[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 180 (Thursday, September 17, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55859-55860]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-23357]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Health Resources and Services Administration


Alliance for Innovation on Maternal and Child Health Cooperative 
Agreement

AGENCY: Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), Department 
of Health and Human Services (HHS).

ACTION: Notice of Single-Case Deviation from Competition Requirement 
for the Alliance for Innovation on Maternal and Child Health 
Cooperative Agreement at the Association of State and Territorial 
Health Officials, Grant Number UC4MC28036.

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SUMMARY: HRSA announces the award of a program expansion supplement in 
the amount of $100,000 for the Alliance for Innovation on Maternal and 
Child Health (AIM) cooperative agreement. The purpose of the AIM 
cooperative agreement, as stated in the funding

[[Page 55860]]

opportunity announcement (FOA), is to expand access to care for the 
maternal and child health (MCH) populations through the following 
program focus areas: (1) Ensuring continuity of coverage and care for 
pregnant women and children; (2) improving systems of care for children 
with special health care needs; and (3) promoting the use of Bright 
Futures Guidelines for all children. The program expansion supplement 
will provide funds to the Association of State and Territorial State 
Health Officials (ASTHO), the cooperative agreement awardee, during the 
budget period of September 30, 2015, through September 29, 2016, to 
provide targeted technical assistance to two States at risk for rapid 
transmission of HIV and Hepatitis C virus (HCV) through injection drug 
use, to build capacity and expand access to care, document and share 
best practices with other State Health Officials also seeking to 
prevent HIV and HCV infection through injection drug use.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Intended Recipient of the Award: The 
Association of State and Territorial Health Officials
Amount of the Non-Competitive Award: $100,000
CFDA Number: 93.110
Current Project Period: 9/30/2014-9/29/2017
Period of Supplemental Funding: 9/30/2015-9/29/2016

    Authority: Social Security Act, Title V, Sec.  501(a)(2) (42 
U.S.C. 701(a)(2)).

    Justification: On April 24, 2015, the Governor of Indiana declared 
a public health disaster emergency in Scott County, Indiana, 
attributable to the HIV epidemic in that county. On the same day, the 
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a Health Alert 
Network Advisory to inform other public health departments and 
healthcare providers of the possibility of HIV outbreaks among persons 
who inject drugs and to provide guidance to assist in the 
identification and prevention of such outbreaks. As of August 28, 2015, 
the Indiana outbreak is now 181 (177 confirmed and 4 presumptive 
positive) adult and adolescent HIV infections, including a small number 
of pregnant women. Though there are HIV prevention best practices to 
inform States, additional innovative practices are needed to reach 
women of child-bearing age, adolescents, and young adults within high 
risk counties, which do not routinely access health care.
    As stated in the FOA, the Alliance for Innovation on Maternal and 
Child Health (AIM) is a Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB) 
collaborative program of awardee organizations for the purpose of 
expanding access to care for the maternal and child health (MCH) 
populations. Per the FOA, AIM Collaborative Engagement awardees are 
responsible for engaging key State agencies and offices (i.e., Public 
Health and Medicaid) in AIM activities and raising awareness of best 
practices.
    In 2014, following objective review of its application, HRSA 
awarded the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials 
(ASTHO) cooperative agreement funding as an AIM Collaborative 
Engagement program. If approved, this would be the first program 
expansion supplement for this cooperative agreement.
    ASTHO is the national nonprofit organization representing public 
health agencies in the United States, the U.S. Territories, the 
District of Columbia, and over 100,000 public health professionals 
these agencies employ. As part of its AIM cooperative agreement, ASTHO 
identifies and disseminates best practices to meet the needs of MCH 
populations. At the time of the FOA and application, expanding access 
to care among high risk populations to prevent HIV infection through 
injection drug use was not yet identified as a need of MCH populations. 
As such, the FOA and application did not address it.
    To meet this emerging need, ASTHO submitted a prior approval 
request to expand the scope of its AIM cooperative agreement award to 
work with States at risk for rapid transmission of HIV and HCV through 
injection drug use. ASTHO, working with MCHB, would provide targeted 
technical assistance to two states to build capacity and expand access 
to care among high risk populations to prevent HIV and HCV infection 
through injection drug use. ASTHO would also document and share best 
practices and other technical assistance resources from the two 
targeted states to its network of State Health Officials.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sylvia Sosa, MSc, Office of Policy and 
Planning, Maternal and Child Health Bureau, Health Resources and 
Services Administration, 5600 Fishers Lane, Room 18W25D, Rockville, 
Maryland 20857; [email protected].

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                                                                                                     FY 2015
                                                                                    FY 2015         Estimated
     Grantee/organization name          Grant number              State            Authorized      supplemental
                                                                                 funding level       funding
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The Association of State and        UC4MC28036..........  VA..................        $350,000         $100,000
 Territorial Health Officials.
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    Dated: September 11, 2015.
James Macrae,
Acting Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2015-23357 Filed 9-16-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4165-15-P