[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 162 (Wednesday, August 22, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47055-47056]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-16538]


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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 (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 the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of 
information technology.

Proposed Project: Cross-Site Evaluation of the Minority Substance 
Abuse/HIV/Hepatitis Prevention Program--NEW

    The cross-site evaluation builds on five previous grant programs 
funded by SAMHSA's Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP) to 
provide HIV prevention services for minority populations. The first two 
were planning grant programs and the last three were service grant 
programs. HIV Cohort 1 and HIV Cohort 2 funded 2-year planning grants 
in FY 2000 and FY 2001 respectively. HIV Cohort 3 funded 48 3-year 
grants in FY 2002, HIV Cohort 4 funded 22 5-year grants in FY 2003 and 
HIV Cohort 5 funded 46 4-year grants in FY 2004. The goals for the 
Cohort 3-5 grants were to add, increase, or enhance integrated 
substance abuse (SA) and HIV prevention services by providing 
supportive services and strengthening linkages between service 
providers for at-risk minority populations. The HIV Cohort 1-3 grants 
previously received OMB clearance No. 0930-0208.
    The current HIV Cohort 6 Minority SA/HIV/Hepatitis Prevention 
Program funded 81 5-year grants in FY 2005 to community based 
organizations that are required to address the SAMSHA Strategic 
Prevention Framework (SPF) and participate in this cross-site 
evaluation. The grantees are expected to provide leadership and 
coordination on the planning and implementation of the SPF that targets 
minority populations and the minority reentry population in communities 
of color with high prevalence of SA, HIV/AIDS, and Hepatitis. The 
primary objectives of the cross-site evaluation are to: (1) Assess the 
process of adopting and implementing the SPF with the target 
populations; (2) measure the effectiveness of specified intervention 
strategies such as cultural enrichment activities, educational and 
vocational services; and/or computer-based curricula; and (3) determine 
the success of the program in delaying, preventing, and/or reducing the 
use of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs (ATOD) among the target 
populations. The grantees are expected to provide an effective 
prevention process, direction, and a common set of goals, expectations, 
and accountabilities to be adapted and integrated at the community 
level. While the grantees have substantial flexibility in choosing 
their individual evidence-based programs, they are all required to base 
them on the five steps of the SPF to build service capacity specific to 
SA, HIV, and Hepatitis prevention services. In FY 2006, all the 
grantees initiated Steps 1-3 of the SPF, namely conducting a needs 
assessment, building capacity, and planning how to implement their 
projects. Once their plans have been approved by their Project Officers 
they can proceed to Step 4 (implementation) and Step 5 (evaluation). 
Conducting this cross-site evaluation will assist SAMHSA/CSAP in 
promoting and disseminating optimally effective prevention programs.
    Grantees must also conduct ongoing monitoring and evaluation of 
their projects to assess program effectiveness including Federal 
reporting of the Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) of 1993, 
the Performance Assessment Rating Tool (PART), SAMHSA/CSAP National 
Outcome Measures (NOMs), and HIV Counseling and Testing. All of this 
information will be collected through self-report questionnaires 
administered to program participants. All grantees will use two 
instruments, one for youth aged between 12 and 17 and one for adults 
aged 18 and older. These instruments include baseline, exit and 3-6 
month follow-up (post-exit) questionnaires related to GPRA and NOMs 
augmented by questions pertaining to HIV and Hepatitis. While the GPRA 
and NOMs measures have already been approved by OMB (OMB No. 0930-
0230), the remaining HIV and Hepatitis-related questions have not, 
hence this data collection. Each questionnaire contains 135 questions, 
of which 102 relate to HIV and Hepatitis.
    Sample size, respondent burden, and intrusiveness have been 
minimized to be consistent with the cross-site objectives. Procedures 
are employed to safeguard the privacy and confidentiality of 
participants. Every effort has been made to coordinate cross-site data 
collection with local data collection efforts in an attempt to minimize 
respondent burden.
    The cross-site evaluation results will have significant 
implications for the substance abuse, HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis prevention 
fields, the allocation of grant funds, and other evaluation activities 
conducted by multiple Federal, State, and local government agencies. 
They will be used to develop Federal policy in support of SAMHSA/CSAP 
program initiatives, inform the public of lessons learned and findings, 
improve existing programs, and promote replication and dissemination of 
effective prevention strategies.

[[Page 47056]]

    The following table shows the estimated annualized burden for data 
collection.

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                                               Number of      Responses/     Average burden/     Average annual
               Response type                  respondents     respondent    response (hours.)    burden hours.
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Youth.....................................           3,400               3                .83              8,466
Adults....................................           3,400               3                .83              8,466
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    Total.................................           6,800             n/a                n/a            16,932
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n/a--Not Applicable.

    Send comments to Summer King, SAMHSA Reports Clearance Officer, 
Room 7-1044, 1 Choke Cherry Road, Rockville, MD 20857 AND e-mail her a 
copy at [email protected]. Written comments should be received 
within 60 days of this notice.

     Dated: August 7, 2007.
Elaine Parry,
Acting Director, Office of Program Services.
 [FR Doc. E7-16538 Filed 8-21-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4162-20-P