How long can funding for the projects be continued?

The project budget length is five years. Throughout the project period, CDC’s commitment to continuation of awards will be conditioned on the availability of funds, evidence of satisfactory progress by the recipient (as documented in required reports), and the determination that continued funding is in the best interest of the federal government. To be granted a continuation award, you must have:

• Completed all recipient requirements
• Submitted appropriate data and programmatic reports on your annual target levels of performance for each program performance indicator
• Demonstrated sufficient progress in programmatic activities

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Are matching funds required?

Matching funds are not required for this program.

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Who may apply for funding?

The following types of organizations may apply:

• Nonprofit with 501(c)(3) IRS status (other than institution of higher education)
• Community-based
• Faith-based

Note: Health departments, for-profit agencies, and colleges/universities are not eligible to apply.

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What are the special requirements for eligibility?

You must:

• Have current tax-exempt status 501(c)(3) or proof of incorporation as a not-for-profit organization.
• Submit an application for only one category (A or B).
• Be located in and provide services within the area for which you are applying, either the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico or the U.S. Virgin Islands.
• Provide documentation that you have discussed the details of the proposed CTR program with your state/local health department and agree to follow its guidelines for these services. (See PA Attachment V for a list of CTR requirements.) You must share CTR service plans with the health department and obtain a letter of support to be eligible for funding (See PA Attachment X: Health Department Director Sample Letter).
• Be able to show that you have provided HIV prevention or care services in your area for the past 24 months by submitting proof of service, location, and history (including client characteristics), e.g., process monitoring data, service utilization data, or a newspaper article.
• Submit one copy of a progress report or letter from one of your funding organizations (if your agency is not currently funded by an outside source, then this documentation is not required).
• Provide at least three letters of support from civic (or nonprofit), business, or faith-based organizations, that are located in the community and also serve the proposed target population.
• Complete PA Attachment IX: Historical Data Table to show that the agency has provided HIV prevention or care services to your selected target population for the past 12 months. The table will illustrate the number of clients that your agency has served for the past 12 months, broken out by race, ethnicity, and age group.
• Provide a written statement (or letter) that within 6 months of being selected for funding you will develop formal agreements, such as an MOA, with each collaborating agency serving persons identified through the program.
• Not request funding greater than the ceiling of the award range, including indirect costs.
• Not be a government or municipal agency, private or public university or college, or private hospital. (See the “What are the funding restrictions?” section for more information on allowable subcontracting with these entities.)
• Not be a 501(c)(4) organization. (NOTE: Title 2 of the U.S. Code section 1611 states that an organization described in section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code that engages in lobbying activities is not eligible to receive federal funds constituting a grant, loan, or award.)

Notes:

• All information submitted with your application is subject to verification during predecisional site visits.
• You may not submit an application as the principle partner of another organization that does not meet the criteria above.

If your application is incomplete or nonresponsive to the special requirements listed in this section, it will not be entered into the review process. Late submissions will be considered nonresponsive.

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If we are funded, what activities are we required to do?

Throughout the term of this program announcement, you will be required to implement a maximum of two program models (e.g., POL and CTR) for your proposed program. The CDC-selected models, listed below, will be implemented with individuals at high risk for HIV infection or transmission in high-risk settings.

You must adapt and implement one CDC effective behavioral intervention and can select to implement up to one Public Health Strategy. CDC highly recommends that applicants consider administering Counseling, Testing and Referral services.

Allowable program models for Categories A and B are as follows:

1. Effective Behavioral Interventions (EBIs): You must select one of the following EBIs to implement with high-risk individuals:
   • Community PROMISE
   • Focus on Youth
   • Healthy Relationships
   • Many Men, Many Voices (3MV)
   • Modelo de Intervención Psicomédica (MIP)
   • MPowerment
   • Partnership for Health (PfH)
   • Popular Opinion Leader (POL)
   • Real AIDS Prevention Project (RAPP)
   • RESPECT
   • Safety Counts
   • Sisters Informing Sisters on Topics about AIDS (SISTA)
   • Street Smart
   • VOICES/VOCES
2. Public Health Strategies (PHS): You may select one PHS:
   • Comprehensive Risk Counseling Services (CRCS)
   • Counseling, Testing and Referral Services (CTR)

All interventions must include promotion of abstinence, faithful monogamy, and correct, consistent condom use (ABC).

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Are there additional required activities?

The following activities are required. They must be discussed in the project narrative but do not require a separate sub-budget.

1. Implement a recruitment strategy to reach persons at greatest risk for acquiring or transmitting HIV (e.g., social networking component). The program must seek input from the target population on selecting the recruitment strategy and determining how incentives will be used in your program.
2. Identify baseline, annual target levels, and 5-year goals of performance for each program performance indicator identified by CDC. The existing performance indicators are currently under review. Final indicators and associated resources will be provided by CDC at a future date. If you fail to achieve your target levels of performance, CDC will work with you to improve your performance. If your performance fails to improve, CDC may reduce your award or defund your program.
3. Collect required data variables for national monitoring and process monitoring. Collect outcome monitoring data for local program monitoring and evaluation. Report required data variables to CDC through Program Evaluation and Monitoring System (PEMS) (see PA Attachment IV: Description of PEMS ).
4. Convene a local advisory board (e.g., focus group) of your target population(s), as appropriate, to assist you with programmatic decision-making (e.g., test program materials, conduct needs assessments, and determine site/location of program activities). This advisory board must be used throughout the entire project period to ensure your services are responsive to the needs of the target population. (Please note: if you select to implement MPowerment, the core group can serve as your advisory board.)
5. Refer individuals living with HIV to prevention services, medical care, and Ryan White service providers (including screening for STDs, tuberculosis, and hepatitis) if your organization is unable to provide these services directly. (If the program is for a SPOC intervention, such as POL, then applicants are exempt from this requirement.)
6. Refer and link high-risk individuals into medical care and other relevant social services, including HIV testing, STD screening, housing programs, mental health services, legal services, and other venues as appropriate, if your organization is unable to provide these services directly. (If the program is for a single point of contact [SPOC] intervention, such as POL, then you are exempt from this requirement.)
7. Refer individuals living with HIV infection to partner counseling and referral services (PCRS).
8. Collaborate and participate in the HIV prevention community planning process with your local health department.
9. Collaborate and coordinate HIV prevention services with local AIDS Service Organizations (ASO) and other relevant health care providers who provide care services to persons living with HIV/AIDS.
10. Within the first six months of funding, you must develop a formal agreement, such as a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA), with each agency to which you intend to make referrals or with which you will collaborate to provide services to persons identified through the program.
11. Identify and address the capacity-building needs (including organizational and programmatic infrastructure) of your program and participate in mandatory CDC-sponsored training. Mandatory trainings consist of specific program model training requirements and PEMS-related trainings.
12. Hire staff who can demonstrate proven effectiveness in working with the target population for the past 12 months.
13. Include adequate funds in your budget for staff training so that newly hired staff can attend training on the program models you plan to implement (e.g., DEBIs).
14. Submit any newly developed public information resources and materials to the CDC National Prevention Information Network (NPIN) so they can be added to the database and accessed by other organizations and agencies.
15. Adhere to CDC policies for securing prior approval for CDC-sponsored conferences. If you plan to use CDC funding to hold a conference, you must send a copy of the agenda to CDC's Grants Management Office for approval.
16. If you plan to use materials and include the name or logo of either CDC or the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), send a copy of the proposed material to CDC's Grants Management Office for approval.

Convene a local materials review panel or utilize your local health department materials review panel to comply with CDC's Assurance of Compliance with the Requirements for Contents of AIDS-Related Written Materials Form (CDC Form 0.1113, see PA Attachment XIII ). The current guidelines and the form may also be downloaded from the CDC website.

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Does this PA fund PCRS activities?

No, Partner Counseling Referral Services (PCRS) are not funded by this PA. If you apply to conduct CTR, PCRS activities must be addressed with clients through referrals to the health department.

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How will CDC assist my organization if we are funded?

In a cooperative agreement, CDC staff is substantially involved in program activities in addition to grant monitoring. CDC involvement will include:

• Providing technical assistance and consultation on program and administrative issues directly or through partnerships with health departments, national and regional minority organizations, contractors, and other national and local organizations.
• Working with you to assess and broker training needs and ensure that those needs are met.
• Disseminating current information, including best practices and lessons learned, in all areas of HIV prevention.
• Strengthening the capacity of your organization to implement evidence-based program models through CDC procedures, referrals for capacity-building assistance, workshops, conferences, and other written materials (e.g., adaptation of DEBIs).
• Providing technical assistance and information on new rapid HIV testing technologies.
• Helping you to establish partnerships with state and local health departments, community planning groups, and other groups who receive federal funding to support HIV/AIDS activities.
• Ensuring that successful HIV prevention interventions, program models and lessons learned are shared among grantees through meetings, workshops, conferences, newsletter development, the Internet, Spanish language versions of intervention materials, and other avenues of communication.
• Supporting and monitoring implementation of your programs and fiscal activities through direct observation of program models in action, site visits, technical assistance, budget review and approval, and ensuring that grantees maintain client confidentiality as well as compliance with other organizational requirements.
• Developing program evaluation guidelines and procedures as well as program monitoring systems that include indicators and protocols.
• Monitoring your progress toward achieving the target level of performance for each program performance indicator by working with the organization in support of achieving target levels of performance.
• Reviewing and monitoring your internal policies to ensure that they are in place and in compliance with local, state, and federal laws and reporting requirements.
• Ensuring that effective training practices and implementation of policies/protocols occur within the first six months of funding.
• Providing assistance with required program indicators.

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Do I need to submit a letter of intent, and what is the format?

CDC urges you to complete an LOI before you send in your application. Although the LOI is not required or binding and does not enter into the review of the subsequent application, it will be used to gauge the level of interest in this program and to allow CDC to plan the application review. Please submit only one LOI per application.

The LOI must contain the following information (See PA Attachment VII: Letter of Intent):

• Your organization's name, address, and the name of the executive director.
• The category under which your organization is applying (e.g., Category A or Category B) and the name of the program(s) you propose to perform under this PA.

You can access this form online.

CDC strongly encourages you to submit the LOI by e-mail to PA08803@cdc.gov.

If you cannot submit by e-mail, fax a paper copy of the completed form to:

Lisa Mackey

Public Health Analyst

CDC, NCHHSTP, DHAP

Fax: 404-639-5257 or 404-639-5258

LOI Deadline Date:

February 12, 2008

Note: Do not send your application with the letter of intent.

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Should my organization apply online?

CDC strongly encourages you to submit your application online at www.grants.gov, the official federal e-grant website. Grants.gov has all of the required forms and instructions posted for this announcement. You can complete the application offline and then upload and submit it.

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