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Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance

Program Descriptions

93.209:  Contraception and Infertility Research Loan Repayment Program

Popular Name:  CIR LRP

Objectives:  The CIR-LRP is designed to provide an incentive for health professionals to work in areas of reproductive research directly related to contraceptive development and/or infertility diagnosis and treatment by providing assistance in repaying educational loans for individuals. The CIR-LRP will pay up to $35,000 of the principal and interest of a participant's educational loans for each year of commitment not to exceed one-half of the remaining loan balance. In addition to the loan repayments, the CIR-LRP may pay participants up to 39 percent of the amount paid to lenders as partial payments on the increased income tax liability caused by the Program's loan repayments. In return for these loan repayments, applicants must agree to commit to a period of obligated service of not less than 2 years conducting research with respect to contraception and/or infertility. The long-range objective of the CIR-LRP is to stimulate the commitment of researchers to sustaining a career focus on contraception and/or infertility research.

PROGRAM AND AWARD	FINANCIAL AND INFORMATION CONTACTS
ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS	FINANCIAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE INFO.
APPLICATION AND AWARD PROCESS	INFORMATION CONTACTS
RELATED PROGRAMS	ASSISTANCE CONSIDERATIONS
PROGRAM ACCOMPLISHMENTS	POST ASSISTANCE REQUIREMENTS

93.209 ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS:

Applicant Eligibility:  Qualified health and allied professionals including, but not limited to, physicians scientists, nurses and physician assistants, as well as graduate students and postgraduate research fellows training in the health professions are eligible to apply; with the provision that they will be or are engaged at the time of inception into CIR-LRP in employment/training at an NICHD intramural laboratory or one of the following NICHD-supported extramural sites: 1) A Cooperative Specialized Contraception or Infertility Research Center; 2) a Cooperative Specialized Research Center in Reproduction Research; 3) a Women's Reproductive Health Research Career Development Center or 4) a Reproductive Medicine Unit identified as a clinical site for the National Cooperative Reproductive Medicine Network. In addition, fellows participating in the Reproductive Scientist Development Program (RSDP) are eligible to apply. All applicants will be expected to participate in research on infertility or contraceptive development. Persons who are not U.S. citizens, Nationals or permanent residents are not eligible to apply.

Beneficiary Eligibility:  Assistance in the form of loan repayments will be made to qualified health professionals (including graduate students) who are participants in the CIR-LRP.

Credentials/Documentation:  The applicant is required to submit: 1) a completed and signed Applicant Information Form; 2) a signed Loan Verification Form for each loan to be considered for repayment; 3) a completed and signed CIR-LRP Contract, and 4) a copy of an institutional assurance of employment/affiliation with an NICHD intramural laboratory or eligible NICHD-supported extramural site for no less than a two-year period from the anticipated effective date of the CIR-LRP Contract. Graduate students must also provide evidence that he/she is enrolled full time and is in good academic standing.

93.209 APPLICATION AND AWARD PROCESS:

Preapplication Coordination:  Information regarding the CIR-LRP and the preparation of forms for application to the CIR-LRP can be obtained by contacting the CIR-LRP headquarters office at the Center for Population Research, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, NIH or via the World Wide Web at www.nichd.nih.gov/about/cpr/rs/rs.htm. This program is excluded from coverage under E.O. 12372.

Application Procedure:  Qualified individuals interested in participating in the CIR-LRP should first request an application form from the CIR-LRP headquarters office in the Center for Population Research, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, NIH or they may download forms via the World Wide Web at www.nichd.nih.gov/about/cpr/rs/rs.htm. The application consists of two sections. The first section requests information about the applicant which includes a description of the applicant's proposed role in the scientific research being conducted at the NICHD-funded Specialized Contraception or Infertility Research Center, as well as a brief statement addressing the applicant's long range plan for engaging in contraception and/or infertility research. The second section requests the applicant's permission for disclosure of loan information and the lender's verification of the loan. The application will be reviewed by an Advisory Panel, chaired by the Deputy Director, NICHD, and comprised of representatives of the NICHD's Office of Administrative Management, the respective Program Officers of the Center for Population Research, and special consultants as required. In selecting applicants for participation in the CIR-LRP, the panel will consider eligibility status, quality of the applicant, and applicant's career plan focus. All selections are subject to final approval by the Director, NICHD. The NICHD will notify the sponsoring grantee institution and the applicant of the outcome of the review.

Award Procedure:  Once the applicant is selected to participate in the CIR-LRP, the applicant and the Director, NICHD, as a designate of the Secretary of Health and Human Services, will sign a written binding contract stating the terms and conditions for participating in the CIR-LRP. The effective date of the contract will be the date it is signed by the Director, NICHD, or the date employment/training begins at an NICHD-funded Specialized Contraception or Infertility Research Center, whichever is later.

Deadlines:  Applications can be received at any time during the year.

Range of Approval/Disapproval Time:  It is anticipated that the selection process will take from 60 to 90 days following receipt of application.

Appeals:  None.

Renewals:  A CIR-LRP participant completing the initial 2-year period of obligated service conducting research with respect to contraception and/or infertility has an option to extend the obligatory period of service on an annual basis.

Criteria for Selecting Proposals:  Not applicable.

Examples of Funded Projects:  Not applicable.

Range and Average of Financial Assistance:  There will be at least $600,000 available for loan repayment purposes in fiscal years 2001 and 2002.

93.209 RELATED PROGRAMS:

• 93.162 National Health Service Corps Loan Repayment Program;
• 93.923 Disadvantaged Health Professions Faculty Loan Repayment and Fellowship Program;
• 93.936 National Institutes of Health Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome Research Loan Repayment Program.

93.209 PROGRAM ACCOMPLISHMENTS:

93.209 FINANCIAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE INFO:

Federal Agency:  NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Type of Assistance:  Direct Payments for Specified Use.

Obligations:  (Direct Payments) FY 99 $534,189; FY 00 est $600,000; and FY 01 est $600,000.

Budget Account Number:  75-0844-0-1-552.

Authorization:  Public Health Service Act, 42 U.S.C. 288-2, Title IV (National Research Institutes), Part G (Awards and Training), Section 487B (Loan Repayment Program For Research With Respect to Contraception and Infertility), as amended by Public Law 105-392.

Regulations, Guidelines, and Literature:  The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking was approved on October 20, 1999.

93.209 INFO CONTACTS:

Regional or Local Office:  Not applicable.

Headquarters Office:  Dr. Louis V. DePaolo, Director, Contraception and Infertility Research Loan Repayment Program, Center for Population Research, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, NIH, DHHS, Building 61E, Rm. 8B01, MSC-7510, Bethesda, MD 20892-7510. Phone: (301) 435-6970; FAX: (301) 496-0962; E-mail: ld38p@nih.gov.

(See Appendix IV for more contact info.)

93.209 ASSISTANCE CONSIDERATIONS:

Formula and Matching Requirements:  This program has no statutory formula.

Length and Time Phasing of Assistance:  The CIR-LRP will pay equal quarterly payments to the lenders. Each payment will be made shortly after the end of each full quarter of satisfactory service.

Uses and Use Restrictions:  The assistance provided by the CIR-LRP is entirely of a financial nature in the form of loan repayments. The monies provided by this program are restricted to the repayment of pre-existing, qualified loans procured by the participant for educational expenses incurred in the pursuit of undergraduate or graduate degrees.

93.209 POST ASSISTANCE REQUIREMENTS:

Reports:  None.

Audits:  None.

Records:  None.