FY 2011 RFA Grant Application - Supplements for Rapid HIV Testing (Short Title: RHT Supplements)

FY 2011 Grant Request for Applications (RFA)

FY 2011 Supplements for Rapid HIV Testing (Short Title: RHT Supplements)

Initial Announcement

Request for Applications (RFA) No. TI-11-015
Posting on Grants.gov: May 2, 2011
Original Receipt date: June 1, 2011
Announcement Type: Initial

Catalogue of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) No.: 93.243

Key Dates

Application Deadline	Applications are due by June 1, 2011
Intergovernmental Review (E.O. 12372)	Applicants must comply with E.O. 12372 if their State(s) participates. Review process recommendations from the State Single Point of Contact (SPOC) are due no later than 60 days after application deadline.
Public Health System Impact Statement(PHSIS) / Single State Agency Coordination	Applicants must send the PHSIS to appropriate State and local health agencies by application deadline. Comments from Single State Agency are due no later than 60 days after application deadline.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) announces the availability of funds to expand the capacity of Minority AIDS Initiative (MAI) grantees in the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT)) and Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP) to provide rapid HIV testing, counseling, and referral to care.

The RHT Supplements will promote the principle goals of the MAI which are to improve HIV-related health outcomes for racial and ethnic minority communities disproportionately affected by HIV/AIDS and reduce HIV related health disparities. In addition, the RHT Supplements are aligned with the objectives of the National HIV/AIDS Strategy (NHAS) to: 1) reduce the number of people who become infected with HIV, 2) increase access to care and optimize health outcomes, and 3) reduce HIV-related health disparities. Intensifying HIV prevention efforts with the utilization of rapid HIV testing of individuals with substance use and/or mental disorders is also consistent with the NHAS, given the disproportionately high prevalence of HIV among ethnic and racial minorities.

The goals and objectives of the MAI, NHAS, and RHT Supplements are consistent with the goals of the Affordable Care Act (Strategic Initiative #5 - Health Reform), which emphasizes the coordination of services for federally funded health service agencies to provide comprehensive care to the needs of vulnerable populations.

There is a critical need to increase testing activities among individuals who are at risk for HIV, and especially those who are not aware of their sero-status. The HIV epidemic has been documented to be larger than previously estimated. In 2008, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) with the use of new technology estimated that approximately 56,300 new HIV infections occurred in the U.S. in 2006, a figure that is 40% higher than CDC’s former estimate of 40,000 new infections per year. These new estimates indicate that there are about 1,106,400 adults and adolescents living with HIV infection in the United States (MMWR, October, 2008). These new findings also indicate that African Americans and Hispanic/Latino populations continue to be disproportionately affected by HIV infection. Recent estimates showed that African Americans represented 46% and Hispanics/Latinos 18% of new HIV infections.

Individuals with substance use disorders are at increased risk for HIV/AIDS as a result of either sharing contaminated syringes or by exhibiting impaired judgment while under the influence of a legal or illegal drug with abuse potential (e.g., alcohol, cocaine, methamphetamine, marijuana, prescription, and/or other non-injection drugs) which may increase high risk sexual behavior associated with HIV infection and transmission.

Lastly, increasing rapid HIV testing efforts among SAMHSA MAI grantees will help to decrease the stigma associated with HIV by integrating HIV testing into routine best practices.

Supplemental grant funds must be used for the following activities:

Purchase of rapid HIV test kits, test controls, other required supplies (e.g., gloves, biohazardous waste containers, etc.);
Implementation of quality assurance measures to appropriately conduct rapid HIV testing; and
Training for staff related to HIV rapid testing.

In addition to providing rapid HIV testing, applicants must develop a plan for providing referrals that include, but are not limited to: primary health care; and mental health and medical services for those who are HIV positive, have AIDS or are at high-risk of HIV infection.

You must also incorporate individuals served as a result of the supplemental activities into your ongoing Government Performance and Results Modernization Act of 2010 (GPRA) activities.

RHT Supplements are authorized under Section 509 of the Public Health Service Act, as amended. This announcement addresses Healthy People 2020 Substance Abuse Topic Area HP 2020-SA.

SAMHSA strongly encourages all grantees to provide a smoke-free workplace and to promote abstinence from all tobacco products (except in regard to accepted tribal traditions and practices).

Eligibility

SAMHSA is limiting eligibility for this funding opportunity for the following cohorts of CSAT and CSAP MAI grantees:

CSAT’s FY 2007 Targeted Capacity Expansion Program for Substance Abuse Treatment and HIV/AIDS Services grantees;
CSAP’s FY 2008 and FY 2009 Prevention of Substance Abuse (SA) and HIV for At-Risk Racial/Ethnic Minority Subpopulations Cooperative Agreements grantees;
CSAP’s FY 2010 Substance Abuse and HIV Prevention
Ready-To-Respond Initiative in Communities Highly Impacted by Substance Use and HIV Infection grantees; and
CSAP’s FY 2010 Capacity Building Initiative for Substance Abuse (SA) and HIV Prevention Services for At-Risk Racial/Ethnic Minority Young Adults grantees.

Limiting competition supports several of the activities outlined in the National HIV/AIDS Strategy – expanding HIV testing to reduce HIV incidence; increasing access to care by immediately linking newly diagnosed people to continuous and coordinated care; and allocating resources based on the latest epidemiological data about who is being most affected and other data that indicate which are the most urgent unmet needs to be addressed.

SAMHSA believes that the most effective way to accomplish the goals of this one-year supplemental program is to limit eligibility to the identified MAI grantees because they have the infrastructure already in place to rapidly implement the HIV rapid testing services without lengthy breaks in service and they do not have the funding to provide these services. MAI grantees whose funding period ends in FY 2010 are not eligible to apply because their projects will end before funding for these supplements will become available. MAI grantees whose funding period ends in FY 2011 are not eligible to apply because they will be phasing-out their current grants.

Award Information

Funding Mechanism:	Grant
Anticipated Total Available Funding:	$2.25 million
Anticipated Number of Awards:	Up to 45
Anticipated Award Amount:	Up to $50,000 per year
Length of Project Period:	1 year

It is expected that up to $2.25 million will be available to fund up to 45 awards in FY 2011. Awards are expected to be up to $50,000 in total costs (direct and indirect) for up to one year. Proposed budgets cannot exceed the allowable amount.

Applicants should be aware that SAMHSA cannot guarantee that sufficient funds will be appropriated to fully fund this program.

Contact Information

For questions about program issues contact:

Sherrye C. McManus
Center for Substance Abuse Treatment, Division of Services Improvement
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
1 Choke Cherry Road - Room 5-1065
(240) 276-2576
sherrye.mcmanus@samhsa.hhs.gov

For questions on grants management and budget issues contact:

Love Foster-Horton
Office of Financial Resources, Division of Grants Management
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
1 Choke Cherry Road
Room 7-1095
Rockville, Maryland 20857
(240) 276-1653
love.foster-horton@samhsa.hhs.gov