Recovery.gov - Track the Money

REACHING MORE CHILDREN AND ADULTS: Provides additional vaccine and the means for administering this vaccine through Section 317 grantees and their community partners:

• Vaccine purchase: procurement of additional vaccines for children and adults
• Grant supplements: assistance funding to 64 immunization programs that include all 50 states, Washington DC, 5 urban areas, the U.S. Territories, and selected Pacific Island nations to support programs operations

INNOVATIVE INITIATIVES FOR IMPROVING REIMBURSEMENT AND VACCINATION IN SCHOOLS AND THE COMMUNITY: Time-limited projects to develop and demonstrate innovative approaches to successfully and measurably deliver more vaccine to selected target groups focusing on: 1) school-based vaccination administration of childhood immunizations, 2) adult immunization, and 3) demonstration of appropriate mechanisms to bill private health insurance companies for immunization services, to increase available Section 317 funds:

• Competitive grant supplements: awards to a subset of current grant recipients for conducting time-limited innovative projects related to school-based vaccination administration, adult immunization, and/or appropriate mechanisms to bill private health insurance for immunization services to increase total vaccine availability under Section 317.


NATIONAL COMMUNICATION CAMPAIGN AND PROVIDER EDUCATION: Purposes include: 1) increase public awareness of vaccine-preventable diseases and CDC’s immunization recommendations for Americans of all ages, 2) enhance knowledge among immunization providers about CDC’s immunization recommendations, and 3) engage the American public on questions related to U.S. immunization policy:

• Communication and education activities: raise awareness of vaccine availability as well as address public questions about vaccine benefits and risks. Includes the development and provision of training and education resources and tools that increase knowledge of complex immunization schedules and recommendations

STRENGTHENING THE EVIDENCE BASE: Time-limited assessments of vaccine preventable disease burden trends and vaccine effectiveness, filling selected gaps in current vaccination coverage assessment capability, upgrading the current sentinel immunization registries allowing for more rapid monitoring of vaccination trends, improving existing systems for monitoring vaccine safety, and conducting short term training courses for state health laboratories.

All Recovery Act programs will be assessed for risk and ensure that proper internal controls exist throughout the entire funding cycle. These assessments will be done consistent with statutory requirements of the Federal Manager’s Financial Integrity Act and the Improper Payments Information Act, as well as OMB’s circular A-123 “Management’s Responsibility for Internal Control.”

CDC’s oversight function for agency-wide Recovery Act Coordination (RAC) will oversee and coordinate all Recovery Act-funded activities. Quarterly reviews of Recovery Act programs will be conducted by RAC in collaboration with CDC’s Financial Management Office (FMO) and Procurement and Grant’s Office (PGO), as well as program managers. Potential risks associated with executing Recovery Act funds have been identified and appropriate mitigation strategies have been instituted to better ensure are achieved. In addition, assurance of adequate staffing levels within FMO, PGO, and within the program has been addressed for appropriate oversight and monitoring of recipient activity.

CDC will perform the following:

• coordinate with the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) to ensure that Recipient Capability Assessments are conducted on funded organizations as needed;
• ensure ongoing technical assistance is provided to contractors and grantees who need assistance in meeting administrative and program requirements;
• monitor the receipt of financial reports, and review those reports for the purpose of monitoring compliance with financial requirements;
• monitor the receipt of recipient progress reports, and review those reports for the purpose of monitoring compliance with program requirements;
• conduct vigorous post-award monitoring to include site visits to grantees;
• ensure the unique identification of Recovery Act funds in contractual and grant agreements, to include the use of unique Recovery Act CFDA numbers for grants;
• refer all known instances of suspected fraud, waste, or abuse to the OIG;
• ensure that timely enforcement actions are taken on any non-performing contractor or grantee;
• take appropriate enforcement action, such as the disallowance of costs, the recovery of funds, the referral of suspected fraud to the OIG, the implementation of administrative corrective actions by the contractor or grantee, or the termination of funding if CDC determines that a contractor or grantee has misused Recovery Act funds, CDC will; and
• support the oversight of the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board, the OIG, and General Accounting Office, to include taking timely action on inquires and recommendations.

The Section 317 Immunization Grant Program staff will frequently communicate with grant and contract recipients, provide technical assistance via regular conference calls and conduct site visits. Recipients may be allowed to charge increased administrative costs to support the frequent and extensive reporting required by the Recovery Act. Allowable and unallowable expenditures will be clearly communicated to recipients and appropriate penalties for misappropriation or misuse of funds will be enforced. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-133, “Audits of States, Local Governments and Non profit Organizations” will set the administrative requirements for these entities. OMB Circular A-87, “Cost Principles for State, Local and Indian Tribal Governments” will set the Federal principles for determining allowable costs.

Development and submission of grantee plans and quarterly updates on progress towards specific economic and performance measures and targets will minimize risk, serve as an evaluation of progress, and allow for early/timely risk mitigation. Monthly and quarterly reporting by recipients will be monitored by project and contract officers and failures to adhere to performance measures will be elevated to supervisory authorities immediately for troubleshooting.

CDC will: be transparent in all of its Recovery Act contracting and grant competitions and regulations; ensure recipient reporting per Section 1512 is made available to the public on Recovery.gov by October 10, 2009; inform recipients of reporting obligations via standard terms and conditions, grant announcements, contract solicitations, and other program guidance; provide technical assistance to grantees and contractors and fully utilize Project Officers to ensure compliance with reporting requirements, including site visits and frequent communications for costs and performance.

Recipients will report economic indicators of job creation and/or preservation on a quarterly basis per Section 1512 requirements. These data will be available at the recipient level. All other indicators will be collected from existing databases, collated by the program staff and then reported to an existing CDC information system. CDC will appropriately aggregate and disaggregate necessary recipient performance and financial data for public access on www.cdc.gov. It will also be reported in an existing system to CDC's FMO and PGO. A point of contact has been established for Recovery.gov to receive and answer public inquiry regarding programmatic efforts with Recovery Act funds.

CDC shall ensure merit-based decision-making for Recovery Act grant and contract awards by:

• promoting competition to the maximum extent practicable;
• considering the weighting of selection criteria to favor applicants with demonstrated ability to deliver performance;
• using award methods that allow grantees and contractors to commence activities as quickly as possible;
• ensuring that receipt of funds is contingent on grantees and contractors agreeing to meet Recovery Act reporting requirements;
• adapting current applicant evaluation and review processes to reflect Recovery Act needs; and
• pursuing efforts to overcome impediments to Recovery Act awards.

CDC grant announcements and contract solicitations involving Recovery Act funds shall contain transparent merit-based selection criteria that allow CDC to evaluate an applicant’s demonstrated or potential ability to:
• deliver programmatic results;
• create economic stimulus, to include the number of jobs created or saved in relation to Federal dollars obligated;
• achieve long-term public health benefits; and
• satisfy Recovery Act transparency and accountability objectives, to include all reporting requirements.

CDC shall avoid the funding of imprudent projects by:
• exercising the formal approval of Agency, Program and Spend Plans;
• identifying measurable Program and Recovery Act outcomes;
• reviewing proposed activities and expenditures for imprudent projects; and
making the timely obligation of funds.

CDC will leverage existing internal controls to ensure that managers are held to high standards of accountability in achieving program goals under the Recovery Act. Senior CDC Section 317 program officials will meet regularly with senior Department officials to ensure that projects are meeting their program goals, assessing and mitigating risks, ensuring transparency, and incorporating corrective actions. The personnel performance appraisal system will also incorporate Recovery Act program stewardship responsibilities for program and business function managers.

RAC will conduct quarterly reviews between Division Directors/Management Officials and project officers prior to the end of the quarter to evaluate progress to date and discuss grantee performance. Annual reviews will be conducted with CDC leadership to ensure programmatic objectives and grantee accountability measures are being executed and achieved as stated. Additionally, National Center and Division Directors will have accountability and performance measurement objectives included in performance plans.

Not applicable