Fiscal Year (FY) 1998 Funding Opportunities

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration

Fiscal Year (FY) 1998 Funding Opportunities

AGENCY: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, HHS.

ACTION: Notice of Funding Availability.

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SUMMARY: The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration

(SAMHSA) Center for Mental Health Services announces the availability

of FY 1998 funds for grants and cooperative agreements for the

following activities. These activities are discussed in more detail

under Section 4 of this notice. This notice is not a complete

description of the activities; potential applicants must obtain a copy

of the Guidance for Applicants (GFA) before preparing an application.

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Estimated

Application funds Estimated Project

Activity deadline available No. of period

(millions) awards

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Circles of Care................................................ 04/03/98 $2.4 6-8 3 yrs.

Consumer-Operated Service Program.............................. 04/09/98 5.0 9 4 yrs.

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Note: SAMHSA also published a notice of available funding

opportunities in FY 1998 in the Federal Register (Vol. 63, No. 3) on

Tuesday, January 6, 1998.

The actual amount available for awards and their allocation may

vary, depending on unanticipated program requirements and the volume

and quality of applications. Awards are usually made for grant periods

from one to three years in duration. FY 1998 funds for activities

discussed in this announcement were appropriated by the Congress under

Public Law No. 105-78. SAMHSA's policies and procedures for peer review

and Advisory Council review of grant and cooperative agreement

applications were published in the Federal Register (Vol. 58, No. 126)

on July 2, 1993.

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. The

SAMHSA Centers' substance abuse and mental health services activities

address issues related to Healthy People 2000 objectives of Mental

Health and Mental Disorders; Alcohol and Other Drugs; Clinical

Preventive Services; HIV Infection; and Surveillance and Data Systems.

Potential applicants may obtain a copy of Healthy People 2000 (Full

Report: Stock No. 017-001-00474-0) or Summary Report: Stock No. 017-

001-00473-1) through the Superintendent of Documents, Government

Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402-9325 (Telephone: 202-512-1800).

General Instructions: Applicants must use application form PHS

5161-1 (Rev. 5/96; OMB No. 0937-0189). The application kit contains the

GFA (complete programmatic guidance and instructions for preparing and

submitting applications), the PHS 5161-1 which includes Standard Form

424 (Face Page), and other documentation and forms. Application kits

may be obtained from the organization specified for each activity

covered by this notice (see Section 4).

When requesting an application kit, the applicant must specify the

particular activity for which detailed information is desired. This is

to ensure receipt of all necessary forms and information, including any

specific program review and award criteria.

The PHS 5161-1 application form and the full text of each of the

activities (i.e., the GFA) described in Section 4 are available

electronically via SAMHSA's World Wide Web Home Page (address: http://

www.samhsa.gov).

Application Submission: Unless otherwise stated in the GFA,

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applications must be submitted to: SAMHSA Programs, Center for

Scientific Review, National Institutes of Health, Suite 1040, 6701

Rockledge Drive MSC-7710, Bethesda, Maryland 20892-7710.*

________________

(* Applicants who wish to use express mail or courier service should

change the zip code to 20817.)

Application Deadlines: The deadlines for receipt of applications

are listed in the table above. Please note that the deadlines may

differ for the individual activities.

Competing applications must be received by the indicated receipt

dates 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 and that date is not later than one week

prior to the deadline date. Private metered postmarks are not

acceptable as proof of timely mailing.

Applications received after the deadline date and those sent to an

address other than the address specified above will be returned to the

applicant without review.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for activity-specific

technical information should be directed to the program contact person

identified for each activity covered by this notice (see Section 4).

Requests for information concerning business management issues

should be directed to the grants management contact person identified

for each activity covered by this notice (see Section 4).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: To facilitate the use of this Notice of

Funding Availability, information has been organized as outlined in the

Table of Contents below. For each activity, the following information

is provided:

Application Deadline

Purpose

Priorities

Eligible Applicants

Grants/Cooperative Agreements/Amounts

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number

Contacts

Application Kits

Table of Contents

1. Program Background and Objectives

2. Special Concerns

3. Criteria for Review and Funding

3.1 General Review Criteria

3.2 Funding Criteria for Scored Applications

4. Special FY 1998 Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services

Activities

4.1 Grants

4.1.1 Circles of Care: Planning, Designing, and Assessing Mental

Health Service System Models for Native American Indian and Alaska

Native Children and Their Families

4.2 Cooperative Agreements

4.2.1 Cooperative Agreements to Evaluate Consumer-Operated Human

Service Programs for Persons with Serious Mental Illness (Consumer-

Operated Service Program)

5. Public Health System Reporting Requirements

6. PHS Non-use of Tobacco Policy Statement

7. Executive Order 12372

1. Program Background and Objectives

SAMHSA's mission within the Nation's health system is to improve

the quality and availability of prevention, early intervention,

treatment, and rehabilitation services for substance abuse and mental

illnesses, including co-occurring disorders, in order to improve health

and reduce illness, death, disability, and cost to society.

Reinventing government, with its emphases on redefining the role of

Federal agencies and on improving customer service, has provided SAMHSA

with a welcome opportunity to examine carefully its programs and

activities. As a result of that process, SAMHSA moved assertively to

create a renewed and strategic emphasis on using its resources to

generate knowledge about ways to improve the prevention and treatment

of substance abuse and mental illness and to work with State and local

governments as well as providers, families, and consumers to

effectively use that knowledge in everyday practice.

SAMHSA's FY 1998 Knowledge Development and Application (KD&A)

agenda is the outcome of a process whereby providers, services

researchers, consumers, National Advisory Council members and other

interested persons participated in special meetings or responded to

calls for suggestions and reactions. From this input, each SAMHSA

Center developed a ``menu'' of suggested topics. The topics were

discussed jointly and an agency agenda of critical topics was agreed

to. The selection of topics depended heavily on policy importance and

on the existence of adequate research and practitioner experience on

which to base studies. While SAMHSA's FY 1998 KD&A programs will

sometimes involve the evaluation of some delivery of services, they are

services studies and application activities, not merely evaluation,

since they are aimed at answering policy-relevant questions and putting

that knowledge to use.

SAMHSA differs from other agencies in focusing on needed

information at the services delivery level, and in its question-focus.

Dissemination and application are integral, major features of the

programs. SAMHSA believes that it is important to get the information

into the hands of the public, providers, and systems administrators as

effectively as possible. Technical assistance, training, preparation of

special materials will be used, in addition to normal communications

means.

SAMHSA also continues to fund legislatively-mandated services

programs for which funds are appropriated.

2. Special Concerns

SAMHSA's legislatively-mandated services programs do provide funds

for mental health and/or substance abuse treatment and prevention

services. However, SAMHSA's KD&A activities do not provide funds for

mental health and/or substance abuse treatment and prevention services

except sometimes for costs required by the particular activity's study

design. Applicants are required to propose true knowledge application

or knowledge development and application projects. Applications seeking

funding for services projects under a KD&A activity will be considered

nonresponsive.

Applications that are incomplete or nonresponsive to the GFA will

be returned to the applicant without further consideration.

3. Criteria for Review and Funding

Consistent with the statutory mandate for SAMHSA to support

activities that will improve the provision of treatment, prevention and

related services, including the development of national mental health

and substance abuse goals and model programs, competing applications

requesting funding under the specific project activities in Section 4

will be reviewed for technical merit in accordance with established

PHS/SAMHSA peer review procedures.

3.1 General Review Criteria

As published in the Federal Register on July 2, 1993 (Vol. 58, No.

126), SAMHSA's ``Peer Review and Advisory Council Review of Grant and

Cooperative Agreement Applications and Contract Proposals,'' peer

review groups will take into account, among other factors as may be

specified in the application guidance materials, the following general

criteria:

Potential significance of the proposed project;

Appropriateness of the applicant's proposed objectives to

the goals of the specific program;

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Adequacy and appropriateness of the proposed approach and

activities;

Adequacy of available resources, such as facilities and

equipment;

Qualifications and experience of the applicant

organization, the project director, and other key personnel; and

Reasonableness of the proposed budget.

3.2 Funding Criteria for Scored Applications

Applications will be considered for funding on the basis of their

overall technical merit as determined through the peer review group and

the appropriate National Advisory Council (if applicable) review

process.

Other funding criteria will include:

Availability of funds.

Additional funding criteria specific to the programmatic activity

may be included in the application guidance materials.

4. Special FY 1998 Mental Health Activities

4.1 Grants

4.1.1 Circles of Care: Planning, Designing, and Assessing Mental

Health Service System Models for Native American Indian and Alaska

Native Children and Their Families

Application Deadline: April 3, 1998

Purpose: Six to eight grants will be awarded to plan,

design, and assess the feasibility of implementing a culturally

appropriate mental health service model for American Indian/Alaska

Native children with serious emotional disturbances and their families.

The purpose of this program is to support the development of mental

health service delivery models that are designed by American Indian/

Alaska Native communities to achieve outcomes for their children that

they choose for themselves. Formulation and evaluation of programs

based directly on the needs, values, and principles of the grantee

organizations will provide an information base for other programs

interested in structuring culturally relevant children's mental health

service systems.

Grantees will engage in a strategic planning process, design a

service model, and conduct a feasibility assessment of the model,

including a cost and funding analysis. Actual services will not be

funded but the intent of the program is to position tribal and urban

Indian organizations advantageously for future service system

implementation and development when opportunities for funding services

are available.

Priorities: None

Eligible Applicants: Applications may be submitted by

federally acknowledged tribes and tribal organizations. Urban Indian

organizations are eligible to apply if they are a nonprofit corporate

body situated in an urban center, governed by a board of directors of

whom at least 51% are American Indian/Alaska Natives, and provide for

the participation of all interested Indian groups and individuals. The

applicant must be capable of legally cooperating with other public and

private entities for the purposes of performing the activities of this

program.

The primary intent of the ``Circles of Care'' program is to support

the development of mental health service delivery models that are

designed by American Indian/Alaska Native communities to achieve

outcomes for their children that they chose for themselves. Models

designed for American Indian/Alaska Native communities by people other

than American Indian/Alaska Natives are already available. This program

will enable community members to develop models to juxtapose with those

not designed by Indians to find which are best for meeting their

service needs. To be effective and have the cooperation and confidence

of the community, the applicant must be representative of the

community, in addition to demonstrating the ability to fulfill the

technical requirements of the GFA.

Grants/Amounts: It is estimated that approximately $2.4

million will be available to support approximately 6-8 awards in FY

1998. Actual funding levels for subsequent years will depend on

availability of appropriated funds.

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number: 93.230

Program Contact: For programmatic or technical assistance

contact: Gary De Carolis, M.ED., Center for Mental Health Services,

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Parklawn

Building, Room 18-49, 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, Maryland 20857,

(301) 443-1333.

Grants Management Contact: For business management

assistance, contact: Stephen J. Hudak, Grants Management Specialist,

Division of Grants Management, OPS, Substance Abuse and Mental Health

Services Administration, Parklawn Building, Room 15C-05, 5600 Fishers

Lane, Rockville, Maryland 20857, (301) 443-4456.

Application Kits: Application kits are available from:

National Mental Health Services, Knowledge Exchange Network (KEN), P.O.

Box 42490, Washington, D.C. 20015, Voice: (800) 789-2647, TTY: (301)

443-9006.

CMHS intends to sponsor two technical assistance workshops

for potential applicants to provide guidance on completing the grant

application. One workshop will be held in the eastern part of the

country; the other will be held in the western part of the country.

Letters from CMHS will be mailed to all 550 federally recognized tribes

and urban Indian organizations to inform them of the meeting(s). For

more information, potential applicants may contact: Kathy McGregor,

Project Coordinator, National Indian Child Welfare Association, 3611 SW

Hood Street, Suite 201, Portland, OR 97201, (503-222-4044).

4.2 Cooperative Agreements

A major activity for a SAMHSA cooperative agreement program is

discussed below. Substantive Federal programmatic involvement is

required in cooperative agreement programs. Federal involvement will

include planning, guidance, coordination, and participating in

programmatic activities (e.g., participation in publication of findings

and on steering committees). Periodic meetings, conferences and/or

communications with the award recipients may be held to review mutually

agreed-upon goals and objectives and to assess progress. Additional

details on the degree of Federal programmatic involvement will be

included in the application guidance materials.

4.2.1 Cooperative Agreements to Evaluate Consumer-Operated Human

Service Programs for Persons With Serious Mental Illness (Consumer-

Operated Service Program)

Application Deadline: April 9, 1998.

Purpose: This Guidance for Applicants (GFA) solicits

applications for two types of cooperative agreements--Study Sites and a

Coordinating Center. The purpose of this Program is to assess the

extent to which consumer-operated services are effective in improving

rehabilitation and recovery of individuals with serious mental illness.

It also seeks to determine to what extent participation in such

services affect costs.

Specific questions to be addressed are:

1. To what extent does participation in a consumer-operated service

program affect selected consumer outcomes for consumers who use

traditional service programs?

The selected outcomes are empowerment, housing, employment

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(such as transition from unemployment to employment), social inclusion,

and satisfaction with services. This core question is to be addressed

in both the individual Study Site evaluation and the multi-site

evaluation to be coordinated by the Coordinating Center.

2. To what extent does participation in a consumer-operated service

program affect costs for the following: inpatient hospitalization,

crisis intervention, and emergency room utilization as well as

offsetting costs in housing, criminal justice, vocational

rehabilitation, physical health care, and income support?

Examination of patterns of service use of retrospective or

prospective ``claims'' data on service utilization will be coordinated

by the Coordinating Center.

While individual Study Sites will provide the necessary information

for the cost-study, the Coordinating Center will be responsible for

developing a design and method for collecting and analyzing all

information for the cost-study.

A goal of the Program is to create strong and productive

partnerships among consumers, service providers and services

researchers that demonstrate to the field that these groups are capable

of complementing each other's strengths and that their joint efforts

will yield the most effective service delivery models possible.

Another goal is to disseminate the knowledge gained about the

effectiveness of these projects and the specific components that

contributed to their success.

Priorities: None.

Eligible Applicants: Applications to be a Study Site or a

Coordinating Center may be submitted by public organizations, such as

units of State or local governments and by domestic private nonprofit

and for-profit organizations such as community-based organizations,

universities, colleges, and hospitals, and family and/or consumer

operated organizations. Since CMHS seeks to study established consumer-

operated and traditional programs, both program entities must have been

operational for a minimum of 2 years at the time of the submission of

the study site application. Applicants may apply to be a Study Site or

a Coordinating Center, but not both.

Cooperative Agreements/Amounts: It is estimated that

approximately $5 million will be available to support approximately

eight (8) Study Site awards and one (1) Coordinating Center under this

GFA in FY 1998. The average award to support each Study Site is

expected to range from $400,000 to $600,000 in total costs

(direct+indirect) per year. The award to support the Coordinating

Center is expected to be in the range of $700,000 to $900,000 in total

costs (direct+indirect) per year. Actual funding levels will depend

upon the availability of appropriated funds.

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number: 93.230.

Program Contact: For programmatic or technical assistance

contact: William R. McKinnon, Ph.D., Community Support Programs Branch,

Division of Knowledge Development and Systems Change, Center for Mental

Health Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services

Administration, 5600 Fishers Lane, Room 11C-22, Rockville, MD 20857,

(301) 443-3655, or Paolo del Vecchio, Office of External Liaison,

Center for Mental Health Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health

Services Administration, 5600 Fishers Lane, Room 13C-103, Rockville, MD

20857, (301) 443-2619.

Grants Management Contact: For business management

assistance, contact: Stephen J. Hudak, Grants Management Specialist,

Division of Grants Management, OPS, Substance Abuse and Mental Health

Services Administration, 5600 Fishers Lane, Room 15C-05, Rockville,

Maryland 20857, (301) 443-4456.

Application Kits: Application kits are available from:

National Mental Health Services, Knowledge Exchange Network (KEN), P.O.

Box 42490, Washington, DC 20015, Voice: (800) 789-2647, TTY: (301) 443-

9006, FAX: (301) 984-8796.

5. Public Health System Reporting Requirements

The Public Health System Impact Statement (PHSIS) is intended to

keep State and local health officials apprised of proposed health

services grant and cooperative agreement applications submitted by

community-based nongovernmental organizations within their

jurisdictions.

Community-based nongovernmental service providers who are not

transmitting their applications through the State must submit a PHSIS

to the head(s) of the appropriate State and local health agencies in

the area(s) to be affected not later than the pertinent receipt date

for applications. This PHSIS consists of the following information:

a. A copy of the face page of the application (Standard form 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.

State and local governments and Indian Tribal Authority applicants

are not subject to the Public Health System Reporting Requirements.

Application guidance materials will specify if a particular FY 1998

activity described above is/is not subject to the Public Health System

Reporting Requirements.

6. PHS Non-use of Tobacco Policy Statement

The PHS strongly encourages all grant and contract recipients to

provide a smoke-free workplace and promote the non-use of all tobacco

products. In addition, Public Law 103-227, the Pro-Children Act of

1994, prohibits smoking in certain facilities (or in some cases, any

portion of a facility) in which regular or routine education, library,

day care, health care, or early childhood development services are

provided to children. This is consistent with the PHS mission to

protect and advance the physical and mental health of the American

people.

7. Executive Order 12372

Applications submitted in response to all FY 1998 activities listed

above 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's review 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 guidance materials. The SPOC should send

any State review process recommendations directly to: Office of

Extramural Activities Review, Substance Abuse and Mental Health

Services Administration, Parklawn Building, Room 17-89, 5600 Fishers

Lane, Rockville, Maryland 20857.

The due date for State review process recommendations is no later

than 60 days after the specified deadline date for the receipt of

applications. SAMHSA does not guarantee to accommodate or explain SPOC

comments that are received after the 60-day cut-off.

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Dated: January 11, 1998.

Richard Kopanda,

Executive Officer, SAMHSA.

[FR Doc. 98-1217 Filed 1-16-98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4162-20-P