Technical assistance calls for grantees continue to be held every other Tuesday from 2 to 3 PM EST. The schedule for April appears below.

PLEASE NOTE: There is a new registration system for technical assistance calls. To register, search for summaries or materials from prior calls, and download materials for upcoming calls, please go to the following website: http://www.mac1988.com/2010/registration/. The password is "cap". Once you register for the call, please be sure to download the materials that will be used during the call. You should immediately receive a confirmation note by email that includes the call-in number for the call. If you have difficulty registering or do not receive the call-in number, please contact scampbell@mac1988.com or call 301-468-6006 ext. 437.

With the exception of calls related to legal issues, many TA calls are summarized and posted on the CAP website. Legal issue briefs are posted on the site under legal issues and require a password, which may be obtained by emailing asmolkin@hrsa.gov. You may also request an audiotape copy of any previous calls (up to one month after the call) by contacting Shandy Campbell at scampbell@mac1988.com .

Application Deadline: Letter of Intent by May 1, other deadlines on website

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (http://www.rwjf.org/ ) in Princeton, New Jersey, and the Oakland-based California HealthCare Foundation (http://www.chcf.org/ ) recently launched an $8.8 million initiative designed to help employers, health plans, and state Medicaid agencies develop and implement incentives to reward physicians and hospitals for providing higher quality health care.

The initiative, Rewarding Results, was created in response to the release of "Provider Incentive Models for Improving Quality of Care," a new report from the National Health Care Purchasing Institute (http://www.nhcpi.net/) that details eleven models used to motivate physicians and hospitals to improve health care quality. The Rewarding Results initiative will be administered by NHCPI and will provide grants of up to $1 million over three years to organizations that can demonstrate that the incentives outlined in the report improve health care quality. For more information, visit the initiative's website at http://www.nhcpi.net/rewardingresults/.

Application Deadline: July 31, 2002

The American Dental Association's (ADA) Health Foundation recently announced grants for dental research, educational programs, scholarships, and access programs to prevent dental caries and other oral diseases of children. Competitive grants in amounts of up to $5,000 will be awarded to applicants whose education and promotion programs are designed to improve children's oral health through community programs. The application deadline is July 31, 2002. Visit the ADA Health Foundation website for program details and proposal guidelines at http://www.adahf.org/childgrant.html .

Application deadline: Letters of intent - April 26

The National Library of Medicine has issued a Request for Applications (RFA) for its "Internet Access to Digital Libraries" grant. Base support of up to $45,000 per site plus $8,000 for each additional site is available to support a one- or two-year project to help health-related organizations provide their health professionals, staff, researchers, librarians and clients with access to digital health information resources and services of the highest quality. A request for connectivity to the Internet, or evidence that Internet connectivity is already available, is fundamental to successful grant applications in this program. Letters of intent are due on April 26, 2002 and applications are due May 24, 2002. The RFA is available online at http://grants.nih. gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-LM-02-001. html .

Application deadline: May 21

Applications are available for the CHCF Health Care Leadership Program. The program seeks physicians, nurses, pharmacists, psychologists and dentists with management experience who, within the next decade, are capable of playing strategic roles in directing the health care system of California. The program is sponsored by the California HealthCare Foundation and administered by the UCSF Center for the Health Professions. The application deadline is Tuesday, May 21, 2002. For more information, visit http://futurehealth.ucsf.edu/futureleaders .

Application kit available April 1, 2002

HRSA's Nursing Education Loan Repayment Program (NELRP), managed by the Bureau of Health Professions' Division of Nursing, was recently appropriated $10.2 million for FY 2002, reflecting an increase of approximately $8 million over the last two years. The NELRP is designed to assist in the recruitment and retention of registered nurses dedicated to providing health care to underserved populations. The program provides substantial economic assistance to repay educational loans in exchange for service to the underserved in eligible health facilities. For additional information on the Nursing Education Loan Repayment Program, please visit http://bhpr.hrsa.gov/nursing or call toll free 1-866-813-3753.

Application deadline April 16

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) National Center on Injury Prevention and Control recently announced two grants for funding injury prevention research in the areas of violence prevention and traumatic injury biomechanics. Applications may be submitted by public and private nonprofit and for-profit organizations including state and local governments. The grants include:

Violence-Related Injury Prevention Research:

Approximately $1,800,000 is expected to be available in FY 2002 for injury research to fund 4-6 programs addressing youth violence and suicide, and approximately $500,000 to fund 1-3 programs addressing intimate partner violence and programs for sexual violence. Additional information is available at: http://www.cdc.gov/od/pgo/funding/02040.htm .

Traumatic Injury Biomechanics Research:

Approximately $1,000,000 is available to fund 4-5 awards for research that will help expand and advance the understanding of injury causation. Traumatic injury biomechanics research is especially needed to understand the injury mechanisms that lead to long-term disability from brain and spinal cord injuries. Additional information is available at http://www.cdc.gov/od/pgo/funding/02041.htm

Online pre-registration deadline: July 26

The Local Initiative Funding Partners (LIFP) program is a matching grants program designed to establish partnerships between the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and local grantmakers in support of innovative, community-based projects that improve health and health care for under- served and at-risk populations. In 2003, up to $8 million will be awarded through the program. Under LIFP, a local grantmaker (e.g., community foundations, family foundations, corporate grantmakers, and others) proposes a funding partnership with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation on behalf of a local applicant for grant funds to support projects that are consistent with the foundation's two main areas of interest: health and health care. Grants may be made to community nonprofit organizations or institutions.

LIFP will provide 36- or 48-month grants of $100,000 to $500,000. Grants must be matched dollar-for-dollar by local sources. For the full RFP and to access the required online pre-registration form, visit the LIFP website at http://www.lifp.org. Online pre-registration will be available July 1, 2002, and must be completed by July 26, 2002. LIFP can be contacted at:

Local Initiative Funding Partners Program
c/o Health Research and Educational Trust of New Jersey
760 Alexander Road
Princeton, NJ 08543-0001
(609) 275-4128

Application deadline: May 17

The International Center for Health Leadership Development is currently recruiting applicants for the Health Partners Fellows Class of 2002-2004. The Health Partners Fellowship is a two-year leadership development program that seeks to prepare a diverse group of leaders capable of and committed to creating organizational collaborations between communities and academic institutions to improve health. Five week-long intensive seminars are held each year intended to strengthen and practice collaborative leadership skills. For more information, please visit http://www.uic.edu/sph/healthleaders or call 312-355-1087.

Application Deadline: April 24, 2002

The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) recently issued a program announcement for the FY 2002 Drug-Free Communities Support Program. To be eligible, a community coalition must meet the following criteria:

• The coalition must have the reduction of substance abuse among youth as a principal mission.

• The coalition must demonstrate that it has been established and that its members have worked together for a period of not less than 6 months prior to application submission.

• The coalition must represent the targeted community.

In addition, the coalition must include at least one representative of each of the following groups: youth; parents; business community; media; schools; youth-serving organizations; law enforcement agencies; religious or fraternal organizations; civic and volunteer groups; health-care professionals; state, local, or tribal governmental agencies with an expertise in the field of substance abuse; and other organizations involved in reducing substance abuse.

Selected projects will be funded for a twelve-month project period. Funding after the initial period depends on grantee performance, availability of funds, and other criteria. Approximately 70 grants of up to $100,000 for the initial 12-month budget period will be made in FY 2002.

The complete application package can be obtained at the Drug-Free Communities website at http://ojjdp.ncjrs.org/dfcs/ .

Join with the HRSA staff and leadership and HHS Secretary Thompson to help increase organ, tissue, marrow and blood donation. This is a pressing national problem - with a solution. The Community Access Program is inviting you and your coalition members to team with the Department of Health and Human Services to begin systematically asking individuals and organizations in your community to do four simple things:

1. Sign up as organ donors;

2. Share this decision with family members - so they will know to approve the donation in the event of the death of the potential donor;

3. Enroll their workplace in the Workplace Partnership for Life initiative; and

4. Systematically begin enrolling other organizations, partners, and businesses in the Workplace Partnership for Life.

Here is a specific step you can take right now and pass on to others: Go to http://www.organdonor.gov and click on the Workplace Partnership tab. Follow the narrative to the place where you sign up and then complete the short signup form. In time, you and others you enroll will begin receiving ideas, materials and other items in the mail in connection with this enrollment. Also attached are electronic copies of sign-up forms and action ideas. For more information, contact Dennis Wagner at dwagner@hrsa.gov.

The Office of Minority Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is sponsoring the first National Leadership Summit to Eliminate Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health. The Summit is scheduled for July 10-12, 2002 and will accommodate 2,500 participants on an open-registration basis. The Summit seeks to draw national attention to the existence of health disparities and to innovative approaches being implemented in communities and at the local, state, national, federal and tribal levels which address these disparities. Participants will include individuals from traditional and non-traditional organizations addressing minority health issues at the local, state and national levels, as well as funders and policy makers.

For information on registration, exhibiting, co-sponsorship, or general information about the Summit, please contact BETAH Associates, Inc. at 1-888-516-5599 or visit the following website: http://www.summit.omhrc.gov.

The National Community Center of Excellence: The Secretary's Office on Women's Health is requesting applications for the National Community Center of Excellence (CCOE) in Women's Health Programs. This innovative women's health initiative provides recognition and funding for community-based programs that unite promising approaches in women's health through the integration of the following six components:

1. Comprehensive health service delivery;

2. Training for lay and professional health providers;

3. Community-based research;

4. Public education and outreach;

5. Leadership development for women as health care consumers and providers; and

6. Technical assistance to ensure the replication of promising models and strategies that coordinate and integrate women's health activities at the community level and improve health outcomes for underserved women.

Community Health Centers funded under Section 330 of the Public Health Service Act are encouraged to apply with the exception of those states that have an existing CCOE or COE program. More information can be found through the Federal Register at http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/fedreg/a020226c.html

The Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO), along with the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) and support from HRSA's BPHC and MCHB, have published a compendium of model programs addressing health disparities submitted by state and local public health departments. The full document entitled "Health Departments Take Action: A Compendium of State and Local Models Addressing Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health" is available on the ASTHO website at: http://www.astho.org/ access/documents.html.

A searchable database of the compendium (by state or health issue) is available on the NACCHO website at http://health-disparities.nacchoweb.naccho.org/. Another resource, the "Compendium of Public Health Data Sources & Assessment Tools for Measuring Progress Towards 100% Access and 0 Health Disparities," is available at: http://www.astho.org/access/documents/PublicHealthDataSources.htm .

The Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS), formerly known as the HCFA, is inviting proposals for a three-year disease management demonstration project. In a notice published in the February 22 Federal Register, the agency explained that Disease Management organizations will be paid a monthly premium for coordinating patient care and providing prescription drugs for Medicare beneficiaries with advanced-stage congestive heart failure, diabetes or coronary heart disease. Project participants will be held accountable for improving health outcomes and reducing Medicare expenditures. To view the notice, go to www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/fedreg/a020222c.html

The George Washington University Institute for Health Care Research and Policy, with the support of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, has written "Consumer Guides for Getting and Keeping Health Insurance" for each state and the District of Columbia. The guides summarize laws that protect people when they are trying to get and keep health insurance, even if they have a health condition. The consumer guides, available at http://www.healthinsuranceinfo.net/ , will be updated periodically as changes in federal and state policy warrant.

The National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) Early Release Program recently released Health Insurance Coverage Estimates based on new data from third quarter of the 2001 NHIS. To view this early release of NHIS health insurance data, please visit the NHIS website at: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhis.htm .

UnitedHealth Foundation recently released its annual State Health Rankings, a comprehensive, yearly analysis of physiological, mental, cultural and environmental characteristics meant to stimulate public conversation about health in the United States. Key national findings contained in this year's report include a 14 percent increase in the overall national composite score, used to represent healthiness since 1990. In this year's study, Minnesota occupied the top of the list as the healthiest state in the country, with Louisiana last among states. All states show positive change during past 12 years. For more information, please visit http://www.unitedhealthfoundation.org/rankings2001/index.html .

Website Supports the Development and Growth of Health Centers

The Health Resources and Services Administration's (HRSA) Bureau of Primary Health Care (BPHC) has established a new interactive website to promote the development of health centers and increase access to primary health care. The site provides community leaders, community-based organizations (including faith-based organizations), and existing health centers with tools to determine their eligibility and improve their readiness to apply for funding to establish or expand a public housing, homeless, school-based, migrant or community health center. The website provides prospective applicants with the following:

• A readiness assessment tool;

• A grant writing module;

• A user-friendly walk through the application process;

• Links to best practices/models; and

• Information about local, state, and national resources.

Visit http://www.bphc.hrsa.gov/dpspnewcenters to learn more. 

Rand Introduces Two New Websites

RAND has launched two websites, the Child Health Policy Project and the Promising Practices Network, that highlight reports and studies addressing children age 0-18.

The Child Health Policy Project is intended to deliver up-to-date research findings on children's issues to decision-makers. The website organizes RAND's child policy research by topic area, including current research projects and a list of publications. The Child Policy Project website is located at http://www.rand.org/child_area .

The Promising Practices Network (PPN) website highlights programs and practices that credible research indicates are effective in improving outcomes for children, youth, and families. The website looks at child health, education, community, and families, and organizes information around three major areas: Proven and Promising Programs, Research in Brief, and Strengthening Service Delivery. The Promising Practices website is available at http://www.promisingpractices.net . 

Institute of Medicine Summary Site

As part of the Institute of Medicine's Communications Initiative, short summaries of selected reports are available online at http://www.iom.edu/iom/iomhome.nsf/Pages/Report+Summaries. Please visit the site to learn more about the initiative.