[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 11 (Tuesday, January 19, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2907-2908]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-1066]
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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 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 (301) 443-7978.
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 National Leadership Institute
Program and Services--New--The Substance Abuse and Mental Health
Administration's (SAMHSA) Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT)
intends to conduct an evaluation of its National Leadership Institute
(NLI). The goal underlying the technical assistance and training
opportunities provided through the NLI is to strengthen the competitive
position and power of nonprofit ``community-based organizations''
(CBOs) which are essential components of local services for the
uninsured and under-insured.
The NLI gathers, adapts, and disseminates the best available
knowledge about business management for nonprofit agencies, including
competitive bidding, strategic development and business planning,
cultural competency, team building and change management, and
Management Information Systems. Participants in the NLI technical
assistance programs are self-identified and participate in either
short- or long-term technical assistance (TA). Short-term TA includes 2
on-site TA visits, 1 training event, 1 group
[[Page 2908]]
technical assistance activity, and up to 5 resource packages. Long-term
TA includes up to 4 on-site TA visits, up to 3 training events, 2 group
TA activities, and up to 10 resource packages. Training efforts are
also conducted by the NLI, using curricula developed by and
administered by the NLI.
Both a process and an impact evaluation will be conducted. The
process evaluation will describe the needs faced by CBOs, the types of
training and technical assistance that CBOs receive through the NLI,
and CBO satisfaction with services. The impact evaluation will focus on
specific changes made by CBOs in response to NLI recommendations, and
improvements in self-rated organizational performance and several
organization status measures.
Analysis of this information will assist CSAT in documenting the
numbers and types of participants accessing these services, and
describing the extent to which participants improve in their knowledge,
skill, and ability to manage their organizations in this changing
business environment. This type of information is crucial to support
CSAT in complying with GPRA reporting requirements and will inform
future development of technical assistance activities.
The evaluation design for technical assistance participants will be
a pre-post design that collects identical information at initiation of
NLI contact and again after 12 months. This time frame is necessary to
allow CBOs the opportunity to address NLI technical assistance
recommendations and to plan and implement their changes. In addition,
the evaluation will collect satisfaction measures after each technical
assistance event, and both a comprehensive satisfaction summary and an
activity summary at 6 and 12 months after initial NLI contact. A formal
comparison group is not available, but comparisons of changes in key
organization status measures can be made with similar data on changes
collected from other CSAT KDA-funded grantees. These key status
indicators include organization revenues, revenue per client, revenue
sources, client flow, staff level, staff turnover, services provided,
and major growth/expansion or contraction. In addition, these same
indicators will be collected, in one interview, for several prior years
to establish a pattern of change within specific CBOs.
A feature of the data collected in this evaluation is the inclusion
of pre- and post-service perceptions of organizational functioning
across 14 business and financial management domains. This information
constitutes a self-assessment that is used in planning NLI services,
and comprises the baseline against which follow-up measures of
functioning will be assessed.
NLI anticipates receiving requests for assistance from 79 CBOs per
year over the next 3 years, for a total of 237 programs. This includes
up to 54 CBOs requiring long-term TA, and up to 25 CBOs requiring
short-term TA. Data collection burden will be borne primarily by
directors of the CBOs who will provide initial contact information (30
minutes), pre- and post-test versions of organizational self
assessments (60 minutes), satisfaction forms (5 minutes each for 2
types of questionnaire), and activity summaries (10 minutes). Moreover,
up to 10 focus groups will be held with staff representatives from 3 to
6 CBOs per focus group.
Discussions will be held with staff representatives from CBOs
receiving NLI services. An estimated 54 staff representatives will be
contacted each year. Each focus group will have approximately 18
attendees. Finally, an estimated 475 attendees at training events per
year will also receive a brief satisfaction questionnaire. The chart
below summarizes the total three-year and annualized burden for this
project.
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Average Average time/
Respondent type Number responses/ response Total time Annual time
respondent (hours) (hours) (hours)
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CBO Directors................... 237 2 1.5 711 237
CBO Staff....................... 180 1 1.5 270 90
Training participants........... 1,425 1 .133 190 63
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Totals...................... 1,842 .............. .............. 1,171 390
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Send comments to Nancy Pearce, SAMHSA Reports Clearance Officer,
Room 16-105, Parklawn Building, 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, MD 20857.
Written comments should be received within 60 days of this notice.
Dated: January 12, 1999.
Richard Kopanda,
Executive Officer, SAMHSA.
[FR Doc. 99-1066 Filed 1-15-99; 8:45 am]
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