[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 172 (Thursday, September 5, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54652-54653]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-21543]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

[60Day-13-13AHG]


Proposed Data Collections Submitted for Public Comment and 
Recommendations

    In compliance with the requirement of Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 for opportunity for public comment on 
proposed data collection projects, the Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention (CDC) will publish periodic summaries of proposed projects. 
To request more information on the proposed projects or to obtain a 
copy of the data collection plans and instruments, call 404-639-7570 or 
send

[[Page 54653]]

comments to LeRoy Richardson, 1600 Clifton Road, MS-D74, Atlanta, GA 
30333 or send an email to [email protected].
    Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed collection of 
information is 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. Written comments should be received 
within 60 days of this notice.

Proposed Project

    Evaluation of Food Safety Programs--New--National Center for 
Environmental Health (NCEH), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 
(CDC).

Background and Brief Description

    Local and state food safety programs (FSPs) are on the frontline of 
foodborne disease prevention in the U.S. Through the Environmental 
Health Specialists Network (EHS-Net), CDC currently funds and works 
with local and state health departments in five states (California, New 
York, Minnesota, Rhode Island, and Tennessee) to: (1) Identify 
environmental antecedents (underlying factors) to illness and disease 
outbreaks; (2) translate findings into improved prevention efforts 
using a systems-based approach; (3) offer training opportunities to 
current and future environmental health specialists; and (4) strengthen 
collaboration among epidemiology, laboratory, and environmental health 
programs. This CDC program offers insights into the current status of 
FSPs among EHS-Net partners, but information is lacking on a national 
scale.
    In the current economic milieu, food safety, along with other 
public health programs, is being eliminated due to funding reductions. 
Therefore, the CDC proposes to conduct the ``Evaluation of Food Safety 
Programs'' survey among a representative sample of local and state 
health departments implementing FSPs in the United States (U.S.).
    The purpose of this evaluation of local and state FSPs is to 
collect descriptive data on the current status and activities, to 
describe changes in status and activities from 2007 to 2012, and to 
determine if there is a relationship between funding and status and 
activities. Data will be collected on food safety activities, workforce 
capacity and competency, financial resources, community health, and 
demographics of FSPs. Data collected will help CDC better understand 
the relationship between different levels of funding and FSP 
effectiveness in the U.S.
    The evaluation survey will take approximately two hours to 
complete. The survey will be completed once by respondents either 
manually or electronically. The CDC is asking for this data collection 
burden to allow local and state health departments ample time to 
request and obtain the information they need from their various 
departments and units to complete the evaluation survey.
    There are over 3,000 state and local health departments in the U.S. 
It is unknown how many state and local health departments will actually 
participate in the evaluation survey, as participation will be 
voluntary. Per year, the anticipated number of respondents for this 
survey is 190 health departments, and the requested number of burden 
hours is 380. The CDC is requesting OMB approval for two years.
    Only local and state health departments implementing food safety 
programs in the U.S. will be eligible to participate in the survey. 
There will be no cost to the respondents other than their time.

                                        Estimated Annualized Burden Hours
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                                                                                      Average
                                                     Number of       Number of      burden per     Total burden
      Type of respondents           Form name       respondents    responses per   response (in      (in hrs.)
                                                                    respondent         hrs.)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Local health departments......  Evaluation                   138               1               2             276
                                 Survey
                                 (electronic).
                                Evaluation                    35               1               2              70
                                 Survey (paper-
                                 based).
State health departments......  Evaluation                    14               1               2              28
                                 Survey
                                 (electronic).
                                Evaluation                     3               1               2               6
                                 Survey (paper-
                                 based).
                               ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Total.....................  ................  ..............  ..............  ..............             380
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Leroy Richardson,
Chief, Information Collection Review Office, Office of Scientific 
Integrity, Office of the Associate Director for Science, Office of the 
Director, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
[FR Doc. 2013-21543 Filed 9-4-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4163-18-P