Get answers to common questions about the fiscal year (FY) 2024 State and Regional Primary Care Association (PCA) Cooperative Agreements Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO).
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Application development
- What information do I need to submit in Grants.gov and Electronic Handbooks (EHBs)?
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Refer to the list below for the required information you need to submit in Grants.gov and EHBs.
For Grants.gov, you will submit:
- SF-424: Application for Federal Assistance
- Attachment Form
- Project/Performance Site Location(s) Form
- Project Narrative Attachment Form
- Grants.gov Lobbying Form
- Budget Narrative Attachment Form
- SF-424-A: Budget Information — Non-Construction Programs Form
- Key Contacts*
- Project Abstract Summary*
Note: The information you enter in Grants.gov for the Attachment form, the Project Narrative Attachment Form, the Budget Narrative Attachment Form, the SF-424-A Budget Information – Non-Construction Programs Form, the Key Contacts, and the Project Abstract Summary will be editable in the EHBs.
For EHBs, you will submit:
- Project Narrative
- SF-424-A Budget Information — Non-Construction Programs Form
- Budget Narrative
- Program-Specific Forms
- Form 1A
- Project Work Plan (PWP)
- Attachments
(Added: 10/31/2023)
- Do I need to submit a complete Attachment form, Project Narrative, and Budget Narrative in Grants.gov by November 3, 2023?
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These documents do not need to be complete. However, if you submit an incomplete or blank document with your Grants.gov submission, you must replace them with complete documents in the EHBs by December 4, 2023.
(Added: 10/31/2023)
- Must the Special Populations lead or the 1.0 FTE for workforce support be funded in whole or in part with federal funding?
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You must designate a Special Populations lead and dedicate a full 1.0 FTE to workforce activities regardless of whether they are funded partially or fully with PCA funds. Your budget documents should only include staff funded in whole or in part with PCA funds and must align with the remainder of the application. That is, the budget should not include staff that are fully funded by non-PCA funds.
You can demonstrate the 1.0 FTE PCA workforce support in the following sections of your application: Project Narrative: Resources and Capabilities section, Attachment 1: Project Organizational Chart, Attachment 2: Staffing Plan, and the person or group responsible field in the Project Work Plan, as applicable.
(Added: 10/31/2023)
- Can the 1.0 FTE for workforce support be spread across several positions?
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Yes, multiple individuals may use a portion of their time supporting workforce activities. The total sum of their time must equal a minimum of 1.0 FTE for the PCA project.
(Added: 10/31/2023)
- When do I submit Attachment 5: Letters of Agreement, Attachment 6: Regional Memorandum of Agreement (MOA), and a signed attestation as part of Attachment 8: Other Relevant Documents?
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All applicants must submit Letters of Agreement as Attachment 5: Letters of Agreement to demonstrate existing and proposed partnerships described in your project narrative. At a minimum, you must include a Letter of Agreement from one HRSA-supported HCCN or NTTAP, and one state public agency (e.g., state health department, state primary care office, state Medicaid agency).
All applicants applying as regional PCAs must also submit Attachment 6: Regional Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) documenting collaborations with all state PCAs in the region.
All new state PCA applicants that are covered by a regional PCA must also submit an attestation as Attachment 8: Other Relevant Documents to demonstrate their commitment to work with the regional PCA and sign the regional PCA’s MOA.
(Added: 10/31/2023)
- Do I need to provide a summary needs assessment with my application?
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No, you do not need to provide a summary needs assessment with your application.
(Added: 10/31/2023)
- Do I receive additional EHE funding in addition to the maximum annual ceiling amount?
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No, the maximum annual allowable funding amount includes funding to support HIV prevention T/TA to health centers in the states that have been identified by the EHE initiative.
(Added: 10/31/2023)
Budget
- Do I need to populate budget information for years 4 and 5 in the SF-424 A Budget Information – Non-Construction Programs form and in the Budget Information section in the EHBs?
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No, since the period of performance is for 3 years, only include the information for budget periods 1-3.
(Added: 10/31/2023)
- When do I need to provide two personnel justification tables?
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One personnel justification table should include direct hire staff, and the second should include contracted staff.
(Added: 10/31/2023)
- Is there a minimum percentage of the Special Populations lead’s salary that needs to be attributed for this funding opportunity?
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There is no minimum percentage salary requirement for the Special Population lead’s salary that needs to be attributed to the FY 2024 PCA funding (HRSA-24-080).
(Added: 10/31/2023)
Project Narrative and Project Work Plan
- Do all proposed Activities need to start within 60 days of award?
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No. All Activities do not have to begin within 60 days, but applicants must propose to start at least one Activity within 60 days of award.
(Added: 10/31/2023)
- How is “Special Populations” defined for this funding opportunity?
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“Special Populations” includes populations within your state or region who have unique health care needs and that face barriers to care. In addition, Special Populations includes the statutorily defined special populations of migratory and seasoned agricultural workers, homeless individuals, and residents of public housing as referenced under section 330(g), (h), and under section 330(g), (h), and/or (i) of the Public Health Service (PHS) Act.
(Added: 10/31/2023)
- Am I limited to designating only one Special Population lead?
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No, you are not limited to the number of Special Population leads on your project.
(Added: 10/31/2023)
- Where should I reference the Special Populations lead in my application?
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In your Project Narrative, Resources and Capabilities section include details about how your staffing plan is appropriate to address the special populations T/TA needs in your state or region. In addition, you should also identify the Special Population lead on your Staffing Plan.
(Added: 10/31/2023)
- Do I input “0” for the baseline number even if our organization has administered similar T/TA previously to the health centers in our state?
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The baseline number for objective measures that count the number of health centers that received T/TA since the beginning of the period of performance should be “0”, since the award start date for the funding is July 1, 2024.
(Added: 10/31/2023)
- Do you have expectations or suggestion for how asynchronous participation should be tracked?
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We do not have expectations for tracking asynchronous participation. PCAs may choose to either utilize their ongoing processes or develop their own processes to track asynchronous T/TA participation. For example, you may utilize software analytics to count participants that view or download recorded webinars.
(Added: 10/31/2023)
- What are examples of regional support of T/TA activities?
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A few examples of T/TA activities that may be applicable include:
- Providing formal face-to-face and/or distance-based training sessions addressing best and promising practices for emergency preparedness, immediate threats, climate change/environmental health, region-specific natural incidents (e.g., wildfires, flooding, etc.), CMS requirements, continuity of operations/business continuity planning, drills and table-top exercises, etc.,
- Ensuring T/TA activities are effective, non-duplicative, and meeting the most current needs of health centers in respective region and Primary Care Association workforce via:
- Hosting quarterly regional Primary Care Association (PCA) T/TA Networking meetings and Annual Needs Assessment Planning group meetings as needed;
- Attending related partner-led events;
- Undertaking an annual T/TA needs assessment of health centers in respective region;
- Collaborating with all PCAs in the region; incorporating needs assessments of individuals into all planning and evaluation processes; and comprehensively evaluating all trainings and major activities.
- Coordinate with medical education programs to post and recruit for health center job openings in states covered.
(Added: 10/31/2023)
- How should I address the Advancing Health Center Excellence Framework performance domains?
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The Advancing Health Center Excellence Framework performance domains encourage innovation and performance improvement to help health centers assess their performance across seven key domain areas. In the PWP, you should highlight in the Activity Description field how your activities will assist health centers reach a higher level of performance across the performance domain(s) and identify the relevant Performance Domain(s) field the activity applies towards. Refer to the Advancing Health Center Excellence webpage to learn more about the framework.
(Added: 10/31/2023)
Objectives
- What is the difference between “applicant choice” objectives and “optional” objectives?
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Objectives 7 and 8 are considered applicant choice. These objectives are required, yet you must choose which measure you will focus on over the period of performance. Objectives 13 and 14 are considered optional. You may opt not to support additional health center supplemental funding beyond the one required for Objective 12.
(Added: 10/31/2023)
- How do I differentiate my activities for Objective 3: Health Professions, Education, and Training and Objective: 4 Health Professional, Education, and Training (UDS)?
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The details within the narratives of your Project Work Plan, such as the Objective Impact Narrative, Activity Description, and the Anticipated Outcome fields, will guide you in assigning specific activities between objectives 3 and 4. These narratives should describe how the activity is appropriate to achieve the specific objective and associated targets.
(Added: 10/31/2023)
- If I select more than one clinical quality measure for Objective 7: Chronic Disease Management and Objective 8: Preventive Services Outcome, how will I enter my objective targets? How many activities must I have?
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For both objectives, you may select more than one clinical quality measure to report on over the course of the 3-year period of performance. When you fill out your PWP, you will be able to enter objective targets for each clinical quality measure you select. In addition, you will be required to include a minimum of two activities for each clinical quality measure you choose.
(Added: 10/31/2023)
- For Objective 8: Preventive Services Outcomes (Applicant Choice), if I choose cancer screenings as the measure I want to include, would that include all cancer screenings listed — breast, cervical, and colorectal, or do I only select one of those screenings to focus on?
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For Objective 8: Preventive Services Outcomes, choose one of the cancer screenings listed (breast, cervical, or colorectal), and provide relevant UDS measures using the most recently available UDS data.
(Added: 10/31/2023)
- For Objectives 12-14 Health Center Supplemental Funding, can you clarify how you define supplemental funding?
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For objectives 12-14, PCAs must support health center (H80) award recipients and look-alikes implement currently active supplemental funding provided by the Health Center Program. Examples of this funding include the recently awarded FY 2023 Early Childhood Development supplemental funding or the FY 2023 COVID-19 Bridge Funding.
You may find details on which Health Center Program supplemental funding has been awarded (and is currently active) to health centers in your state or region, visit the Awarded Grants by State and Program Area (hrsa.gov). First select your state(s), and then select “Primary Health Care”.
(Added: 10/31/2023)
- What if the supplemental funding I select ends before the end of the PCA period of performance (June 30, 2027)?
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You will be given the opportunity to change which supplemental funding you will support in years 2 and 3.
(Added: 10/31/2023)
- I’m currently applying to be a PCA in a state identified by the Ending the HIV Epidemic (EHE) Initiative. Do I still need to select PHCP funding for Objective 12: Health Center Supplemental Funding if none of the health centers in my state currently receive FY 2022 or FY 2023 PCHP supplemental funding awards?
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If none of the health centers in your state are actively implementing PCHP funding, then no, you don’t need to select PCHP. In this instance, you may select other health center supplemental funding being implemented in your state.
(Added: 10/31/2023)
- What should my objective target be to support supplemental funding that was received by only some of the health centers in my state (or region)?
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For supplemental funding objectives, include the number of health centers in your state or region that received the supplemental funding that you selected.
(Added: 10/31/2023)
- For Objective 12, am I required to select the supplemental funding with the most award recipients?
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No, however, you are encouraged to select the supplemental funding that will have the greatest impact based on needs in your state or region.
(Added: 10/31/2023)
Post-award
- Do you expect results of the State or Regional PCA Needs Assessment from Year 1 to be available prior to submission of the first NCC progress report?
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No, we do not expect the needs assessment to be submitted prior to the first NCC progress report. You should provide a summary of your needs assessment when responding to the prompts in the Needs section of the Project Narrative. In addition, PCAs should plan to conduct a T/TA needs assessment in the first budget period and continually assess T/TA needs throughout years 2 and 3.
(Added: 10/31/2023)
- What type of data is expected to be shared with other HRSA-supported T/TA partners and networks, such as PCAs, NTTAPs, HCCNs?
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The types of data to be shared includes any information that will support objective attainment. You should develop an internal process to share data, coordinate, develop and share T/TA resources and tools with other PCAs and HRSA-supported T/TA partners and networks to amplify the impact of T/TA on health centers and reduce duplication of effort.
In your Project Narrative, you will highlight your processes for meeting this PCA expectation and requirement. Specifically, in the Response section, you may highlight how you will maintain compliance with the PCA expectations and requirements. In the Collaboration section you may highlight your processes when describing how your collaboration/partnership will support your progress toward objective target achievement and how it complements and doesn't duplicate T/TA resources. In the Evaluative Measures section, you may highlight your plan for disseminating T/TA evaluation results to HRSA-supported T/TA partners and networks.
(Added: 10/31/2023)