Grant Money Available to Implement the Arkansas Cancer Plan for FY 2012

The Arkansas Cancer Coalition (ACC) will award grants to ACC Partners who work to advance specific and proven cancer control strategies across the state in the Disparities, Prevention and Access to Treatment chapters of the Arkansas Cancer Plan.

 

To apply for funding consideration, organizations are encouraged to respond with detailed proposals to the Arkansas Cancer Plan Implementation Grant Request For Applications (RFA).  The RFA is also available at the Arkansas Cancer Coalition’s website: www.arcancercoalition.org.

 

Implementation Grants, in sums ranging from $25,000 to $75,000, will be awarded to projects implementing the goals and objectives outlined in the Arkansas Cancer Plan. All grants will be administered on a reimbursement basis over one year, beginning July 1, 2011 and ending June 30, 2012. Only Partners of the Arkansas Cancer Coalition are eligible for funding. To become a Partner, contact Billy Parrish at Billy.Parrish@arcancercoalition.org.

 

The deadline for proposals is March 11, 2011. A letter of intent demonstrating the organization’s intention to apply is due February 4, 2011 (template ‘Letter of Intent’ included in RFA, page 26).

 

 

ABOUT THE ARKANSAS CANCER PLAN

 

The Arkansas Cancer Plan serves as an outline for what can and should be done at the state and local levels for cancer prevention, detection and care efforts. It identifies activities for coordinated action by government, the private sector, the non-profit sector and Arkansas’ communities and people. The Arkansas Cancer Plan seeks to reduce the burden of cancer by implementing and improving cancer control strategies. Implementation Grants will be awarded to projects that focus on Disparities, Prevention, and Access to Treatment chapters in the Plan.

 

The Plan is to be used as a guide for individuals and organizations in the fight against cancer. The Plan can be downloaded at http://www.arcancercoalition.org/arkansas-cancer-plan.

 

ABOUT THE ARKANSAS CANCER COALITION

 

The Arkansas Cancer Coalition (ACC) is a network of cancer control Partner Organizations working together to reduce, and ultimately eliminate, the burden of cancer for every person in the state.

 

The Coalition works to:

  Cancer is a devastating disease – in fact, it is a group of 100 different diseases. In Arkansas, one in every two men and one in every three women will be diagnosed with cancer during their lifetime. Cancer’s economic, psychological and social costs are staggering, and its impact on patients, their families and their communities is immeasurable. For more information about ACC, visit www.arcancercoalition.org

 

ARKANSAS CANCER COALITION HISTORY

 

In 1992, Arkansas’ breast cancer control program began, and one year later, the Arkansas Cancer Control Coalition formed to support and monitor the state’s breast cancer control plan. This coalition joined forces with the Arkansas Department of Health’s Breast and Cervical Cancer Control Program to initiate a five-year agreement with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to provide services for early detection for breast and cervical cancer. Through partnerships with YWCA EncorePlus, the American Cancer Society, The Witness Project and the Arkansas affiliate of the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, Arkansans were given access to early detection in 1995.

The coalition led the way for the passage of The Breast Cancer Act of 1997. This act appropriated $4 million in state general revenue with backup funding from a tobacco tax to provide breast cancer screening, diagnosis, treatment and research. The state funding complemented CDC funds to ensure a timely diagnosis and treatment for eligible Arkansas women.

In 1998, Arkansas was selected to participate in a case study of cancer prevention and control conducted by Battelle Centers for Health Research and Evaluation, a contractor of CDC. Arkansas was selected based on previous attempts at comprehensive cancer planning, the degree of centralization of public health functions, presence of a cancer registry and resources available to support cancer planning activities. Later that year, Arkansas submitted a Comprehensive Cancer Control grant application and was designated a CDC planning state but did not receive funding. Following the release of the Battelle report in September 1998, ADH formed an internal taskforce for comprehensive cancer planning and began participating in monthly planning activities.

The first comprehensive cancer conference, the Arkansas Cancer Summit, took place in September 2000 and later that year the framework for a statewide comprehensive cancer control plan began to emerge. By the end of 2000, the Arkansas Cancer Control Coalition and ADH’s comprehensive cancer planning taskforce merged to form the Arkansas Cancer Coalition. In November 2001, the Arkansas Cancer Plan: A Framework for Action was published and led the way for implementation funding from CDC.