Availability of Grants for Bilingual/Bicultural Service Demonstration Projects in Minority Health, et al.; Notice DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Authority: These programs are authorized under section 1707(d)(1) of

the Public Health Service Act, as amended in Public Law 101-527.

purpose: (1) Bilingual Grants: To provide support to expand the

capacity linguistic and cultural competence of health care

professionals and paraprofessionals working with minority communities

and/or improve the accessibility and utilization of health care

services among the limited-English-speaking minority populations. (2)

Coalition Grants: To provide support to existing minority community

health coalitions for enhancement activities which will strengthen

coalition effectiveness and have the potential for producing models/

materials.

applicant eligibility: Eligible applicants are public and private

nonprofit minority organizations. (1) Applicants applying for the

Bilingual Grants must be minority community-based organizations. (2)

Applicants applying for Coalition Grants must have had current or

previous OMH coalition grant support because the purpose of this

particular announcement is to help existing or previous recipients to

enhance their effectiveness. This includes projects funded under the

Minority Community Health Coalition Demonstration Program or the

Minority Male Demonstration Grant Program (Intervention or Coalition

Development).

addresses/contacts: Applications must be prepared on Form PHS 5161-1

(Revised July 1992; OMB Approval Number 0937-0189). Application kits

and technical assistance on budget and business aspects of the

application may be obtained from Ms. Carolyn A. Williams, Grants

Management Officer, Office of Minority Health, Rockwall II Building,

suite 1000, 5515 Security Lane, Rockville, MD 20852, (telephone: 301-

594-0758). Completed applications are to be submitted to the same

address.

Technical assistance on the programmatic content for Bilingual

Grants may be obtained from Mr. Stephen P. Jiang. Technical assistance

on the programmatic content for Coalition Grants may be obtained from

Ms. Joan S. Jacobs. Both can be reached at the Office of Minority

Health, Rockwall II Building, suite 1000, 5515 Security Lane,

Rockville, MD 20852, (telephone: 301-594-0769).

OMH Regional Minority Health Consultants (RMHCs) can also provide

necessary technical assistance. A listing of the RMHCs and how they may

be contacted is provided in the grant application kit. Applicants also

can contact the OMH Resource Center (OMH/RC) at 1-800-444-6472 for

health information and generic information on preparing grant

applications.

DEADLINE: To receive consideration, grant applications must be received

by the Grants Management Officer by July 5, 1994. Applications will be

considered as meeting the deadline if they are either: (1) Received at

the above address on or before the deadline date, or (2) Sent to the

above address on or before the deadline date and received in time for

submission to the review panel. 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 do not meet the deadline will be

considered late and will be returned to the applicant without comment.

AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS: It is anticipated that the Office of Minority

Health will have approximately $2.2 million available to support

approximately 29 awards of up to $75,000 each under the Bilingual Grant

Program. It is anticipated that the Office of Minority Health will have

approximately $2.0 million available to support approximately 26 awards

of up to $75,000 each under the Coalition Grant Program.

PERIOD OF SUPPORT: Support may be requested for a total project period

not to exceed one year.

PROJECT BUDGETS: Budgets of up to $75,000 total direct and indirect

costs per year may be requested to cover: the cost of personnel;

consultants; support services; materials; and justified travel. Project

budget must include travel for 2 project staff to attend a 3-day

meeting in Washington, DC. Funds may not be used for building

alterations and renovations. Also, funds may not be used to purchase

equipment except as may be acceptably justified in relation to

conducting the project/enhancement activity.

AWARD CRITERIA: Funding decisions will be determined by the Office of

Minority Health and will be based on: The recommendations/ratings of

review panels, program balance, including geographic and race/ethnicity

distribution, and health problem area. For Bilingual grants, consistent

with section 1707(c)(3) Public Health Service Act, priority will be

given to projects targeting Asian and Pacific Islander populations

which score in the upper 50th percentile of all Bilingual applications.

REVIEW OF APPLICATIONS: Applications will be screened upon receipt.

Those that are judged to be incomplete, nonresponsive to the

announcement, or nonconforming will be returned without comment. Each

organization may submit no more than one proposal under this

announcement. If an organization submits more than one proposal, all

will be deemed ineligible and returned to the applicant without

comment. Applications judged to be complete, conforming, and responsive

will be reviewed for technical merit in accordance with PHS policies.

Applications will be evaluated by federal and non-federal reviewers

chosen for their expertise in minority health, experience with similar

projects, and their understanding and special knowledge of the

respective programs covered in this announcement.

Applicants are advised to pay close attention to the general and

supplemental instructions provided in the application kit. Applications

will be reviewed and evaluated for technical merit and consistency with

the requirements of this announcement. Of specific importance will be

the criteria found in the supplemental instructions under these listed

headings. The percentage weight for each section appears in the

Parentheses after each heading.

I. Background

Bilingual Grants: (16%)

Coalition Grants: (24%)

II. Goals and Objectives

Bilingual Grants: (16%)

Coalition Grants: (14%)

III. Methodology

Bilingual Grants: (48%)

Coalition Grants: (48%)

IV. Evaluation

Bilingual Grants: (20%)

Coalition Grants: (14%)

DEFINITIONS: For the purpose of this grant program, the following

definitions are provided:

(1) Enhancement Activity--Activities and projects that will improve

or strengthen an existing coalition. For example: data collection/

community surveys; development of community databases; development of

innovative evaluation methods; novel approaches for leadership

development and/or involvement of community volunteers; curriculum

development and/or materials testing; testing and development of

innovative outreach methodologies; conduct of organized efforts to

improve access to health care or to address other critical health

issues.

(2) Models/Materials--Tangible and documented product resulting

from project effort and which can be generalized or disseminated to

like groups, e.g., training manual, outreach guidelines.

(3) Community--A defined geographical area in which persons live,

work, and play and are characterized by: (a) Formal and informal

leadership structures for the purpose of maintaining order and

improving conditions; and (b) its capacity to serve as a focal point

for addressing societal needs including health needs.

(4) Minority Community Coalition--An entity comprised of

organizations/institutions which have come together in a minority

community for the purpose of collaborating on specific concerns,

seeking coordination of related services, and resolution of those

concerns. The coalition must have a formalized structure and process

for member organizations to work together.

(5) Minority Community-Based Organization--Public or private non-

profit organization that has a governing board composed of 51 percent

or more racial/ethnic minority members, has minorities in key program

positions, and has an established record of service to a racial and

ethnic minority community, or a local affiliate of a national

organization provided the local affiliate has a governing body composed

of 51 percent or more racial/ethnic minority members, has minorities in

key program positions, and has an established record of service to

racial and ethnic minority populations in their target community.

(6) Minority Populations--As defined in the Office of Management

and Budget Statistical Directive 15, they are as follows: Black/African

American, American Indian or Alaskan Native, Asian or Pacific Islander,

and Hispanics.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Relation to the Goals for the Year 2000, the

Public Health Service (PHS) is committed to achieving the health

promotion and disease prevention objectives of Healthy People 2000, a

PHS-led national activity for setting priority areas. This announcement

for Fiscal Year 1994 Bilingual and Coalition Grants is potentially

related to all twenty-two priority areas which are listed as follows:

Physical activity and fitness; nutrition; tobacco; alcohol and other

drugs; family planning; mental health and mental disorders; violent and

abusive behavior; educational and community-based programs;

unintentional injuries; occupational safety and health; environmental

health; food and drug safety; oral health; maternal and infant health;

heart disease and stroke; cancer; diabetes and chronic disabling

conditions; HIV infection; sexually transmitted diseases; immunization

and infectious diseases; clinical preventive services; surveillance and

data systems. Potential applicants may obtain a copy of Healthy People

2000 (Full Report: Stock No. 017-00100474-0) or Healthy People 2000

(Summary Report: Stock No. 017-001-00473-1) through the Superintendent

of Documents, Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402-9325

(telephone: 202-783-3238).

STATE REVIEWS: Applications are subject to review as governed by

Executive Order 12372, Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs.

Applications for funding will be subject to State review. All comments

from a State office must be received by 60 days after the application

deadline by the Office of Minority Health's Grants Management Officer.

Applicants should contact State Single Points to Contact (SPOC) early

in the application preparation process. A list of addresses of the

SPOCs is enclosed with the application kit material.

PROVISION OF SMOKE-FREE WORKPLACE AND NON-USE OF TOBACCO PRODUCTS BY

RECIPIENTS OF PHS GRANTS: The Public Health Service strongly encourages

all grant recipients to provide a smoke-free workplace and promote the

non-use of all tobacco products. This is consistent with the PHS

mission to protect and advance the physical and mental health of the

American people.

PUBLIC HEALTH SYSTEM REPORTING REQUIREMENTS: This program is subject to

Public Health Systems Reporting Requirements. Under these requirements,

a community-based nongovernmental applicant must prepare and submit a

Public Health System Impact Statement (PHSIS; Approved by OMB under

control number 0937-0195). The PHSIS is intended to provide information

to State and local health officials to keep them apprised of proposed

health services grant applications submitted by community-based

nongovernmental organizations within their jurisdictions.

Community-based nongovernmental applicants are required to submit

the following information to the head of the appropriate State and

local health agencies in the area(s) to be impacted no later than the

Federal application receipt due date: (a) A copy of the face page of

the applications (SF 424), (b) a summary of the project (PHSIS), not to

exceed one page, which provides: (1) A description of the population to

be served, (2) a summary of the services to be provided, (3) a

description of the coordination planned with the appropriate State or

local health agencies.

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance numbers are 93-105

(Bilingual Grants) and 93-137 (Coalition Grants).

Dated: April 14, 1994.

Audrey F. Manley,

Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Minority Health.

[FR Doc. 94-12104 Filed 5-17-94; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4160-17-M'