[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 18 (Friday, January 26, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7919-7920]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-2328]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

National Institutes of Health


Proposed Collection; Comment Request; Evaluation of the NIDCD 
Minority and Disability Supplement Program

SUMMARY: In compliance with the requirement of section 350(6)(2)(A) of 
the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1993, for opportunity for public comment 
on proposed data collection projects, the National Institute on 
Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), the National 
Institutes of Health (NIH), will publish periodic summaries of proposed 
projects to be submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
for review an approval.
    Proposed Collection:
    Title: Evaluation of the Minority and Disability Supplement 
Program. Type of Information Request: New. Need and Use of Information 
Collection: The NIDCD was established to support biomedical and 
behavioral research and research training in hearing, smell, balance, 
taste, voice, speech and language. Although minorities and people with 
disabilities will soon dominate the work force, these groups are 
underrepresented in the professional fields of science and health. To 
encourage members of these groups to pursue careers in these fields, 
NIDCD provides opportunities for extramural grant recipients to mentor 
promising candidates. The proposed survey will collect information from 
participants in the Minority and Disability Supplement Program and will 
yield information about satisfaction of participants with the program 
and how participation may have lead to the pursuit of a career in the 
health field. Frequency of Response: One. Affected Public: Individuals. 
Type of Respondent: Minority individuals and individuals with 
disabilities who have previously participated in the Supplement 
Program. The annual reporting burden is as follows: Estimated Number of 
Respondents: 200. Estimated Number of Responses per Respondent: One. 
Average Burden Hours Per Response: 0.5; and Estimated Total Annual 
Burden Hours Requested: 100. The annualized cost to respondents is 
estimated at: $150. There are no Capital Costs to report. There are no 
Operating or Maintenance Costs to report.

[[Page 7920]]



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                                                                     Estimated                       Estimated
                                                     Estimated       number of        Average      total annual
               Type of respondents                   number of     responses per   burden hours    burden hours
                                                    respondents     respondent     per response      requested
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Survey of Participant...........................             200               1             0.5             100
                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------
    Total.......................................             200  ..............  ..............             100
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Request for Comment:
    Written comments and/or suggestions are invited from the public and 
affected agencies on one or more of the following points: (1) Whether 
the proposed collection of information is necessary for fulfillment of 
the Minority and Disability Supplement Grants Program, including 
whether the information will be useful; (2) the accuracy of the 
estimate of the burden of the proposed data collection, including the 
validity of the methodology; (3) ways to enhance the quality, utility, 
and clarity of the data collection; and (4) ways to minimize the burden 
of the collection of information on the respondents, including 
appropriate use of automated collection techniques and information 
technology.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request more information on the 
proposed survey and intent to collect data, or to obtain a copy of the 
design of the collection, contact Judith A. Cooper, Ph.D., Chief, 
Scientific Programs Branch, NIDCD, NIH, 6120 Executive Blvd., EPS 400-
C, MSC 7180, Bethesda, MD 20892, or call non toll-free number (301) 
496-5061, or E-mail your request, including your address to: 
[email protected]
    Comments Due Date:
    Comments regarding this information collection are best assured of 
having their full effect if received on or before March 27, 2001.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the PRA (44 U.S.C. 3501-3520), Federal 
agencies must obtain approval from the Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB) for each collection of information they conduct or sponsor. 
``Collection of information'' is defined in 44 U.S.C. 3502(3) and 4 CFR 
1320.3(c) and includes agency requests or requirements that the public 
submit reports, keep records, or provide information to a third party. 
Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA requires federal agencies to provide a 
60-day notice in the Federal Register concerning proposed collections 
of information before submitting the collection to OMB for approval. To 
comply with this requirement, NIDCD is publishing notice of the 
proposed collection of information listed below.
    The NIDCD Minority and Disability Supplement Program was designed 
to encourage individuals underrepresented in biomedical and behavioral 
research in human communication to participate in that research. The 
individuals participate on currently funded NIDCD grants and receive 
mentoring from NIDCD Principal Investigators.
    Anecdotal feedback indicates that program participants and mentors 
find the program provides interesting opportunities and encourages 
individuals to pursue careers in a variety of health fields. However, 
there is little systematic evidence evaluating the level of the 
Program's success or failure in accomplishing these goals. The proposed 
survey will attempt to assess how individuals' participation in the 
Supplement Program has influenced career and educational choices. This 
information will provide support for NIDCD's continued participation in 
the Program.
    One survey has been proposed to collect information on the current 
status of individuals previously supported by an NIDCD Supplement. This 
survey will obtain the current contact information of the participants 
and assess the individuals' educational and career achievements, their 
goals for future education, and current specific field(s) of study/
employment.
    The survey will be administered via a telephone interview that 
should take approximately 30 minutes to complete. Respondents who 
cannot schedule 30 minutes of time or who find telephone conversations 
difficult will be given the opportunity to respond by alternate means 
such as mail, fax, and e-mail. All participants from the inception of 
the program will be included in this survey process. It is anticipated 
that the total number of participants will not exceed 200.

    Dated: January 17, 2001.
David Kerr,
Executive Officer, NIDCD.
[FR Doc. 01-2328 Filed 1-25-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4140-01-M