[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 121 (Monday, June 26, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28870-28871]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-13240]
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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection;
Comment Request
In compliance with Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the Paperwork Reduction
Act of 1995 concerning opportunity for public comment on proposed
collections of information, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health
Services Administration (SAMHSA) will publish periodic summaries of
proposed projects. To request more information on the proposed projects
or to obtain a copy of the information collection plans, call the
SAMHSA Reports Clearance Officer on (240) 276-1243.
Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed collections of
information are necessary for the proper performance of the functions
of the agency, including whether the information shall have practical
utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the
proposed collection of information; (c) ways to enhance the quality,
utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (d) ways
to minimize the burden of the collection of information on respondents,
including through the use of automated collection techniques or other
forms of information technology.
Proposed Project: Evaluation of the Projects for Assistance in
Transition From Homelessness (PATH) Program--New
SAMHSA is conducting the federally mandated Evaluation of the PATH
program. The PATH grant program, created as part of the Stewart B.
McKinney Homeless Assistance Amendments Act of 1990, is administered by
SAMHSA's CMHS' Homeless Programs Branch. The PATH program is authorized
under Section 521 et seq. of the Public Health Service (PHS) Act, as
amended. The SAMHSA PATH program funds each Fiscal Year the 50 states,
the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and four U.S. Territories (the
U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the
Northern Mariana Islands). The PATH grantees make grants to local,
public and non-profit organizations to provide the PATH allowable
services.
The SAMHSA Administrator is required under Section 528 of the PHS
Act to evaluate the expenditures of PATH grantees at least once every
three years to ensure they are consistent with legislative requirements
and to recommend changes to the program design or operations. The
primary task of the PATH evaluation is to meet the mandates of Section
528 of the PHS Act. The second task of the PATH evaluation is to
conduct additional data collection and analysis to further investigate
the sources of variation in key program output and outcome measures
that are important for program management and policy development. The
PATH evaluation builds on the previous evaluation which was finalized
in 2016 and was conducted as part of the National Evaluation of SAMHSA
Homeless Programs. The PATH evaluation will use web surveys, telephone
interviews and site visits to facilitate the collection of information
regarding the structures and processes in place at the grantee and
provider level. Data regarding the outputs and outcomes of the PATH
program will be obtained from grantee applications, providers' intended
use plans (IUPs) and from PATH annual report data, which is also
required by Section 528 of the PHS Act and is approved under OMB No.
0930-0205.
Web Surveys will be conducted with all State PATH Contacts (SPCs)
and staff from intermediary and PATH provider organizations. The Web
Surveys will capture detailed and structured information in the
following topics: Selection, monitoring and oversight of PATH
providers; populations served; the PATH allowable or eligible services
provided; sources for match funds; provision of training and technical
assistance; implementation of Evidence Based Practices (EBPs) and
innovative practices including SOAR; data reporting, use of data and
the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS); and collaboration,
coordination and involvement with Continuums of Care (CoCs) and other
organizations. The SPCs for all grantees (n=56), the Project Directors
from the PATH provider organizations (n=500) and staff from the
intermediary organizations (n=28) will be contacted to complete the web
surveys. The Web Surveys will be administered once.
Site Visits will be conducted with a purposive sample of PATH
grantees and providers to collect more nuanced information than will be
possible with the web survey. Semi-structured discussions will take
place with the SPCs, grantee staff, PATH provider staff including the
Project Director and other key management staffs, outreach workers,
case managers and other clinical treatment staff, key stakeholders at
the grantee and provider level and consumers. Five grantees will be
selected for Site Visits and visited within each grantee will be one to
two PATH providers. The Site Visits will be utilized to collect
information regarding: Provider and state characteristics; practices
and priorities; context within which the grantees and providers
operate; and services available within the areas the providers operate.
Also, discussed will be the successes, barriers, and strategies faced
by PATH grantees and providers. Focus groups will be held with current
or former consumers of the PATH program to obtain consumer perspectives
regarding the impact of the programs. The Site Visits will be conducted
once.
Telephone Interviews will be conducted with a sample of SPCs (n=28)
and intermediary (n=14) and provider staff (n=60) to explore through
open-ended questions in greater detail, explanations for variations
among providers in measures that are important for program management
and policy development. The outputs of the PATH program include: the
number of persons receiving PATH-funded services, outreached/contacted
and enrolled; the number of services provided; and the number of
referrals provided. The outcome evaluation will be limited, given
limitations in available data and will include the number of persons
referred to and attaining substance use treatment, primary health
services, job training, educational services, housing services, housing
placement assistance, income assistance, employment assistance and
medical assistance. The Telephone interviews will be conducted once.
The estimated burden for the reporting requirements for the PATH
evaluation is summarized in the table below.
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Annual Burden Table
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Number of Responses per Total Hours per Total hour
Instrument/activity respondents respondent responses response burden
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Web Surveys
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SPC Web Survey.................. 1 56 1 56 1 56
PATH Intermediary Web Survey.... 2 28 1 28 1 28
PATH Provider Web Survey........ 3 500 1 500 1 500
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Telephone Interviews
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SPC Telephone Interviews........ 4 28 1 28 1 28
PATH Intermediary Telephone 5 14 1 14 1 14
Interviews.....................
PATH Provider Telephone 6 60 1 60 1 60
Interviews.....................
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Site Visit Interviews
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Opening Session with State Staff 7 25 1 25 2 50
SPC Session..................... 8 5 1 5 2 10
State Stakeholder Session....... 9 25 1 25 1.5 37.5
Opening Session with PATH 10 50 1 50 2 100
Provider Leadership Staff......
PATH Provider PD Session........ 11 10 1 10 2 20
PATH Provider Direct Care Staff 12 50 1 50 2 100
Session........................
Provider Stakeholder Session.... 13 50 1 50 1.5 75
Consumer Focus Groups........... 14 100 1 100 1.5 150
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Total....................... 1,001 .............. 1,001 .............. 1,228.5
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\1\ 1 respondent x 56 SPCs = 56 respondents.
\2\ 1 respondent x 28 Intermediaries = 28 respondents.
\3\ 1 respondent x 500 PATH providers = 500 respondents.
\4\ 1 respondent x 28 SPCs = 28 respondents.
\5\ 1 respondent x 14 Intermediaries = 14 respondents.
\6\ 1 respondent x 60 PATH providers = 60 respondents.
\7\ 5 respondents x 5 site visits = 25 respondents.
\8\ 1 respondent x 5 site visits = 5 respondents.
\9\ 5 respondents x 5 site visits = 25 respondents.
\10\ 5 respondents x 10 site visits (2 providers per state) = 50 respondents.
\11\ 1 respondent x 10 site visits (2 providers per state) =10 respondents.
\12\ 5 respondents x 10 site visits (2 providers per state) = 50 respondents.
\13\ 5 respondents x 10 site visits (2 providers per state) = 50 respondents.
\14\ 10 respondents x 10 site visits (10 Consumers per provider (2 providers per state) = 100 respondents.
Send comments to Summer King, SAMHSA Reports Clearance Officer,
5600 Fishers Lane, Room 15E57-B, Rockville, Maryland 20857, OR email a
copy to [email protected]. Written comments should be received
by August 25, 2017.
Summer King,
Statistician.
[FR Doc. 2017-13240 Filed 6-23-17; 8:45 am]
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