[Federal Register: December 24, 1998 (Volume 63, Number 247)]
[Notices]               
[Page 71290]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr24de98-76]


[[Page 71290]]

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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Office of the Secretary

 
Office of Public Health and Science; Availability of Crisis 
Response Teams for Technical Assistance

AGENCY: Office of Public Health and Science, in the Office of the 
Secretary (OPHS/OS), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

ACTION: Notice.

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AUTHORITY: 42 U.S.C. 241, 243.

SUMMARY: The Office of Public Health and Science announces the 
availability of technical assistance teams, known as crisis response 
teams, to provide multidisciplinary technical assistance to localities 
most highly impacted by HIV/AIDS within racial and ethnic minority 
communities. The HIV/AIDS epidemic disproportionately affects racial 
and ethnic minority populations nationally, with major metropolitan 
areas and urban centers most heavily impacted by high AIDS case rates 
and large numbers of people living with HIV disease. The crisis 
response team would work in partnership with local community officials, 
public health personnel and community leaders to further describe the 
local HIV/AIDS epidemic and its impact upon vulnerable populations, 
assist them in identifying potential strategies to enhance prevention 
efforts, and maximize community health and support service networks and 
access to care. Findings of the crisis response team will be provided 
to local elected and health department officials, and to the HIV 
community planning groups and planning councils for their consideration 
and action. The crisis response teams must be requested by the chief 
elected official of an eligible jurisdiction, in collaboration with the 
director of the local health department and State/local HIV community 
planning groups and HIV planning councils.

DATES: Letters of request from localities requesting to apply for a 
crisis response team must be received on or before January 25, 1999.

ADDRESSES: Letters of request should be submitted to: Director, Office 
of HIV/AIDS Policy, Office of Public Health and Science, Room 736-E, 
200 Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20201.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Office of HIV/AIDS Policy, Office of Public Health and Science, 
telephone (202) 690-5560.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Eligibility criteria for localities wishing 
to apply for a crisis response team are: (1) Eligible metropolitan 
statistical areas with populations of 500,000 or greater; (2) 1,500 or 
greater living AIDS cases among African Americans and Hispanic 
Americans; (3) at least 50 percent of living AIDS cases within the MSA 
are African American and Hispanic Americans combined; and (4) the chief 
elected official of the MSA, in collaboration with appropriate health 
officials, must submit a written request to the Secretary requesting a 
crisis response team. In the case that multiple jurisdictions are 
represented within an eligible MSA, the chief elected official of the 
city or urban county that administers the public health agency that 
provides outpatient and ambulatory services to the greatest number of 
individuals with AIDS, as reported to and confirmed by the Centers for 
Disease Control and Prevention, in the eligible area is the individual 
responsible for making a written request to the Secretary. This letter 
of request must indicate the support of the Director of the 
jurisdiction's local health department for the crisis response team, a 
description of the key issues, and a confirmation of the commitment of 
local officials to working with the communities most impacted by HIV/
AIDS over a sustained period. Smaller communities with under 500,000 
population in which the demographics of the HIV epidemic are rapidly 
changing may submit a letter of request following the process outlined 
above; these requests will be considered separately. The Virgin Islands 
will be separately considered for a crisis response team given the 
unique nature of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in this geographic area. 
Metropolitan statistical areas qualifying under criteria one through 
three include: Atlanta, GA; Baltimore, MD; Chicago, IL; Detroit, MI; 
Fort Lauderdale, FL; Houston, TX; Jersey City, NJ; Los Angeles-Long 
Beach, CA; Miami, FL; New Haven-Bridgeport-Danbury-Waterbury, CT; New 
York, NY; Newark, NJ; Philadelphia, PA; San Juan-Bayamon, PR; 
Washington, DC-MD-VA-WV; and West Palm Beach-Boca Raton, FL. The 
Department will initially deploy crisis response teams to three 
jurisdictions and evaluate their effectiveness, and respond to further 
requests for this technical assistance within its capacity to assemble 
the appropriate expert teams.

    Dated: December 16, 1998.
Glen E. Harelson,
Acting Director, Office of HIV/AIDS Policy.
[FR Doc. 98-34064 Filed 12-23-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4160-17-M