Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health; Availability of Grants for Minority Community Health Coalition Demonstration Projects.

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Public Health Service

Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health; Availability of

Grants for Minority Community Health Coalition Demonstration Projects.

AGENCY: Office of Minority Health, Office of the Assistant Secretary

for Health, USPHS, DHHS.

ACTION: Notice of Availability of Funds and Request for Applications

for Minority Community Health Coalition Demonstration Project Grants

(Coalition Outreach Grants).

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

AUTHORITY: This program is authorized under section 1707(d)(1) of the

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

PURPOSE: The OMH announces the availability of grants to provide

support to minority community health coalitions to develop, implement,

and conduct demonstration projects which coordinate integrated

community-based screening and outreach services and include linkages

for access and treatment, to minorities in high risk, low income

communities. These projects are to address socio-cultural and

linguistic barriers to care and should have the potential for

replication in similar communities.

APPLICANT ELIGIBILITY: Eligible applicants are public and private

nonprofit organizations which will serve as the grantee organization

for a coalition which has a history of OMH coalition grant support.

This means prior support under: the Minority Community Health Coalition

Demonstration Grant Program; the Minority Male Demonstration Grant

Program (Intervention or Coalition Development); the Hispanic/Latino

Community Health Coalition Development Project Grants; and the OMH/HRSA

AIDS Coalition grants funded under the Rural Health Outreach for AIDS

Education grants and Health Care Services for Residents of Public

Housing. In most cases the applicant organization will be the same

organization that served as the grantee on the original OMH grant.

However, in a few instances: (1) The coalition has become a free

standing entity, or (2) another member of the coalition has been

designated to serve as the lead, grantee agency. In this case, the

application must include a letter from the original grantee

organization verifying that the new applicant organization is a member

of the coalition and is now designated to serve as lead for the same

coalition which received prior OMH support. Only one application shall

be submitted on behalf of any eligible coalition.

Applicant coalitions must include a health care facility such as a

community health center, migrant health center, health department or

medical center. The coalition should have the capacity to plan and

coordinate services which reduce existing socio-cultural barriers.

Specifically, the coalition will be called upon to carry out screening,

outreach and enabling services to ensure that clients follow up with

treatment and treatment referrals.

In order to verify that a viable coalition exists, the following

must be provided: (1) The grant number of the prior OMH grant, (2) a

concise narrative history of the existing minority community health

coalition; (3) a copy of the coalition's mission statement and

organizational chart; current membership roster indicating the race/

ethnicity and roles of each coalition member organization; and (4) a

dated copy of the founding bylaws or memorandum of agreement, and

recent minutes or equivalent documents as proof that the coalition has

been viable and operational over a sustained period.

Background

In prior fiscal years, the Office of Minority Health has focused on

the establishment and enhancement of minority coalitions. Many

coalition-conducted interventions included provision of health

assessments and screening as an approach to improving the health of the

targeted communities. Consistent with the broader public health

experience, OMH found that many programs needed to go beyond provision

of screening to provision of more systematic follow-up for access and

treatment. Therefore, in FY 1995, OMH's coalition grants will focus on

projects that address socio-cultural barriers and that will demonstrate

effective coordination of integrated community-based screening,

outreach and other enabling services thus insuring linkage to treatment

or other indicated follow-up.

ADDRESSES/CONTACTS: Applications must be prepared on Form PHS 5161-1

(Revised July 1992). 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 the Coalition

Grants may be obtained from Ms. Joan S. Jacobs. She can be reached at

the Office of Minority Health, Rockwall II Building, Suite 1000, 5515

Security Lane, Rockville, MD 20852, (telephone 301/594-0769) or by

Interest E-mail [Jacobs OASH.SSW.DHHS.GOV].

In addition, OMH Regional Minority Health Consultants (RMHCs) are

available to provide technical assistance. A listing of the RMHCs and

how they may be contacted in 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 March 6, 1995. Applications will be

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

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

for orderly processing. A legibly dated receipt from a commercial

carrier or U.S. Postal Service will be accepted in lieu of a postmark.

Private meeting 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 unread.

AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS: It is anticipated that in Fiscal Year 1995, the

Office of Minority Health will have approximately $2.0 million

available to support approximately 14 awards of up to $150,000 each

under the Minority Community Health Coalition Grant Program.

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

not to exceed 3 years. Non competing continuation awards will be made

subject to satisfactory performance and availability of funds.

PROJECT BUDGETS: Budgets of up to $150,000 total direct and indirect

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

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

must include travel for one project staff member to meet with the OMH

Coalition Grant Program Director in Washington, DC. Funds may not be

used for building alternations, renovations, or to purchase equipment

except as may be acceptability justified in relation to conducting the

project activities. Funds are to be used to [[Page 142]] support

outreach, screening, case management and other enabling services such

as transportation, and child care. Grant funds are not intended to be

used for medical treatment.

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

Minority Health and will take under consideration: the recommendations/

ratings of review panels as well as program balance which includes

geographic and race/ethnicity distribution, and health problem areas

having the greatest impact on minority health in terms of causes of

death.

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

coalition may submit no more than one proposal under this announcement.

If a coalition submits more than one proposal, all will be deemed

ineligible and returned 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 outreach and

screening programs.

Applicants are advised to pay close attention to program

guidelines, and 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 and program guidelines under these listed

headings. The percentage weight for each section appears in the

parentheses after each heading: Background (20%); Goals and Objectives

(15%); Methodology (45%); and Evaluation (20%).

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

definitions are provided:

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

work, and play and 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.

(2) 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 include a health care facility such as a

community or migrant health center, health department, or medical

center, capable of providing treatment services. The coalition must

have a formalized structure and process for member organizations to

work together.

(3) Enabling services--Services, such as outreach, case management,

child care, and transportation, which enable clients to effectively

follow-up on screening findings and to access health care services.

(4) Socio-cultural barriers--Examples of socio-cultural barriers

are: cultural differences between individuals and institutions;

cultural differences of beliefs about health and illness, customs and

lifestyles; cultural differences in languages or nonverbal

communication styles; cultural differences in organizational policies

and practices that create obstacles to service delivery.

(5) Minority populations--As defined by the Office of Management

and Budget (OMB) Circular #15, include: Asian/Pacific Islanders;

Blacks; Hispanics; and Native American/Alaska Native.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This announcement for Fiscal Year 1995

Coalition Outreach Grants focuses on the six health problems identified

by the Secretary's Task Force on Black and Minority Health as having

the greatest impact on minority health in terms of causes of death: (1)

Cancer; (2) cardiovascular disease and stroke; (3) chemical dependency;

(4) diabetes; (5) homicides; and (6) infant mortality. Additional areas

of concern under this announcement include HIV infection, access to and

financing of health care, health professions personnel development,

data collection and analysis, and surveillance. Proposals should

address these problems in a culturally competent and linguistically

appropriate manner.

These health priorities also are addressed in the Health Objectives

for the National, Healthy People 2000, which the Public Health Service

(PHS) is committed to achieving. 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: EO 12372 sets up a system for State and local government

review of proposed Federal assistance applications. Applicants (other

than federally-recognized Indian tribal governments) should contact

their State Single Point of Contact (SPOCs) as early as possible to

alert them to the prospective applications and 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. 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. 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). 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.

The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance number is 93-137.

[[Page 143]] Dated: December 21, 1994.

Audrey F. Manley,

Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Minority Health.

[FR Doc. 94-31975 Filed 12-29-94; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4160-17-M