[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 199 (Friday, October 14, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Page 63930]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-26591]


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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. chapter 35). To request 
a copy of the clearance requests submitted to OMB for review, e-mail 
[email protected] or call the HRSA Reports Clearance Office on (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: Bureau of Health Professions (BHPr) Performance Data 
Collection (OMB No. 0915-0061) -- [Revision]

    This request is for approval from the Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB) of revised data collection activities required for 
collection of data at application, progress and performance reporting 
for the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), Bureau of 
Health Professions (BHPr).
    Over 40 BHPr programs award grants to health professions schools 
and training programs across the United States to develop, expand, and 
enhance training, and to strengthen the distribution of the health 
workforce. These programs are governed by the Public Health Service Act 
(42 U.S.C. 292 et seq.), specifically Titles III, VII, and VIII. 
Performance information is collected in the HRSA Performance Report for 
Grants and Cooperative Agreements (PRGCA). This report was formerly 
called the Uniform Progress Report.
    The proposed data collection satisfies statutory and programmatic 
requirements for performance measurement and evaluation (including 
specific Title III, VII and VIII requirements), as well as Government 
Performance and Results Act (GPRA) requirements. The Affordable Care 
Act (Pub. L. 111-148) impacted a broad range of health workforce 
programs administered by BHPr. It reauthorized most of these programs 
and, in some cases, expanded eligibility, modified program activities, 
and/or established new requirements. The Affordable Care Act also 
created new health professions programs. Therefore, it was necessary to 
reexamine BHPr's existing performance measures to ensure that they 
address these changes, meet evolving program management needs, and 
respond to emerging workforce concerns.
    The proposed data collection will enhance analysis and reporting of 
grantee training activities and education, outcomes, and intended 
practice locations. Data collected from these grant programs will also 
provide a description of the program activities of more than 2,000 
reporting grantees to better inform policymakers on the barriers, 
opportunities, and outcomes involved in health care workforce 
development. The proposed measures focus on five key outcomes:
    (1) Increasing the workforce supply of diverse well-educated 
practitioners;
    (2) influencing the distribution of practitioners to practice in 
underserved and rural areas;
    (3) enhancing the quality of education;
    (4) diversifying the pipeline for new health professionals; and,
    (5) supporting educational infrastructure to increase the capacity 
to train more health professionals.
    Revisions include improving performance management at three levels 
of measurement: individual-level, program-specific and program cluster-
level. Data collection revisions will also require the collection of 
some baseline data at the grant application and award stages.
    The annual estimate of burden is as follows:

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                                     Number of     Responses per       Total         Hours per     Total burden
           Instrument               respondents     respondent       responses       response          hours
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Application.....................            2500               1            2500               9          22,500
Program Aggregate Data                      1500               1            1500              10          15,000
 Collection.....................
Individual-level Data Collection             800               1             800               5           4,000
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    Total.......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............          41,500
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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: October 7, 2011.
Reva Harris,
Acting Director, Division of Policy and Information Coordination.
[FR Doc. 2011-26591 Filed 10-13-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4165-15-P