(a) Within the limits of funds available for these purposes, the Secretary may award grants for the establishment and operation of those projects which will, in the Department's judgment, best promote the purposes of statutory provisions applicable to the Title X program, and ensure that no Title X funds are used where abortion is a method of family planning.

(b) Any grant applications that do not clearly address how the proposal will satisfy the requirements of this regulation shall not proceed to the competitive review process, but shall be deemed ineligible for funding. The Department will explicitly summarize each requirement of the Title X regulations or include the Title X regulations in their entirety within the Funding Announcement, and shall require each applicant to describe its plans for affirmative compliance with each requirement.

(c) If the proposal is deemed compliant with this regulation, then applicants will be subject to criteria for selection within the competitive grant review process, including:

(1) The degree to which the applicant's project plan adheres to the Title X statutory purpose and goals for the establishment and operation of voluntary family planning projects which shall offer a broad range of acceptable and effective family planning methods and services (including natural family planning methods, infertility services, and services for adolescents), while meeting all of the statutory and regulatory requirements and restrictions, including that none of the funds shall be used in programs where abortion is a method of family planning.

(2) The degree to which the relative need of the applicant for Federal funds is demonstrated in the proposal, and the applicant shows capacity to make rapid and effective use of grant funds, including its ability to procure a broad range of diverse subrecipients, as applicable, in order to expand family planning services available to patients in the project area.

(3) The degree to which the applicant takes into account the number of patients, particularly low-income patients, to be served while also targeting areas that are more sparsely populated and/or places in which there are not adequate family planning services available.

(4) The extent to which family planning services are needed locally and the applicant proposes innovative ways to provide services to unserved or underserved communities.

(d) The Secretary shall determine the amount of any award on the basis of his estimate of the sum necessary for the performance of the project. No grant may be made for less than 90 percent of the project's costs, as so estimated, unless the grant is to be made for a project which was supported, under section 1001, for less than 90 percent of its costs in fiscal year 1975. In that case, the grant shall not be for less than the percentage of costs covered by the grant in fiscal year 1975.

(e) No grant may be made for an amount equal to 100 percent for the project's estimated costs.

[65 FR 41278, July 3, 2000, as amended at 84 FR 7788, Mar. 4, 2019]