[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 71 (Tuesday, April 13, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19445-19446]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-8294]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

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: National Outcomes Performance Assessment of the 
Collaborative Initiative to Help End Chronic Homelessness--(OMB No. 
0930-0247; Extension, no change)--This Initiative is coordinated by the 
U.S. Interagency Council on the Homeless and involves the participation 
of three Council members: the Department of Housing and Urban 
Development (HUD), the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), 
and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Within HHS, SAMHSA's 
Center for Mental Health Services is the lead agency.
    This project will monitor the implementation and effectiveness of 
the Initiative. A national assessment of client outcomes is needed to 
assure a high level of accountability and to identify which models work 
best for which people, using the same methods for all sites. To this 
end, this project will provide a site-by-site description of program 
implementation, as well as descriptive information on clients served; 
services received; housing quality, stability, and satisfaction; and, 
client outcomes in health and functional domains. The VA Northeast 
Program Evaluation Center (NEPEC), based at the VA Connecticut 
Healthcare System in West Haven, Connecticut, is responsible for 
conducting this project.
    Data collection will be conducted over a 36-month period. At each 
site, a series of measures will be used to assess (1) program 
implementation (e.g., number and types of housing units produced and 
intensity and types of treatment and supportive services provided), (2) 
client descriptive information (e.g., demographic and clinical 
characteristics, and housing and treatment services received) and, (3) 
client outcomes.
    Client outcomes will be measured using a series of structured 
instruments administered by evaluation personnel employed and funded by 
the local VA medical center or outpatient clinic involved at each 
Initiative site who will work closely with central NEPEC staff. 
Assessments will be conducted through face-to-face interviews and, when 
needed, telephone interviews. Interviews (approximately one hour in 
length) will be conducted at baseline, defined as the date of entry 
into the clinical treatment program leading to placement into permanent 
housing, and quarterly (every 3 months) thereafter for up to three 
years. Discharge data will be collected from program staff at the time 
of official discharge from the program, or when the client has not had 
any clinical contact from members of the program staff for at least 6 
months. In addition to client interviews, key informant interviews with 
program managers at each site will be conducted annually.
    At most Initiative sites, it is expected that more people will be 
screened and or evaluated for participation in the program than receive 
the full range of core housing and treatment services. Entry into the 
Initiative is conceptualized as a two-phase process involving an 
Outreach/Screening/Assessment Phase (Phase I), and an Active Housing 
Placement/Treatment Phase (Phase II) that is expected to lead to exit 
from homelessness; in some programs these two phases may be described 
as the Outreach and Case Management Phases. It will be important to 
have at least some minimal information on all clients so as to be able 
to compare those who enter Housing/Treatment with those who do not.
    Client-level data at the time of first contact with the program 
(i.e., before the client receives more intensive treatment or housing 
services) will be collected using a screener form. The screener form 
will be completed by a member of the clinical staff when prospective 
clients are first told about the program, and express interest in 
participating in the program (i.e. when they enter Phase I). The 
purpose of this form is to identify the sampling frame of the 
evaluation at each site, or the pool of potential clients from which 
clients are then selected. Program implementation will be measured 
using a series of progress summaries.
    Initiative sites will be responsible for screening potential 
participants, assessing homeless and disabling condition eligibility 
criteria for the program, and documenting eligibility as part of the 
national performance

[[Page 19446]]

assessment. Each site will identify a limited number of portals of 
entry into the program in a relatively small geographic area, so that 
the evaluator can practically and systematically contact clients about 
participating in the evaluation. VA evaluation staff, clinical program 
staff, and NEPEC will work together to establish systematic procedures 
for assessing eligibility, enrolling clients into the Housing/Treatment 
Activity of the Initiative, obtaining written informed consent to 
participate in the national performance assessment, and other 
evaluation activities.
    The estimated response burden to collect this information is as 
follows:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                            No. of       Responses per     Hours per
         Respondents form name            respondents     respondent       response        Total hour  burden
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Clients:
    Baseline assessment...............           1,500               1            1.50  2,250
    Follow-up assessment..............           1,500            8\1\            1.25  15,000
                                                                                       -------------------------
        Sub-total.....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  17,250
Clinicians:
    Screening.........................           30\2\             100            0.25  750
    Discharge.........................           30\3\              13            0.40  156
                                                                                       -------------------------
        Sub-total.....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  906
Administrators:
    Network definition................              60               1            0.25  15
    Network participation.............             105               4            0.75  315
                                                                                       -------------------------
        Sub-total.....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  330
                                                                                       -------------------------
            Total.....................  ..............  ..............  ..............  18,486.
                                                                                       -------------------------
            3-yr. Annual Avg..........  ..............  ..............  ..............  6,162.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Assumes average follow-up period of 2 yrs. due to delayed recruitment at some sites & 20% attrition overall.
 
\2\ Assumes an average of 2 screening clinicians per site, and twice the number of persons screened as enrolled.
 
\3\ Assumes an average of 2 discharge clinicians per site, and discharge rate of 25%.

    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 by June 14, 2004.

    Dated: April 6, 2004.
Anna Marsh,
Executive Officer, SAMHSA.
[FR Doc. 04-8294 Filed 4-12-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4162-20-P