[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 247 (Thursday, December 24, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Page 71290]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-34064]
[[Page 71290]]
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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Office of the Secretary
Office of Public Health and Science; Availability of Crisis
Response Teams for Technical Assistance
AGENCY: Office of Public Health and Science, in the Office of the
Secretary (OPHS/OS), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
ACTION: Notice.
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AUTHORITY: 42 U.S.C. 241, 243.
SUMMARY: The Office of Public Health and Science announces the
availability of technical assistance teams, known as crisis response
teams, to provide multidisciplinary technical assistance to localities
most highly impacted by HIV/AIDS within racial and ethnic minority
communities. The HIV/AIDS epidemic disproportionately affects racial
and ethnic minority populations nationally, with major metropolitan
areas and urban centers most heavily impacted by high AIDS case rates
and large numbers of people living with HIV disease. The crisis
response team would work in partnership with local community officials,
public health personnel and community leaders to further describe the
local HIV/AIDS epidemic and its impact upon vulnerable populations,
assist them in identifying potential strategies to enhance prevention
efforts, and maximize community health and support service networks and
access to care. Findings of the crisis response team will be provided
to local elected and health department officials, and to the HIV
community planning groups and planning councils for their consideration
and action. The crisis response teams must be requested by the chief
elected official of an eligible jurisdiction, in collaboration with the
director of the local health department and State/local HIV community
planning groups and HIV planning councils.
DATES: Letters of request from localities requesting to apply for a
crisis response team must be received on or before January 25, 1999.
ADDRESSES: Letters of request should be submitted to: Director, Office
of HIV/AIDS Policy, Office of Public Health and Science, Room 736-E,
200 Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20201.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Office of HIV/AIDS Policy, Office of Public Health and Science,
telephone (202) 690-5560.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Eligibility criteria for localities wishing
to apply for a crisis response team are: (1) Eligible metropolitan
statistical areas with populations of 500,000 or greater; (2) 1,500 or
greater living AIDS cases among African Americans and Hispanic
Americans; (3) at least 50 percent of living AIDS cases within the MSA
are African American and Hispanic Americans combined; and (4) the chief
elected official of the MSA, in collaboration with appropriate health
officials, must submit a written request to the Secretary requesting a
crisis response team. In the case that multiple jurisdictions are
represented within an eligible MSA, the chief elected official of the
city or urban county that administers the public health agency that
provides outpatient and ambulatory services to the greatest number of
individuals with AIDS, as reported to and confirmed by the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention, in the eligible area is the individual
responsible for making a written request to the Secretary. This letter
of request must indicate the support of the Director of the
jurisdiction's local health department for the crisis response team, a
description of the key issues, and a confirmation of the commitment of
local officials to working with the communities most impacted by HIV/
AIDS over a sustained period. Smaller communities with under 500,000
population in which the demographics of the HIV epidemic are rapidly
changing may submit a letter of request following the process outlined
above; these requests will be considered separately. The Virgin Islands
will be separately considered for a crisis response team given the
unique nature of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in this geographic area.
Metropolitan statistical areas qualifying under criteria one through
three include: Atlanta, GA; Baltimore, MD; Chicago, IL; Detroit, MI;
Fort Lauderdale, FL; Houston, TX; Jersey City, NJ; Los Angeles-Long
Beach, CA; Miami, FL; New Haven-Bridgeport-Danbury-Waterbury, CT; New
York, NY; Newark, NJ; Philadelphia, PA; San Juan-Bayamon, PR;
Washington, DC-MD-VA-WV; and West Palm Beach-Boca Raton, FL. The
Department will initially deploy crisis response teams to three
jurisdictions and evaluate their effectiveness, and respond to further
requests for this technical assistance within its capacity to assemble
the appropriate expert teams.
Dated: December 16, 1998.
Glen E. Harelson,
Acting Director, Office of HIV/AIDS Policy.
[FR Doc. 98-34064 Filed 12-23-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4160-17-M
