[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 93 (Monday, May 16, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 25834-25835]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-9676]


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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 proper performance of grantee functions 
including whether the information will have practical utility; (b) the 
accuracy of the burden estimate 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 
information collection burden on respondents, including the use of 
automated collection methods or other types of information technology.

Proposed Project: Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency 
(CARE) Act Title II Grant Application Information Supplements: 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 disease by funding primary health care and support services 
that enhance access to and retention in care. The CARE Act funded 
services reach over 571,000 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. The Title II 
Care Grant Program (CGP) provides formula grants to all 50 States; the 
District of Columbia; the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; the Territories 
of the Virgin Islands, Guam, and American Samoa; the Commonwealth of 
the Northern Mariana Islands, the Republic of Palau, the Federated 
States of Micronesia, and the

[[Page 25835]]

Republic of the Marshall Islands. Funding is disbursed to these 
grantees by HRSA based on a congressionally-mandated formula.
    The purpose of the Title II CGP is to assist States and Territories 
in developing and/or enhancing access to a comprehensive continuum of 
high quality, community based care for low-income individuals and 
families living with HIV. Grantees may allocate funds to five 
legislatively authorized program components: (1) HIV Care Consortia, to 
provide comprehensive outpatient health and support services, e.g., 
early intervention services, outpatient medical care, case management, 
substance abuse treatment, mental health services, transportation; (2) 
Home- and Community-Based Care; (3) Health-Insurance Continuation, 
including risk pools; (4) Provision of Treatments for HIV disease or to 
prevent the serious deterioration of health arising from HIV disease; 
and (5) State Direct Services, which are HIV/AIDS outpatient health or 
support service provided through State delivery mechanisms determined 
by the grantee to be more effective than providing the service(s) 
through consortia.
    The Title II Grant Application Information Supplements have been 
designed to collect information from States and Territories in a 
consistent, standard way when they apply for a grant. This information 
is needed to determine that funds are being used as intended by the 
Congress and in compliance with CARE Act mandates. This includes 
requirements that grantees: (a) Obligate Title II funds quickly, 
closely monitor their use, and ensure that they are used as the payer 
of last resort (Information Supplement 1); (b) satisfy the Maintenance 
of Effort requirement and ensure that Title II funds are used to 
supplement, and not supplant, existing State expenditures for HIV-
related care and treatment services (Information Supplement 2); (c) 
include a determination of the size and demographics of the population 
of people living with HIV in the State/Territory (Information 
Supplement 3); and (c) have prepared a comprehensive plan describing 
the organization and delivery of HIV health care and support services 
to be funded under Title II that is based on: the size and demographics 
of the population of individuals with HIV and the needs of the 
population; the availability of other non-governmental and governmental 
resources (including Medicaid and SCHIP); any capacity development 
needs resulting from disparities in the availability of HIV-related 
services in historically underserved communities and rural communities, 
and the efficiency of the administrative mechanism of the State for 
rapidly allocating funds to areas of greatest need within the State/
Territory (Information Supplement 4).
    In addition, HRSA will use the collected information as a benchmark 
for monitoring grantee performance during the fiscal year; to identify 
individual and cross cutting grantee technical assistance needs; and to 
detect emerging HIV/AIDS care services issues that may require changes 
in existing program policies or procedures.
    The Title II Application Information Supplements will be 
transmitted by mail and electronically to all States and Territories 
and made available through the HRSA Web site. Applicants will submit 
the Information Supplements electronically along with Form PHS-5161-1 
(Revised 7/00), SF-424 and the program narrative portion of their 
application, using the Grants Management electronic transmission 
mechanisms established by HRSA. The Information Supplements will 
include check box responses; fields for reporting numeric fiscal and 
epidemiological data; and text boxes for describing other required 
information. The Information Supplements will automatically generate 
totals when appropriate, and have other automated fields to minimize 
the time required to insert identifying information.
    The Information Supplements will require Title II applicants/
grantees to report local epidemiological information and some fiscal 
and programmatic data collected from Title II funded contractors (sub-
grantees), which grantees have been collecting and reporting since FY 
1995 or earlier. The approximate response burden for applicants/
grantees is estimated as:

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                                                 Estimated
   Estimated number of grantee respondents     responses per   Total number of     Hours per     Estimated total
                                                  grantee         responses         response       hour burden
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59..........................................               1               59                8              472
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    Send comments to Susan G. Queen, PhD, HRSA Reports Clearance 
Officer, Room 10-33, Parklawn Building, 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, 
MD 20857. Written comments should be received within 60 day of this 
notice.

    Dated: May 10, 2005.
Tina M. Cheatham,
Director, Division of Policy Review and Coordination.
[FR Doc. 05-9676 Filed 5-13-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4165-15-P