[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 239 (Friday, December 12, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Page 69412]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-30784]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration


Agency Information Collection Activities Under Emergency Review 
by the Office of Management and Budget

    The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration 
(SAMHSA) has submitted the following request (see below) for emergency 
OMB review under the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35). 
OMB approval has been requested by December 26, 2003. A copy of the 
information collection plans may be obtained by calling the SAMHSA 
Reports Clearance Officer on (301) 443-7978.
    Title: SAMHSA Application for Peer Grant Reviewers.
    OMB Number: 0930-New.
    Frequency: On-occasion.
    Affected public: Individuals or households.
    Section 501(h) of the Public Health Service (PHS) Act [42 U.S.C. 
290aa] directs the Administrator of the Substance Abuse and Mental 
Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to establish such peer review 
groups as are needed to carry out the requirements of Title V of the 
PHS Act. SAMHSA administers a large discretionary grants program under 
authorization of Title V, and for many years SAMHSA has funded grants 
to provide prevention and treatment services related to substance abuse 
and mental health.
    SAMHSA efforts to make improvements in the grants process have been 
shown by the restructuring of discretionary award announcements. In 
support of these efforts, SAMHSA desires to expand the types of 
reviewers it uses on these grant review committees. To accomplish that 
end, SAMHSA has determined that it is important to proactively seek the 
inclusion of new and qualified representatives on its peer review 
groups, and accordingly SAMHSA has developed an application form for 
use by individuals who wish to apply to serve as peer reviewers.
    The application form has been developed to capture the essential 
information about the individual applicants. Although consideration was 
given to requesting a resume from interested individuals, it is 
essential to have specific information from all applicants about their 
qualifications; the most consistent method to accomplish this is 
completion of a standard form by all interested persons. SAMHSA will 
use the information about knowledge, education and experience provided 
on the applications to identify appropriate peer grant reviewers. 
Depending on their experience and qualifications, applicants may be 
invited to serve as either grant reviewers or review group 
chairpersons.
    The following table shows the response burden estimated for the 
first year.

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    Number of          Responses/     Burden/Response,    Total burden
   respondents         respondent           (hrs)             hours
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            500                  1                1.5               750
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    Emergency approval is being requested because of the importance of 
including representatives of faith-based and community organizations as 
peer reviewers of grant applications at the earliest possible time in 
the FY 2004 review cycle. Upon receipt of OMB approval for this 
submission, SAMHSA will place this form on its Web site at http://www.samhsa.gov and will widely publicize its availability.
    Written comments and recommendations concerning the proposed 
information collection should be sent within two weeks of this notice 
to: Lauren Wittenberg, Human Resources and Housing Branch, Office of 
Management and Budget, New Executive Office Building, Room 10235, 
Washington, DC 20503; due to potential delays in OMB's receipt and 
processing of mail sent through the U.S. Postal Service, respondents 
are encouraged to submit comments by fax to: 202-395-6974.

    Dated: December 8, 2003.
Anna Marsh,
Acting Executive Officer, SAMHSA.
[FR Doc. 03-30784 Filed 12-11-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4162-20-P