[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 235 (Friday, December 5, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 74177-74178]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-28814]


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

Proposed Project: Evaluation of SAMHSA's Minority Fellowship Program 
(MFP)--NEW

    The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's 
Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS) will conduct an independent 
evaluation of the Minority Fellowship Program (MFP).
    In 1973, in response to a substantial lack of ethnic and racial 
minorities in the mental health professions, the Center for Minority 
Health at the National Institute of Mental Health established the 
Minority Fellowship Program (MFP). Since its move to SAMHSA in 1992, 
the MFP has continued to facilitate the entry of minority graduate 
students and psychiatric residents into mental health careers and has 
increased the number of psychology, psychiatry, nursing, and social 
work professionals trained to provide mental health and substance abuse 
services to minority groups. Up until FY 2007, grantees have been 
limited to the American Nurses Association (ANA), the American 
Psychiatric Association (ApA), the American Psychological Association 
(APA), and the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE). The MFP is 
supported by funds from all three SAMHSA centers, the Center for Mental 
Health Services (CMHS), the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment 
(CSAT), and the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP).
    With input from SAMHSA staff, the four pre-2007 grantee 
organizations, and two advisory panels (of independent experts in the 
MFP and/or culturally competent behavioral health care, as well as 
consumer and family representatives), a logic model was designed and a 
set of data collection instruments have been developed for this 
evaluation. SAMHSA will employ information that is routinely collected 
under existing program requirements and also will be collecting 
additional data that also are necessary for the conduct of the 
evaluation. At the end of each grant year, the grantee organizations 
(the ANA, ApA, APA, and CSWE) will document their activities, 
accomplishments, and expenditures and assessment measures for the most 
recently completed fiscal year. In addition, each grantee will maintain 
a database with information on current and former Fellows. None of the 
data collection activities proposed for this evaluation will be 
redundant with these existing reporting requirements and data sources. 
The evaluation plan includes gathering information about the MFP from 
persons with different experiences and perspectives on the MFP. 
Accordingly, SAMHSA proposes to conduct the following new data 
collection activities:
    On-line (Internet-based) surveys:
    1. Current SAMHSA MFP Fellows in each of the four academic 
disciplines;
    2. MFP Alumni who were in the four programs during the time the 
program was administered by SAMHSA; and
    3. Current and former members of Selection and Advisory Committees 
in each of the four grantee programs.
    Telephone Interviews:
    1. Current and former SAMHSA MFP Staff and other SAMHSA officials 
involved in the MFP;
    2. Current and former MFP Program Directors or Senior Staff in each 
of the four grantee programs; and
    3. Staff in each of the grantee's host organizations (i.e. staff in 
the ANA, APA, ApA, and CSWE).
    The surveys and interview protocols have been developed to include 
questions relevant to each of the respective stakeholder groups named 
above, with similar core questions asked across all groups.
    The resulting data will identify (1) The historical context in 
which the MFP has operated; (2) the processes and activities 
established by SAMHSA and by the grantees to implement the MFP; (3) the 
perceptions about how well the SAMHSA MFP is performing; and (4) the 
ability of the program to achieve particular goals under its purview.
    Each new cohort of Fellows will develop and support the following 
goals:
    1. Training/mentoring ethnic/racial minority students and 
professionals in mental health/substance abuse treatment;
    2. Increasing the number of ethnic/racial minority professionals in 
mental health/substance abuse treatment;
    3. Increasing diversity in mental health/substance abuse 
leadership;
    4. Increasing professional contributions in mental health/substance 
abuse treatment for minority populations;
    5. Increasing institutional involvement of ethnic/racial minority 
professionals in the areas of mental health and substance abuse 
treatment; and
    6. Increasing mental health and substance abuse services to 
minority communities.
    The burden estimate for conducting the surveys and interviews under 
the evaluation plan for the MFP is as follows:

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                                                                            Responses    Burden per     Total
                           Surveys                             Number of       per        response      burden
                                                              respondents   respondent     (hrs.)       (hrs.)
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Current SAMHSA MFP Fellows Survey...........................          100            1          1.5          150
SAMHSA MFP Alumni Survey....................................          850            1            2        1,700
MFP Selection and Advisory Committees Survey................           40            1          1.5           60
Current and former SAMHSA MFP Program Staff and other SAMHSA            8            1            2           16
 officials Interview Protocol...............................
Current and former MFP Program Directors or Senior Staff                8            1            2           16
 (from the grantee organizations) Interview Protocol........
Grantee host organization Interview Protocol................            8            1            1            8
                                                             ---------------------------------------------------
    Totals..................................................        1,015  ...........  ...........        1,950
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    Send comments to Summer King, SAMHSA Reports Clearance Officer, 
Room 7-1044, One 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: November 28, 2008.
Elaine Parry,
Acting Director, Office of Program Services.
[FR Doc. E8-28814 Filed 12-4-08; 8:45 am]
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