[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 126 (Thursday, July 1, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35668-35669]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-16790]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Administration on Aging


Public Information Collection Requirement Submitted to the Office 
of Management and Budget (OMB) for Clearance

AGENCY: Administration on Aging, HHS.
    The Administration on Aging (AoA), Department of Health and Human 
Services, is submitting to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
the following proposal for the collection of information in compliance 
with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 96-511):
    Title of Information Collection: State Program Report (SPR): 
Reporting Requirements for Titles III and VII of the Older Americans 
Act.
    Type of Request: Extension of currently approved collections.
    Use: To extend the expiration date of the currently approved 
information collection format without any change in substance or the 
method of collection. This format conforms to the requirements of the 
Older Americans Act, as amended.
    Frequency: Annual.
    Respondents: State and Territorial Units on Aging.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 50 States, the District of 
Columbia, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. 
territories.
    Total Estimated Burden Hours: 141,132.
    Additional Information or Comments: The Administration on Aging is 
submitting to the Office of Management and Budget for approval an 
extension of the existing information collection format for state 
programs administered under the Older Americans Act. The AoA last 
announced reporting specifications for the current format in the 
Federal Register on February 11, 1999. There was one written response 
to that announcement. AoA responded to the concern raised in the 
comment about flexibility by continuing to be responsive to specific 
state requests for extensions and waivers.
    The Office of Management and Budget approved use of the current 
collection instrument subject to the following conditions:
    ``For the FY 1996 SPR, AoA is responsive to state-specific problems 
in meeting the November 30, 1996 deadline (as discussed in the State of 
New York's public comments to OMB dated July 16, 1996 and August 16, 
1996). Particularly for large complex states, this deadline may be 
challenging, and a month extension may make a considerable difference 
in the quality of data submitted by local units. In addition, the next 
submission for OMB review should include an analysis of state 
compliance with the November deadline. If a significant number of 
states persist in missing this deadline and request extensions, the AoA 
should consider alternatives to this deadline, e.g. a month extension 
or a statutory amendment extending its January deadline;
    In response to numerous comments (e.g. the State of California, the 
State of Wisconsin, and the State of New Mexico), AoA allows states 
additional flexibility by providing limited state-specific extensions 
of the compliance deadline for the FY 1997 SPR, based upon criteria 
outlined in a future state policy transmittal. Criteria for granting 
such an extension should include submission of a state plan for meeting 
the SPR requirements in the future and evidence that the state has made 
reasonable progress in fulfilling the SPR objectives to date. In 
drafting this transmittal, the AoA must consult with state aging agency 
associations such as

[[Page 35669]]

NASUA [National Association of State Units on Aging] and the NAAAA 
[National Association of Area Agencies on Aging]. The transmittal must 
be approved by OMB prior to final issuance. If the AoA's authorizing 
legislation is amended or GPRA [Government Performance and Review Act] 
performance measures are formalized, AoA will meet with OMB immediately 
to discuss appropriate amendments to the SPR. As a result of these 
discussions, OMB may request that an amended SPR be resubmitted for OMB 
review pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act. In addition, in the 
next submission for OMB review, the AoA will continue to evaluate the 
appropriateness of performance measurement and accountability reporting 
for each of its services, as well as the statistical validity and 
reliability of these data; and, to enhance cross cutting research 
within HHS, AoA ensures that its uniform ADL/IADL [activities of daily 
living/instrumental activities of daily living] definitions for FY 1997 
can be cross walked with the definitions in the Public Health Service's 
National Health Interview Survey.''
    The Administration on Aging has complied with the request that it 
be flexible in granting extensions of the deadline when requested and 
continues to do so. This submission includes an analysis of state 
compliance with the November 30, 1996 deadline but is actually based 
upon the FY 1997 requirements because that was the first fiscal year 
that compliance with the full set of items in the current collection 
instrument was requested by the AoA. The AoA's authorizing legislation 
has not been amended. The information collected through this effort is 
needed to meet the baseline performance measures identified in the AoA 
GPRA Performance Plan. Also, AoA is developing in conjunction with 
state and area agencies on aging a core set of outcome measures which 
may be voluntarily adopted by the network.
    For copies of the reporting requirements and/or a copy of the 
analysis of states' compliance with the November 30, 1996 deadline call 
the Administration on Aging, Office of State and Community Programs at 
(202) 619-0011. Written comments and recommendations for the proposed 
information collection requirements should be sent, within thirty days 
of the publication of this notice, to the following address: Office of 
Information and Regulatory Affairs, Attention: Allison Eydt, OMB Desk 
Officer, Office of Management and Budget, Washington, DC 20503.

    Dated: June 23, 1999.
Jeanette C. Takamura,
Assistant Secretary for Aging.
[FR Doc. 99-16790 Filed 6-30-99; 8:45 am]
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