[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 235 (Monday, December 8, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 68403-68404]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-30303]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Health Resources and Services Administration


Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; 
Comment Request

    In compliance with the requirement for the opportunity for public 
comment on proposed data collection projects (section 3506(c)(2)(A) of 
Title 44, United States Code, as amended by the Paperwork Reduction Act 
of 1995, Pub. L. 104-13), the Health Resources and Services 
Administration (HRSA) publishes periodic summaries of proposed projects 
being developed for submission to the Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB) under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. To request more 
information on the proposed grant information collection activity or to 
obtain a copy of the data collection plan and draft instruments, call 
the HRSA Reports Clearance Officer at (301) 443-1129.
    Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed collection of 
information is necessary for the proper performance of grantee 
functions including whether the information will 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: Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency 
(CARE) Act Title I Minority AIDS Initiative (MAI) Annual Plan and Title 
I MAI Annual Report: New

    The CARE Act (codified under Title XXVI of the Public Health 
Service Act) was first enacted by Congress in 1990, and reauthorized in 
1996 and 2000. It addresses the unmet health needs of persons living 
with HIV by funding primary health care and support services that 
enhance access to and retention in care. The CARE Act funded services 
reach over 500,000 individuals; after Medicaid and Medicare, it is the 
largest single source of Federal funding for HIV/AIDS care for low-
income, uninsured, and underinsured Americans. Title I under the CARE 
Act provides emergency assistance to eligible metropolitan areas (EMAs) 
the most severely affected by the HIV epidemic, for the purpose of 
providing a continuum of high quality, community-based care for low-
income individuals and families with HIV disease.
    In response to a Presidential declaration in 1998 that HIV was a 
severe and ongoing health crisis among minority communities, the 
Congress directed a portion of fiscal year (FY) 1999 CARE Act funds to 
a new Minority AIDS Initiative (MAI) to address the disproportionate 
impact of HIV on African-American and Hispanic communities. Since then, 
the focus has been broadened to include all racial and ethnic minority 
communities. HRSA disburses the Title I component of MAI funds among 
the 51 EMAs based on a congressionally mandated formula.
    The Congress has directed that Title I MAI funds be used through 
established local planning council processes to improve HIV-related 
health outcomes for communities of color and reduce existing health 
disparities. Improved health outcomes include reducing HIV 
transmission, morbidity and opportunistic disease, and improving life 
expectancy.
    The Title I MAI Annual Plan (Plan) and Title I MAI Annual Report 
(Report) are designed to collect information from grantees on MAI-
funded services, the number and demographics of clients served, and 
client-level outcomes. This information is needed to monitor and 
assess: (a) Increases and changes in the type and amount of HIV/AIDS 
health care and related services being provided to each 
disproportionately impacted community of color; (b) increases in the 
number of persons receiving HIV/AIDS services within each racial and 
ethnic community; and (c) the impact of the Title I MAI funded services 
in terms of client-level and service-level health outcomes. This 
information also will be used to plan new technical assistance and 
capacity development activities, and inform the HIV/AIDS Bureau/HRSA 
policies and program management.
    The Plan and Report will be transmitted by mail and electronically 
to all Title I grantees and made available through the HRSA web site. 
Two alternatives will be provided to grantees for submitting Plans and 
Reports electronically: a designated mailbox for e-mailed electronic 
reports and a web-based reporting option. The Plan and

[[Page 68404]]

Report forms will be linked to reduce the reporting burden, and are 
designed to include check box responses, fields for reporting budget, 
expenditure and client data, and open-ended text boxes for describing 
client or service-level outcomes. The forms will automatically generate 
totals and percentages and include other automated fields to minimize 
the time required to complete the Plan and Report, and include built-in 
checks to minimize possible reporting errors.
    The forms will require grantees to collect client, services, and 
outcomes information from MAI-funded service providers (sub-grantees), 
which grantees have already been collecting from MAI-funded providers 
since FY 2000. It will take grantees no longer than 15 minutes to 
complete a single form (response) for each MAI-funded service provided 
to each minority racial or ethnic minority community.
    In FY 2002, grantees would have completed an average of nine forms/
responses to prepare their Title I Annual MAI Plans and eight forms/
responses to prepare their Title I Annual MAI Reports. For FY 2003, the 
average number declined to eight and seven forms/responses 
respectively. Thirty-eight of the 51 grantees (75%) would have 
completed 10 or fewer Plans and 10 or fewer Reports during both fiscal 
years.
    Therefore the approximate response burden for Title I grantees in 
completing both the Annual MAI Plan and the Annual MAI Report is 
estimated as:

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 Estimated number of    Estiamted responses      Total number of                            Estimated total hour
 grantee respondents        per grantee             responses          Hours per response          burden
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                51                     15                    765                    .25                 191.25
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    Send comments to Susan G. Queen, PhD, HRSA Reports Clearance 
Officer, Room 14-33, Parklawn Building, 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, 
MD 20857. Written comments should be received within 60 day of this 
notice.

    Dated: November 28, 2003.
Jon L. Nelson,
Associate Administrator for Management and Program Support.
[FR Doc. 03-30303 Filed 12-5-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4165-15-P