[Federal Register: May 29, 2003 (Volume 68, Number 103)]
[Notices]
[Page 32053-32055]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr29my03-92]
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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Administration on Aging
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
[Program Announcement Nos. AoA-03-05 and CMS-2185-N]
Fiscal Year 2003 Program Announcement; Availability of Funds and
Notice Regarding Applications
AGENCY: Administration on Aging, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid
Services, HHS.
ACTION: Announcement of availability of funds and request for
applications.
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SUMMARY: The Administration on Aging (AoA) and the Centers for Medicare
& Medicaid Services (CMS) announce that under this program announcement
they will hold a competition for grant awards to be issued as
cooperative agreements for up to sixteen (16) projects at a federal
share of up to $800,000 over 3 (three) years.
Legislative authority: AoA's authority for these grants is under
the Older Americans Act, Public Law 106-501 (Catalog of Federal
Domestic Assistance 93.048, Title IV and Title II, Discretionary
Projects). CMS' legislative authority for these grants is under section
1110 of the Social Security Act. Funding to CMS and Congressional
language was provided in the Consolidated Appropriations Resolution,
2003 (Pub. L. 108-7). AoA and CMS are the designated HHS agencies with
administrative responsibility for their respective portion for funding
this joint effort. See Supplementary Information below for additional
discussion of CMS' authority under section 1110.
Purpose of grant awards: The awards are to be used by states to
develop Aging and Disability Resource Center programs that will provide
citizen-centered ``one-stop shop'' entry points into the long term
support system and will be based in local communities accessible to
people who may require long term support. Resource Centers will serve
individuals who need long term support, their family caregivers, and
those planning for future long term support needs. They will also serve
as
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a resource for health and long term support professionals and others
who provide services to the elderly and to people with disabilities.
Resource Centers supported under this program must, at a minimum,
include the elderly population, and at least one of the following major
target groups by the first quarter of the second year: (a) Individuals
with physical disabilities, (b) individuals with serious mental
illness, and/or (c) individuals with mental retardation/developmental
disabilities.
These grants will be issued as cooperative agreements because AoA
and CMS anticipate having substantial involvement with the recipients
during performance of funded activities. The involvement may include
collaboration, participation, or intervention in the funded activities.
AoA and CMS will also be involved in the development and implementation
of the funded projects by way of conducting a joint review of the
applications and providing technical assistance, training, guidance and
oversight throughout the project period. More specifically, letters of
intent and applications may be submitted to AoA and CMS through the AoA
``single point of application'' address listed in this solicitation.
AoA will ensure that all appropriate parties in both AoA and CMS
receive the letter and application. AoA and CMS will make final
decisions on the grant awards jointly. AoA and CMS project officers
will jointly perform the day-to-day federal responsibilities. Grantees
will be expected to keep in contact with AoA and CMS project officer
staff on a regular basis. Grantees will also be expected to share all
significant products that result from their projects with AoA and CMS.
Eligibility for grant awards and other requirements: Eligibility
for grant awards (cooperative agreements) is limited to state agencies
or instrumentalities of a state. Only one application per state will be
accepted. The applicant agency must have the support and active
participation of the Single State Agency on Aging and the Single State
Medicaid Agency. Grantees are required to provide at least 5% of the
project's total cost with non-Federal cash or non-financial recipient
contribution (match) in order to be considered for the award. Non-
financial recipient contributions may include the value of goods and/or
services contributed by the Grantee (e.g., salary and fringe benefits
of staff devoting a percentage of their time to the grant not otherwise
included in the budget or derived from federal funds). Recipient
contributions must be included in the applicant's budget in Item 15
(Estimated Funding) on Standard Form 424A and described in the budget
narrative/justification section of the application. The non-financial
match requirement may also be satisfied if a third party participating
in the grant makes an ``in-kind contribution,'' provided that the
Grantee's contribution and/or the third-party in-kind contribution
equals 5% of the total grant award (including all direct and indirect
costs). Third-party ``in-kind contributions'' may include the value of
the time spent by citizen task force members (using appropriate cost
allocation methods to the extent that non-Federal funds are involved)
who specifically contribute to the design, development and
implementation of the grant.
Executive Order 12372 is not applicable to these grant
applications.
Screening criteria: In order for an application to be reviewed, it
must meet the following screening requirements:
1. Applications must be postmarked by midnight, July 28, 2003, or
hand-delivered by 5:30 p.m. Eastern Time, on July 28, 2003, or
submitted electrically by midnight, July 28, 2003. Electronic
submissions must be sent to: http://www.aoa.gov/egrants.
2. The Project Narrative section of the Application must be double-
spaced, on single-sided 8\1/2\'' x 11'' plain white paper with 1''
margins on both sides, and a font size of not less than 11.
3. The Project Narrative must not exceed 25 pages.
Review of applications: Applications will be evaluated against the
following criteria: Problem Statement/Need for Assistance (5 points);
Approach, Work Plan and Activities (25 points); Formative Learning and
Information Management (10 points); Capabilities (10 points);
Significance and Sustainability (15 points); Stakeholder Input and
Partnerships (15 points); and Budget and Resources (20 points).
DATES: The deadline date for the submission of applications is July 28,
2003. Potential applicants are encouraged to submit a letter of intent
to apply for a cooperative agreement not later than June 19, 2003. AoA
and CMS will conduct an Applicants' Teleconference on June 12, 2003.
Information regarding the time and call-in number for this open
teleconference will be available on the AoA Web site at http://www.aoa.gov
and on the CMS Web site at http://www.cms.hhs.gov/newfreedom/default.asp.
ADDRESSES: Application kits are available by writing to the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services, Administration on Aging,
Center for Planning and Policy Development, Washington, DC 20201; by
calling 202/357-3461; or online at http://www.aoa.gov/egrants or http://www.cms.hhs.gov/newfreedom/default.asp
Applications may be mailed to the U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services, Administration on Aging, Office of Grants Management,
Washington, DC 20201, attn: Margaret Tolson (AoA-03-05).
Applications may be delivered to the U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services, Administration on Aging, Office of Grants Management,
One Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Room 4604, Washington, D.C. 20001, attn:
Margaret Tolson (AoA-03-05).
If you elect to mail or hand deliver your application you must
submit one original and two copies of the application; an
acknowledgement card will be mailed to applicants. Instructions for
electronic mailing of grant applications are available at http://www.aoa.gov/egrants
.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: All grant applicants are encouraged to
obtain a D-U-N-S number from Dun and Bradstreet. It is a nine-digit
identification number, which provides unique identifiers of single
business entities. The D-U-N-S number is free and easy to obtain from
http://www.dnb.com/US/duns_update/.
These Aging and Disability Resource Center grants are a part of
CMS' ``Real Choice Systems Change Grants for Community Living''
demonstration grants authorized under section 1110 of the Social
Security Act. Funding and Congressional language was provided in the
Consolidated Appropriations Resolution, 2003 (Pub. L. 108-7). In FY
2003, Congress appropriated an additional $40 million for Real Choice
Systems Change Grants for Community Living. Congress also passed a
0.65% general reduction in the FY 2003 appropriation that has been
distributed across Federal programs, including this appropriation, so
the final amount available for grant awards will be slightly less than
$40 million. The Administration on Aging (AoA), in collaboration with
the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), is inviting through
this notice, proposals for a portion of this funding, totaling
approximately $5 million dollars from CMS. A separate Notice of Funding
Availability covering the CMS' other $35 million in Real Choice Systems
Change Grants for Community Livingwill soon be published in the Federal
Register.
Section 1110 (a)(1)(A) of the Social Security Act authorizes CMS
make
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``grants to States and public and other organizations and agencies for
paying part of the cost of research or demonstration projects such as
those * * * which will help improve the administration and
effectiveness of programs carried on or assisted under the Social
Security Act and programs related thereto * * *.'' CMS has restructured
its efforts under Sec. 1110 into eight themes. The Aging and
Disability Resource Center Grants are part of CMS's Research and
Demonstration efforts under Theme 5: Strengthening Medicaid, State
Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), and State Programs. This
effort includes research and demonstrations on ways to improve access
to and delivery of health care to the persons served by Medicaid. These
Resource Center grants, to be awarded as cooperative agreements, are a
part of the President's New Freedom Initiative. The New Freedom
Initiative calls for the removal of barriers to community living for
people with disabilities. CMS is the designated HHS agency with
administrative responsibility for the Real Choice Systems Change Grant
program. Because funding for this program appears as part of the
agency's FY 2003 budget, all awards will be made to eligible entities
before October 1, 2003.
We will not fund through these grants those efforts or activities
that are already being funded under an existing Real Choice Systems
Change Grant (funded in FY 2001 or FY 2002) or other grant funds. If a
Grantee proposes to significantly expand an earlier-funded project, the
applicant must specifically describe this expansion in its application.
We also encourage states to seek private sector grant opportunities
(e.g., grants from foundations) to augment or coordinate with the Real
Choice Systems Change Grants for Community Living.
Information Collection Requirements. The information collection
requirements associated with this program announcement are under review
by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). A separate notice will be
published in the Federal Register to solicit comments on this
collection.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kari Benson, U.S. Department of Health
and Human Services, Administration on Aging, Center for Planning and
Policy Development, Washington, DC, 20201, telephone: (202) 357-3461 or
Kari.Benson@aoa.gov. Questions about the Real Choice Systems Change
Grants for Community Living Program, and this notice, may also be
directed to: Mary Guy, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Center
for Medicaid and State Operations, DEHPG/DCSI, Mail Stop: S2-14-26,
7500 Security Boulevard, Baltimore, MD 21244-1850, (410) 786-2772, E-
mail: RealChoiceFY03@cms.hhs.gov.
Dated: May 22, 2003.
Josefina G. Carbonell,
Assistant Secretary for Aging.
[FR Doc. 03-13442 Filed 5-28-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4154-01-P