[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 189 (Monday, September 29, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Page 56595]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-22728]


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

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Health Resources and Services Administration


Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission for OMB 
Review; Comment Request

    Periodically, the Health Resources and Services Administration 
(HRSA) publishes abstracts of information collection requests under 
review by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), in compliance with 
the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.). To 
request a copy of the clearance requests submitted to OMB for review, 
e-mail [email protected] or call the HRSA Reports Clearance Office at 
(301) 443-1129.
    The following request has been submitted to the Office of 
Management and Budget for review under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 
1995:

Proposed Project: Data Collection Tool for State Offices of Rural 
Health Grant Program: (New)

    The mission of the Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP) is to 
sustain and improve access to quality care services for rural 
communities. In its authorizing language (Sec. 711 of the Social 
Security Act [42 U.S.C. 912]), Congress charged ORHP with 
``administer[ing] grants, cooperative agreements, and contracts to 
provide technical assistance and other activities as necessary to 
support activities related to improving health care in rural areas.''
    The State Offices of Rural Health Grant Program (SORH) is 
authorized by Section 338J of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 
254r). The purpose of SORH is to assist States in strengthening their 
rural health care delivery systems by helping to support a focal point 
for rural health within each State. The program provides funding for an 
institutional framework that links rural hospitals, providers and 
communities with State and Federal resources to help develop long term 
solutions to rural health problems. The average annual award for each 
State based grantee is $150,000. The law provides for a Federal-State 
partnership, requiring a State funding match of $3 for each $1 of 
Federal funding. Over the past 16 years, this program has leveraged in 
excess of $200 million in State matching funds for rural health.
    For SORH, program performance measures were drafted to provide data 
useful to the program and to enable HRSA to provide aggregate program 
data required by Congress under the Government Performance and Results 
Act (GPRA) of 1993. ORHP seeks to collect information from grantees on 
their efforts to provide technical assistance to clients within their 
State. SORH grantees would be required to submit a Technical Assistance 
Report that includes: 1) The total number of technical assistance 
encounters provided directly by the grantee; and, 2) the total number 
of clients that received direct technical assistance from the grantee. 
Submission of the Technical Assistance Report would be done via e-mail 
to ORHP no later than 30 days after the end of each twelve month budget 
period.
    The estimated average annual burden is as follows:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                     Number of     Responses per       Total         Hours per     Total burden
              Form                  respondents     respondent       responses       response          hours
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Technical Assistance Report.....              50               1              50            12.5             625
    Total.......................              50  ..............  ..............  ..............             625
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Written comments and recommendations concerning the proposed 
information collection should be sent within 30 days of this notice to 
the desk officer for HRSA, either by e-mail to [email protected] or by fax to 202-395-6974. Please direct all 
correspondence to the ``attention of the desk officer for HRSA.''

    Dated: September 22, 2008
Alexandra Huttinger,
Director, Division of Policy Review and Coordination.
[FR Doc. E8-22728 Filed 9-26-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4165-15-P