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| 93.290 NATIONAL COMMUNITY CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE IN WOMEN'S HEALTH |
| (CCOE or Community Centers of Excellence) |
| FEDERAL AGENCY |
| OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES |
| AUTHORIZATION |
| 42 U.S.C. 300u-2(a)(1), 300u-3, and 300u-6(e). |
| OBJECTIVES |
| To provide recognition and funding to community-based programs that unite promising approaches in women's health across the following six components: (1) Comprehensive health service delivery; (2) training for lay and professional health providers; (3) community- based research; (4) public education and outreach; 5) leadership development for women as health care consumers and providers; and (6) technical assistance to ensure the replication of promising models and strategies that coordinate and integrate women's health activities at the community level and improve health outcomes for underserved women. The focus of the CCOE initiative is to integrate, coordinate, and strengthen linkages between activities/programs that are already underway in the community in order to reduce fragmentation in women's health services and activities. |
| TYPES OF ASSISTANCE |
| Project Grants (Cooperative Agreements). |
| USES AND USE RESTRICTIONS |
| A majority of the funds from the CCOE award must be used to support staff and efforts aimed at coordinating and integrating the major components of the CCOE program. The Center Director, or the person responsible for the day-to-day management of the CCOE program, must devote at least a 75 percent level of effort to the program. Additionally, 25 percent of the award funding must target efforts to foster the transfer of lessons learned/successful strategies from the CCOE program (technical assistance). Funds may be used for personnel, consultants, supplies (including screening, education, and outreach supplies), and grant related travel. Items costing less than $5,000 are considered to be supplies. Funds may not be used for construction, building alterations, medical treatment, equipment, or renovations. All budget requests must be fully justified in terms of the proposed CCOE goals and objectives and include a computational explanation of how costs were determined. Applications from academic health centers or organizations that are part of academic health centers and state, county and local health departments will not be accepted. To ensure a wide geographic distribution of the Center of Excellence in Women's Health model, applications will not be accepted from organizations in States or territories that currently have a CCOE or a CoE program. Applications will not be accepted from organizations in the following States/Territories: AZ, CA, IL, IN, LA, MA, MI, MO, MN, NM, NY, OH, PA, PR, VT, WA, and WI. |
| Applicant Eligibility |
| The CCOE applicant must be public or private nonprofit community-based hospitals, community health centers, or community-based organizations serving underserved women. Community entities/organizations, including faith-based organizations, that have alliances, partnerships, networks with, or have other affiliations with an academic health center are also eligible to apply for a CCOE grant as long as the community entity/organization has a leading management role in the activity and maintain control of all funds. Organizations that have previously submitted CCOE applications, but were not funded, are also eligible to reapply for this award. |
| Beneficiary Eligibility |
| Underserved women will benefit. |
| Credentials/Documentation |
| Each applicant for a cooperative agreement funded under this CCOE announcement must, at a minimum: (1) present a plan to integrate all six components of the CCOE program by the end of the first year of funding, although only four components have to be in place at the time the application is submitted; (2) develop a CCOE advisory board or ensure that their already established advisory board is included in the decision-making process for CCOE program development, identification of community-based research questions, and formulation of CCOE policies; (3) be a sustainable organization with an established network of partners capable of providing coordinated and integrated women's health services in the targeted community; (4) have an established clinical care center/facility, an operating public educational/outreach program, and a community identified as the recipient of technical assistance at the time the application is submitted; (5) demonstrate the ways in which the organization and the care that are coordinated through its partners are women-focused, women-friendly, women-relevant, and sensitive to the importance of patient/provider communication/relationships for medically underserved women of all ages;(6) detail/specify the roles and resources/services that each partner organization brings to the program, the duration and terms of agreement as confirmed by a signed agreement between the applicant organization and each partner, and describe how the partner organizations will operated within the CCOE structure; (7) describe in detail plans for the local evaluation of the CCOE program and when and how information obtained from the evaluation will be used to enhance the CCOE program; and(8) describe in detail the planned community-based research and the research methodology/procedure. |
| Preapplication Coordination |
| This program is eligible for coverage under E.O. 12372 "Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs." An applicant should consult the office or official designated as the single point of contact in his or her State for more information on the process the State requires to be followed in applying for assistance, if the State has selected the program for review. The application kit to be made available under this notice will contain a listing of States that have chosen to set up a review system and will include a State Single Point of Contact (SPOC) in the State for review. Applicants (other than federally recognized Indian tribes) should contact their SPOCs as early as possible to alert them to the prospective applications and receive any necessary instructions on the State process. For proposed projects serving more than one State, the applicant is advised to contact the SPOC of each affected State. The due date for State process recommendations is 60 days after the application deadline. The Office on Women's Health does not guarantee that it will accommodate or explain its responses to State process recommendations received after that date. |
| Application Procedure |
| Application kits may be requested by calling 240-453-8822 or writing to: Ms. Karen Campbell, Director, Office of Public Health and Science (OPHS) Office of Grants Management, 1101 Wootton Parkway, Suite 550, Rockville, MD 20852. Applications should be submitted to: Ms. Karen Campbell, Director, Office of Public Health and Science (OPHS), Office of Grants Management, 1101 Wootton Parkway, Suite 550, Rockville, MD 20852. Applications must be prepared using Form OPHS-1. This form is available in Adobe Acrobat format at the following website: http://www.cdc.gov/od/pgo/forminfo.htm . The Office of Public Health and Science (OPHS) provides multiple mechanisms for the submission of applications. Applicants will receive notification via mail from the OPHS Office of Grants Management confirming the receipt of applications submitted using any of these mechanisms. Applications submitted to the OPHS Office of Grants Management after the deadlines will not be accepted for review and will be returned to the applicant unread. The submission deadline will not be extended. Applications which do not conform to the requirements of the grant announcement will not be accepted for review and will be returned to the applicant. Applications may only be submitted electronically via the electronic submission mechanisms specified below. Any applications submitted via any other means of electronic communication, including facsimile or electronic mail, will not be accepted for review. While applications are accepted in hard copy, the use of the electronic application submission capabilities provided by the OPHS e-Grants system or the Grants.gov Web site Portal is encouraged. Information about this system is available on the OPHS e-Grants Web site, https://egrants.osophs.dhhs.gov . |
| Award Procedure |
| Applications will be screened upon receipt. Those that are judged to be incomplete, arrive after the deadline, or are from states that already have a CCOE or a CoE program will be returned without comment. Accepted applications will be reviewed for technical merit in accordance with PHS policies. Applications will be evaluated by a technical review panel composed of experts in the fields of program management, community service delivery, community service delivery, community outreach, health education, community-based research, education, training, leadership/career development, and technical assistance to other communities. Funding decisions will be determined by the Director, Division for Program Management, Office on Women's Health and will take into consideration the recommendations and ratings of the review panel; program needs, stated preferences; geographic location; and recommendations of DHHS Regional Women's Health Coordinators. Preference will be given to DHHS regions that do not have a CCOE or a CoE program and to programs proposed to be implemented in medically underserved areas, enterprise communities, empowerment zones, and applications from Regions IV and VIII. |
| Deadlines |
| To be considered for review, applications must be submitted by the established due date. Applications not meeting the deadline will be considered late and will be returned to the applicant unread. |
| Range of Approval/Disapproval Time |
| Approximately 90 days from the application deadline date. |
| Appeals |
| None. |
| Renewals |
| None. |
| Formula and Matching Requirements |
| None. |
| Length and Time Phasing of Assistance |
| 60 to 120 days. Support may be requested for a total project period not to exceed 5 years. Non-competing continuation awards of up to $150,000 will be made subject to satisfactory performance and availability of funds. |
| Reports |
| Quarterly progress reports, an annual progress report, an annual Financial Status report, a final Progress report, a final Financial Status report, an Audit Report, and a Technical Assistance Documentation Report in the format established by the Office on Women's Health, in accordance with provisions of the general regulations that apply under Monitoring and Reporting Program Performance, 45 CFR 74, Subpart J and Part 92. |
| Audits |
| In accordance with the provisions of OMB Circular No. A - 133 (Revised, June 24, 1997), Audits of States, Local Governments, and Nonprofit Organizations, nonfederal entities that expend financial assistance of $300,000 or more in Federal awards will have a single or a program-specific audit conducted for that year. Nonfederal entities that expend less than $300,000 a year in Federal awards are exempt from Federal audit requirements for that year, except as noted in Circular No. A-133. In addition, grants and cooperative agreements are subject to inspection and audits by DHHS and other Federal government officials. |
| Records |
| Financial records, supporting documents, statistical records, and all other records pertinent to a grant shall be retained for a minimum of 3 years, or longer pending completion and resolution of any audit findings. |
| Account Identification |
| 75-0120-0-1-551. |
| Obligations |
| (Grants) FY 07 est not available; FY 08 est not available; and FY 09 est not reported. |
| Range and Average of Financial Assistance |
| All awards are made for $150,000 each in total costs (direct and indirect) for a 12-month period. The average amount is $150,000. |
| PROGRAM ACCOMPLISHMENTS |
| None. |
| REGULATIONS, GUIDELINES, AND LITERATURE |
| Specific program requirements are contained in the application instructions, the Federal Register announcement, and the PHS Grants Policy Statement (DHHS Publication No. (OASH) 90-50,000, (Rev.) April 1, 1994); 45 CFR 100 applies. |
| Regional or Local Office |
| Not applicable. |
| Headquarters Office |
| Program Contact: Ms. Barbar James, Program Director, Office on Women's Health, Parklawn Building, Room 16A-55, 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville MD 20857, email: bjames1@osophs.dhhs.gov . For technical assistance on budget and business aspects of the application may be obtained from the Office of Grants Management. Contact the Office of Public Health and Science, Office of Grants Management, 1101 Wootton Parkway, Suite 550, Rockville, MD 20852, or phone at (240) 453-8822. |
| Web Site Address |
| http://www.4woman.gov/owh/CCOE/index.htm |
| RELATED PROGRAMS |
| None. |
| EXAMPLES OF FUNDED PROJECTS |
| The major component of a CCOE program must consist of activities aimed at developing and strengthening a framework for bringing together a comprehensive array of services for women, and connecting those with promising strategies to: train a cadre of health care providers that are capable of addressing underserved women's health needs at the community level with an emphasis on prevention or moderation of illness or injury that appear controllable through individual knowledge and behavior; conduct participatory, community-based research in women's health; enhance public education and outreach activities in women's health with an emphasis on prevention or moderation of illness or injury that appear controllable through individual knowledge and behavior; and promote leadership/career development for women in the health professions and women/girls in the community. A project may develop outreach and education materials, training programs, and leadership development activities/materials. Award recipients must also, with input from community representatives, put into place and track a set of measurable objectives for improving health outcomes and decreasing health disparities for underserved women in the community. Each CCOE must also demonstrate an ability to foster the transfer of lessons learned and successful strategies. These may include either process-based lessons (for example: how to bring multiple community partners together) or outcomes-based lessons (for example: how to increase diabetes screening and control through improved outreach, education, and treatment). The CCOEs must foster the replication of promising models from their sites through activities such as showcasing them at meetings and workshops; providing direct technical assistance to other communities; developing replication guides/materials; and providing technical assistance to health professionals, directly or through their professional organizations interested in working with underserved women in the community. |
| CRITERIA FOR SELECTING PROPOSALS |
| Applications selected for funding will be reviewed using the following criteria: (1) The implementation plan as judged by the appropriateness of the existing community resources and linkages, the appropriateness of the proposed approach, component integration, and specific activities described to address each element of the CCOE program, soundness of the evaluation plan, willingness to anticipate in the national CCOE evaluation, and willingness to contribute to the development of a comprehensive national CCOE "how-to manual." (2) The management plan which describes the applicant organization's capability to manage the project as determined by the qualifications of the proposed staff or requirements for "to be hired" staff, proposed staff level of effort, management experience of the lead agency and the experience, resources, and role of each partner organization. (3) The evaluation plan and its relationship to program goals. (4) Plans for the provision of technical assistance and the potential for replication of the CCOE model in similar populations and communities. (5) The merit of the objectives outlines by the applicant do address the CCOE program in a way relevant to the targeted community needs and available resources. (6) Adequacy of demonstrated knowledge of systems of health care for underserved women at the local level; demonstrated need within the proposed local community and target population of underserved women; demonstrated support and established linkages in place to operate a fully functional CCOE program; demonstrated access to medically underserved women; and documented past efforts/activities outcome with underserved women. |
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General Services Administration Office of Chief Acquisition Officer Regulatory and Federal Assistance Division (VIR) |
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