[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 9 (Wednesday, January 14, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Page 2154]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-767]


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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: SAMHSA Application for Peer Grant Reviewers--OMB 
No. 0930-0255, extension, no change)--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.
    Recent 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 annual response burden estimate.

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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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    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 8, 2004.
Anna Marsh,
Acting Executive Officer, SAMHSA.
[FR Doc. 04-767 Filed 1-13-04; 8:45 am]
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