[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 182 (Wednesday, September 20, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 48716-48717]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-23252]
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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Health Resources and Services Administration
RIN 0905-ZA90
Final Project Requirements, Review Criteria, and Funding
Preference for Cooperative Agreement for A Model Hispanic Health
Careers Opportunity Program for Fiscal Year 1995
The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) announces
the final project requirements, review criteria and funding preference
for the Cooperative Agreement for a Model Hispanic Health Careers
Opportunity Program (HCOP) for FY 1995 under the authority of section
740, title VII of the Public Health Service Act, as amended by the
Health Professions Education Extension Amendments of 1992, Pub. L. 102-
408, dated October 13, 1992.
Purpose and Eligibility
Section 740 authorizes the Secretary to make grants to and enter
into contracts with schools of allopathic medicine, osteopathic
medicine, public health, dentistry, veterinary medicine, optometry,
pharmacy, allied health, chiropractic and podiatric medicine and public
and nonprofit private schools which offer graduate programs in clinical
psychology and other public or private nonprofit health or educational
entities to carry out programs which assist individuals from
disadvantaged backgrounds to enter and graduate from such schools.
Assistance may be used for the following five legislative purposes:
1. Recruitment--activities designed to identify, recruit and select
individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds for education in the health
or allied health professions, e.g., motivational activities,
distribution of information, exposure to role models, and counseling.
2. Preliminary Education--education designed to expand the academic
ability and otherwise prepare student participants from disadvantaged
backgrounds during their preprofessional training that they may
subsequently complete the regular course of education in a health
professions school or school of allied health. This education must be
offered prior to entry in a health professions or allied health
professions school and may not include courses already taught as part
of the regular course of education leading to a degree.
3. Facilitating Entry--activities designed to enhance the
competitiveness of student participants from disadvantaged backgrounds
for admission to health professions schools or schools of allied
health, such as
[[Page 48717]]
improving performance on admissions tests, counseling concerning the
application process, and assisting admissions committees in the
evaluation of disadvantaged applicants.
4. Retention--activities designed to help student participants from
disadvantaged backgrounds, who have been accepted to or are enrolled in
health professions schools or schools of allied health, to complete
their education. These activities may include tutorial assistance,
counseling, and assistance in adjusting to the environment of the
school. Activities may not include courses already taught as part of
the school's curriculum.
5. Financial Aid Information Dissemination--the distribution of
information to student participants from disadvantaged backgrounds
about financial aid available in health professions schools, schools of
allied health or schools and entities which provide training necessary
to qualify for enrollment in health professions schools or schools of
allied health.
The program announcement, published in the Federal Register on June
22, 1995 at 60 FR 32531, proposed project requirements, review
criteria, and funding preference. No comments were received during the
30-day comment period. Therefore, the following project requirements,
review criteria, and funding preference will be retained as proposed:
Final Project Requirements
I. The Model Hispanic HCOP will establish an educational continuum
from high school graduation through graduation from a health or allied
health professions school through development and implementation of
activities related to all five of the legislative purposes.
II. A plan for selecting students including criteria for selection
must be developed and implemented.
III. Activities related to all of the five legislative purposes
undertaken must be evaluated. Modifications must be made in activities
based on evaluation.
IV. Activities and experiences related to the establishment of the
Model Hispanic HCOP must be documented in a format that would allow for
future replication by HCOP applicants.
Final Review Criteria
The following criteria are established for this program:
1. Compliance with the Standard Application Instructions for Form
6025-1, and the Supplement to Instructions for Form 6025-1.
2. The relationship of the proposed project to the purposes stated
in the legislative authorization, the stated problem, the particular
needs to be addressed, and the relevance of proposed objectives to the
identified needs.
3. The extent and outcomes of past efforts and activities of the
institution in conduct of disadvantaged student programs particularly
for Hispanics and enrollment data on the target population (current and
past three years) and the extent to which these data indicate trends.
4. The relevance of objectives to the stated problem and need, and
to Model Hispanic HCOP purposes; their measurability and attainability
within a specific time frame; and the extent to which they represent
outcome measures.
5. The number of Hispanic individuals who can be expected to
benefit from the project, types of participants by gender, metropolitan
area, and educational level; the appropriateness of the proposed
participant eligibility requirements and student selection criteria and
process.
6. The specific activities and their scope and relevance to the
stated objectives and project outcomes, and the appropriateness of
these activities for Model Hispanic HCOP support along with the extent
and nature of the academic content and non-academic services and their
suitability to the needs of the target group.
7. The logic and sequencing of the planned approaches, soundness
for delivery of academic content and non-academic services and
appropriateness of scheduling and time allocation.
8. The administrative and managerial capability of the applicant to
carry out the project in a cost effective manner considering the extent
of past efforts and institutional commitment to disadvantaged students.
9. The adequacy of the staff and faculty to carry out the program;
the academic and experiential background, and time commitment of key
staff and faculty, the nature and level of their involvement, and their
experience in working with the proposed target group.
10. The soundness of the budget for assuring effective utilization
of cooperative agreement funds and the cost effectiveness of the
proposed project; the compatibility of budget requests with program
objectives and activities, the adequacy of the line item
justifications, and the extent of the applicant's in-kind
contributions.
11. Institutional or organizational plan for phasing-in income from
other sources; developing self-sufficiency funding initiatives and
strategies (after the end of the current federally funded project
period); and achieving self-sufficiency based on a timetable and the
level of financial support needed.
12. Extent to which project plans are transferable to other
institutions.
Final Funding Preference
A funding preference will be given to a nonprofit, accredited four-
year undergraduate college or university:
1. where Hispanic students constitute a minimum of 25 percent of
the total enrollment at either the graduate or undergraduate level;
2. which is located in a geographic area with a high concentration
of Hispanic residents (approximately 20 percent of the area's total
population) such as the following: Anaheim, Los Angeles, Riverside, San
Diego and San Jose, California; Miami, Florida; Chicago, Illinois;
Northern New Jersey; Long Island and New York City, New York; El Paso,
Dallas, Fort Worth, Galveston, Houston, and San Antonio, Texas; and
3. which is able to establish and document formal linkage
arrangements with local community colleges, community health
organizations and health professions and/or allied health professions
schools.
Additional Information
Request for technical or programmatic information should be
directed to: Mr. Darl Stephens, Chief, Program Development Branch,
Division of Disadvantaged Assistance, Bureau of Health Professions,
Health Resources and Services Administration, Parklawn Building, Room
8A-09, 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, Maryland 20857, Telephone: (301)
443-3843 FAX: (301) 443-5242.
This program, Model Hispanic HCOP, is not subject to the provisions
of Executive Order 12372, Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs
(as implemented through 45 CFR part 100). This program is not subject
to the Public Health System Reporting Requirements.
Dated: September 11, 1995.
Ciro V. Sumaya,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 95-23252 Filed 9-19-95; 8:45 am]
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