99-3043. Office of Public Health and Science; Announcement of Availability of Funds for Family Planning Research Grant

[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 26 (Tuesday, February 9, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6492-6493]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-3043]



[[Page 6491]]

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Part V





Department of Health and Human Services





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Office of Public Health and Science; Announcement of Availability of 
Funds for Family Planning Research Grant; Notice

Federal Register / Vol. 64, No. 26 / Tuesday, February 9, 1999 / 
Notices

[[Page 6492]]



DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES


Office of Public Health and Science; Announcement of Availability 
of Funds for Family Planning Research Grant

AGENCY: Office of Population Affairs, OPHS, HHS.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Office of Population Affairs requests applications for a 
grant under the family planning and population research program, 
authorized under section 1004(2) of title X of the Public Health 
Service (PHS) Act. This notice announces the availability of 
approximately $300,000 to $350,000 in funding for one (1) year of a 
proposed five-year research project; it is anticipated that $300,000 to 
$350,000 will be available annually for funding the remaining years of 
the project.

DATES: Applications must be submitted on or before April 12, 1999, as 
evidenced by a legibly dated receipt from a commercial carrier or U.S. 
Postal Service postmark and received in time for orderly processing.

ADDRESSES: Application kits may be obtained from and applications must 
be submitted to the Office of Population Affairs, Grants Management 
Office at the following address: 4350 East-West Highway, Suite 200, 
Bethesda, MD 20814.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

    Technical Information: Grants Management Office, [phone].
    Program Information: Eugenia Eckard, [phone].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Title X of the Public Health Service Act, 42 
U.S.C. 300 et seq., authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human 
Services to award grants for projects for research in biomedical, 
contraceptive development, behaviorial, and program implementation 
fields related to family planning and population. (Catalog of Federal 
Domestic Assistance Number 13.974.) Many persons have observed that 
gaps exist in the array of data and analyses needed by administrators, 
planners and researchers in the field of family planning. The need for 
such data is likely to increase. The purpose of this proposed grant is 
to increase the availability of data and research-based information 
which will be useful to family planning administrators and providers, 
researchers and officials of local, State and Federal governments to 
improve the delivery of family planning services to persons needed and 
desiring such services.

    One grant with a project period of five years will be made to a 
public or private nonprofit organization to conduct data analyses and 
related research on issues of interest to the family planning field. 
This should include developing estimates and assessments on such topics 
as progress in attaining national Healthy People objectives for family 
planning (see below), the need for family planning services, the 
population currently being served, characteristics of served and 
underserved populations, and scope of services provided in family 
planning programs. In order to be competitive, an application should 
(1) describe a set of information needs in the field of family planning 
in the United States deemed by the applicant to represent the most 
pressing data gaps for the efficient and effective provision of family 
planning services, (2) propose a methodology and process for tabulating 
program data reported by Title X grantees for each year of this project 
and providing a descriptive analytical annual report of these program 
data, and (3) propose a coherent five-year program of research, data 
analysis estimation and/or assessment designed to fill these needs in a 
practical and creative manner. The application should outline the 
frequency of any particular proposed analyses (i.e., continuously, 
annually, biennially, or once during the five-year project period of 
this grant), describe the methodologies to be used, and propose a plan 
to make accessible the products of this project to the Office of 
Population Affairs as well as to the audience intended, (i.e., 
administrators, providers and researchers), including via the Internet, 
for the five-year period of the project. The application should reflect 
a good understanding of the systems by which family planning services 
are provided, a familiarity with research, data collection systems and 
analyses in the area of family planning and population studies 
supported by other sources, a discussion of the relationship of the 
studies proposed for support under this grant to studies, research and 
analyses supported by other sources, explanation of the relevance and 
importance of the analytic and research activities proposed for support 
under this grant, and a justification of the expected utility of the 
analytic products expected from this effort. Applicants should propose 
a schedule for work for the projected five-year life of this project. 
It is recognized that other research, changing conditions, or new 
priorities may cause some activities proposed, particularly for the 
later years of this project, to be superseded in importance, and 
modifications in actual work plans may need to be negotiated between 
the successful applicant and the Office of Population Affairs, if this 
situation does in fact develop. Future years of funding are also 
contingent on a determination by HHS that continued funding is in the 
best interest of the government.
    Although the purpose of this announcement is to encourage 
applicants to develop and propose analytic strategies which they will 
pursue if supported under this announcement, the areas described below 
represent some of the topics appropriate for inclusion in a proposal:

A. Estimates and Characteristics of Clients Served and Population 
in Need

    1. Estimates of the size and geographic distribution of the 
population at risk of unintended pregnancy;
    2. Estimates of the size and geographic distribution of the 
population in need of subsidized family planning services;
    3. Characteristics, in terms of age, race and income or poverty 
status of the two populations listed above (1 and 2);
    4. Estimates of the size, geographic distribution and 
characteristics of populations in need of family planning services but 
currently not being served.

B. Patterns and Trends in Delivery of Family Planning Services

    1. Patterns of family planning and reproductive health care service 
delivery among the varied sources of family planning services (clinics, 
physicians' offices, etc.) and patterns in sources of financing;
    2. Patterns of integration of family planning with related services 
including sexually transmitted diseases (STD) services, HIV prevention, 
substance abuse and cancer screening;
    3. Patterns and trends in providing services to adolescents, 
including use of school settings, special clinics, special protocols;
    4. Patterns and trends in the training, recruitment and retention 
of clinic personnel;
    5. The trends and patterns of family planning services to males and 
the role and influence of males in contraceptive decision-making and 
pregnancy prevention reproductive health;
    6. Utilization of outreach, follow-up and case management 
strategies in provision of services to hard to reach clients such as 
substance abusers, persons at high STD/HIV risk, and adolescents.
    The principal purpose of this project is not to collect original 
data, and

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applications which propose to place major emphasis on collection of 
original data are unlikely to be funded. However, if it is relevant and 
it can be demonstrated that appropriate data do not exist elsewhere, 
some collection of original data is not precluded.
    The Title X program is intended to address the health needs of all 
men and women, including all subgroups as characterized by age, class, 
race and ethnicity. Members of minority groups should be included in 
all proposed research unless a clear and compelling rationale or 
justification establishes that such inclusion is inappropriate. 
Applicants should approach their research and analysis with 
considerations of class, race, and ethnicity in mind whenever possible.
    The PHS is committed to achieving the health promotion and disease 
prevention objectives of Healthy People 2000 and 2010, a PHS-led 
national activity for setting priority areas. This announcement is 
related to the priority area of family planning. 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 20402-9325 (Telephone: [phone]) or draft 
of Healthy People 2010 (http://www.health.gov/healthypeople).

Application Submission Procedures and Review Criteria

    Applications submitted under this announcement are governed by the 
regulations set out at 42 CFR part 52. Potential applicants should 
ensure that their applications meet the applicable requirements of the 
regulation.
    Applicants should request a legibly dated receipt from a commercial 
carrier or U.S. Postal Service postmark. Private metered postmarks will 
not be acceptable as proof of timely mailing. Late applications will 
not be accepted for review. Applications which do not conform to the 
requirement of this program announcement also will not be accepted for 
review. Applicants will be notified, and the applications will be 
retired. Requests for applications may also be faxed to [phone] 
or e-mailed to [e-mail].
    Applications in response to this solicitation will be reviewed on a 
nationwide basis and in competition with other submitted applications. 
The review process will take into account the applicant's familiarity 
with and access to relevant data sets in the areas of family planning 
and population studies, and demonstrated ability to analyze data and 
present it in a manner useful to researchers, administrators and family 
planning providers. The award of a grant will take into account the 
extent to which the organization's proposal represents a comprehensive 
plan for developing data analyses, estimates and assessments useful to 
planners and providers of family planning services, local, State and 
Federal administrators and researchers in the areas of family planning 
and population studies, according to the following criteria:
    A. The extent to which the proposal presents a coherent and well-
justified plan for data analysis and research for the five-year term of 
the grant;
    B. The extent to which the application reflects a good 
understanding of the systems for provision of family planning services 
in the United States and familiarity with data systems and relevant 
research;
    C. The extent to which the applicant organization demonstrates the 
ability to analyze data and make these analyses accessible to 
providers, planners, administrators and researchers in the area of 
family planning;
    D. The extent to which the application creatively and efficiently 
proposes to use existing data and analyses, and to fill knowledge gaps 
by proposing analyses, research, estimations and assessment tasks to 
fill the gaps;
    E. The extent to which the application provides for periodic 
reporting;
    F. Competency of proposed staff in relation to the research 
proposed;
    G. Adequacy of proposed methodology to carry out analyses and 
feasibility of the project;
    H. Reasonableness of proposed budget in relation to the proposed 
project, amount of grant funds necessary for completion of project, and 
adequacy of applicant's resources available for the project.
    Applications will be reviewed by an Objective Review Committee and 
recommended for funding. In making the award decision the Deputy 
Assistant Secretary for Population Affairs (DASPA) will take into 
consideration the priority score, the resourcefulness of the applicant, 
the methodological merits of the proposal, and the availability of 
funds.

Review Under Executive Order 12372

    Applicants under this announcement are exempt from the review 
requirements of Executive Order 12372, State Review of Applications for 
Federal Financial Assistance, as implemented by 45 CFR part 100.
    When a final funding decision has been made, each applicant will be 
notified by letter of the outcome. 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 the terms and conditions 
of the grant award.

    Dated: January 21, 1999.
Denese O. Shervington,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Population Affairs.
[FR Doc. 99-3043 Filed 2-8-99; 8:45 am]
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