Message from the HRSA Administrator: 2008 Performance
Review Schedule
Dear HRSA Grantees:
The Health Resources and Services Administration
(HRSA) is the principal Federal agency within
the Department of Health and Human Services
(DHHS) charged with increasing access to basic
health services for the nation’s underserved,
vulnerable and special needs populations. With
a budget of over $6 billion, HRSA provides direct
financial assistance, in the form of grants
or cooperative agreements, to over 3,000 organizations
(i.e., grantees) for the purpose of carrying
out 80 different programs that improve and expand
access to quality health care and reduce disparities
in health status.
The Office of Performance Review (OPR) serves
as the agency’s focal point for reviewing
and enhancing the performance of HRSA funded
programs within communities and States. On a
regularly scheduled basis, HRSA grantees are
comprehensively reviewed by a review team from
one of the ten OPR regional divisions.
Through performance reviews, OPR works collaboratively
with grantees and other HRSA components to measure
program performance, analyze the factors impacting
performance, and identify effective strategies
and partnerships to improve program performance.
Performance reviews are part of an overall agency-wide
strategy to enhance the performance of HRSA
funded programs, and assist grantees in their
ongoing efforts to provide quality service with
a focus on improving outcomes for the populations
served.
Performance reviews have also been designed
to review and enhance the performance of HRSA
programs within the context of the grantee’s
entire organization, and will therefore eliminate
the need for multiple on-site reviews for grantees
with one or more HRSA funded programs. In addition,
performance reviews create the opportunity for
grantees to provide direct feedback about the
impact of HRSA policies on program implementation
and performance.
We are pleased to inform you that the grantee
performance review schedule and replacement
list for Calendar Year (CY) 2008 are now available.
The grantee performance review replacement list
is to be used in the event that a scheduled
review is postponed and a replacement grantee
is needed for review. Please visit http://www.hrsa.gov/performancereview
to determine if your organization has been initially
identified to participate in a performance review
this upcoming year or is included on the grantee
replacement list.
OPR intends to conduct Strategic Partnership
Sessions with HRSA grantees from 10 States/territories
and 10 communities. The 10 States/territories
selected for CY 2008 are: Rhode Island, New
Jersey, Virginia, Mississippi, Wisconsin, Arkansas,
Kansas, Montana, Hawaii, and Idaho. The 10 communities
selected are: Worcester, Massachusetts; Camden
County, New Jersey; south central Pennsylvania;
Nashville, Tennessee; Aurora, Illinois; Rio
Arriba and Taos Counties in New Mexico; Lincoln,
Nebraska; Northern Colorado including the cities
of Fort Collins, Greely and Boulder; Phoenix,
Arizona; and the Willamette Valley area of Oregon.
The purpose of these Strategic Partnership
Sessions is to improve the overall health of
populations living within communities and States.
Through structured partnership sessions, OPR
will convene HRSA grantees from selected communities/States,
HRSA project officers and other stakeholders
to review key population-level indicators of
health, analyze the factors impacting these
indicators, and identify effective, collaborative
strategies to improve the overall health of
populations living within these communities
and States. A copy of the Strategic Partnership
Protocol is available on our web site http://www.hrsa.gov/performancereview.
If your organization has been identified for
a performance review, you will be contacted
at least twelve weeks before your performance
review begins in order to provide you with additional
information about the scope and process for
your review, and to schedule the dates for the
on-site phase. It is important to note, however,
that the performance review does not change
the relationship between the grantee and the
project officer and grants management specialist.
For all matters for which you currently contact
these individuals, please continue to do so.
If you have any questions or concerns, please
do not hesitate to contact your OPR regional
division contact at http://www.hrsa.gov/about/staff.htm#officeofperformancereview.
We look forward to working with you.
Sincerely,
Elizabeth M. Duke
Administrator
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