[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 71 (Thursday, April 13, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19196-19197]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 06-3538]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration


Changes to the National Registry of Evidence-Based Programs and 
Practices (NREPP); Correction

    Authority: Sec. 501, Pub. L. 106-310.

SUMMARY: The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration 
(SAMHSA) published a notice regarding changes to the National Registry 
of Evidence-based Programs and Practices (NREPP) in the March 14, 2006 
Federal Register. This document contained several comments from the 
American Psychological Association's Division 50 Committee on Evidence-
based Practice that were incorrectly attributed to the full American 
Psychological Association.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Kevin Hennessy, (240) 276-2234.

Correction

    In the Federal Register of March 14, 2006, FR volume 71, no. 49, 
the following comments were attributed to the American Psychological 
Association's Committee on Evidence-based Practice, and should have 
been attributed to the American Psychological Association's Division 50 
Committee on Evidence-based Practice. These comments should be 
corrected as follows:
    Page 13133, Column 3--The American Psychological Association (APA) 
Division 50 Committee on Evidence-based Practice recommended greater 
emphasis on the utility descriptors (i.e., those items describing 
material and resources to support implementation), stating, ``these are 
key outcomes for implementation and they are not adequately addressed 
in the description of NREPP provided to date. This underscores earlier 
concerns noted about the transition from efficacy to effectiveness.'' 
The APA Division 50 committee noted that generalizability of programs 
listed on NREPP will remain an issue until this ``gap between efficacy 
and effectiveness'' is explicitly addressed under a revised review 
system.
    Page 13140, Column 1--the American Psychological Association (APA) 
Division 50 Committee on Evidence-based Practice recommended more 
emphasis on the utility descriptors ``as these are key outcomes for 
implementation and they are not adequately addressed in the description 
of NREPP provided to date. This underscores earlier concerns noted 
about the transition from effectiveness to efficacy.''
    Page 13140, Columns 1 and 2--The possibility that NREPP will 
exclude programs due to lack of funding was a concern voiced by several 
organizations, including the National Association for Children of 
Alcoholics, the APA Division 50 Committee on Evidence-based Practice 
the National Association of State Alcohol and Drug Abuse Directors, 
Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America, and the California 
Association of Alcohol and Drug Program Executives.
    Page 13140, Column 3--A number of respondents noted the proposed 
NREPP approach does not acknowledge provider effects on treatment 
outcomes. The APA Division 50 Committee on Evidence-based Practice 
wrote, ``Relationship factors in a therapeutic process may be more 
important than specific interventions and may in fact be the largest 
determinant in psychotherapy outcome (see Lambert & Barley, 2002). How 
will NREPP address this concern and make this apparent to users?''
    Page 13141, Column 2--The APA Division 50 Committee on Evidence-
based Practice suggested that the proposed NREPP approach does not 
adequately distinguish between ``efficacy'' and ``effectiveness,'' and 
strongly recommended that SAMHSA look for ways to bridge the two.
    Page 13142, Column 1--A group of university researchers recommended 
that for programs to be included in NREPP, they should be required to 
provide statistically significant results on drug use and/or mental 
health outcomes using two-tailed tests of significance at p <.05. The 
APA Division 50 Committee on Evidence-based Practice recommended 
further discussion and consideration by NREPP of the conceptual 
distinction between statistical and clinical significance.
    Page 13142, Column 3--The APA Division 50 Committee on Evidence-
based Practice argued that ``including all of these NREPP products is 
seen as a desirable feature that reflects the continuous nature of 
evidence. This may also be critical information for providing 
reasonable options for

[[Page 19197]]

stakeholders when there are not or few evidence-based practices 
available.''
    Page 13143, Column 2--The APA Division 50 Committee on Evidence-
based Practice suggested that SAMHSA develop ``a comprehensive glossary 
that addresses definitions of different constituencies, populations, 
and settings.''
    Page 13144, Column 3--The APA Division 50 Committee on Evidence-
based Practice recommended that SAMHSA ``anticipate misuses of NREPP so 
as to insure that funding bodies do not mistakenly assume that 
improving treatment comes from confining treatment to a list of 
recommended techniques.''
    Page 13146, Columns 2--The APA Division 50 Committee on Evidence-
based Practice suggested using a site glossary to define diagnostic 
terminology and client populations and communities.

    Dated: April 3, 2006.
Charles G. Curie,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 06-3538 Filed 4-12-06; 8:45 am]
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