Department of Health and Human Services May 9, 2005 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Administration on Developmental Disabilities (ADD) in the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) announces the availability of fiscal year 2005 funds to award grants to support the expansion of the National Network of University Centers for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities Education, Research, and Service (UCEDDs). The Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act of 2000 (Pub. L. 106-402) section 152(d) (42 U.S.C. 15062) authorizes the expansion of the National Network of UCEDDs, ``* * * for States or populations that are unserved or underserved by Centers due to such factors as (1) population; (2) a high concentration of rural or urban areas; or (3) a high concentration of unserved or underserved populations.'' Applicants should have expertise in addressing the health disparities and education issues of ethnic and racial minority groups. This funding opportunity will support the administration and operation of up to three new UCEDDs that are interdisciplinary education, research, and public service units of universities, or public or not- for-profit entities associated with universities that engage in core functions (e.g., provision of interdisciplinary pre-service preparation and continuing education of students and fellows; provision of community services, including training and/or technical assistance; conduct of research; and dissemination of information) addressing, directly or indirectly, one or more of the areas of emphasis (e.g., quality assurance, education and early intervention, child care, health, employment, housing, transportation, recreation, and other services available or offered to individuals in a community, including formal and informal community supports, that affect their quality of life). This program announcement contains instructions for the submission of the fiscal year 2005 grant applications for core funding.

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) is providing the opportunity for hospitals, vendors, and other interested parties to voluntarily test the 27-item Hospital CAHPS (HCAHPS[reg]) instrument suggested by the National Quality Forum's Review Committee. The purpose of this project is to provide another opportunity to the hospital industry to use the revised draft of the HCAHPS[reg] instrument with the option to add items to the instrument, if desired. It should be noted that the HCAHPS[reg] instrument may undergo further refinement prior to finalization for the national implementation effort as a result of the National Quality Forum (NQF) Consensus process. In effect, this project provides an occasion to test items that survey vendors, hospitals, and others wish to add to the HCAHPS[reg] instrument and to evaluate the impact of integrating HCAHPS into the instruments currently being used, as well as to try out and evaluate the methods of data collection prior to national implementation of HCAHPS[reg]. After permission to use the instrument is granted by AHRQ, a site or sites may field the instrument until the start of the ``dry run'' of the survey, which is expected in the Summer/Fall of 2005. As part of the dry run, hospitals and vendors will begin collecting HCAHPS data and transmitting it to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), but it will not be publicly reported. For more information about this project or to download an application for authorization, please visit the CAHPS User Network Web site at http: //www.cahps-sun.org.

This notice announces the availability of Fiscal Year (FY) 2005 grant funds for embryo adoption public awareness campaigns. Approximately $950,000 in funding is available on a competitive basis for three to four new projects each in the range of $200,000 to $250,000. Grants will be made for a project period of two years. This announcement seeks applications to develop and implement public awareness campaigns regarding embryo adoption. Applicants must demonstrate experience with embryo adoption programs that conform with professionally recognized standards governing embryo adoption and other applicable Federal or State requirements. For the purposes of this announcement, embryo adoption is defined as the donation of frozen embryo(s) from one party to a recipient who wishes to bear and raise a child or children.

On December 1, 2004 the Policy Committee for the 2005 WHCoA voted to invite 1,200 individuals to serve as delegates to the 2005 White House Conference on Aging, scheduled to take place fall 2005 in Washington, DC. These delegates will vote on resolutions and develop implementation strategies to be presented to the President and the Congress to help guide national aging policies for the next decade and beyond. The 2005 WHCoA will be the fifth in the history of the United States and the first of the 21st Century.