[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 165 (Monday, August 28, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 40782-40783]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-18136]
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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission for OMB
Review; Comment Request
Periodically, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
Administration (SAMHSA) will publish a summary of information
collection requests under OMB review, in compliance with the Paperwork
Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35). To request a copy of these
documents, call the SAMHSA Reports Clearance Officer on (240) 276-1243.
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.
[[Page 40783]]
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 Interview......... \4\ 28 1 28 1 28
PATH Intermediary Telephone \5\ 14 1 14 1 14
Interview......................
PATH Provider Telephone \6\ 60 1 60 1 60
Interview......................
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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 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.
Written comments and recommendations concerning the proposed
collection should be sent by DATE to the SAMHSA Desk Officer at the
Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and
Budget (OMB). To ensure timely receipt of comments, and to avoid
potential delays in OMB's receipt and processing of mail sent through
the U.S. Postal Services, commenters are encouraged to submit their
comments to OMB via email to: [email protected]. Although
commenters are encouraged to send their comments via email, commenters
may also fax their comments to: 202-395-7285. Commenters may also mail
them to: Office of Management and Budget, Office of Information and
Regulatory Affairs, New Executive Office Building, Room 10102,
Washington, DC 20503.
Summer King,
Statistician.
[FR Doc. 2017-18136 Filed 8-25-17; 8:45 am]
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