Substance Abuse Treatment Conference Grants

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration

RIN: 0905-ZA71

Substance Abuse Treatment Conference Grants

AGENCY: Center for Substance Abuse Treatment, Substance Abuse and

Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), HHS.

ACTION: Notice of Availability of Funds and Request for Applications.

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SUMMARY: The Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT) is issuing

this announcement for a program to support domestic conferences for the

purpose of coordinating, exchanging, and disseminating information in

furtherance of its mission to ensure the availability of effective

treatment and recovery services for individuals who suffer from

problems related to alcohol and other drugs (AOD) of abuse. This

program is authorized under Section 507 of the Public Health Service

Act.

Applications are invited for conferences relating to AOD abuse

treatment, including conferences for the purposes of information

dissemination to the services community and the general public, and

development of strategies for improving substance abuse treatment. The

intended audiences for this announcement are principally consumer and

treatment services-oriented constituency groups, including those

representing State and local government, professional associations,

voluntary organizations, and self-help groups that share a mutual

interest with CSAT with respect to community consensus building,

leadership, and advocacy of goals relating to AOD abuse treatment.

This notice consists of three parts:

Part I covers information on the legislative authority and the

applicable regulations and policies related to the Substance Abuse

Treatment Conference Grants program.

Part II includes the programmatic description and activities and

discusses eligibility, availability of funds, period of support and the

receipt dates for applications.

Part III describes special requirements of the program, the

application process, the review and award criteria and lists contacts

for additional information.

Part I--Legislative Authority and Other Applicable Regulations and

Policies

Grants awarded under this announcement are authorized under Section

507(b)(6) of the Public Health Service Act, as amended (42 U.S.C.

290bb).

Federal regulations at Title 45 CFR Parts 74 and 92, generic

requirements concerning the administration of grants, are applicable to

these awards.

Grants must be administered in accordance with the PHS Grants

Policy Statement (Revised April 1, 1994).

The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) number for this

program is 93.218.

As required by the ``PHS Grants Policy Statement,'' grantees are

responsible for submitting an original and two (2) copies of the final

report to the Grants Management Office, CSAT, within 90 days of

completion or termination of a grant in support of a conference.

Consistent with CSAT policy and in view of the addictive properties

of nicotine and the established link between use of tobacco products

and disease, the use of smoke-free conference meeting rooms is

encouraged.

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

health promotion and disease prevention objectives of Healthy People

2000, a PHS-led national public health initiative. This Program

Announcement, Substance Abuse Treatment Conference Grants, is related

to the priority areas of addictions as articulated in the National Drug

Control Strategy (e.g., women and their children, hard core abusers,

relationship between alcohol/drug abuse and violence, service needs/

delivery within the criminal justice system, comorbidity or the

provision of mental health services as part of addictions treatment,

health care reform). Potential applicants may obtain a copy of Healthy

People 2000 (Full Report: Stock No. 017-001-00474-0) 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). The National Drug Control

Strategy may be obtained by contacting the Drugs and Crime

Clearinghouse (Telephone: 1-800-666-3332).

Part II--Programmatic Description and Activities, Eligibility and

Application Receipt Date

Program Description: CSAT will provide support for up to fifty

percent (to a maximum of $50,000) of the total costs of planned

meetings and conferences sponsored by new or ongoing constituent

organizations or coalitions in their efforts to provide treatment for

drugs of abuse. In making award decisions, CSAT will give special

consideration to applications that demonstrate the potential for

knowledge dissemination, interface with health promotion concepts and

practices, promote appropriate resource utilization and/or consensus

building, and yield a product (report or document) of specific

relevance to furthering of the CSAT mission of improved delivery of

addiction treatment and recovery services at the State or community

level.

For the purposes of this grant program, a Conference is a

symposium, workshop, or any other organized and formal meeting lasting

one or more days where persons assemble to exchange information and

address information or strategy development needs in such areas as

sharing new technologies, problem-solving, network-building or public

policy deliberations. While a conference may result in educational

experiences, this is not a program to impart training. The conference

program should be consistent with the CSAT mission. Under the authority

of Section 507, CSAT may sponsor regional workshops on improving the

quality and availability of treatment services; however, sponsors of

regional workshops may invite people from other regions in the country.

The conference may be conducted at more than one site, provided that

each separate workshop, meeting, etc., relates directly to the central

conference topic.

Conferences supported by this program are not intended to carry out

research or to synthesize or disseminate research information for the

non-clinical scientific research community. However, transmitting

scientific information via the conference to those involved in AOD

related services or in training to provide AOD services is supportable.

This program addresses the HHS Secretary's themes of fostering

independence through empowering the people served, preventing future

problems, and improving services to customers through modern management

approaches.

Eligibility: Applications may be submitted by public and non-profit

private entities. An individual is not eligible to receive grant

support for a conference.

Availability of Funds: It is estimated that approximately $400,000

will be available to support approximately eight (8) awards under this

program in FY 1995. Actual funding levels will depend upon the

availability of appropriated funds.

Approved awards will be limited to a maximum of fifty percent of

the total costs or $50,000, whichever is less.

Period of Support: Awards will be made for a maximum of 12 months.

Support for only one conference, as defined above, may be requested in

any single application.

Application Receipt and Review Schedule: The first receipt date for

applications is October 24, 1994. Thereafter, the schedule for receipt

and review of applications under this announcement will be as follows:

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Earliest

Receipt date IRG review start date

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January 10.................. May/June................... September.

May 10...................... September/October.......... February.

September 10................ January/February........... June.

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Applications must be received by the above receipt date(s) to be

accepted for review. An application received after the deadline may be

acceptable if it carries a legible proof-of-mailing date assigned by

the carrier (private metered postmarks are not acceptable as proof of

timely mailing) and that date is not later than one week prior to the

deadline date. If the receipt date falls on a weekend, it will be

extended to Monday; if the date falls on a holiday, it will be extended

to the following work day.

Consequences of Late Submission: Applications received after the

specified receipt dates are subject to assignment to the next review

cycle or may be returned to the applicant without review.

Part III--Special Requirements, Review/Award Criteria and Contacts for

Additional Information

Intergovernmental Review (E.O. 12372): Applications submitted in

response to this announcement are subject to the intergovernmental

review requirements of Executive Order 12372, as implemented through

DHHS regulations at 45 CFR Part 100. E.O. 12372 sets up a system for

State and local government review of applications for Federal financial

assistance. Applicants (other than Federally recognized Indian tribal

governments) should contact the State's Single Point of Contact (SPOC)

as early as possible to alert them to the prospective application(s)

and to receive any necessary instructions on the State process. For

proposed projects serving more than one State, the applicant is advised

to contact the SPOC of each affected State. A current listing of SPOCs

is included in the application kit. The SPOC should send any state

process recommendations to the following address: Review Branch, Center

for Substance Abuse Treatment, Rockwall II Building, 10th Floor, 5600

Fishers Lane, Rockville, Maryland 20857, (301) 443-8923.

The due date for state process recommendations is no later than 60

days after the deadline date for the receipt of applications. CSAT does

not guarantee to accommodate or explain SPOC comments that are received

after the 60-day cut-off.

Public Health System Reporting Requirements: The program is not

subject to the Public Health System Reporting Requirements.

Application Procedures: Grant application kits (including Form PHS

5161-1, with Standard Form 424 and complete application procedures) may

be obtained from: National Clearinghouse for Alcohol & Drug

Information, P.O. Box 2345, Rockville, Maryland 20847-2345, 1-800-729-

6686.

Applicants must submit: (1) an original copy signed by the

authorized official of the applicant organization, with the appropriate

appendices; and (2) two additional, legible copies of the application

and all appendices to the following address: Center for Substance Abuse

Treatment Programs, Division of Research Grants, NIH, Westwood

Building, room 240, 5333 Westbard Avenue, Bethesda, Maryland 20892.*

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*If an overnight carrier or express mail is used, the Zip Code

is 20816.

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Review Process: Applications submitted in response to this

announcement will be reviewed for technical merit in accordance with

established PHS/SAMHSA peer review procedures for grants.

Applications that are accepted for review will be assigned to an

Initial Review Group (IRG) composed primarily of non-Federal experts.

Notification of the IRG's recommendation will be sent to the applicant

upon completion of the review.

Review Criteria

1. Potential Significance (30%)

The extent to which the proposed conference has potential regional

or national significance for the field of drug abuse treatment.

2. Approach (20%)

Clarity and justification of overall goals, objectives, and

approach of the conference. Feasibility of the conference agenda/

content and relevance to CSAT mission to improve the delivery of

substance abuse treatment and recovery services. Extent to which

proposal supports inter-agency collaboration. Adequacy of plan for

conference product (proceedings, manual, report).

3. Resources and Management (20%)

Manner in which the conference is planned and organized. Presence

of an administrative and organizational structure that will facilitate

attainment of the proposed objective(s) of the conference. Capability/

experience of the proposed conference director and other key personnel.

Participation of appropriate speakers, presenters or participants.

Adequacy of previous reports of conferences (if any) produced by the

applicant.

4. Budget (25%)

Cost effectiveness and reasonableness of overall project cost

relative to planned activities. Appropriateness of budget breakouts and

line item justifications.

5. Evaluation (5%)

Clarity/feasibility/appropriateness of proposed plan for evaluation

of conference planning, content and outcome, including the production

of the required conference product.

Award Decision Criteria: Applications will be considered for

funding on the basis of overall technical merit of the project as

determined through the review process. Other criteria will include:

1. Potential for knowledge dissemination, interface with health

promotion concepts and practices, promotion of resource utilization

and/or consensus building.

2. Relevance to the CSAT/SAMHSA priorities addressed by the

National Drug Control Strategy (e.g., women and their children, hard

core abusers, relationship between alcohol/drug abuse and violence,

service needs/delivery within the criminal justice system, comorbidity

or the provision of mental health services as part of addictions

treatment, health care reform).

3. Programmatic balance (focus upon differing problems of drug

treatment, including the issues of cultural sensitivity, HIV/AIDS,

sexually transmitted diseases, and tuberculosis.

4. Innovative conferences/conferencing techniques (e.g.,

teleconferencing, Delphi Computer conferencing).

5. Geographic balance.

6. Availability of funds.

CONTACTS FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Questions concerning program

issues may be directed to: Susanne R. Rohrer, R.N., Office of

Scientific Analysis and Evaluation, Center for Substance Abuse

Treatment, Rockwall II Building, 10th Floor, 5600 Fishers Lane,

Rockville, Maryland 20857, (301) 443-8831.

Questions regarding grants management issues may be directed to:

Grants Management Office, Center for Substance Abuse Treatment,

Rockwall II Building, 10th Floor, 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville,

Maryland 20857, (301) 443-6533.

Dated: July 18, 1994.

Richard Kopanda,

Acting Executive Officer, SAMHSA.

[FR Doc. 94-18050 Filed 7-22-94; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4162-20-P