Announcement of Availability of Grants for Family Planning Nurse Practitioner Training Program

SUMMARY: The Office of Family Planning (OFP) of the Office of

Population Affairs requests applications for grants under the Family

Planning Services Training Program authorized under section 1003 of the

Public Health Service (PHS) Act (42 U.S.C. 300a-1(a)). Funds are

available to train nurse practitioners in order to maintain the high

level of performance of family planning service projects funded under

Title X of the PHS Act. The training programs to be funded will provide

skill-based knowledge for registered professional nurses employed in

Title X clinics and will enable Title X service grantees to improve the

delivery of family planning services to persons from low-income

families and other persons desiring such services.

ADDRESSES: Application kits may be obtained from and applications must

be submitted to: Grants Management Office, Office of Population

Affairs, East-West Towers, suite N1115, 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville,

MD 20857.

DATES: Applications must be postmarked or received at the above address

no later than June 6, 1994. Private metered postmarks will not be

acceptable as proof of timely mailing. Applications which are

postmarked or delivered to the Grants Management Office later than June

6, 1994 will be judged late and will not be accepted for review.

Applications which do not conform to the requirements of this program

announcement or meet the applicable requirements of 42 CFR part 59,

subpart C will not be accepted for review. Applicants will be so

notified, and the applications will be returned.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Mr. Sam Taylor, Acting Director, Office of Family Planning at (301)

594-4008 is available for assistance on scientific, technical and

program aspects, or Mrs. Barbara N. Rosenberg, Grants Management

Officer at (301) 594-4012 is available for business management issues.

Staff are available to answer questions and provide limited technical

assistance in the preparation of grant applications.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 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 services

personnel. (Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number 93.260). This

notice announces the availability of approximately $1.8 million in

funding and solicits applications for grants for the five nurse

practitioner training projects described below:

(1) One grant with a range of $270,000-$360,000 to train nurse

practitioners from the following regions:

Region I (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode

Island and Vermont);

Region II (New Jersey, New York, Puerto Rico and the Virgin

Islands);

Region III (Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West

Virginia and the District of Columbia).

(2) One grant with a funding range of $245,000-$325,000 to train

nurse practitioners from the following region:

Region IV (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, N.

Carolina, S. Carolina and Tennessee).

(3) One grant with a funding range of $200,000-$275,000 to train

nurse practitioners from the following region:

Region V (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Wisconsin).

(4) One grant with a funding range of $300,000-$395,000 to train

nurse practitioners from the following regions:

Region VI (Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas);

Region VII (Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska).

(5) One grant with a funding range of $350,000-$455,000 to train

nurse practitioners from the following regions:

Region VIII (Colorado, Montana, N. Dakota, S. Dakota, Utah,

Wyoming);

Region IX (Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada, American Samoa,

Federated States of Micronesia, Republic of Marshall Islands,

Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Republic of Palau and

Guam);

Region X (Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, Washington).

Statutory and Regulatory Background

Title X of the Public Health Service Act, enacted by Public Law 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 and

operation 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 services

programs. The regulations set out at 42 CFR part 59, subpart C, govern

grants for family planning service training. Prospective applicants

should refer to the regulations in their entirety.

Role and Operation of the Training Program

The nurse practitioner is an integral part of the family planning

system and performs a critical role in the delivery of high quality

family planning and women's health services. Nurse practitioner

training programs are focused on the preparation of registered

professional nurses to function in an advanced nursing role as

obstetric-gynecologic or women's health nurse practitioners.

Successful applicants will be required to work closely with Central

and Regional Office staffs and a network of agencies, including Title X

service delivery providers and nurse practitioner training advisory

committees. Title X service grantees from the regions serve on the

nurse practitioner training advisory committees. Successful applicants

will be required to review and consider policy and program goals of

both the Title X family planning training and services programs,

solicit advice from the regional training advisory committee, and

consult with Title X service delivery providers about training

priorities, course content, and curriculum.

The nurse practitioner training curriculum must focus on

preparation of obstetric-gynecologic or women's health care nurse

practitioners [hereafter referred to as nurse practitioner(s)] for

advanced nursing practice. The nurse practitioner training curriculum

must include content sufficient to prepare graduates to perform the

full range of services required for nurse practitioners in the Title X

family planning services program. The nurse practitioner training

program graduate should acquire, through the training program, special

knowledge and skills in health promotion and maintenance, disease

prevention, psychosocial and physical assessment, and management of

health-illness needs in the primary care of women, provided

predominantly in an ambulatory setting. The nurse practitioner will

provide such care in collaboration with the physician as well as with

other members of the health-care team.

The design of the nurse practitioner training program, including

the curriculum, must be consistent with national and regional Title X

goals. The program must be eligible for accreditation as a nurse

practitioner program by a national nursing accrediting body and must

meet national or State recognition requirements as a provider of

continuing education through a national nursing organization or one of

its constituents. Graduates of the nurse practitioner training program

must be eligible for State and/or national certification and meet State

requirements for licensure or recognition.

The application should set out how the nurse practitioner training

program will address the national health objectives relating to family

planning that are discussed in section 5 of the PHS document, Healthy

People 2000, discussed below. Specific attention should be given to

training which would enable nurse practitioners to work more

effectively to: Reduce teen pregnancy; reduce unintended pregnancy

among all women; reduce the initiation of sexual activity by teenagers;

increase the effectiveness of contraception, including barrier

contraception, among all women; implement pre-conception care; and

reduce sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV.

Successful applicants will be responsible for the overall

management of a nurse practitioner training program within the

geographic area for which the grant is made. This responsibility

includes:

Developing an annual nurse practitioner training plan,

which reflects national Title X program goals and regional priorities

and the training needs of local Title X services grantees;

Developing and implementing a high quality curriculum for

a certificate nurse practitioner program specific to the education and

role of the nurse practitioner;

Developing criteria for selection of candidates for nurse

practitioner training, including prerequisite qualifications. Such

criteria should reflect a sensitivity to the unique needs to grantees

or trainees for certain types of training, priority for recruitment of

minority nurse practitioner trainees, priority for training nurses

serving in rural areas or Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSA's),

or other relevant factors;

Developing a process to review applications submitted by

nurse practitioner training applicants from Title X service grantees.

The nurse practitioner training program will make the final decision

about candidates' suitability for training applying the criteria

discussed above;

Maintaining data on nurse practitioner training

characteristics sufficient to allow evaluation by credentialing bodies,

and by the Office of Population Affairs, and to allow self-evaluation

by the nurse practitioner training grantee;

Developing and implementing nurse practitioner training

plans and continuing professional education programs which include

measurable objectives;

Monitoring the preceptorship phase of the nurse

practitioner training program based upon written criteria;

Sharing materials developed with other training programs

so as to avoid unnecessary duplication of effort. All materials

developed with Title X funds must be made available at cost to other

Title X projects upon request;

Facilitating nurse practitioner trainee receipt of

continuing education units where appropriate; and

Planning an annual continuing education conference and

attending at least one national training meeting annually.

Application Requirements

Applications must be submitted on the forms supplied (PHS-5161-1)

(OMB Approval No. 0937-0189) and in the manner prescribed in the

application kits available from the Office of Grants Management

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.

Accepted applications will be subjected to a competitive review

process. The results of this review will assist the Deputy Assistant

Secretary for Population Affairs in considering competing applications

and in making the final funding decisions.

Any public or private nonprofit organization or agency is eligible

to apply for a grant. The application must meet the standards of the

nursing profession which allow approval from the State Board of Nurse

Examiners, continuing education approval bodies, if required, and

national accrediting and certifying agencies. It is not required that

an entity applying for a grant be physically located in the region or

regions the proposed project will serve.

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 other

information included in this announcement to guide them in developing

their applications. Applications should be limited to 50 doubled-spaced

pages, not including appendices providing curriculum vitae, curriculum,

or statements of organizational capabilities. Awards will be made only

to those applicants who have met all applicable requirements.

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 which involves the establishment and

pursuit of goals designed to prevent disease and promote health. This

announcement is related to the priority areas of Family Planning and

Educational and Community-Based Program. 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 20402-0325 (Telephone (202) 783-3238).

Grant Award

Eligible applications will be reviewed and assessed against the

following criteria:

(1) The extent to which the proposed nurse practitioner training

program will increase the delivery of services to Title X clients,

particularly persons from low-income families. (15 points)

(2) The extent to which the proposed nurse practitioner training

program proposes to fulfill the family planning services delivery needs

of the area to be served, including: (a) The extent to which the nurse

practitioner training curriculum and objectives will improve the family

planning service delivery skills of family planning registered nurses;

(15 points) and (b) The extent to which the nurse practitioner training

program proposes appropriate strategies to recruit and train nurse

practitioners to provide family planning services in rural areas and

HPSAs. (15 points)

(3) The capacity of the applicant to make rapid and effective use

of the nurse practitioner training grant. (5 points)

(4) The administrative and management capacity and competence of

the applicant. (15 points)

(5) The competence of the project staff in relation to the services

to be provided. (10 points)

(6) The degree to which the project plan adequately provides for

the requirements set forth in 42 CFR 50.205, including the applicant's

presentation of the project's objectives, the methods for achieving

project objectives, the ability to involve providers and the regional

office, and the results or benefits expected. (25 points)

In making grant award decisions the Deputy Assistant Secretary for

Population Affairs (DASPA) will fund those projects which will in his

judgment best promote the purposes of section 1003 of the Act, within

the limits of funds available for such projects.

Grants will be approved for project periods of up to 5 years and

will be 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

Applications under this announcement are subject to the review

requirements of Executive Order 12372, State Review of Applications for

Federal Financial Assistance, 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 to

the relevant SPOC. The SPOCs comment(s) should be forwarded to the

Grants Management Office, Office of Population Affairs, East-West

Towers, suite N1115, Rockville, MD 20857. Such comments must be

received by the Office of Population Affairs by August 4, 1994 to be

considered.

When final funding decisions have been made, each applicant will be

notified by letter of the outcome of their application. The official

document notifying an applicant that a project application 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.

Dated: February 22, 1994.

Gerald J. Bennett,

Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Population Affairs.

[FR Doc. 94-8153 Filed 4-5-94; 8:45 am]

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