[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]
BILLING CODE 4162-20-P