Questions and Answers Regarding State Promotion of Strategies to Advance Oral Health (CDC-RFA-DP24-0048)

Purpose and Overview

On This Page

Purpose and Overview
Eligibility
Funding and Budget
Application Process
Review Process
Recipient Activities
Other Questions

The purpose of this non-research Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO), State Promotion of Strategies to Advance Oral Health (CDC-RFA-DP24-0048), is to prioritize populations of focus defined as groups experiencing persistent health disparities and inequities. Recipients will increase access to evidence-based preventive dental services; increase access to optimal community water fluoridation; improve oral health and chronic disease surveillance s to describe oral health trends; and increase awareness of infection prevention and control guidelines in traditional (private practice) and non-traditional settings (clinics, mobile units, school sealant programs. The NOFO is a 3-year cooperative agreement supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Applications for the NOFO must be submitted by May 28, 2024.

1. What is the project period for this NOFO?

This Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO), DP24-0048, covers a 3-year project period from fiscal years 2024 to 2027. Throughout the project period, CDC will continue the award based on the availability of funds, the 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. Recipients are annually required to submit a Continuation Application to request renewal of funding for each following 12-month period.

2. What are the core topical areas?

Core topical areas include community water fluoridation, data analysis to support medical-dental integration and evidence-based preventative dental services, evidence-based dental services, and infection prevention and control.

3. In my state, all Memoranda of Understanding (MOU)/Memoranda of Agreement (MOA) are legally binding. Is there flexibility to submit a letter instead of an MOU/MOA?

Yes. Applicants may submit MOAs/MOUs/Letters of Commitment/Letters of Support/other equivalent documents in lieu of an MOU/MOA to comply with the NOFO.

4. Is an evaluation and performance measurement plan required for this NOFO?

Applicants must provide an evaluation and performance measurement plan that demonstrates how they will fulfill the requirements described in the “CDC Evaluation and Performance Measurement” and “Project Description” sections of this NOFO. See NOFO pages 23-24 for additional guidance on the plan’s criteria.

5. Will CDC continue strong partnerships with states on evaluation activities?

Yes, CDC will work closely with recipients by providing ongoing evaluation technical assistance on all aspects of evaluation including operationalizing the performance measures and developing state-level evaluation plans.

6. Can we please have some additional information on the definition of “eligible students” for Measure 8 & 9?

For the sake of performance measures, eligible students are the focus of EBPDS programs in an eligible school. Eligible students should be between six and nine years old, typically between first and third grade. However, we will also accept data from middle schools (typically grades six through nine).

These ages/grades were chosen based on the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Oral Health Sealant for Children measure (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Measure Inventory Tool ID: 830).

Eligible schools are schools where 50% or more of students qualify for the free or reduced school meal (FARM) program, according to Department of Education data. Some jurisdictions (e.g., Colorado, Minnesota, New Mexico) have universal/permanent FARM status. When needed, alternatives for FARM will be discussed with recipients.

7. For clarification, do we not need to address EBPDS for people with diabetes? Just children?

The “Evidence-Based Preventive Dental Services” strategy is only for children. The “Data Analysis to Support Medical Dental Integration and EBPDS” strategy includes adults and children.

8. How does the CDC expect states to define the optimal use of water fluoridation in this grant?

Optimal is defined as 0.7 milligrams per Liter (mg/L).

9. Is the population of focus the same for all four strategies?  CWF-MDI-EBPDS and IPC? 

No. In addition to the populations of focus listed in the NOFO by each of the four strategy/topical areas (see page 19 in the NOFO), each applicant must propose at least one population of focus using relevant data to identify communities with significant oral health disparities.

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Eligibility

1. Who is eligible to apply for funding?

Open competition: Unrestricted; all organization are eligible to apply.

State governments

County governments

City or township governments

Special district governments

Independent school districts

Public and State controlled institutions of higher education

Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized)

Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities

Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments)

Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education

Nonprofits without 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education

Private institutions of higher education

For profit organizations other than small businesses

Small businesses

State governments or their bona fide agents (includes the District of Columbia)

Local governments or their bona fide agents

Territorial governments or their bona fide agents in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianna Islands, American Samoa, Guam, the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau

State controlled institutions of higher education

American Indian or Alaska Native tribal governments (federally recognized or state-recognized)

American Indian or Alaska native tribally designated organizations

2. We are a nonprofit organization that provides preventive dental care to economically disadvantaged children and adults with developmental disabilities. Are we eligible to apply for this prevention program?

Yes, eligibility for competition is open. To be responsive to the NOFO, all applicants must address the outcomes (in bold) in the logic model for each core topical area and the associated strategies: Community Water Fluoridation, Data Analysis to Support Medical-Dental Integration and EBPDS, and Infection Prevention and Control.

3. I am a professor of public health and want to submit a proposal for an oral cancer prevention program. Would we be eligible to apply for this funding?

4. Are non-governmental organizations eligible to apply and qualify for funding in this particular NOFO?

5. If a city already has grants- state or federal, are they excluded from receiving this grant?

No, a city is not excluded from this announcement. This announcement is unrestricted. Current recipients of other grants are eligible to apply.

6. My center is an FQHC in Dallas, Texas. Can we apply even though our community has adequately fluoridated water?

Yes, an FQHC can apply for these funds. Eligibility for competition is open. To be responsive to the NOFO, all applicants must address the outcomes (in bold) in the logic model for each core topical area and the associated strategies: Community Water Fluoridation, Data Analysis to Support Medical-Dental Integration and EBPDS, and Infection Prevention and Control.

7. Does the PI of the project have to be a US citizen or permanent resident?

Yes, the PI of the project must be a US citizen or permanent resident.

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Funding and Budget

1. Is a cost sharing or match required?

Cost sharing or matching funds are not required for this NOFO.

2. For the budget information sheets in the Grants Application Package/SF424A there is no budget category for Consultants. Should “Consultants” be included under “Contractual”?

Yes, the SF424A “Contractual” line (line f) should display the total from both the “Consultants Costs” and “Contractual Costs” budget lines from the itemized Budget Narrative.

3. May we purchase portable dental units or community water fluoridation equipment with this funding?

The NOFO allows the purchase of portable dental units and fluoridation equipment. In the Federal Government Budget Guidelines, equipment is an item that costs at least $5,000. Items such as portable dental units that cost less than $5,000 can be budgeted under the Supplies line item.

4. Can the NOFO funds be used to pay providers to place sealants?

No, the NOFO funds cannot be used to pay for clinical care. The definition of ‘clinical care’ is paying for direct health services or paying health providers to provide clinical services, such as placing sealants.

5. The application states that CDC will not fund clinical care. Can you give me an example of what CDC would fund with regard to sealant program activities?

CDC does not provide assistance for direct clinical services, such as for a provider’s time to apply a sealant or other clinical services. CDC funds may be used for a to identify eligible schools, coordinate with school officials and other school sealant programs, document sealant delivery and cost savings, and leverage additional funding for school sealant programs. Other examples of allowable expenses for sealant programs include in-state travel for program staff, local sealant coordinators, and portable sealant program supplies.

6. We plan to support communities with funding for fluoridation equipment. Would this activity be budgeted as equipment or as contractual?

This activity should be budgeted under the contractual line item. The six required elements for the contracts are outlined in the Federal Government budget guidelines.

7. If a currently funded staff position has lost funding, can the position be funded under this new award?

Yes, if prior funding is no longer available, the staff person may be funded under this award to implement activities specified under this NOFO. No more than 50% of funds can be allocated to support salaries, benefits, and fringe costs.

8. Can applicants request funding that is greater than the ceiling?

Applicants are not allowed to exceed the ceiling awards specified in the NOFO.

9. Is direct assistance (DA) for on-site personnel available through this NOFO?

No, direct assistance is not available through this NOFO, CDC-RFA-DP24-0048.

10. Should travel costs for required meetings be included in the budget?

Yes, travel costs for required meetings should be included in the budget.

11. Is the budget included as part of the total page limit for applications? Is there a page limit specific to the budget narrative?

The budget tables and narrative are not a part of the total project narrative page limit, and the budget narrative does not have a page limit.

12. Can funds be used toward staff salaries?

Yes, funds can be used to support positions described in the NOFO. No more than 50% of funds can be allocated to support costs of salaries, benefits, and fringe benefits.

13. Are awards only going to be up to $380,000, or can we ask and potentially receive the maximum allowable of $525,000?

On page 28, the award floor is $250,00 and the ceiling is $525,000. Applicants can apply for funds between this range; however, the expected average award is $380,800.

14. Is there a minimum that must be devoted to staff?

No. The required minimum of at least 50% of the budget applies only to program implementation. Applicants may propose that more than 50% be allocated to program implementation. See page 38.

15. If we have other funding sources for staff to attend the NOHC, can we count that as meeting the requirement?

Yes.

16. How is “implementation” defined for the budget?

Implementation is defined as anything in the budget not defined as salary, benefits, and fringe costs for staff. This includes but is not limited to contracts, supplies, travel, etc. See pages 37 and 38 of the NOFO.

17. Can you clarify the restrictions on the use of funds for clinical services?

CDC funds cannot be used to pay salaries for direct clinical services. See page 40 for more information.

18. Our state already funds new and replacement fluoridation equipment, so we do not need these grants. Is that okay?

All applicants must demonstrate they can address all topical areas and required activities and continue to expand their reach of these core areas in the state they represent.

19. Does the application need to include a budget for all 3 three years of the grant period or just year 1?

The application only needs to include a budget for the first year.

20. If we can only spend 50% on staff, it will be hard to afford two staff members. What happens if we do not have two CDC-funded staff members to send to the required meetings?

The NOFO requires recipients to budget for two program staff members to attend these required meetings.

21. What are allowable costs? Would they support building costs? Engineering costs?

No, allowable costs do not support building costs or engineering costs. Examples of allowable costs include mini-grants for the purchase of new CWF equipment, and the repair and maintenance of existing CWF equipment.

22. Can we use CDC funds to cover operational expenses on PPE, supplies/equipment?

CDC funds can be used to purchase supplies and equipment with approval.

23. On the informational call it was stated the award ceiling is $380,800. If that is accurate, we will need to see that in writing as we move forward with the internal review of our application- will the Notice of Funding Opportunity for the State Promotion of Strategies to Advance Oral Health be updated to reflect this?

No changes will be made to the award amount in NOFO 0048. Applicants can apply for the ceiling of $525,000 per year. However, the average award will be $380, 800.

24. We understand that applicants are not allowed to exceed the ceiling awards specified in the NOFO, but can applicants request funding beyond the average amount? For instance, could an applicant apply for the full ceiling amount of $525,000/year?

Yes, applicants can apply for the full ceiling amount of $525,000. However, the average award will be $380,800 per year.

25. Can you please advise if the Indirect Cost Line/Amount is counted as part of the 50% cap on Salaries, Fringe, and Benefits OR if it is not included in that calculation and is considered part of program implementation?

CDC encourages applicants to work with their budget person to develop their budget.

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Application Process

The application process and relevant information can be found in the NOFO – “Section D. Application and Submission Information” on page 31.

1. I am having technical problems registering and inputting information into Grants.gov. Can you help?

For assistance with technical difficulties with the Grants.gov system, please contact:

GRANTS.GOV Applicant Support
1-800-518-4726
support@grants.gov

2. Are applicants required to submit a Letter of Intent (LOI)?

No, an LOI is not required but encouraged.

The LOI should include the following:

Descriptive title of proposed project.
Name, address, telephone number, and an email address of the Principal Investigator, Project Director, or both.
Name, address, telephone number, and an email address of the primary contact for writing and submitting this application.
Number and title of this NOFO.

3. Do attachments such as CVs and organization charts count towards the project narrative page limit?

No, attachments do not count toward the project narrative page limit.

4. Are there page limits for attachments or the number of letters of support?

There are no limits on the number of pages for attachments. For collaborations with other CDC projects and CDC-funded organizations, the maximum number of MOUs/MOAs/LOS/LOC/other equivalent documents is three. The maximum number for collaborations with organizations not funded by the CDC is five. Please see pages 15 and 16 for more information.

5. Is the Background section required as part of the Project Narrative?

Yes, the background section is required as part of the Project Narrative.

6. Do we include “Organizational Capacity of Recipients to Implement the Approach” in the project narrative or in separate attachments of CVs and organizational charts?

Organizational Capacity of Recipients to Implement the Approach should be described in the project narrative. Supporting documentation, specifically CVs/resumes and organizational charts should be attachments.

7. Are the Assurances and Certifications documents required?

Yes. All applicants are required to sign and submit CDC Assurances and Certifications.

8. To Whom is the letter of intent to be sent? Is there a template for the Letter of Intent?

The letter of intent should be sent to the email address StateOHE0048@cdc.gov by April 12. There is not a template for the Letter of Intent. Please include responses to the questions on page 34.

9. Do we need to include actual letters of commitment/MOUs in our Collaboration section, or can we include these as separate attachments, so they do not count toward our 20-page limit?

No, these are separate attachments and do not count toward the narrative limit of 20 pages.

10. Will we get the notification that our Letter of intent was received?

Applicants will receive an auto-response from the mailbox.

11. On page 35, the purpose section states that we should only write 2-3 sentences. Is that total or separate for each of the four interventions?

This purpose statement refers to the applicant’s overall approach to addressing the public health problem described in the CDC Background section.

12. Which optional attachments should be included? See page 56

Under NOFO 0048, many of the optional attachments are required. Please read the NOFO carefully to determine what you need to attach or how you can incorporate information into the application narrative.

13. Do we create our own unique outcomes, or just use the ones from the logic model? If it’s just the ones from the logic model, is it only the bolded ones?

At a minimum, the bold outcomes must be addressed by applicants. Per page 8 of the NOFO, “All applicants must address the outcomes (in bold) in the logic model for each core topical area and the associated strategies: Community Water Fluoridation, Data Analysis to Support Medical-Dental Integration and EBPDS, and Infection Prevention and Control.” The bolded outcomes in the logic model inform the performance measures.

After being awarded, recipients must submit a more detailed Evaluation and Performance Measurement plan, including a DMP, if applicable, within the first 6 months of award. Per page 24, a recipient’s evaluation plan must “include a state-specific logic model based on the NOFO logic model.” The state-specific logic model must address the outcomes in the NOFO logic model. The wording of the outcomes can be the same in the applicants’ logic model as in the NOFO logic model.

14. There is a section of the narrative in which we are to write about the planned outcomes. If we are intended to address the bolded outcomes written in the logic model, what are we expected to write in the narrative under the outcomes section? Are we just restating the bolded logic model outcomes here?

Per page 30, the outcomes section of the narrative must: clearly identify the outcomes they expect to achieve by the end of the period of performance, as identified in the logic model in the Approach section of the CDC Project Description. Outcomes are the results that the program intends to achieve and usually indicate the intended direction of change (e.g., increase, decrease). At a minimum, the bold outcomes must be addressed. Per page 8 of the NOFO, “All applicants must address the outcomes (in bold) in the logic model for each core topical area and the associated strategies: Community Water Fluoridation, Data Analysis to Support Medical-Dental Integration and EBPDS, and Infection Prevention and Control.” The bolded outcomes in the logic model inform the performance measures.

15. Please clarify the award notification date.

Funded recipients will receive the award notification on or before August 31, 2024.

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Review Process

The review process and relevant information can be found in the NOFO – “Section E. Review and Selection Process” on pages 42-46.

1. What are the review criteria for these applications?

Three sections of the application will be scored: (1) Approach (43 points), (2) Evaluation and Performance Measurement (25 points), and (3) Applicant’s Organizational Capacity to Implement the Approach (32 points). The budget section is reviewed, but not scored.

2. What is the review process for these applications?

Applications will be reviewed in three phases:

a. Phase I Review

All applications will be initially reviewed for eligibility and completeness by CDC Office of Grants Services. Complete applications will be reviewed for responsiveness by the Grants Management Officials and Program Officials. Non-responsive applications will not advance to Phase II review.

b. Phase II Review

A review panel will evaluate complete, eligible applications in accordance with the criteria below.

Approach
Evaluation and Performance Measurement
Applicant’s Organizational Capacity to Implement the Approach

c. Phase III Review

Reviewed applications will be funded in order of score and rank as determined by the review panel. In the event of a tie, program will award the entity that scored highest in the applicant’s Organizational Capacity to Implement the Approach section.

To ensure maximum U.S. coverage, no more than one application per state will be funded. If multiple applicants from the same geographic area or jurisdiction apply under this NOFO, only the highest scoring applicant from that state will be selected for funding.

3. In the event of a tie, the program will award the entity that scored the highest in the applicant’s Organizational Capacity to Implement the Approach section; my question is… is there a second tiebreaker section after that section? Or are there other scoring measures that will determine the winner in the event of a complete scoring tie?

No.

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Recipient Activities

Core Topical Areas

Core topical area strategies (Community Water Fluoridation, Data Analysis to Support Medical Dental Integration and Evidence-based Preventative Dental Services, Evidence-based Preventive Dental Services and Infection Prevention and Control) will be based on recipient’s documented burden of oral diseases within their jurisdiction and health disparities among groups disproportionately affected by oral diseases. Other factors will include the proposed work plan activities and goals, plans to develop program capacity over the project period, and population reach and ability to increase reach in years two through three. Approximately 15 recipients will receive an estimated average award of $380,800.

1. Will there be annual evaluation reports, or will only the cumulative ones be available at the end of year 3?

Yes, there will be annual evaluation reports and a cumulative one at the end of Year 3. A table of required deliverables is on pages 48-49 of the NOFO.

2. Are recipients required to have an EBPDS program that includes schools and non-school settings? Or is a school-based dental sealant and fluoride varnish program sufficient for the EBPDS requirements?

EBPDS programs must be school-based (delivered onsite at schools) or school-linked (recruited from schools and delivered at school-linked offsite venues). Yes, if the applicant has a school-based dental sealant and fluoride varnish program, it is sufficient for the EBPDS requirement.

3. Does travel for staff to the required training count toward the program implementation budget?

Yes.

4. Do all topics have to be addressed, or can we focus on one? Ex: IPC only

All topical areas must be addressed to receive these NOFO funds. This includes Community Water Fluoridation (CWF), Evidence-based Preventive Dental Services (EBPDS), Data Analysis for MDI and EBPDS, and IPC. See the logic model on pages 5-7.

5. How are you defining EBPDS? Can SDF and minimally invasive care be considered EBPDS?

For this NOFO, EBPDS is defined as only dental sealants and fluoride varnish for school-aged children.

6. Is the recipient kick-off meeting scheduled for October 29-31, 2024—see page 38; one of the two recipient meetings listed in the first bullet point required travel costs for two staff members to attend recipient meetings in Atlanta in Fall 2024 and Fall 2026.

Yes.

7. It doesn’t look like the BSS is a requirement included in this NOFO. Is that correct?

Correct, BSS is not a requirement, but applicants may request that the CDC review this request for possible funding.

8. For EBPDS, can we work with two age groups – adolescents in the school setting and older residents in long-term care settings?

EBPDS activities must focus on school-aged children.

9. Is fluoride varnish not considered clinical services? Along with dental sealants?

The application of fluoride varnish and dental sealants is a clinical service, and CDC does not pay for the application of these materials by a provider. See page 40 of the NOFO.

10. Can we use funds for fluoride varnish programs directed to low-income/Medicaid Maternal and Child patients?

Fluoride varnish programs must be designed for children.

11. Does the CDC see the MDI & EBPDS strategy as solely a surveillance strategy?

Yes. As noted on page 8 of the NOFO, Data Analysis to Support Medical Dental Integration and Evidence-based Preventive Dental Services (EBPDS) applies to a surveillance strategy.

12.For CWF, are we discouraged from working with water suppliers that serve large communities (over 10,000 residents) and smaller communities (less than 10,000)?

No. Recipients are encouraged to prioritize water systems serving 10,000 or fewer people, but they are not discouraged from working with water suppliers.

13. Are all the water systems serving 10,000 or fewer people considered (those that fluoridate water and have naturally fluoridated water) or just the ones that fluoridate water?

All water systems serving 10,000 or fewer people should be considered when developing approaches to increase access to water from optimally fluoridated community water systems.

14. Our state already funds new and replacement fluoridation equipment, so we do not need to have grants for that. Is that okay?

Yes. Recipients must monitor, document, and report on systems receiving funds for community water fluoridation equipment purchase, maintenance, and repair, especially systems serving 10,000 or fewer people.

15. For Measure #5, are the number of technical assistance services counted if the equipment is not needed?

No. For Measure #5, technical assistance is not a substitute for providing mini-grants. Per page 9 of the NOFO, recipients will increase access to water fluoridation equipment with “funds through mini-grants to provide new or replacement fluoridation equipment in community water systems. (Community applicants for equipment funds must provide a specific justification that includes plans for maintenance, training on use of equipment, and number of persons being served by the new or repaired equipment.)”

16. Is it preferred that mini grants are provided? However, if mini grants are not needed for new equipment or equipment repairs then a recipient does not have to report data for that measure?

No. Per page 21 of the NOFO, “Recipients will be required to track and report the performance measures.” Per page 9 of the NOFO, recipients will increase access to water fluoridation equipment with “funds through mini-grants to provide new or replacement fluoridation equipment in community water systems. (Community applicants for equipment funds must provide a specific justification that includes plans for maintenance, training on use of equipment, and number of persons being served by the new or repaired equipment.).”

17. Core staff is included on page 25. Are state OH programs required to have these positions in place? Do they all need to be 1.0 FTEs?  Can they be part-time positions?

Applicants not currently meeting the core staff requirements must have a plan to fill the required positions, if awarded. Only the sealant coordinator is required to be 1.0 FTE.

18. On page 35, under the approach of activities and strategies, does our work plan satisfy the outcomes and activities, OR should we write language here beyond the work plan for the outcomes and strategies?

Applicants should include information in this section of the narrative to provide a clear and concise description of the strategies and activities they will use to achieve the period of performance outcomes.

19. In the NOFO, the section DATA ANALYSIS TO SUPPORT MEDICAL DENTAL INTEGRATION AND EBPDS refers to the collaboration between oral health and diabetes. The population of focus here would be an older population; however, as stated for the EBPDS section: Recipients will analyze EBPDS data to 1) identify priority schools/communities based on the percentage of Medicaid/CHIP-enrolled children receiving EBPDS at the local and community-levels, 2) monitor EBPDS delivery in the priority communities/schools This seems to refer to children/schools- is it OK to still use adults as our population of focus? Or is this section referring to something separate from the relationship between oral health and diabetes?

Applicants may select older adults as a population of focus only for the Data Analysis to Support the Medical Dental Integration activities. The data analysis to support EBPDS must focus on children and the NOFO-required population of focus.

Please note, that in addition to NOFO-required populations of focus, each applicant must propose at least one population of focus using relevant data to identify communities with significant oral health disparities and select culturally appropriate interventions for implementation. See pages 16-19.

20. Can you only collaborate with CDC-funded organizations?

No. Applicants must collaborate with CDC-funded and non-CDC-funded organizations for this NOFO opportunity.

21. Can this funding be used for populations with dementia?

Applicants must prioritize and provide justification for selected populations of focus.

22. Regarding the “Data Analysis to Support Medical Dental Integration and EBPDS” initiative, are we expected to create a new surveillance system, or should we focus on analyzing existing secondary data, such as Medicaid data, to study the dental healthcare-seeking behavior of diabetic patients?

The focus of this NOFO is on analyzing, interpreting, and disseminating secondary data. On 04/29/2024, a modification to CDC-RFA-DP24-0048 was published to include a definition and examples of secondary data for the purposes of this NOFO.

23. Does the CDC envision us conducting an annual or biennial population-level survey as part of this surveillance to better understand the relationships between oral health, overall health, and the usage of and access to medical and dental services among people living with diabetes?

24. What is recommended for this surveillance system to encompass?

Surveillance indicators may include, but are not limited to, those recommended by the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists (CSTE) for state oral health systems and those included in the CMS Child Health Care Quality Measures set. Indicators may also include additional social determinants of health (see glossary section for definition) or comorbidities.

25. Regarding water fluoridation, will WFRS incorporate a way to automatically separate data for water systems serving 10,000 or fewer people or do we have to do this manually?

WFRS reports can be exported into a MS Excel file for further data filtering or manipulation using an analysis software program of your choice.

26. Regarding data analysis for med-dent integration/Diabetes, can we use this grant to fund LHDs that conduct screenings for obesity and prediabetes/diabetes?

Yes, with CDC approval applicants may be able to use these funds to support local health departments that conduct screenings for adults with Type 2 diabetes.

27. On page 12, it says, “conduct a community-level needs assessment (CNA) that includes disparities by race/ethnicity and location of high-need schools.” For those applicants that have identified a population of focus that is geographically diverse or possibly statewide, what are your expectations regarding community-level needs assessment?” Can a “community” be a state population with specific populations of focus within it?

With the modification of CDC-RFA-DP24-0048 on 04/29/2024, the community-level needs assessment activity is no longer required.

28. On page 35 of the NOFO under 2. Population(s) of Focus and Health Disparities, is the applicant required to choose the same population of focus for all strategies or can some strategies be used for a different population of focus? For instance, one strategy focuses on children while another focuses on adults 18 and older.

See page 18 for CDC-required populations of focus by strategy. The examples of populations of focus provided in the question are already required for two strategies (children for EBPDS and adults for MDI Surveillance). Each applicant must propose at least one additional population(s) of focus using relevant state and community-level data to identify communities with significant oral health disparities and select culturally appropriate interventions for implementation. Selecting more than one population of focus, or selecting populations of focus by strategy, is allowable but not required.

29. On page 12, it says, “Evaluate impact of school EBPDS delivery programs on increasing access to EBPDS and reducing oral health disparities, such as untreated cavities among students attending prioritized schools.” and “Use oral health surveillance and evaluation data to monitor the progress in increasing access to EBPDS in priority schools. This includes assessing changes in service use rates, oral health outcomes (e.g., decrease in untreated cavities), and the implementation of evidence-based interventions.” These seem like long-term goals that would be measured using BSS or other data. Can CDC consider providing guidance on how to meet this deliverable?

On 04/29/2024 a modification to CDC-RFA-DP24-0048 was published to include a definition and examples of secondary data for the purposes of this NOFO. This NOFO focuses on secondary data analyses and not on primary data collection.

30. Define “people with diabetes”. Both Type 1/juvenile and Type 2? Gestational? Neonatal? How broad is the definition of “people with diabetes.” For the purpose of this grant are all types included?

People with diabetes for NOFO 0048 is defined as adults with Type 2 diabetes. The NOFO modification posted on grants.gov on 04/29/2024 clarifies the focus on this population.

31. To be clear, if an agency/project/org is not CDC funded (e.g., state Medicaid agency), and there is a data use agreement (DUA) with that agency, you don’t need to include it in the application – just a LOS; just MOAs/MOUs that are CDC funded?

Applicants must submit at least one and up to three MOU/MOA/equivalent documentation with a CDC project or CDC-funded organization AND Applicants must submit a minimum of two and up to five letters of support for key collaborations with organizations not funded by CDC. See page 20 for collaborations with organizations not funded by CDC.

32. How should applicants prepare for possible changes or issues due to health emergencies like COVID-19 in their projects? Should these adaptions be included in project plans?

If another health emergency arises recipients will receive further instructions from CDC on next steps.

33. Can you provide an example of a state healthcare associated infection (HAI) programs? Page 13-14 mentions promoting IPC with an HAI.

See: https://www.cdc.gov/hai/hai-ar-programs/recipients-funding.html.

34. I did not understand about the BSS question. Is the CDC discouraging a BSS being conducted during this coop agreement? Is this considered a primary data source?

The focus of this NOFO is secondary data analysis. If a funded recipient needs to conduct a BSS, CDC will review the request and approve as needed.

35. Can we collaborate with and get a letter of support from a CDC funded program that is not listed on page 15? (e.g., https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/funding-opportunity/cdc-rfa-dp-23-0020-recipients.html)

Yes.

36. Can our work under this grant include interviews/focus groups so we can hear from the priority populations? We want to make sure that our SMARTIE goals are truly inclusive.

Yes. Applicants can include interviews/focus groups to understand the needs of the priority population.

37. With regards to the OSAP bootcamp, does a staff person have to attend the bootcamp in person or can they take the online course?

CDC encourages funded recipients to send staff in-person to the OSAP bootcamp. CDC will review and discuss any changes on a case-by-case bases.

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Questions and Answers Regarding State Promotion of Strategies to Advance Oral Health (CDC-RFA-DP24-0048)

Purpose and Overview

Eligibility

Funding and Budget

Application Process

Review Process

Recipient Activities

Other Questions