[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 44 (Friday, March 6, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11263-11264]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-5756]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
Minority Fellowship Program
AGENCY: Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS), Substance Abuse and
Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), HHS.
ACTION: Notice of planned award for renewal of a clinical training
grant under the Minority Fellowship Program (MFP) to the American
Psychiatric Association (APA).
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: SAMHSA's CMHS plans to award a renewal MFP grant to the APA
for the clinical training of psychiatric trainees who plan service
careers working with ethnic minority populations with mental and
addictive health disorders. The project period for the renewal grant is
anticipated to be 3
[[Page 11264]]
years. The first year will be funded at approximately $400,000.
This is not a general request for applications. The renewal
clinical training grant will only be made to the APA based on the
receipt of a satisfactory application that is considered to have
sufficient merit by an Initial Review Group and the CMHS National
Advisory Council.
AUTHORITY: The award will be made under the authority of section 303 of
the Public Health Service (PHS) Act. The authority to administer this
program has been delegated to the Director, CMHS. The Catalog of
Federal Domestic Assistance number for this program is 93.244.
BACKGROUND: Section 303 of the Public Health Service Act assigns to the
Secretary, acting through the Director of CMHS, certain responsibility
for the clinical training of mental health professionals. CMHS is
concerned with the treatment of underserved priority populations; i.e.,
adults with serious mental illness; children with serious emotional
disturbance; elderly, ethnic minority and/or rural populations with
mental and addictive disorders. CMHS also considers the lack of
suitably trained professionals to be a major cause of the lack of
access for ethnic minority communities to appropriate mental health and
substance abuse services. Accordingly, CMHS has the responsibility for
providing support to facilitate the entry of ethnic minority students
into mental health careers and increase the number of professionals
trained at the doctoral-level to teach, administer, and provide direct
mental health and substance abuse services to ethnic minority
communities.
Over the past several decades, the Federal mental health clinical
training program at CMHS (and previously at the National Institute of
Mental Health [NIMH]) has addressed this gap primarily by attempting to
increase the numbers of professionals who wish to dedicate themselves
to serving ethnic minority populations with mental and addictive
disorders.
A renewal application may be submitted only by the APA. This
professional organization has unique access to those students entering
the profession of psychiatry. The field of psychiatry has been
nationally recognized for decades as part of the four core mental
health disciplines, along with psychology, nursing and social work. The
American Psychological Association, the American Nursing Association,
and the Counsel on Social Work Education also have ongoing CMHS MFP
grant support. Psychiatrists provide part of an essential core of
services for individuals with serious mental illness and also less
severe mental disorders.
The APA is the largest national professional psychiatrists'
organization in the country. The APA and its affiliates have activities
in all major areas of national policies affecting psychiatry as a
profession, including education and training.
The APA, along with its affiliates, has direct involvement in
curriculum development, school accreditation, and post-doctoral
training. The APA has had decades of experience in working directly
with university training programs in its respective field.
Because of the above unique characteristics and long experience,
NIMH, the original funding agency, chose APA as the exclusive
representative for the field of psychiatry. For over 20 years, the APA
has administered the MFP exceptionally well; recruited excellent
students, assured that all program requirements were satisfied, and
effectively monitored the progress of fellows during and after the
fellowship period. The MFP grantee continues in its unique position to
represent this core mental health discipline and eligibility for
continuation funding has been restricted to it accordingly.
Therefore, because the APA's grant support will end in FY 1998,
CMHS is providing additional support for up to 3 years via a renewal
grant award.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: Questions concerning the CMHS MFP may be
directed to Mildred Brooks-McDow, MSW, LICSW, Division of State and
Community Systems Development, Human Resources Planning and Development
Branch, CMHS, Room 15C-26, 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, Maryland
20857, telephone (301) 443-4257.
Dated: February 27, 1998.
Richard Kopanda,
Executive Officer.
[FR Doc. 98-5756 Filed 3-5-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4162-20-P
