[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 66 (Thursday, April 5, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Page 20645]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-8147]



[[Page 20645]]

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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Health Resources and Services Administration


Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection: 
Comment Request

    In compliance with the requirement for opportunity for public 
comment on proposed data collection projects (section 3506(c)(2)(A) of 
Title 44, United States Code, as amended by the Paperwork Reduction Act 
of 1995, Public Law 104-13), the Health Resources and Services 
Administration (HRSA) publishes periodic summaries of proposed projects 
being developed for submission to the Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB) under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. To request more 
information on the proposed project or to obtain a copy of the data 
collection plans and draft instruments, email [email protected] or 
call the HRSA Reports Clearance Officer at (301) 443-1984.
    Comments are invited on: (a) The proposed collection of information 
for the proper performance of the functions of the Agency; (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: Nursing Scholarship Program (OMB No. 0915-0301)--
[Revision]

    The Nursing Scholarship Program (NSP) is a competitive Federal 
program, which awards scholarships to individuals for attendance at 
accredited schools of nursing. The Bureau of Clinician Recruitment and 
Service (BCRS) in HRSA administers the program. The scholarship 
consists of payment of tuition, fees, other reasonable educational 
costs, and a monthly support stipend. In return, the students agree to 
provide a minimum of 2 years of full-time clinical service (or an 
equivalent part-time commitment, as approved by the NSP) at a health 
care facility with a critical shortage of nurses as defined by the 
program.
    NSP recipients must be willing to (and are required to) fulfill 
their NSP service commitment at a health care facility with a critical 
shortage of nurses in the United States, which includes, in addition to 
the several States, only: the District of Columbia, Guam, the 
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Northern Mariana Islands, the U.S. 
Virgin Islands, American Samoa, the Federated States of Micronesia, the 
Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau. Students 
who are uncertain of their commitment to provide nursing care in a 
health care facility with a critical shortage of nurses in the United 
States or these territories are advised not to participate in this 
program.
    The NSP needs to collect data to determine an applicant's 
eligibility for the program, to monitor a participant's continued 
enrollment in a school of nursing, to monitor the participant's 
compliance with the NSP service obligation, and to obtain data on its 
program to ensure compliance with statutory mandates and prepare annual 
reports to Congress. The following information will be collected: (1) 
From the applicants and/or the schools--general applicant and nursing 
school data such as full name, location, tuition/fees, and enrollment 
status; (2) from the schools, on an annual basis--data concerning 
tuition/fees and student enrollment status; and (3) from the 
participants and their health care facilities with a critical shortage 
of nurses, on a biannual basis--data concerning the participant's 
employment status, work schedule and leave usage. BCRS enters the cost 
information into its information data system, along with the projected 
amount for the monthly stipend, to determine the amount of each 
scholarship award.
    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.....................           4,000               1           4,000               2           8,000
In-School Monitoring............             500               1             500               2           1,000
In-Service Monitoring...........             600               2           1,200               1           1,200
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    Total.......................           5,100  ..............           5,700  ..............          10,200
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    Email comments to [email protected] or mail the HRSA Reports 
Clearance Officer, Room 10-29, Parklawn Building, 5600 Fishers Lane, 
Rockville, MD 20857. Written comments should be received within 60 days 
of this notice.

    Dated: March 30, 2012.
Reva Harris,
Acting Director, Division of Policy and Information Coordination.
[FR Doc. 2012-8147 Filed 4-4-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4165-15-P