DATE: September 29, 2009
TO: Health Center Program Grantees
Primary Care Associations
National Cooperative Agreements
Federal Qualified Health Center Look-Alikes
The purpose of this Program Assistance Letter (PAL) is to inform grantees of the latest information on Electronic Handbook (EHB) functionality related to PAL 2008-01, “Implementation of Enhancements to Current Electronic Information Systems,” issued on November 24, 2007. The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) continues to improve, expand, and enhance its EHB system and is pleased to announce the release of the Scope Verification Functionality (known as the 120-day rule) on September 22, 2009.
This functionality assists grantees with providing documentation/verification to support the following policy contained in PIN 2008-01 “Defining Scope of Project and Policy for Requesting Changes, Section C: Effective Date of Approval” stating that:
“… grantees will be allowed up to 120 days following the date of the Notice of Grant Award (NGA) indicating approval for the change in scope to implement the change (e.g. open the site or begin providing a new service) …”
The foundation for this policy is the Bureau of Primary Health Care’s (BPHC) expectation for the timely implementation of change in scope requests (CIS) and/or scope changes occurring via approved applications to add a new service or a new service site. Timely implementation is defined as fully implementing approved scope changes within 120 days from the date of the Notice of Grant Award approving the change. Grantees will be able to verify implementation of these changes within EHB, whereas previously grantees have had to provide verification by way of a paper post award submission (e.g., email, fax or phone conversation).
This functionality, which is described below, will streamline the process of verifying implementation for grantees and Project Officers:
- Grantees will receive periodic message(s) informing them of requirements and deadlines related to verifying implementation of approved changes to the section330 Health Center scope of project.
- Grantees will enter EHB and submit the required verification information to BPHC when it is available.
- Grantees may request an extension to the 120 day verification deadline, when necessary.
The system will inform the BPHC Project Officer as to when a grantee has not verified an approved scope of project change by the end of the 120 day period or when a grantee has requested an extension. In addition, the BPHC Project Officer will approve or disapprove any requests for an extension.
HRSA is committed to assuring a smooth and successful transition each time an additional functionality within the EHB system is rolled out. To this end, technical assistance resources to assist grantees with the implementation of the Scope Verification module will be available shortly.
If you have any questions, please contact the BPHC Help Line at 301-443-7356.
James Macrae
Associate Administrator
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