The Indian Health Service (IHS) is accepting competitive grant applications for the Dental Preventive and Clinical Support Centers Program. This program is authorized under the authority of 25 U.S.C. 13, Snyder Act; 42 U.S.C. 2001, Transfer Act; Indian Health Care Improvement Act (IHCIA), amended 2010. This program is described in the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance under 93.933.

Background The primary customers of a support center are IHS, Tribal, and urban dental programs and personnel throughout an IHS area or broad geographic region. The primary customers are not dental patients or Tribes. The primary function of a support center is not the direct provision of clinical care. Well-designed support centers will impact upon patients' oral health, and document positive oral health outcomes for patients, primarily by providing guidance to field programs and addressing the assessed and perceived needs of dental personnel and IHS/Tribal/urban (I/T/U) dental programs. Proposed programs focused at one locale or on clinical or preventive care alone, with no concomitant focus on a regional or area support-oriented component for the dental program, while well-intentioned and of potential value, are not responsive to this announcement or to the support center project.