[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 245 (Thursday, December 22, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-31454]
[[Page Unknown]]
[Federal Register: December 22, 1994]
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Part VIII
Department of Health and Human Services
_______________________________________________________________________
Public Health Service
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Announcement of Availability of Grants for Adolescent Family Life
Demonstration Projects; Notice
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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Public Health Service
[0905-ZA84]
Announcement of Availability of Grants for Adolescent Family Life
Demonstration Projects
AGENCY: Office of Adolescent Pregnancy Programs, Office of Population
Affairs, PHS, HHS.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The Office of Adolescent Pregnancy Programs (OAPP) requests
applications for grants under the Adolescent Family Life (AFL)
Demonstration Projects Program. These grants are for community-based
and community-supported demonstration projects to: (1) Find effective
means of preventing pregnancy by encouraging adolescents to abstain
from sexual activity through provision of age-appropriate education on
sexuality and decision-making skills, and (2) establish comprehensive
and integrated approaches to the delivery of services to pregnant
adolescents, adolescent parents and their children. Funds are available
for approximately 10-15 projects, which may be located in any State,
the District of Columbia, the territories of Puerto Rico, the U.S.
Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, Commonwealth of the Northern
Mariana Islands, Republic of Palau, Republic of the Marshall Islands
and the Federated States of Micronesia.
DATES: To receive consideration grant applications must be received by
the Grants Management Officer by March 22, 1995. Applications will be
considered as meeting the deadline if they are either (1) received on
or before the deadline date, or (2) postmarked on or before the
deadline date and received in time for submission to the review
committee. A legibly dated receipt from a commercial carrier or U.S.
Postal Service will be accepted in lieu of a postmark. Private metered
postmarks will not be accepted as proof of timely mailing. Applications
which do not meet the deadline will be considered late applications and
will be returned to the applicant.
ADDRESSES: Requests for application kits may be faxed to (301) 594-
5980. Application kits may also be obtained from and applications
delivered by the U.S. Postal Service must be submitted to: Grants
Management Office, OPA, East-West Towers, Suite 200, West Building,
5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, MD 20857. Applicants hand-delivering a
proposal or using a commercial carrier such as Federal Express should
use the following address: Grants Management Office, OPA, East-West
Towers, Suite 200, West Building, 4350 East-West Highway, Bethesda, MD
20814.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Grants Management Office at (301) 594-
4012 or Program Office at (301) 594-4004. Staff are available to answer
questions and provide limited technical assistance in the preparation
of grant applications.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Title XX of the Public Health Service Act,
42 U.S.C. 300z, et seq., authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human
Services to award grants for demonstration projects to provide services
to pregnant and nonpregnant adolescents, adolescent parents and their
families. (Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number 93.995) Title
XX authorizes grants for three types of demonstration projects: (1)
Projects which provide ``care services'' only (i.e., services for the
provision of care to pregnant adolescents, adolescent parents and their
families); (2) projects which provide ``prevention services'' only
(i.e., services to prevent adolescent sexual relations); and (3)
projects which provide a combination of care and prevention services.
The Office of Adolescent Pregnancy Programs (OAPP) intends to make
available approximately $4.5 million to support an estimated 10-15 new
demonstration projects. An applicant may submit a proposal for a local
care, prevention or combination care/prevention project or for a
national multi-site prevention project with at least two sites in
different States. The awards for care projects will range from $200,000
to $400,000. The awards for local prevention projects will range from
$150,000 to $250,000. Funding for national multi-site prevention
projects and for combination care/prevention projects may be higher, in
proportion to the effort proposed. These grants will be awarded for a
period of one year, and the availability of funding for later years is
uncertain. Therefore, we encourage applications from experienced
organizations which are currently operating programs and which have the
capability of expanding and enhancing these services to serve
significant numbers of adolescents according to the guidelines
specified in this announcement. Additional funds may be available in
Fiscal Year 1996 and following years. If funds do become available,
grantees funded under this program announcement will be eligible to
reapply for continued funding.
Grants are funded in annual increments (budget periods). Funding
for all approved budget periods beyond the first year of a grant is
contingent upon the availability of funds, satisfactory progress of the
project, and adequate stewardship of Federal funds. A grant award may
not exceed 70 percent of the total cost of the project for the first
year. The non-Federal share of the project costs may be provided in
cash expenditures or fairly evaluated in-kind contributions, including
plant, equipment and services.
The specific services which may be funded under Title XX are listed
below under Care Programs and Prevention Programs. Applicants who
propose to provide a Combination of Care and Prevention Services
Program must meet the requirements for each type of program.
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. This
announcement is related to the priority area of Family Planning. A
midcourse review of the objectives is presently ongoing, and the
proposed revisions are contained in a draft. A notice of Availability
and Request for Comment on the Healthy People 2000 Midcourse Revisions
was published in the Federal Register on October 3, 1994 (59 FR 50253).
Requests for copies of the Draft for Public Review and Comment: Healthy
People 2000 Midcourse Revisions can be faxed to (301) 594-5980 or
mailed to: OAPP/OPA, East-West Towers, Suite 200, West Building, 5600
Fishers Lane, Rockville, MD 20857. A new PHS report, Healthy People
2000 Midcourse Review and Revisions, featuring the final revisions and
a status report on progress in achieving targets for the year 2000,
will be published in 1995.
The following application requirements contain information
collections subject to OMB approval under the Paperwork Reduction Act
of 1980 (P.L. 96-511). These information collections have been approved
by OMB under control number 0937-0189.
Eligible Applicants
Any public or private nonprofit organization or agency is eligible
to apply for a grant. Grants are awarded only to those organizations or
agencies which are determined to demonstrate the capability of
providing the proposed services and meet the statutory requirements.
Care Programs
Under this announcement, funds are available for local care
demonstrations only and not for multi-site national projects. The
project site must be identified in the application rather than selected
after the grant is awarded.
Under the statute the purpose of care programs is to establish
innovative, comprehensive, and integrated approaches to the delivery of
care services for pregnant adolescents and adolescent parents under 19
years of age at program entry, with primary emphasis on unmarried
adolescents who are 17 years old or younger and for their families.
This includes young fathers and their families.
The OAPP encourages the submission of care applications which
propose to do the following: (1) Add care services to supplement
existing adolescent health services in school, hospital or other
community settings, (2) provide care services to minority or other
disadvantaged populations, (3) continue services to clients after the
delivery of the baby to enable them to acquire good parenting skills
and to ensure that their children are developing normally physically,
intellectually and emotionally, (4) stress self-sufficiency skills,
such as school completion (in mainstream or alternative schools and GED
programs) and/or job training preparation and placement, and (5)
involve males and promote male responsibility. Applicants should base
their approaches upon an assessment of existing programs and, where
appropriate, upon efforts to establish better coordination, integration
and linkages among such existing programs.
Applicants for care projects are required to provide, either
directly or by referral, the following 10 core services:
(1) Pregnancy testing and maternity counseling;
(2) Adoption counseling and referral services which present
adoption as an option for pregnant adolescents, including referral to
licensed adoption agencies in the community if the eligible grant
recipient is not a licensed adoption agency;
(3) Primary and preventive health services, including prenatal and
postnatal care;
(4) Nutrition information and counseling;
(5) Referral for screening and treatment of venereal disease;
(6) Referral to appropriate pediatric care;
(7) Educational services relating to family life and problems
associated with adolescent premarital sexual relations including:
(a) Information about adoption,
(b) Education on the responsibilities of sexuality and parenting,
(c) The development of material to support the role of parents as
the providers of sex education, and
(d) Assistance to parents, schools, youth agencies and health
providers to educate adolescents and preadolescents concerning self-
discipline and responsibility in human sexuality;
(8) Appropriate educational and vocational services;
(9) Mental health services and referral to mental health services
and to other appropriate physical health services;
(10) Counseling and referral for family planning services.
Note: Funds provided under Title XX may not be used for the
provision of family planning services other than counseling and
referral services unless appropriate family planning services are
not otherwise available in the community. In accordance with sec.
2006(a)(17) of Title XX (42 U.S.C. 300z-5(a)(17)), applicants must
make maximum use of services available under the Title X Family
Planning Program in providing this required core service.
In addition to the 10 required core services listed above,
applicants for care projects may provide any of the following
supplemental services:
(1) Referral to licensed residential care or maternity home
services;
(2) Child care sufficient to enable the adolescent parent to
continue education or to enter into employment;
(3) Consumer education and homemaking;
(4) Counseling for the immediate and extended family members of the
eligible person;
(5) Transportation; and
(6) Outreach services to families of adolescents to discourage
sexual relations among unemancipated minors.
Prevention Programs
Under this announcement, funds are available for both local and
national projects. A national project must have at least two sites in
different States.
The primary purpose of prevention programs is to find effective
means of reaching adolescents, both male and female, before they become
sexually active in order to encourage them to abstain from sexual
activity. There is general agreement that early initiation of sexual
activity brings not only the risk of unintended pregnancy but also
substantial health risks to adolescents, primarily infection with
sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), including HIV. Accordingly,
applicants must provide services that help pre-adolescents and young
adolescents acquire knowledge and skills that will instill healthy
attitudes and encourage and support the postponement of early sexual
activity. Such services must also include the provision of medically
accurate information relating to reducing the risk of unintended
pregnancy and disease for adolescents who may be or become sexually
active.
Under this announcement, OAPP will not fund proposals to develop
new prevention curricula. Applicants must propose to use existing and
available educational materials/curricula which are consistent with
this program announcement.
The OAPP encourages the submission of prevention applications which
propose to do the following: (1) Add prevention services to supplement
existing adolescent health education programs or health service
programs in school or other community settings, (2) provide prevention
services to minority or other disadvantaged populations, (3) use
curricula which have been demonstrated and evaluated to be effective,
(4) include medically accurate information on sexuality, contraception,
sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and HIV/AIDS, (5) offer
educational services to parents to assist them in communicating with
their children about sexuality, contraception, STDs and HIV/AIDS, and
(6) involve males and promote male responsibility.
Applicants for prevention programs are not required to provide any
specific array of services; a proposal may include any one or more of
the following services as appropriate:
(1) Educational services relating to family life and problems
associated with adolescent premarital sexual relations including:
(a) Information about adoption,
(b) Education on the responsibilities of sexuality and parenting,
(c) The development of material to support the role of parents as
the providers of sex education, and
(d) Assistance to parents, schools, youth agencies and health
providers to educate adolescents and preadolescents concerning self-
discipline and responsibility in human sexuality;
(2) Appropriate educational and vocational services;
(3) Counseling for the immediate and extended family members of the
eligible person;
(4) Transportation;
(5) Outreach services to families of adolescents to discourage
sexual relations among unemancipated minors;
(6) Pregnancy testing and maternity counseling;
(7) Nutrition information and counseling; and
(8) Referral for screening and treatment of venereal disease.
Combination Care and Prevention Services Programs
Applicants proposing to provide both care and prevention services
must meet the requirements for both categories as described above. They
must also propose to make a substantial effort in each of the two areas
and indicate clearly in the application and budget the proportion of
effort to be expanded in each component.
Evaluation
Section 2006(b)(1) of Title XX requires each grantee to expend at
least one percent but not more than five percent of the Federal funds
received under Title XX on evaluation of the project. As this is a
demonstration program, all applications are required to have an
evaluation component of high quality consistent with the scope of the
proposed project and the funding level. All project evaluations should
monitor program processes to determine whether the program has been
carried out as planned and measure the program's outcomes. Waivers of
the five percent limit on evaluation (see sec. 2006(b)(1)) may be
granted in cases where a more rigorous or comprehensive evaluation
effort is proposed.
Section 2006(b)(2) requires that an organization or an entity
independent of the grantee providing services assist the grantee in
evaluating the project. The OAPP strongly recommends extensive
collaboration between the applicant organization and the proposed
evaluator in the development of the intervention, development of the
evaluation hypothesis(es), identification of the variables to be
measured and a timetable for initiation of the intervention, baseline
measurement, and ongoing evaluation data collection and analysis.
Application Requirements
Applications must be submitted on the forms supplied (PHS 5161-1,
Revised 7/92) and in the manner prescribed in the application kits
provided by the OAPP. 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. Applications sent by
FAX will not be accepted.
Applicants must be familiar with the entire statute, which is
included in the application kit, to ensure that they have complied with
all applicable requirements.
It should be noted that grantees may not teach or promote religion
in their AFL project. Each grant project must be accessible to the
public generally, not just to those of a particular religious
affiliation.
Under section 2011(a) of the Act, AFL projects may not provide
abortions or abortion counseling or referral either directly or through
subcontract and may not advocate, promote or encourage abortion.
However, if both the adolescent and her parents request abortion
counseling, a project may provide referral for such counseling.
Additional Requirements
Applicants for grants must also meet the following requirements:
(1) Requirements for Review of an Application by the Governor.
Section 2006(e) of Title XX requires that each applicant shall provide
the Governor of the State in which the applicant is located a copy of
each application submitted to OAPP for a grant for a demonstration
project for services under this Title. The Governor has 60 days from
the receipt date in which to provide comments to the applicant.
An applicant may comply with this requirement by submitting a copy
of the application to the Governor of the State in which the applicant
is located at the same time the application is submitted to OAPP. To
inform the Governor's office of the reason for the submission, a copy
of this notice should be attached to the application.
(2) Review Under Executive Order 12372. Applications under this
announcement are subject to the review requirements of E.O. 12372 State
Review of Applications for Federal Financial Assistance, as implemented
by 45 CFR part 100 (Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs). E.O.
12372 sets up a system for state and local government review of
proposed Federal assistance applications. As soon as possible the
applicant (other than federally-recognized Indian tribal governments)
should contact the Governor's Office in each state in the area to be
served for information regarding the particular review process designed
by the state. For proposed projects serving more than one State, the
applicant is advised to contact the Governor's Office of each affected
State. The State comment(s) should be forwarded to the Grants
Management Office, Office of Population Affairs, East-West Towers,
Suite 200, West Building, 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, MD 20857. Such
comments must be received by the Office of Population Affairs by May
22, 1995 to be considered.
The application kit contains information to guide applicants in
fulfilling the above requirements.
Application Consideration and Assessment
Applications which are judged to be late or which do not conform to
the requirements of this program announcement will not be accepted for
review. Applicants will be so notified, and the applications will be
returned. All other applications will be reviewed by a
multidisciplinary panel of independent reviewers and assessed according
to the following criteria:
(1) The capacity of the proposed applicant organization to provide
rapid and effective use of resources needed to conduct the project,
collect data and evaluate it. This includes personnel, time and
facilities. (30 points)
(2) The applicant's rationale for use of the proposed approach and
its worth for testing and/or replication based upon its previous
demonstration, review of the literature and/or evaluation findings. (20
points)
(3) The applicant's presentation of an appropriate project design,
consistent with the requirements of Title XX, including a clear
statement of goals and objectives, reasonable methods for achieving the
objectives, a reasonable workplan and timetable and a clear statement
of results or benefits expected. (30 points)
(4) The applicant's presentation of a detailed evaluation plan,
indicating an understanding of program evaluation methods and
reflecting a practical, technically sound approach to assessing the
project's achievement of program objectives. (20 points)
Final grant award decisions will be made by the Deputy Assistant
Secretary for Populations Affairs. In making these decisions, the
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Population Affairs will take into
account the extent to which grants approved for funding will provide an
appropriate geographic distribution of resources, the priorities in
sec. 2005(a), and the other factors in sec. 2005, including
consideration of:
(1) The applicant's capacity to administer funds responsibly;
(2) The incidence of adolescent pregnancy and the availability of
services in the geographic area to be served;
(3) The population to be served;
(4) The community commitment to and involvement in planning and
implementation of the demonstration project;
(5) The organizational model(s) for delivery of service;
(6) The usefulness for policymakers and service providers of the
proposed project and its potential for complementing existing
adolescent health models;
(7) The reasonableness of the estimated cost to the government
considering the anticipated results.
OAPP does not release information about individual applications
during the review process until final funding decisions have been made.
When these decisions have been made, applicants will be notified by
letter of the outcome of their applications. The official document
notifying an applicant that an application has been approved for
funding is the Notice of Grant Award, which specifies to the grantees
the amount of money awarded, the purpose of the grant, the terms and
conditions of the grant award, and the amount of funding to be
contributed by the grantee to project costs.
Dated: November 1, 1994.
Felicia H. Stewart,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Population Affairs.
[FR Doc. 94-31454 Filed 12-21-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4160-17-M
