[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 88 (Monday, May 8, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 26765-26767]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-6904]


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

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 (SAMHSA) 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 (240) 276-1243.
    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: Evaluation of the Project Rehabilitation and 
Restitution Program (OMB No. 0930-0248)--Revision

    The Rehabilitation and Restitution initiative of the Substance 
Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's (SAMHSA) Center for 
Substance Abuse Treatment seeks to reduce recidivism and increase 
psychosocial functioning and pro-social lifestyle among substance 
abusing offenders that have pled to or been convicted of a single 
felony. Hypotheses of the study are that providing intensive, long-term 
case management services will facilitate a pro-social lifestyle leading 
to higher rates of sealing or expunging of criminal records and that 
the prospect of stigma reduction provided by a sealed criminal record 
will motivate offenders to remain crime and drug free in order to 
achieve a felony-free criminal record.
    The project consists of (1) providing technical assistance to 
develop and implement an enhanced model for case management services, 
and (2) evaluating of the effectiveness of the case management model in 
increasing the number of people that have their records sealed or 
maintain eligibility to have their records sealed. The study is 
confined to jurisdictions with statutes permitting records to be sealed 
within the remaining three-year parameters of the study. Two counties 
in Ohio, one involving an urban setting (Cuyahoga county which includes 
the city of Cleveland) and the other a rural setting (Clermont county 
adjacent to Northern Kentucky) were awarded by SAMHSA in 2002 in 
response to the original SAMHSA Request for Applications (RFA).
    Target populations, drawn from Cuyahoga and Clermont County Court 
of Common Pleas Probation Departments, are first-time felons that are 
eligible to have their felony records sealed, have a diagnosis of 
substance dependence or abuse, and will receive case management 
services, including treatment referral, through each County's Treatment 
Accountability for Safer Communities (TASC) agency.
    Technical assistance to participating counties is provided to (1) 
develop a strengths-based case management model designed to increase 
the proportion of offenders that achieve record expungement or maintain 
eligibility to have their felony records sealed, and (2) involve the 
various stake holders, such as case managers, probation officers and 
administrators, prosecutors, public defenders, judges, and treatment 
providers in the implementation of the case management model. A 
formative evaluation provides feedback on the implementation of the 
program. A systems evaluation examines the services offered to the 
felons, and changes in attitudes towards sealing records on the part of 
critical stakeholders, such as prosecutors, judges and service 
providers, and criminal justice systemic evolution. An outcomes 
evaluation examines the effect of the case management model on 
maintaining eligibility to have records sealed, and social, 
psychological and

[[Page 26766]]

health status, HIV risk behavior, and the proportion of subjects who 
have their records sealed.
    In Cuyahoga County a longitudinal study examines two groups of 
randomly assigned subjects: An intent-to-treat, experimental group 
participates in a strengths-based case management model during the 
first six months of a one-year period of judicial supervision followed 
by three years of outreach services availability through a faith-based 
community organization; and a control group receives treatment as 
usual, consisting of the regular TASC case management model now in 
place with no outreach service availability. Each group is stratified 
by Standard Court Referral (SCR), i.e., convicted first-time felons 
that must remain crime-free for three years after release from 
probation to maintain eligibility to apply for expungement; and Felony 
Diversion Referral (FDR), i.e., first-time felons whose guilty pleas 
are held for one year pending successful completion of treatment and 
probation when the case may be expunged. The evaluation procedures 
consist of a baseline interview and follow-up interviews over a 4-year 
period that track outcomes to the point at which most subjects would be 
eligible to apply for sealing of records. Follow-up interviews and file 
studies test for a wide array of possible effects, including 
recidivism, employment, education, drug use, family relationships, 
support of children, mental and physical health, HIV/AIDS risk factors, 
assumption of personal responsibility, life adjustment factors, and 
program costs.
    In Cuyahoga the evaluation has recruited 645 participants who have 
volunteered to participate for the four-year period. Evaluation 
interviews take place at baseline, 6 months, 12 months, 24 months, and 
36 months.
    The 24-month interview is an additional interview point to the 
original OMB approval because it enriches the study by providing data 
covering the critical first year an offender is off supervision. The 
additional interview does not increase the burden because the original 
OMB approval provided for 150 more participants in Cuyahoga and also 
did not provide for attrition at follow-up. Because a 36-month 
interview point provides a final interview for all participants before 
project end date, it replaces the 42-month interview point. The PRR 
baseline interview included 997 variables. Six-month and twelve-month 
follow-ups were increased to 1100 variables in order to collect client 
clinical experience data. Twenty-four and thirty-six month interviews 
are further increased to 1184 variables in order to measure perception 
and effect on participants of stigma reduction provided through the 
elimination of felony records.
    Each interview lasts 1 to 2 hours depending on the memory and speed 
of the respondents. The interview goal is a minimum 80% follow-up 
completion rate. During the first two years of follow-up both 6- and 
12-month rates exceeded 85%. Interview data is supplemented by file 
studies of arrest records, including the number of participants 
maintaining sealing eligibility, and the number of criminal records 
expunged. Additionally, two focus groups of clients receiving 
strengths-based services will be conducted in each county at 3, 6, 12, 
18, 24, and 30 months to provide feedback on client perceptions. Groups 
will consist of clients both in compliance and not in compliance and of 
case managers for both experimental and control groups. Groups will 
consist of 8 to 12 participants chosen at random. Additional file study 
data will be gathered on the number of case management sessions and the 
number and frequency of other interventions in the intent-to-treat and 
control groups. In Clermont County the first-time felon pool is of 
insufficient size to support an evaluation design with experimental and 
control groups; however, because the first-time felony substance-
abusing population presents unique demographics for analysis, e.g. 
rural, Caucasian, and greater percentage of females, examining the 
relationship of case management and motivation for stigma reduction is 
important. In Clermont, 150 first-time felons will participate in a 
strengths-based case management model and complete the evaluation 
instrument at baseline, 6-, 12, and 24-month points. Because the 
recruitment window was wider than in Cuyahoga, Clermont participants 
will not complete a 36-month instrument. A case study, including 
client, key informant, focus group and file data, will report the 
Clermont experience.
    This OMB revision provides for conclusion of data collection by way 
of 24- and 36-month participant interviews, 24- and 30-month 
participant focus groups, case manager focus groups, and electronic 
files that will inform the Program Restitution and Rehabilitation 
Evaluation.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                   Number of      Responses per      Hours per      Total hour
                Data collection                   respondents      respondent        response         burden
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cuyahoga Follow-up Battery: 24- & 36 month....             874                 1            1.85            1617
Clermont Follow-up Battery: 24-month..........              90                 1            1.85             167
Client Focus Groups: Cuyahoga @ 24- & 30-month             120                 1            1.50             180
Electronic File Data: MCSIS (1), Probation (2)               5                 2            4.00              40
 CISAI (1), TASC (1)..........................
Quality Assurance (Tx Staff) Multimodality                   6                 1             .75               5
 Quality Assurance (MQA)......................
Stakeholders..................................
    Attitudes Towards Sealing Records.........              18                 2             .08               3
    Cuyahoga and Clermont Focus Groups........              18                 2            1.50              45
    Case Manager Focus Groups.................              15                 6            1.50             135
                                               -----------------------------------------------------------------
        Total Burden..........................            1146  ................  ..............            2192
                                               =================================================================
        3-Year Annual Average.................             349  ................  ..............             731
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


[[Page 26767]]

    Send comments to Summer King, SAMHSA Reports Clearance Officer, 
Room 7-1044, One Choke Cherry Road, Rockville, MD 20857. Written 
comments should be received within 60 days of this notice.

    Dated: April 28, 2006.
Anna Marsh,
Director, Office of Program Services.
 [FR Doc. E6-6904 Filed 5-5-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4162-20-P