered to the Grants Management Office later than April 30, 1999 will be judged late and will not be

accepted for review. Applicants which do not conform to the requirements of the program announcement or meet the applicable requirements of 42 CFR part 59, subpart C, will not be accepted for review. Applicants will be notified, and applications will be returned. Any public or private nonprofit organization or agency is eligible to apply for a grant. It is not required that an entity applying for a grant be physically located in the region to be served by the proposed project. Awards will be made only to those organizations or agencies which demonstrate the capability of providing the proposed services and which have met all applicable requirements. A copy of the legislation and regulations governing this program will be sent to applicants as part of the application kit package. Applicants should use the legislation, regulations, and information included in this announcement to guide them in developing their applications. Applications should be limited to 60 double-spaced pages, not including appendices, which may provide a roster of consultants, curriculum vitae, or statements of organizational capabilities. Application Consideration and Assessment: Eligible competing grant applications will be reviewed by a multidisciplinary panel of independent reviewers and assessed according to the following criteria: 1. The extent to which the proposed training and technical assistance program promises to fulfill the family planning services delivery needs of the area to be served, as evidenced by the applicant's ability to address the requirements set out under ``Role and Operation of the Training and Technical Assistance Program'' above and the factors set out at 42 CFR 59.206(a)(2)(i)-(iv) (35 Points); 2. The extent to which the application includes evidence of the capacity of the applicant to make rapid and effective use of the grant assistance, including evidence of flexibility in the utilization of resources and training plan design (25 Points); 3. The competence of the project staff, including qualifications and experience, in relation to the services to be provided, including the extent to which the applicant demonstrates an effective system for identifying qualified and competent consultants as necessary to address highly technical and specialized issues related to the delivery of family planning services (15 points); 4. The extent to which the application reflects: (a) The administrative and management capability and competence of the applicant, including diversity of training experience, as evidenced by other training grants and/or contracts; (b) That the project plan adequately provides for the requirements set forth in 42 CFR 59.205; and (c) That the proposed training and technical assistance program will increase the delivery of services to people (particularly low- income groups, with a high percentage of unmet needs for family planning services). Total consideration for the sum of sections 4(a)-(c): (25 Points). In making grant award decisions, the RHA will fund those projects which will, in his or her judgment, best promote the purposes of sections 1001 and 1003 of the Act, within the limits of funds available for such projects. Grants will be available for project periods of up to three years. Grants are funded in annual increments (budget periods). Funding for all approved budget periods beyond the first year of the grant is contingent upon satisfactory progress of the project, efficient and effective use of grant funds provided, and availability of funds.

Review Under Executive Order 12372

Applicants under this announcement are subject to the requirements of Executive Order 12372, Intergovernmental Review of Department of Health and Human Services Programs and Activities, as implemented by 45 CFR part 100. As soon as possible, the applicant should discuss the project with the State Single Point of Contact (SPOC) for each state in the area to be served. The application kit contains the currently available listing of the SPOCs which have elected to be informed of the submission of applications. For those states not represented on the listing, further inquiries should be made by the applicant regarding the submission of the relevant SPOC. The SPOC's comment(s) should be forwarded to the Office of Grants Management for Family Planning Services, 1301 Young Street, Suite 766, Dallas, Texas 75202. To be considered, such comments should be received by the Office of Grants Management for Family Planning Services within 60 days of the closing date listed under ``Dates'' above. When final funding decisions have been made, each applicant will be notified by letter of the outcome. The official document notifying an applicant that a project applicant has been approved for funding is the Notice of Grant Award, which specifies to the grantee the amount of money awarded, the purposes of the grant, and terms and conditions of the grant award.

Authority: 42 U.S.C. 300a-1(a).

Dated: February 18, 1999. Denese O. Shervington, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Population Affairs. [FR Doc. 99-4869 Filed 2-26-99; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4160-17-M