Technical assistance calls for grantees during August and September of 2002 will continue to be held every other Tuesday from 2 to 3 PM EST. The schedule for August appears below. To register, search for summaries or materials from prior calls, and download materials for upcoming calls, please go to the CAP website: www.capcommunity.hrsa.gov. Please remember that the site is password protected. Grantees should contact their primary contact to receive the password. 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 mailto:scampbell@mac1988.com or call 301-468-6006 x437.

With the exception of calls related to legal issues, many TA calls are summarized and posted on the CAP website (www.capcommunity.hrsa.gov). Legal issue briefs are posted on the site under legal issues and require a password, which may be obtained by emailing Sherilyn Adams (sadams@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 the email above.

Deadline for Letter of Intent: August 22, 2002

The Substance Abuse Policy Research Program (SAPRP), supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, is requesting proposals to produce policy-relevant information about ways to reduce the harm caused by the use of tobacco, alcohol, and illicit drugs in the United States. 

Funded projects are expected to increase understanding of public and private policy interventions to reduce the harm caused by the use of tobacco, alcohol, and illicit drugs --including the advantages, disadvantages, and potential impact of these policies. Information on all SAPRP-supported projects is available on the program's Website http://www.saprp.org/. 

For complete program guidelines and application information, see the SAPRP Web site. RFP Link: http://www.saprp.org/ProgramInformation/2002targetedCFP.pdf

Deadline for Letter of Intent - August 9, 2002; Deadline for Proposal - September 13, 2002

Volunteers in Healthcare (VIH), a Robert Wood Johnson-supported organization, is issuing a call for proposals for the creation of projects which enhance care for uninsured/underserved patients by developing cooperative relationships between dental and medical clinicians. This RFP is open to non-profit organizations, government agencies, medical or dental societies, and medical or dental schools.

One year grants of up to $30,000 will be awarded, with a 50% match required. VIH funding will support the costs of designing, planning and implementing innovative programs to link medical and dental care. Funds may be used to identify partners, bring partners together (e.g. meeting costs), recruit/retain physicians and/or dentists, pay for administrative staff time and equipment, and evaluate progress. See http://www.volunteersinhealthcare.org/funding. htm for more information.

Deadline: August 19, 2002

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced the availability of funding for a cooperative agreement for the development of the National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS). The NVDRS will generate public health surveillance information at the national, state and local levels that is more detailed and timely than information currently available. Approximately $1.2 million is available to fund five awards. Additional optional funding of approximately $100,000 is available to fund up to five states to pilot test the child fatality review module of NVDRS.

Additional information is available on the Federal Register website at http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/fedreg/a020705c.html. The grant announcement will be posted shortly on the CDC funding web page at http://www.cdc.gov/od/pgo/funding/grantmain.htm#VIO 

September 23-25, 2002

"Building Community to Improve Health" will examine the role of community building in health improvement. Community builders from around the country will share insights, evidence and case studies on the opportunities and challenges of community building. Over 30 working sessions and networking opportunities. For more information on the conference, visit www.sierrahealth.org or call i.e. communications, LLC at (415) 616-3930.

The National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has presented the 4th Early Release of timely data from the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS). The release provides estimates for 12 selected health measures based on new data from the full year 2001 NHIS, with comparisons to estimates from the NHIS back to 1997. For this release, a new measure, personal care needs or activities of daily living (ADL) has been added. The 12 Early Release measures are being published prior to final data editing and weighting to provide improved access to the most recent information from the NHIS.

The 12 measures included are: health insurance coverage (including type of coverage), usual place to go for medical care, obtaining needed medical care, influenza vaccination, pneumococcal vaccination, obesity, leisure-time physical activity, current smoking, alcohol consumption, HIV testing, general health status, and personal care needs. The complete release is available online at: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/about/major/nhis/released200207.htm

The study, which reports the results of a demonstration project including eight managed care plans, stresses the importance of racial and ethnic data collection as the key to improving quality and eliminating disparities in care. Plans are currently not required to do so. Analysis of the health plan data revealed that disparities in care often existed between racial and ethnic groups, although minority patients sometimes received higher quality of care than whites, including in some Medicaid plans. To read, order, or download the report, Developing a Health Plan Report Card on Quality of Care for Minority Populations. please go to: http://www.cmwf.org/publist/publist2.asp?CtegoryID=11). 

ASTHO has announced the release of a new Access Brief entitled "The Oral Health and Chronic Disease Connection" which was produced in collaboration with the Association of State and Territorial Dental Directors. This brief provides an overview of the relationship between oral health and chronic disease, focusing on diabetes, heart disease, osteoporosis, and obesity, and highlights examples of innovative state programs addressing oral health and chronic disease. This is the second in a series of briefs addressing oral health and the role of state public health agencies. It will be circulated in print and posted to the ASTHO web site soon at http://www.astho.org/

A Profile of Federally Funded Health Centers Serving a Higher Proportion of Uninsured Patients is now available online. This report examines the characteristics of health centers that serve an unusually high rate of uninsured patients. It explores what external factors influence uninsured patients to seek care at these centers and assesses the impact of a disproportionately high volume of uninsured patients on these centers' finances and operations. To read the report, log onto http://www.kff.org/content/2002/4033/.

States are maximizing new technology and the Internet to improve enrollment in the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) and Medicaid. Since passage of the program in1997, states have tried to make navigation of SCHIP as simple as possible, treating enrollees and their families as customers. Most SCHIP programs use joint applications for Medicaid and SCHIP enrollment as well as annual re-determination, and have eliminated asset tests and face-to-face interviews from the application process. States have further improved the enrollment process by using technology with the goals of reducing program enrollment time, increasing access for applicants, and centralizing social service applications in state government. For the full report, please access: http://www.nga.org/center/divisions/1,1188,C_ISSUE_BRIEF^D_3840,00.html

About 93 percent of children 4-35 months of age have health insurance, according to "Summary Statistics From the National Survey of Early Childhood Health, 2000." The survey, conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics, is designed to improve the understanding of household experiences with pediatric preventive care and the ways in which families promote their children's health in the home. It reports on selected measures for children 4-35 months of age, including usual source of care, parental perceptions of pediatric care, interactions with health care providers, family activities, home safety, parental and child health, financial welfare, and barriers to care. The report is available at http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/series/sr_15/sr15_003.pdf.

CDC Releases Recommendations for Childhood Lead Poisoning

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) Advisory Committee on Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention has released "Managing Elevated Blood Lead Levels Among Young Children," a collection of recommendations intended to aid in the management of children with elevated blood levels due to lead poisoning.

The recommendations are written to assist those who provide case management for children with elevated blood lead levels and for health department staff who oversee case management follow-up. The recommendations are available at http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/lead/CaseManagement/managingEBLLs.pdf . 

Kaiser Family Foundation Adds New Data to State Health Facts Online

State Health Facts Online, an Internet resource from the Kaiser Family Foundation, recently announced the addition of new state-by-state data on nearly 50 topics. The web site has been updated with current data for all 50 states on topics including: Section 1115 demonstrations for Medicaid and CHIP; State Tax Revenue Per Capita; HMO Penetration; Death rates for: All causes, Heart Disease, Cancer, Stroke, Diabetes, Firearms, all by race/ethnicity and gender, Emergency Room Visits; and New AIDS Cases. A complete list of updated items is available at http://www.statehealthfacts.kff.org/newtopics .