Federal Grants Research Articles

Helping addicted women and their newborns stay together and recover

Sometimes it seems there's little hope for pregnant women who are addicted to drugs, or for their families. But in fact, there is a robust literature proving that family‐based care helps keep mother and child together, and federal grants are supporting such programs.

The Influence of Demographics and Workforce Innovation Opportunity Act (WIOA) Employment and Training Services on Employment Outcomes for Teenagers Receiving Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Their Parents

Transition age youth with disabilities and their families can access a variety of Workforce Innovation Opportunity Act (WIOA)-funded employment and training services. This study evaluated the impact of these services on youth and parent employment outcomes. These services were coordinated as part of the Wisconsin Promoting Readiness of Minors in SSI (PROMISE) federal demonstration grant. Youth with disabilities receiving Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits were randomly assigned to ‘usual’ services, including those available through school and vocational rehabilitation (VR) transition services, or ‘enhanced’ case management and transition services through the Wisconsin PROMISE demonstration. Parents who consented to participate could receive educational, employment, and financial self-sufficiency services and support through the Family Service Plan (FSP) connected to the youth’s PROMISE VR case. Youth and parents could also choose to receive WIOA Title I and Title III employment and training services, as well as Youth Apprenticeship, available through the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development’s Division of Employment and Training (DET). A hierarchical logistic regression analysis demonstrated that VR services predicted higher youth employment rates and DET services predicted higher youth and parent employment rates. A linear regression analysis demonstrated that PROMISE services predicted higher youth wages and DET services predicted higher youth and parent employment wages. Findings suggest the coordination of employment-focused services across programs leads to increases in employment outcomes. Limitations and implications are discussed regarding the relationship between VR services, DET employment and training services, and employment outcomes.

The Intersection of Cardiovascular Health and Maternal Health: Portfolio Analysis of Federal Grant Funding 2016-2021.

Background: The United States has high and increasing rates of maternal morbidity and mortality, large proportions of which are related to cardiovascular health (CVH). Methods: We searched for National Institutes of Health (NIH) supported research as well as that of two other Agencies in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) for fiscal years (FY) 2016-2021. Grants included maternal health conditions or exposures across all pregnancy stages, but excluded grants that focused entirely on birth, neonatal, infant/childhood outcomes. Results were manually curated by reviewing the abstract and specific aims. Grants deemed to be relevant were grouped by category. Results: Between FY 2016-2021, overall Maternal Health grants remained unchanged at an average of 1.4% of total DHHS grant funding. Maternal CVH-specific (MCVH) funding amounted to $278,926,105 for 755 grants, $191,344,649 was for 534 Type-1 grants, representing a twofold increase. Non-NIH DHHS agencies most commonly funded general Maternal Health related to CVH; NIH focused funding classified as hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, maternal morbidity and mortality, obesity, and diabetes. Non-NIH DHSS Agencies most commonly funded clinical applied research. In addition to clinical applied grants, NIH funded substantial proportions of grants classified as basic research, clinical trials, and/or translational. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) MCVH grants studied participants in the pre-partum period (78.5%), followed by the post-partum period (50.5%), with relatively few in pre-pregnancy and peri-partum periods (10.8% and 9.7%, respectively); at the NIH level, the peri-partum period had better representation at 20.3%, whereas the pre-pregnancy period remained low at 9.9%. Conclusions: Federal grant funding for maternal health including MCVH increased at the same rate as its funding for overall research, and represented only 1.4% of overall total funding. The pre-pregnancy period was understudied in overall NIH funding and represents a gap area whereby funding agencies could further foster research advances.

112 Flight Tracker: A REDCap Tool to Streamline Career Development Grant Preparation and Reporting

OBJECTIVES/GOALS: Compiling information about characteristics and progress of scholars is required for career development applications and progress reports. The range of information is substantial, and preparation is onerous. We sought to create a tool to facilitate gathering key data about trainees and mentors who participate in programs like NIH K- and T-awards. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: Using the REDCap platform, we developed forms and surveys to support intake of applicants, updates from scholars, and information about their participation in activities and use of resources. We deployed application programming interfaces (APIs) to automate capture of publicly available data about publications, impact metrics, and federal grant funding. Similar tools capture descriptions of mentor expertise including grant funding, prior trainees, and publications with mentees We also built modules to 1) allow connection to institutional grant and contract data to capture foundation and other funding; 2) pre-populate follow-up surveys to update information about career trajectories with minimal scholar effort; and 3) support mentee-mentor agreements as living documents. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: After a pilot period at our institution, we disseminated Flight Tracker to more than 50 academic institutions, most of whom are CTSA hubs. They track scholars in TL1/T32s, KL2/K12s, MSTP programs, and academic groups. Beyond federal reporting, uses now include publication impact factors (relative citation ratios, Altmetrics scores), grant funding of groups, maps of network relationships among investigators, scholar receipt of internal pilot awards, and statistics about transition to independence and time-to-promotion. Scholars can be separated into smaller cohorts by demographics, training dates, and funding dates. Over 34,000 scholars are tracked nationally among over 260 programs. Having structured data supports program evaluation, continuous improvements, and documents program strengths. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE: We informally estimate Flight Tracker reduces staff and leadership effort in preparation of program data by 75%, preserving time to focus on service to scholars. Ready access to data over time and within and across institutions creates new opportunities for collaborative data analysis to support evidence-based career development.

Data-Driven Approach to State of Good Repair: Predicting Rolling Stock Service Life with Machine Learning for State of Good Repair Backlog Reduction and Long-Range Replacement Cost Estimation in Small Urban and Rural Transit Systems

This paper presents a data-driven approach to address the state of good repair (SGR) in small urban and rural transit systems in the U.S. by predicting the service life of rolling stock vehicles. Achieving and maintaining public transportation rolling stock in SGR is crucial to providing safe and reliable services to riders, particularly for transit agencies utilizing federal grants that mandate asset maintenance at a full level of performance. In this context, an intelligent predictive model is proposed to analyze the transportation rolling stock, determine their backlog and current condition, predict their replacement or rehabilitation needs, and estimate the funding required for future replacements, ensuring SGR. The model utilizes historical data from retired revenue vehicles in the National Transit Database and employs machine learning techniques, specifically random forest regression and gradient boosting regression, to develop the predictive tool. By addressing the backlog of vehicles beyond their service lives and estimating replacement costs, the model provides valuable decision support for effective transit asset management. Transit agencies in small urban and rural transit systems, lacking analytical tools for service life prediction, can greatly benefit from this simple yet powerful predictive model. The approach offers a practical resource to address SGR needs, optimize investment prioritization, and enhance operational efficiency in public transit systems.

Do presidents favor co-partisan mayors in the allocation of federal grants?

Do presidents favor co-partisan mayors in the allocation of federal grants?

Examining the relationship between Hispanic Serving Community college Title III grants and STEM associate degree completion

AbstractHispanic‐Serving Community Colleges enroll and educate a large share of Hispanic postsecondary students. Due to work trends and demographic changes, Hispanic and other historically underrepresented students play a crucial role in shaping the next generation of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) scholars and practitioners. We use data from the National Center for Education Statistics and a difference‐in‐differences technique to estimate the association between federal capacity building grants aimed at improving STEM degree attainment outcomes and associate degree completion. We find receipt of a Title III grant was associated with about a 30% increase in the total number of STEM associate degrees awarded. Further, the grants nearly doubled the number of STEM associate degrees awarded to Hispanic students, on average. This positive relationship is driven by institutions receiving more than one grant. We conclude by discussing these findings and providing federal and institutional recommendations.

Academic accomplishments of Black neurosurgeons in the United States.

Neurosurgery has remained relatively homogeneous in terms of racial and gender diversity, trailing behind national demographics. Less than 5% of practicing neurosurgeons in the United States identify as Black/African American (AA). Research and academic productivity are highly emphasized within the field and are crucial for career advancement at academic institutions. They also serve as important avenues for mentorship and recruitment of diverse trainees and medical students. This study aimed to summarize the academic accomplishments of AA neurosurgeons by assessing publication quantity, h-index, and federal grant funding. One hundred thirteen neurosurgery residency training programs accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education in 2022 were included in this study. The American Society of Black Neurosurgeons registry was reviewed to analyze the academic metrics of self-identified Black or AA academic neurosurgeons. Data on the academic rank, leadership position, publication quantity, h-index, and race of neurosurgical faculty in the US were obtained from publicly available information and program websites. Fifty-five AA and 1393 non-AA neurosurgeons were identified. Sixty percent of AA neurosurgeons were fewer than 10 years out from residency training, compared to 37.4% of non-AA neurosurgeons (p = 0.001). AA neurosurgeons had a median 32 (IQR 9, 85) publications compared to 52 (IQR 22, 122) for non-AA neurosurgeons (p = 0.019). AA neurosurgeons had a median h-index of 12 (IQR 5, 24) compared to 16 (IQR 9, 31) for non-AA colleagues (p = 0.02). Following stratification by academic rank, these trends did not persist. No statistically significant differences in the median amounts of awarded National Institutes of Health funding (p = 0.194) or level of professorship attained (p = 0.07) were observed between the two cohorts. Racial disparities between AA and non-AA neurosurgeons exist in publication quantity and h-index overall but not when these groups are stratified by academic rank. Given that AA neurosurgeons comprise more junior faculty, it is expected that their academic accomplishments will increase as more enter academic practice and current neurosurgeons advance into more senior positions.

Federal grant opportunities in prevention, recovery

Below are two recent grant announcements from the federal government.

Invisible and indispensable: Using the lowly request for proposals to advance public value

AbstractRequests for Proposals (RFP) may be the pinnacle of bureaucratic mundanity. Yet, hidden within this apparent monotony are powerful tools to advance public values. Federal, state, and local government grants deploy staggering sums, reaching into the hundreds of billions of dollars annually. With these distributions, the executive branch is often delegated substantial discretion. These are choices of consequence, but little support exists for public managers tasked with this work. This article examines the potential to improve administrative decision‐making by enhancing our understanding of how discretion is authorized and applied regarding RFPs. Drawing from professional experience, we create a framework to identify dimensions of discretion in these proposals and apply it to a Minnesota case. We end with a call for academics and practitioners to better partner on empirical inquiry that improves RFP administration; in doing so, there is immense potential to help civil servants to improve outcomes for the public.

Classroom observational data: a professional development tool for introductory college mathematics instruction

Two groups of mathematics faculty, one from a four-year college and one from a two-year college, redesigned their respective introductory college mathematics courses following presentation of observational data regarding how faculty had been teaching the courses. This presentation emphasised how infrequently faculty teaching introductory college mathematics employed recommended pedagogical practices. This work was part of a multi-year federal grant project designed to increase the numbers of underrepresented students majoring in STEM disciplines. While the two teams developed very different redesigned course activities, in both instances the primary motivation for initiating the work was the information provided to faculty in a professional development workshop regarding how they had previously been observed teaching the mathematics content and how infrequently they utilised the pedagogical practices recommended by STEM education experts. The paper also highlights faculty resistance to curricular reform and enumerates some ways of addressing this resistance. The paper also discusses why faculty from two-year and four-year institutions resisted working together on course redesign and provides recommendations for future efforts addressing course redesign.

Protection for pets and people: The critical need for increased federal funding for pet‐friendly domestic violence services

AbstractThe research linking pet abuse with domestic violence is overwhelming. Pet abuse is a significant indicator that a human family member is suffering too. Further, victims are likely to become abusers themselves, perpetuating the intertwined cycles of pet abuse and domestic violence. Most women in domestic violence shelters report that their pet was also victimized. However, since few domestic violence shelters in the U.S. accommodate pets, victims must decide between leaving their pet to endure further abuse, or delaying their own escape. Current federal grants do not meet the demand for funding. This Note proposes an Amendment to the PAWS Act, requiring the federal government to match state contributions to projects that expand access to pet‐friendly shelters.

Policies, Leadership, and Funding - Oh, My! How we are working together to improve perinatal care access & integration in Arizona, U.S.

The United States has the highest maternal mortality rate of any high resource country, and it is the only country outside of Afghanistan and Sudan where the rate is rising. The rate of pregnancy-related mortality in the US increased from 7.2 pregnancy-related deaths per 100,000 live births per year in 1987 to 17.2 in 2017. In Arizona, almost half of all pregnancy-associated deaths in 2016-2018 or three out of five deaths were related to mental health conditions or substance use disorder, and 98% of those deaths were deemed preventable with 48.5% of deaths having a good chance to prevent the death. Over 40% of these deaths were accidents or unintentional overdoses. Social determinants of health, system, and community factors have increasingly been acknowledged as contributing factors to the increasing rate of poor maternal health outcomes nationally, yet few states have been able to comprehensively address these issues due to fragmented health and public health systems of care, as well as severe workforce shortages. 
 The State of Arizona launched a series of initiatives beginning or enhanced in 2019 to improve maternal health outcomes for persons of reproductive age in the State, including a grant-funded initiative to strengthen Arizona’s Maternal Mortality Review Committee and to fund prevention efforts. In 2020, maternal mental health was spotlighted by stakeholders as a crisis related to the COVID-19 pandemic. A maternal mental health task force was appointed by the state legislature and funded through a federal grant to bring statewide stakeholders together to identify gaps in care for the perinatal population, improve statewide data on maternal mortality, and to form a statewide action plan to promote and execute innovation in maternal health service delivery including recommendations to the state government for providers and facilities, regulatory and state policy, payers, law enforcement, other systems, public health, and communities.
 While the effort to improve perinatal care statewide has legislative and grant-funded support, the input from individuals with lived experience, healthcare professionals specializing in serving this population, and our community health workers such as peer support professionals, patient advocates, and BIPOC advocacy organizations have been the key to our momentum and successes. Ultimately, a legion of volunteers (primarily mothers) across the state have co-designed improvements that truly meet the needs in close partnership with the state department of health and state medicaid agency. 
  
 Through community and provider participation, workforce development initiatives, compassionate and informed leadership, change management, and policy making, we have developed a comprehensive strategy to expand access to better care across the continuum of providers and facilities involved in perinatal care outcomes in our state. 
 What we’ve learned and achieved through our evolving statewide efforts will contribute to the efforts of others in communities globally who are working to reduce adverse maternal health outcomes. Lessons learned and best practices in capacity building and sustainability will be shared. 
  

UTILIZING TECHNOLOGY AND INTEGRATED SERVICES TO SUPPORT FAMILY CAREGIVERS IN RURAL COMMUNITIES

Abstract CRIS Healthy Aging is a non-profit organization in East Central Illinois that serves older adults who are often lower-income and/or living in a rural community. CRIS’ mission is to keep older adults safe, healthy, and independent in their own homes for as long as possible. CRIS’ Memory Care Program (MCP) expanded upon the evidence-based STAR-Caregivers (STAR-C) program. In addition to administering traditional STAR-C training, CRIS provides caregiving dyads with more integrated services, including (1) implementation of technology like the Amazon Alexa Echo Show devices and OneClick video conferencing for older adults, (2) peer support and education opportunities including Memory Café, Stress-Busting Program for Family Caregivers, and the NCOA Aging Mastery Program, as well as (3) providing financial assistance, respite, and additional aging services. In the past 4 years, the CRIS MCP, funded by a federal ADPI grant through ACL, has served approximately 200 caregiving dyads, and collected pre- and post-treatment survey data from a cohort of 52. Those served consistently reported that the STAR-C program was extremely helpful for them. Most importantly, caregivers reported significant decreases in behavior frequency (t=14.75, p<0.01) and severity of personal stress response (t-21.51, p<0.01). Compared to baseline, caregivers also reported feeling less resentful (p=0.005), less socially isolated (p>0.05, however qualitative data supports downward trend), and saw improvements to quality of life (t=-1.77, p<0.042). Ongoing barriers to service in these rural and low-income communities include a global pandemic, misinformation, fear of the unknown, family unwillingness to participate, and financial concerns.

Simul Fortior: The Rise of an Honors Collaborative to Address Grand Challenges

A dedicated group of honors professionals from 14 institutions across the United States of America (USA) recently emerged to strategize how honors education can prepare students to address the world’s most wicked problems--grand challenges--systematically and holistically. These professionals found a shared passion for their work and quickly began functioning as a team to prepare a federal grant on higher education. Over time, the team identified additional intellectual endeavors to shape the future of honors education. Each professional shares unique skills in service of the larger goals. Leadership for various initiatives transitions to those with relevant expertise and passion and is often shared among multiple people. Sustained collaborations are now recognized as a Collaborative. Members of the Collaborative trust that they are simul fortior--better together--in this high-functioning and reciprocally beneficial working relationship and outline the benefits others may realize in forming similar honors collaboratives. 

The Impact of Making Proud Choices! on Youth's Sexual Health Attitudes, Knowledge, and Behaviors

PurposeTo estimate the effect of the Making Proud Choices! (MPC) curriculum, one of the most popular evidence-based teen pregnancy prevention curricula being implemented nationwide. MethodsA cluster randomized trial was used to assign high schools to receive the MPC program or to serve as a standard care comparison group. The study took place in 15 schools in four cities in the United States. A total of 31 clusters and over 2,800 youth (predominantly in grades 9 and 10) were assigned to condition between 2016 and 2019. Student surveys administered at baseline and approximately 9 months after baseline were used to estimate the effects of MPC on risk and protective factors (knowledge, attitudes, self-efficacy) as well as sexual behavior outcomes. ResultsThe evaluation showed several large, statistically significant, and favorable impacts on nearly all of the risk and protective factors for risky sexual behavior. In addition, the study found a favorable effect of MPC on reducing the number of episodes of sex in the past 3 months. DiscussionThe evaluation showed that MPC, as it is commonly implemented today, has evidence of effectiveness on improving both risk and protective factors, and sexual behavior outcomes. Based on these findings, MPC will continue to be seen as an evidence-based teen pregnancy prevention program for implementation through federal grant programs.

Study of functional features of plant root systems using CRISPR/Cas-mediated genome editing

CRISPR/Cas-mediated genome editing is a powerful tool of plant functional genomics. Hairy root transformation is a rapid and convenient approach for obtaining transgenic roots. When combined, these techniques represent a fast and effective means of studying gene function [1, 2].
 A common construct for efficient genome editing and selection of hairy roots is comprised of three components, i.e., a cassette carrying the gene encoding the Cas nuclease, a cassette expressing the guide RNA (gRNA), and a cassette encoding a screenable or selectable marker [2]. After design and construction, the resulting vector is used to transform plant using appropriateRhizobium rhizogenesstrain.
 Over 26 plant species have been used in experiments combining genome editing and hairy root transformation to date [2]. Possible applications of CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing using hairy root transformation include different directions like test the efficiency of the CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing; obtaining whole genome-edited plants regenerated from individual edited hairy roots; investigation of root development or root function, root nodule symbiosis, resistance to biotic or abiotic stresses, or metabolic engineering [2].
 The basic principles of plant CRISPR/Cas genome editing like the different components of CRISPR/Cas vectors, the types of Cas nuclease, design principles of gRNAs, as well as the possible applications of CRISPR/Cas genome editing in hairy roots will discuss. The application of this method for multigene editing strategy will also be demonstrated onDEEPER ROOTING1genes of cucumber.
 The study was supported by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation (Grant No. 075-15-2021-1056).

New proposal would streamline federal grants

Nonprofits that rely on federal grants for part of their funding stand to benefit from newly proposed legislation that aims to streamline and simplify the federal grantmaking process.

Can’t buy me love? An experiment on the relationship between federal grant spending and public approval of federal agencies

ABSTRACT Previous research finds that grant spending can improve the standing of politicians and institutions with some in the public. It is unclear whether this effect holds for federal agencies as well, which are largely responsible for allocating these funds. We develop a theory that links agency grant spending to the likelihood of an individual supporting the awarding federal agency, with the expectation that this relationship is conditioned by the citizen’s partisan identification. Using a survey experiment, we find that an increase in federal grant spending, from agencies that they politically oppose, is associated with Republicans offering a more negative evaluation.

Is inclusive more elusive? An impact assessment analysis on designating environmental justice communities in the US

As a policy objective, environmental justice (EJ) aims to promote the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income with respect to environmental laws and regulations. At the current stage of EJ policy, federal and state regulators have attempted to prioritize populations for receiving federal and state grants and other benefits or to incentivize private investment. Using mapping and screening tools, policymakers have identified communities as “environmental justice communities”, “disadvantaged”, or “overburdened” based on selected social, economic, environmental, and health indicators. The overarching goal of the study is to understand the impacts of the environmental justice policy at the federal and state level, the extent to which the designation of EJ communities is a representative illustration of the populations experiencing environmental burdens, and their link to systemic racism, i.e., redlining.A methodology for assessing the implications of EJ definitions is proposed through a data-driven approach using socioeconomic and environmental indicators and examining previous land use discriminatory decision-making. The findings of the study have direct implications on the distribution of federal and state resources towards underserved and overburdened communities, but also in the methodologies utilized for environmental impact assessments (EIAs). The approach is demonstrated as a showcase study for the State of Connecticut, but the proposed methodology is of significance for future research on environmental impact assessments and policymakers nationwide. Our analysis points to four main key conclusions: a) a sole indicator to designate EJ communities, although it might seem more inclusive, is not representative of the disproportionate burdens communities are experiencing, b) race is a factor that cannot be neglected to identify injustices as is the parameter most correlated with environmental burdens, c) sophisticated tools that combine both social and environmental criteria in the designation provide a more accurate description of the environmentally challenged populations, and d) formerly redlined areas are highly associated with present inequalities, which indicates the value of the historical context in the identification of today's EJ communities, and the value of integrating redlining maps as a screening factor to designate EJ populations.