[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 10 (Friday, January 14, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2698-2699]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-742]


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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 at 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: Disaster Technical Assistance Center Disaster Mental 
Health Needs Assessment and Customer Satisfaction Survey Supporting 
Statement--NEW

    SAMHSA created the SAMHSA Disaster Technical Assistance Center 
(SAMHSA DTAC) in 2002. SAMHSA DTAC provides technical assistance (TA) 
to States, Territories, and Federally recognized tribes (hereafter 
referred to as `States'), as well as any behavioral health worker, in 
response to, and in preparation for, behavioral health (mental health 
and substance abuse) needs associated with catastrophic events and 
emergencies, such as natural disasters, bioterrorism, mass criminal 
victimization, and environmental disasters. In the aftermath of a 
disaster or other traumatic event, State and local behavioral health 
agencies can contact SAMHSA DTAC for assistance with the resulting 
mental health and substance abuse needs. SAMHSA DTAC TA specialists 
respond by identifying suitable publications and other materials, 
arranging for the deployment of expert consultants, or coordinating 
other support services. For Presidentially declared disasters, SAMHSA 
DTAC assists States that are eligible for a Crisis Counseling 
Assistance and Training Program (CCP) grant by providing TA related to 
completing applications, developing a plan of services, and identifying 
staff needs for the CCP.
    SAMHSA is proposing two new data collection efforts: The Disaster 
Behavioral Health Needs Assessment (DBHNA) and the Customer 
Satisfaction Survey. The DBHNA will assess the current gaps and needs 
at the State and local provider levels in disaster behavioral health 
(DBH) planning and response efforts. The Customer Satisfaction Survey 
is being conducted to ensure that the TA SAMHSA DTAC provides is on 
track, applicable, useful, and well received. Both of these proposed 
data collection efforts will provide feedback on the ongoing needs at 
the national, State, and local levels and identify areas in which State 
and local providers require enhanced TA services.
    SAMHSA DTAC will be responsible for administering the two data 
collection instruments and analyzing the data. SAMHSA DTAC will use 
data from both instruments to inform current and future TA activities 
and to ensure these activities continue to align with State and local 
needs.
    The components of the data collection are listed and described 
below, and a summary table of the number of respondents and respondent 
burden has also been included.
    Disaster Behavior Health Needs Assessment. The DBHNA will assist 
SAMHSA DTAC in identifying jurisdictions that need assistance with 
integrating behavioral health (which includes both mental health and 
substance abuse services) into their preparedness plans. SAMHSA DTAC 
will use the DBHNA to identify gaps and trends in crisis counseling 
planning

[[Page 2699]]

across the country and to inform future TA and training for State and 
local behavioral health authorities so that these gaps can be addressed 
at the State and local levels. The DBHNA will be administered annually. 
The information collected will inform the DBH training and TA that 
SAMHSA DTAC provides. With improved training and TA, SAMHSA DTAC will 
be better positioned to support States, local providers, and other 
organizations in their efforts to integrate DBH into ``all-hazards'' 
disaster preparedness and response.
    There are two versions of the DBHNA: The State/Territory 
Coordinator Disaster Behavioral Health Needs Assessment and the Local 
Provider Disaster Behavioral Health Needs Assessment. These DBHNAs will 
collect information on the current needs and challenges that State 
coordinators and local providers face when integrating DBH preparedness 
and response into all-hazards plans. Both versions of the survey will 
be administered online and will be programmed to include simplified 
screens and intuitive navigational controls, and both will use 
branching so that each respondent will be presented with only those 
questions relevant to his or her State or program.
    The State/Territory Coordinator version will be administered to all 
disaster mental health coordinators, disaster substance abuse 
coordinators, and DBH coordinators (coordinators responsible for both 
mental health and substance abuse disaster services) in the 50 States, 
the U.S. Territories, and the District of Columbia, for a total of 77 
participants. Coordinators from the 10 States that have experienced the 
most federally declared disasters and those from the 10 States that 
have experienced the fewest federally declared disasters will be asked 
to provide contact information for up to five local DBH service 
providers. The local providers from these 20 States will be invited to 
participate in the Local Provider version (up to a total of 100 local 
provider participants).
    Customer Satisfaction Survey. The Customer Satisfaction Survey will 
collect data from SAMHSA DTAC customers to ensure that the assistance 
SAMHSA DTAC provides is effective. Specifically, the Customer 
Satisfaction Survey will collect the experiences and perspectives of 
(1) those who have requested TA (e.g., behavioral health coordinators, 
project coordinators, local providers) and (2) those who subscribe to 
SAMHSA DTAC e-communications. The Customer Satisfaction Survey will 
assess the following: (1) General familiarity with SAMHSA DTAC services 
and resources; (2) usage of SAMHSA DTAC services and resources; (3) 
customer satisfaction with SAMHSA DTAC TA, the SAMHSA DTAC Web site, 
SAMHSA DBHIS resources, and SAMHSA DTAC e-communication resources; and 
(4) areas for improvement and enhancement of SAMHSA DTAC services and 
resources.
    Participation in the Customer Satisfaction Survey will be solicited 
from all 50 States, the U.S. Territories, and the District of Columbia. 
The initial survey administration will include individuals who have 
contacted SAMHSA DTAC for TA from March 2006 through the month prior to 
the initial data collection initiation. In addition to identifying 
SAMHSA DTAC TA requestors from March 2006 to the present, SAMHSA DTAC 
will identify potential participants from the subscription lists for 
the e-communications DTAC Bulletin and The Dialogue. Respondents for 
subsequent administrations of the SAMHSA DTAC Customer Satisfaction 
Survey will include those who have requested TA in the 3 months prior 
to administration and those who are subscribed to the DTAC Bulletin or 
The Dialogue at the time of administration.
    Internet-based technology will be used to collect data via Web-
based surveys and for data entry and management. The average annual 
respondent burden is estimated below. The DBHNA is an annual data 
collection. The Customer Satisfaction Survey will be administered once 
initially, with subsequent quarterly administrations. Table 1 
represents the initial data collection and the burden in the following 
years. These estimates reflect the average annual number of 
respondents, the average annual number of responses, the time required 
for each response, and the average annual burden in hours.
    Table 1. Annualized Estimate of Respondent Burden

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                                                               Number of                 Hours per
                                                  Number of    responses      Total       response      Total
     Type of  respondent          Instrument     respondents      per       number of       per         burden
                                                               respondent   responses    respondent     hours
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State DBH Coordinator........  DBHNA (State/              77            1           77         1.00         77.0
                                Territory
                                Version).
Local Provider...............  DBHNA (Local              100            1          100         0.50         50.0
                                Provider
                                Version).
TA Requestor.................  DTAC Customer             250            1          250         0.25         62.5
                                Satisfaction
                                Survey.
e-Communications Recipient...  DTAC Customer             250            1          250         0.25         62.5
                                Satisfaction
                                Survey.
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    Total....................  ................          677  ...........          677  ...........          252
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    Send comments to Summer King, SAMHSA Reports Clearance Officer; 
Room 8-1099; 1 Choke Cherry Road; Rockville, MD 20857, and e-mail a 
copy to [email protected]. Written comments should be received 
within 60 days of this notice.

    Dated: January 10, 2011.
Elaine Parry,
Director, Office of Management, Technology, and Operations.
[FR Doc. 2011-742 Filed 1-13-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4162-20-P