Center for Mental Health Services; Center for Substance Abuse Treatment; Fiscal Year 1999 Funding Opportunity

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration

Center for Mental Health Services; Center for Substance Abuse

Treatment; Fiscal Year 1999 Funding Opportunity

AGENCIES: Department of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse and

Mental Health Services Administration, Center for Mental Health

Services (CMHS), Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT).

ACTION: Notice of Availability of Funds for Cooperative Agreements for

CMHS/CSAT Collaborative Program on Homeless Families: Women with

Psychiatric, Substance Use, or Co-occurring Disorders and Their

Dependent Children.

SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Substance

Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) Center for

Mental Health Services (CMHS) and Center for Substance Abuse Treatment

(CSAT), announce the availability of FY 1999 funds for cooperative

agreements for the following activity. This activity is discussed in

more detail under section 4 of this notice. This notice is not a

complete description of the activity; potential applicants must obtain

a copy of the Guidance for Applicants (GFA) before preparing an

application. Note: SAMHSA also published notices of available funding

opportunities for FY 1999 in previous issues of the Federal Register.

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

Estimated

Activity Application Estimated funds available number of Project period

deadline awards

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

Homeless Families Program (Study 08/11/99 $3.8 Million.............. 16 Up to 2 yrs.

Sites).

Homeless Families Program 08/11/99 $1 Million................ 1 Up to 5 yrs.

(Coordinating Center).

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

The actual amount available for awards and their allocation may

vary, depending on unanticipated program requirements and the number

and quality of applications received. FY 1999 funds for the activity

discussed in this announcement were appropriated by the Congress under

Pub. L. 105-277. 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 the 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 the activity

(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: 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 deadline for receipt of applications is

listed in the table above.

Competing applications must be received by the indicated receipt

date to be accepted for review. An application received after the

deadline may only be accepted 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 the 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 the activity covered by this notice (see Section 4).

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

[[Page 30351]]

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 1999 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 1999 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 activity 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;

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 review process.

Other funding criteria may include:

Availability of funds.

4. Special FY 1999 SAMHSA Activity

4.1. Cooperative Agreements for CMHS/CSAT Collaborative Program on

Homeless Families: Women with Psychiatric, Substance Use, or Co-

Occurring Disorders and Their Dependent Children (Short Title: Homeless

Families Program, GFA No. SM 99-011)

Application Deadline: August 11, 1999.

Purpose: The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services

Administration's (SAMHSA) Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS) and

Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT) announce the availability

of cooperative agreements for projects that will document time-limited,

multi-faceted intervention models (where the intensive intervention is

generally provided within a 9-month period) targeted to homeless

mothers with psychiatric, substance use, or co-occurring disorders who

are caring for their dependent children. This program is designed to

document and evaluate interventions that will result in movement out of

homelessness, stability in housing placement, family preservation or

reunification, decreased alcohol and drug use, and improvement in

mental health and social functioning.

The Homeless Families Program will be divided into two phases:

Phase 1 (2 years): program documentation, individual- and

cross-site evaluation design, and OMB clearance.

Phase 2 (3 years): individual and cross-site evaluations.

This Guidance for Applicants (GFA) solicits applications for two

types of cooperative agreements: Project (study site) Grants and a

Coordinating Center.

Priorities: None.

Eligible Applicants:

Study Sites. Applications may be submitted by public organizations,

such as units of State, county or local government, and by private non-

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

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

consumer operated organizations.

In order to assure the evaluation of a stable and ongoing

intervention, documentation must be included in the application that

the applicant has provided homeless family services, targeted to women

with psychiatric and/or substance use disorders who are caring for

their children, for a minimum of 2 years prior to the date of

application.

Eligibility to apply for Phase 2 awards will be limited to Phase 1

grantees. Eligibility is limited to assure selection of the most

promising homelessness families interventions and continuation of

established collaborations between the Centers and projects.

Continuation of the grants from Phase 1 to Phase 2 will be competitive,

and not all Phase 1 grantees will necessarily move to Phase 2.

Coordinating Center. Applications may be submitted by organizations

such as units of State or local governments and by domestic private

non-profit and for-profit organizations such as

[[Page 30352]]

community-based organizations, universities, colleges, and hospitals.

Grants/Amounts:

Study Sites. It is estimated that approximately $3.8 million will

be available to support approximately 16 awards under this GFA in FY

1999. The average award is expected to range from $200,000 to $250,00

in total costs (direct+indirect). Actual funding levels will depend

upon the availability of appropriated funds.

Coordinating Center. It is estimated that approximately $1 million

will be available to support one award under this GFA in FY 1999.

Actual funding level will depend upon the scope of application and the

availability of appropriated funds.

Period of Support:

Study Site: Support for Phase 1 should be requested for a period of

up to 2 years. Annual awards will be made subject to continued

availability of funds and progress achieved.

Coordinating Center: Support should be requested for a period of up

to 5 years. Annual awards will be made subject to continued

availability of funds and progress achieved.

Catalog of Domestic Federal Assistance: 93.230

For Programmatic or Technical Assistance (Not for

application kits), contact:

Lawrence D. Rickards, Ph.D. or Frances Randolph, Dr.P.H., Homeless

Programs Branch, Center for Mental Health Services, SAMHSA, 5600

Fishers Lane, Room 11C-05, Rockville, MD 20857, (301) 443-3706.

Cheryl Gallagher, M.A. or Tom Edwards, Organization of Services Branch,

Center for Substance Abuse Treatment, SAMHSA, Rockwall II, 7th Floor,

5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, MD 20857, (301) 443-6534.

For Grants 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.

For Application Kits, contact: Homeless Programs Branch,

Center for Mental Health Services, 5600 Fishers Lane, Room 11C-05,

Rockville, MD 20857, (301) 443-3706.

All the required components of the application kit, including the

PHS 5161-1 and the Standard Form 424, are also available for electronic

downloading through the ``Funding Opportunities'' option on SAMHSA's

World Wide Web Home Page at http://www.samhsa.gov>.

5. Public Health System Reporting Requirements

This program 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 the FY 1999 activity 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, Policy and 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.

Dated: May 31, 1999.

Richard Kopanda,

Executive Officer, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services

Administration.

[FR Doc. 99-14228 Filed 6-4-99; 8:45 am]

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