[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 238 (Wednesday, December 11, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 75356-75357]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-29509]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Health Resources and Services Administration


Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission to OMB for 
Review and Approval; Public Comment Request

AGENCY: Health Resources and Services Administration, HHS.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In compliance with Section 3507(a)(1)(D) of the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995, the Health Resources and Services Administration 
(HRSA) has submitted an Information Collection Request (ICR) to the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval. Comments 
submitted during the first public review of this ICR will be provided 
to OMB. OMB will accept further comments from the public during the 
review and approval period.

DATES: Comments on this ICR should be received within 30 days of this 
notice.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, including the Information Collection 
Request Title, to the desk officer for HRSA, either by email to [email protected] or by fax to 202-395-5806.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request a copy of the clearance 
requests submitted to OMB for review, email the HRSA Information 
Collection Clearance Officer at [email protected] or call (301) 443-
1984.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Information Collection Request Title: Combating Autism Act 
Initiative Evaluation OMB No. 0915-0335 [Revision].
    Abstract: In response to the growing need for research and 
resources devoted to autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and other 
developmental disabilities (DD), the U.S. Congress passed the Combating 
Autism Act (CAA) in 2006. The Act included funding for the U.S. 
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Health Resources and 
Services Administration (HRSA), to increase awareness, reduce barriers 
to screening and diagnosis, promote evidence-based interventions, and 
train health care professionals to screen for, diagnose or rule out, 
and provide evidence-based interventions for ASD and other DD. In 2011, 
the Combating Autism Reauthorization Act (CARA) was signed into law, 
reauthorizing funding for the CAA's programs for an additional 3 years 
at the existing funding levels. Through the CARA, HRSA is tasked with 
increasing awareness of ASD and other DD, reducing barriers to 
screening and diagnosis, promoting evidence-based interventions, and 
training health care professionals in the use of valid and reliable 
screening and diagnostic tools.
    Need and Proposed Use of the Information: HRSA's activities under 
the CARA legislation are delegated to the Maternal and Child Health 
Bureau (MCHB), which is implementing the Combating Autism Act 
Initiative (CAAI) in response to the legislative mandate. The purpose 
of this evaluation is to design and implement an evaluation to assess 
the effectiveness of MCHB's activities in meeting the goals and 
objectives of the CAAI and to provide sufficient data to inform MCHB 
and the Congress as to the utility of the grant programs funded under 
the Initiative. The evaluation will focus on indicators related to: (1) 
Increasing awareness of ASD and other DD among health care providers, 
other MCH professionals, and the general public; (2) reducing barriers 
to screening and diagnosis; (3) supporting research on evidence-based 
interventions; (4) promoting the

[[Page 75357]]

development of evidence-based guidelines and tested/validated 
intervention tools; (5) training professionals; and (6) building 
capacity for systems of services in states.
    Likely Respondents: Grantees funded by HRSA under the CAAI will be 
the respondents for this data collection activity. The programs to be 
evaluated are listed below.

1. Training Programs

     Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities 
(LEND) training programs with forty-three grantees;
     Developmental Behavioral Pediatrics (DBP) training 
programs with ten grantees; and
     A National Combating Autism Interdisciplinary Training 
Resource Center grantee.

2. Research Networks Program

     Three Autism Intervention Research Networks that focus on 
intervention research, guideline development, and information 
dissemination; and
     20 R40 Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Autism Intervention 
Research Program grantees that support research on evidence-based 
practices for interventions to improve the health and well-being of 
children and adolescents with ASD and other DD.

3. State Implementation Program Grants for Improving Services for 
Children and Youth With ASD and Other DD

     Nine grantees will implement state autism plans and 
develop models for improving the system of care for children and youth 
with ASD and other DD;
     Four grantees will design state plans for improving the 
system for children and youth with ASD and other DDs; and
     A State Public Health Coordinating Resource Center 
grantee.
    The data gathered through this evaluation will be used to:
     Evaluate the grantees' performance in achieving the 
objectives of the CAAI during the three year grant period;
     Assess the short- and intermediate-term impacts of the 
grant programs on children and families affected by ASD and other DD; 
and
     Measure the CAAI outputs and outcomes for the Report to 
Congress.
    Burden Statement: Burden in this context means the time expended by 
persons to generate, maintain, retain, disclose or provide the 
information requested. This includes the time needed to review 
instructions; to develop, acquire, install and utilize technology and 
systems for the purpose of collecting, validating and verifying 
information, processing and maintaining information, and disclosing and 
providing information; to train personnel and to be able to respond to 
a collection of information; to search data sources; to complete and 
review the collection of information; and to transmit or otherwise 
disclose the information. The total annual burden hours estimated for 
this ICR are summarized in the table below.

                                    Total Estimated Annualized Burden--Hours
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                                                                                      Average
                                     Number of       Number of         Total        burden per     Total burden
     Grant program/form name        respondents    responses per     responses     response  (in       hours
                                                    respondent                        hours)
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LEND interview Protocol.........              43               1              43            1              43
DBP Interview Protocol..........              10               1              10            1              10
State Implementation Program                  13               1              13            1              13
 Interview Protocol \1\.........
State Implementation Program                  13               1              13             .75            9.75
 Questionnaire..................
Research Network Interview                     3               1               3            1               3
 Protocol.......................
Research Program R40 Interview                20               1              20            1              20
 Protocol.......................
Research Network Questionnaire..               3               1               3            3               9
Resource Centers Interview                     2               1               2            1               2
 Protocol.......................
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    Total.......................             107  ..............             107  ..............          109.75
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\1\ Although a total of 22 state grants have been awarded to date, states that were awarded grants in 2008 and
  2009 were interviewed during the previous evaluation. We are seeking clearance to interview only the 13 states
  that were awarded grants in 2011.


    Dated: December 5, 2013.
Bahar Niakan,
Director, Division of Policy and Information Coordination.
[FR Doc. 2013-29509 Filed 12-10-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4165-15-P