DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENT Disease Control and Environmental epidemiology Division RULES FOR THE COLORADO HIV AND AIDS PREVENTION GRANT PROGRAM 6 CCR 1009-10 [Editor’s Notes follow the text of the rules at the end of this CCR Document.]

1.1 Definitions [Emer. Rule eff 11/15/2006; Perm. Rule eff 4/1/2007]

A. “Board” means the State Board of Health. Eff. 04/01/2007 6. The grants administered pursuant to Section 25-4-1413 shall only be subject to the restrictions provided for in this section and Section 25-4-1413 and shall not be subject to the same restrictions as grants provided with federal moneys for HIV and AIDS prevention.

F. The Board of Health shall select at least one grant recipient to evaluate the effectiveness of the funded initiatives.

1.5 Awarding of Program Grants

A. The Board shall award grants to the selected entities, specifying the amount of the grant.

B. Any actual or prospective applicant who is aggrieved in connection with the solicitation or award of a contract pursuant to Section 25-4-1413 may protest to the Executive Director of the department or his/her designee.

1. Such protests must be submitted in writing within seven working days after such aggrieved person knows, or should have known, of the facts giving rise thereto.

2. At the discretion of the Executive Director or his/her designee, protests may be placed on the agenda of the Advisory Committee for their consideration, and, if necessary, the Board.

3. At the discretion of the Executive Director or his/her designee, awards may proceed pending the final outcome of a Board decision regarding a protest.

4. At the discretion of the Board, a protest may result in changes in the final selection of entities receiving awards, the amount and duration of awards, and the termination of contracts or other agreements that were awarded pursuant to Section 25-4-1413.

1.5.1 Criteria for the Grant Amount At a minimum, the Board shall consider the following factors, as appropriate:

A. The recommendation or rating of the application by the Advisory Committee;

B. The distribution of federal funds in the areas of HIV and AIDS prevention, education, and treatment;

C. That grants are distributed statewide and address the needs of both urban and rural residents of Colorado; and D. The availability of funds.

1.5.2 Criteria for Overall Grant Awards At a minimum, the Board shall consider the following factors, as appropriate:

A. Ensure that a proportion of the moneys awarded through the grant program be directed to projects impacting:

1. Urban areas of the state;

2. Rural areas of the state impacted by HIV/AIDS;

3. Populations disproportionately affected by the epidemiological impact of (incident and prevalent) HIV/AIDS cases;

B. If no viable or competitive applications are received for one or more of the categories listed in 1.5.2 (A), then awards will be made in the remaining category or categories for which viable or competitive applications are received.

1.5.3 Criteria for Duration of Program Grants The Board shall specify the duration of the grant; however, no grant shall be awarded for a period that exceeds three years. The Board shall receive recommendations from the Advisory Committee for non-renewal of grants for failure to perform.

1.6 Responsibilities of Grantees

1.6.1 Program Evaluation. Grantees shall be responsible for program evaluation consisting of the following:

A. The development and implementation of a detailed written evaluation plan and the preparation of a final evaluation report. At a minimum, the plan shall describe how the grantee will document process and outcome measures, as described above in section 1.3.1 (A)(j) and section 1.3.1 (A)(2);

B. Determination of how the results achieved by the program contribute to the achievement of the program goals as stated in section 1.2.

C. The interventions or approach selected and the desired outcomes;

D. Why this approach was chosen;

E. The number of people served and the services provided;

F. Prior to implementation, the grantee must provide documentation that the HIV prevention messages, images, and materials developed of purchased by the grantee for distribution in the context of the funded prevention activity have been reviewed and approved by an expert panel designated by the Advisory Committee. The review criteria include, but are not limited to, consistency with department policy, scientifically sound and accurate, and are appropriate and acceptable to the targeted risk population.

1.6.2 Annual Reports. Grantees shall submit the annual report no later than 30 days after the end of the grant period. The grant period will vary depending on the grant, as described in section 1.5.3. Continuation of the grant is contingent on submitting an annual report. Grantees who fail to submit the annual report may be terminated for nonperformance. At the end of the grant period, the final report shall serve as that year’s annual report.

1.6.3 Final Evaluation Report. Grantees shall submit a final evaluation report within 30 days of the end of the grant period. At a minimum, each Final Evaluation Report shall include:

A. A determination of how the results achieved by the grantee contributed to the achievement of the Program;

B. Whether the grantee participated in state-level evaluation or surveillance studies regarding the impact of the overall grants program at the request of the department, or the Advisory Committee, a description of each evaluation or study;

C. The number of people and target population the grantee served and the services provided;

D. A summary of the lessons the grantee learned from the implementation of the grant services, including discussion of the obstacles and how they were overcome as well as changes that would be made in the future;

E. Measures or indicators used;

F. Methods/strategies used to determine effectiveness and impact on HIV transmission;

G. How results will be used, disseminated and communicated;

H. Whether plans for sustainability after the grant period ends have been implemented, and if so, what those plans are; and I. How grantees impacted the target population.

1.6.4 Termination

A. Grants awarded under this program may be terminated due to nonperformance or other cause. Grounds for termination of this grant may include, but are not limited to:

1. Change in eligibility of the grant, 2. Unauthorized release of confidential client information or failure to maintain internal records in a manner which ensures the confidentiality and security of those records in accordance with all applicable statutes, 3. Substantial failure to meet objectives described in grant applications, 4. Violation of federal or state law or regulation, 5. Failure to deliver required reports or to submit required data in a timely and accurate manner, 6. Demonstrated or probable harm to clients through exploitation, negligence, or poor quality of services.

B. A recommendation to terminate a grant under this program will be submitted by the Advisory Committee as necessary. The Advisory Committee shall accept or reject this recommendation by simple majority vote. A recommendation for termination will include the following information:

1. Description of the grounds for termination, 2. Description of the investigations conducted and the findings of these investigations, 3. Evidence substantiating all findings (presented in a manner that does not violate client confidentiality), 4. Actions, short of termination, that have been attempted to address deficiencies and the outcomes of such actions, 5. A statement prepared and submitted by the grantee describing mitigating factors, additional evidence, or other information refuting the grounds for grant termination.

C. Terminations of grants under this program may be appealed to the Advisory Committee. Such appeals must be filed with the Advisory Committee within 30 days of the receipt of notification of intent to cancel a grant. The Advisory Committee may request additional information or may conduct interviews or other investigations in regard to such appeals. Grants shall remain in effect pending the outcome of the appeal.

D. At the discretion of the Advisory Committee, grantees whose awards were terminated may be deemed ineligible for future grant awards.

1.7 Conflict of Interest

1.7.1 Applicability This section applies to any person:

A. Who reviews submitted applications; or B. Makes recommendations to the Board regarding which applicants receive grants and the amounts of said grants; or C. Who is a member of the Board or Advisory Committee.

1.7.2 Prohibited Behavior. No person may be involved in the activities specified in subsection (1) of this section if that person has a conflict of interest, as that term is defined in section 1.1(F) herein.

1.7.3 Responsibilities of Persons with a Potential Conflict of Interest. A person who believes that he or she may have a conflict of interest shall disclose the conflict as soon as he or she becomes aware of it. If the person is a member of the Advisory Committee, that person shall not vote on the matter for which the person has a conflict. Other activities of members of the Advisory Committee are subject to subparagraph (b) of this paragraph (1.7.3).

A. If the person is a member of the Advisory Committee and acting in his or her capacity as an Advisory Committee member, the person shall publicly disclose the conflict of interest to the Advisory Committee. If the Advisory Committee determines there exists of a conflict of interest, the person shall recuse himself or herself from any of the activities specified in section 1.7(F) relating to the conflict.

B. Any other person shall disclose the conflict of interest in writing to the Advisory Committee. If the Advisory Committee determines that the person has a conflict of interest, the person shall recuse himself or herself from any of the activities specified in section 1.7(F) relating to the conflict.

_____________________________________________________ B. Timelines for Grant Application 1. Grant applications may be solicited up to two times each fiscal year, on dates determined by the Division and in consultation with the Advisory Committee. Editor’s Notes History Section 1.3.1 Eff. 03/01/2008.