[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 135 (Friday, July 13, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 41428-41431]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-17182]
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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICE
Indian Health Services
[HHS-2012-IHS-HLY-0001]
Healthy Lifestyles in Youth Project; Proposed Single Source
Cooperative Agreement With National Congress of American Indians
Application Due Date: August 16, 2012.
Review Date: August 21, 2012.
Earliest Start Date: September 1, 2012.
I. Funding Opportunity Description
The Indian Health Service (IHS) proposes a single source competing
continuation cooperative agreement with the National Congress of
American Indians (NCAI) for the purpose of continued implementation of
the Healthy Lifestyles in Youth Project in selected Native American
Boys and Girls Clubs of America. This program promotes healthy
lifestyles among American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) youth using
the curriculum ``Together Raising Awareness for Indian Life'' (TRAIL)
among selected Boys and Girls Club sites.
This program is authorized under the authority of the Snyder Act,
25 U.S.C. 13; the Transfer Act, 42 U.S.C. 2001; and the Public Health
Service Act, as amended, 42 U.S.C. 241(a). Under this cooperative
agreement, IHS proposes to enter into a collaborative effort/initiative
with NCAI, because of their unique experience partnering with the IHS
and Boys and Girls Clubs of America in successfully establishing this
program, as well as, their overall expertise and experience in
addressing and evaluating healthy lifestyle techniques in AI/AN youth.
This program is described in the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance
(CFDA) under 93.933.
The focus of the project continues to be on addressing healthy
lifestyle development, emphasizing nutrition and physical activity for
AI/AN children and youth 6 through 17 years of age. The long term goal
is to prevent or delay the onset of obesity and related diseases such
as type 2 diabetes. NCAI will continue partnering work with selected
Tribal Boys and Girls Club sites to: (a) Provide health and physical
education programs; (b) help youth achieve and maintain healthy
lifestyles through participation in fitness programs; (c) help youth to
acquire a range of physical skills; and (d) help youth develop a sense
of teamwork and cooperation.
These early intervention strategies provide evidence based
opportunities to reduce and/or halt the increasing trend of obesity and
diabetes among youth and young adults. Clubs that develop a health
promotion program that includes the TRAIL curriculum may help curtail
the effects of unhealthy eating behaviors and lack of physical activity
that can lead to obesity, diabetes, and other chronic diseases later in
life. The T.R.A.I.L. curriculum was developed to provide information on
good nutrition and to promote physical activity among youth
participating in Tribal Boys and Girls Clubs. T.R.A.I.L. is a three-
month (12 lessons) program that provides youth with a comprehensive
understanding of healthy lifestyles in order to prevent diabetes. Woven
throughout the program are self-esteem and prevention activities.
Participants
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draw from tribal traditions and history to learn about nutrition,
healthy food choices, media influences, and the impact of diabetes.
Clubs also implement the Nike Let Me Play and SPARK physical activity
programs to foster Club-wide participation in fun activities and games
for 60 minutes every day. T.R.A.I.L. emphasizes the importance of
teamwork and community service. Members engage in service projects to
improve healthy lifestyles in their communities, including starting
community gardens to connect youth to their food source and organizing
community-wide physical fitness events.
This work will continue to support the IHS mission to improve the
health of AI/AN youth through health promotion and health education
programs. This work also represents a significant collaborative
endeavor which is supportive of the IHS Director's Healthy Weight for
Life Initiative and the First Lady's Let's Move Indian Country
Initiative.
Since the inception of the program in 2003, T.R.A.I.L. has been
implemented at 79 AI/AN Boys and Girls Club of America (BGCA) sites
located in 17 states. There are currently 35 sites in 15 states
participating in the program.
The overall results show improvement in participant knowledge of
diabetes, health, and healthy food choices, as well as, improved
fitness and level of physical activity. To support this project, NCAI
will select and assist 50 Native American Boys and Girls Club sites to
establish and implement this curriculum project. Boys and Girl Club
sites that are located outside of Tribal communities will not be
considered by the grantee. The Boys and Girls Club sites selected by
the grantee may use IHS grant funds to provide services to members of
Federally-recognized Tribes only. The grantee will be expected to:
provide technical consultation; train; monitor; evaluate; as well as
provide funds to support these activities.
II. Award Information
Type of Award: Single Source Competing Continuation Cooperative
Agreement.
Estimated Funds Available: The IHS intends to commit $1,000,000
each year.
Anticipated Number of Awards: One award will be granted from this
announcement.
Project Period: The project period will be for five years and will
run consecutively from September 1, 2012 to August 31, 2017. The
average award amount will be $1,000,000 annually. Competing and
continuation awards issued under this announcement are subject to the
availability of funds. In the absence of funding, IHS is under no
obligation to make awards under this announcement.
A. IHS Cooperative Agreement Activities
1. Identify a core group of IHS staff to work with the grantee in
providing technical assistance and guidance.
2. Meet with the grantee to review grantee work plan and provide
guidance on implementation and data collection tools.
3. Participate in quarterly conference calls. Work with the grantee
to showcase the results of this project by publishing on shared Web
sites as well as in jointly authored publications.
B. Grantee Cooperative Agreement Award Activities
1. Develop a written plan for the planning, implementation, and
evaluation of this project to include selection of at least 50 sites as
agreed upon with the IHS. This task will be completed within 30 days
from award and approved by the IHS.
2. Develop selection criteria for new sites, announce, evaluate,
and select sites. Sites must submit documentation verifying they serve
only AI/AN youth from Federally recognized Tribes as a requirement for
selection by the grantee. A start-up planning meeting with new sites
will be conducted within 2 months of each site's initial selection and
award.
3. Plan and facilitate an orientation and training meeting for new
sites within 2 months of selection. Submit agenda, training goals and
objectives, and participant list to IHS within 1 month of completion of
each orientation session.
4. Update T.R.A.I.L. curriculum and implement use.
5. Develop, in consultation with the IHS, the implementation and
technical assistance plan for the coordination of the 50 sites (35
existing and 15 new). Submit criteria to the IHS for approval. Grantee
will continue work with sites to develop and report measurements for
assessment of physical activity and nutrition behaviors among club
participants.
6. Each site will implement the T.R.A.I.L. program, emphasizing
healthy behaviors such as physical activity and nutrition. Each program
plan will also include a parent component describing approaches for
involving the families of participants.
7. Each site will implement a 6-minute walk test three times, six
to eight weeks apart. Physical activity data will be collected and
summarized.
8. Grantee will promote and facilitate local, state, and national
partnerships for the purpose of establishing or enhancing program
support that involves increasing physical activity and good nutrition
for the Tribally-managed Boys and Girls Club sites. This includes but
is not limited to establishing other partners such as American Indian-
Alaska Native Program Branch (AI-ANPB) of Head Start Programs, Wings of
America, United National Indian Tribal Youth, Inc. (UNITY), Tribal
colleges, Boys and Girls Club of America, Tribal organizations, local
community health providers and other private organizations as
appropriate.
9. Grantee will continue to implement current evaluation processes
in consultation for the T.R.A.I.L. project. At a minimum, the
evaluation will include:
(a) Training attendance (gender, age, grade level); and
(b) Pre- and post- tests to assess participant knowledge.
(c) Monthly activity logs from each site on the physical activity
portion of their program. Daily data to be collected includes the date,
number of minutes of physical activity, and number of children
participating.
(d) Information/log on parent and family participation in education
and activity programs, community involvement and partnerships.
Submit collated and summarized data to the IHS. Work with the IHS
in drafting an evaluation summary at the end of the project period for
publication. Submit collated and summarized data and project evaluation
summaries to all sites. Provide a minimum of annual reports (feedback)
to each site on how their data compare to data (mean, median, and
range) from other selected sites.
10. Provide ongoing technical support to the sites for the duration
of the initiative. Provide training and technical assistance in all
forms, i.e., on-site, on-line, by phone, and mail. The planning, design
and delivery of training and technical assistance will support the
local organization's long-term planning and outreach efforts. The
training will be customized based on sites' capability and experience.
Technical assistance will also be provided on program planning and
implementation. Collaborate with IHS to provide services to club sites.
Maintain records and reports.
11. Provide technical consultation to the sites in developing a
written work plan, with measurable goals, objectives, and activities.
[[Page 41430]]
12. Establish a formal agreement with Tribal Boys and Girls Club
sites which involves minimal fiscal assistance but substantial
technical support to make sure clubs successfully implement the
T.R.A.I.L. program.
13. Submit to the IHS a written work plan and report describing
each site's demographics, information on the number of youth in the
eligible age range in the catchment area, the number that attend the
Boys and Girls Clubs regularly, and the number served by this project,
goals, objectives, activities, partnerships, and proposed outcomes.
14. Provide IHS written quarterly reports on the evaluation
outcomes, activity reports at each site, any parent involvement
activities and other participation, description of the community
partnerships, and other activities as appropriate. Quarterly reports
shall coincide with dates for IHS quarterly reports to HHS and shall
highlight work supporting Healthy Weight for Life and Let's Move Indian
Country.
15. Conduct quarterly conference calls with IHS to review project
status.
C. Continuation of Ongoing and Prior Activity as a Cooperative
Agreement
All of the identified activities are continuation activities
associated with the previous cooperative agreement. This collaboration
for the implementation of the T.R.A.I.L. program at selected sites,
along with the evaluation process and reporting are deemed very
successful and supportive of ongoing Agency and Administration
activities and initiatives. This agreement is proposed for the purpose
of continuation of these activities.
III. Justification for Single Source Award
NCAI is identified as the single source for the award, based on
their successful record of performance with this project, their unique
relationship and work in developing and maintaining: (1) Relationships
with the Boys and Girls Clubs organization and staff, (2) being able to
successfully implement the T.R.A.I.L. program curriculum, (3) the
project web site information, and (4) the project data and evaluation
systems. The award is for a continuation of activities identified.
These activities, the collaboration with the network of Native American
Boys and Girls Clubs, and the evaluation process have been effectively
undertaken by NCAI for the past 8 years. The process, as well as, the
outcomes have been deemed very successful and clearly supportive of
Agency initiatives for youth (including Healthy Weight for Life), as
well as the Administration's Let's Move Indian Country initiative.
The grantee has documented success in (1) Recruiting and working
with sites, (2) developing and implementing the T.R.A.I.L. curriculum
at the sites, (3) implementing a method for collecting data from the
sites, (4) fostering collaboration between sites and their communities,
and (5) collecting and reporting data that demonstrates participant
increases in health and food choice knowledge and increases in
participant physical activity and level of fitness. Some of the data
for the current 3 year cooperative agreement (2008-2011) and 1 year
extension (2012) are as follows:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Year One Data (2008-2009)
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of AI/AN Children 1691 (811 males/880 females).
Participating in Training.
Age Range of Children Participating.... ages 4-14 (67% were 8-10 year
olds).
of Children Participating in 668 (542/81% showed
the Walk Challenges. improvement).
Hours of Physical Activity............. 19,688.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Program test scores indicate: (a) Increased knowledge about diabetes,
(b) increased physical activity, and (c) increased ability to identify
healthier food options (increase in post test scores vs. pre test
scores).
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Year Two Data (2009-2010)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
of AI/AN Children 1673 (767 males/906 females).
Participating in Training.
Age Range of Children Participating.... ages 4-14 (72% were 8-10 year
olds).
of Children Participating in 654 (438/67% showed improvement
the Walk Challenges. in level of physical
activity).
Hours of Physical Activity............. 14,527.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Program test scores indicate: (a) Increased knowledge about diabetes,
(b) increased physical activity, and (c) increased ability to identify
healthier food options (increase in post test scores vs. pre test
scores).
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Year Three Data (2010-2011)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
of AI/AN Children 1762 (839 males/923 females).
Participating in Training.
Age Range of Children Participating.... Ages 4-14 (average age was
8.5).
of Children Participating in 509 (360/71% showed improvement
the Walk Challenges. in level of physical
activity).
Hours of Physical Activity............. 12,150.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Program test scores indicate: (a) Increased knowledge about diabetes,
(b) increased physical activity, and (c) increased ability to identify
healthier food options (increase in post test scores vs. pre test
scores).
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The T.R.A.I.L. curriculum was developed by the grantee as a part of
the initial agreement. The requested update to the curriculum and
subsequent implementation will be more efficiently and cost effectively
performed as the grantee is very familiar with the existing curriculum
and the implementation.
The grantee uses a sub-contractor (First Pic) to develop and
implement the evaluation and reporting process for individual sites and
for analysis and reporting of aggregated data. This unique and program
specific evaluation system has been beneficial to sites and to IHS. All
of the tools for using this system have been made available via the
Native American Boys and Girls Clubs Web site--www.naclubs.org/
trailCurrent information about health and fitness activities is
available at--http://www.naclubs.org/media/pdf/ClubNotes_2012V1.pdf.
The grantee (NCAI) has been effective, timely, and cooperative, and
has
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consistently achieved or exceeded requirements of the previous
agreement. NCAI and First Pic are uniquely qualified to continue to
receive the award and provide the identified program activities based
on their history with this project and project sites, their evaluation
system, their knowledge of the curriculum, and their documented
performance achievements with the sites under the previous agreement.
All HHS and IHS policies, regulations, grants management and
programmatic reporting requirements from the prior funding segment
remain in effect under this renewal announcement unless otherwise
stated or modified in the terms and conditions of the new Notice of
Award.
Agency Contacts
1. Questions on the programmatic issues may be directed to:
Lorraine Valdez, MPA, BSN, RN, Acting Director, IHS Division of
Diabetes Treatment and Prevention, 5300 Homestead Road NE.,
Albuquerque, NM 87110, 505-248-4182, [email protected].
2. Questions on grants management and fiscal matters may be
directed to: Mr. Andrew Diggs, Grants Management Specialist, 801
Thompson Avenue, TMP Suite 360, Rockville, MD 20852, 301-443-2262,
[email protected].
Other Information
The Public Health Service strongly encourages all cooperative
agreement and contract recipients to provide a smoke-free workplace and
promote the non-use of all tobacco products. In addition, Public Law
103-227, the Pro-Children Act of 1994, prohibits smoking in certain
facilities (or in some cases, any portion of the facility) in which
regular or routine education, library, day care, health care, or early
childhood development services are provided to children. This is
consistent with the HHS mission to protect and advance the physical and
mental health of the American people.
Dated: June 27, 2012.
Yvette Roubideaux,
Director, Indian Health Service.
[FR Doc. 2012-17182 Filed 7-12-12; 8:45 am]
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