[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 18 (Tuesday, January 28, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4476-4477]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-01564]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Health Resources and Services Administration


Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection: 
Public Comment Request

AGENCY: Health Resources and Services Administration, HHS.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In compliance with the requirement for opportunity for public 
comment on proposed data collection projects (Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of 
the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995), the Health Resources and Services 
Administration (HRSA) announces plans to submit an Information 
Collection Request (ICR), described below, to the Office of Management 
and Budget (OMB). Prior to submitting the ICR to OMB, HRSA seeks 
comments from the public regarding the burden estimate, below, or any 
other aspect of the ICR.

DATES: Comments on this Information Collection Request must be received 
within 60 days of this notice.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments to [email protected] or mail the HRSA 
Information Collection Clearance Officer, Room 10-29, Parklawn 
Building, 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, MD 20857.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 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 
Information Collection Clearance Officer at (301) 443-1984.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: When submitting comments or requesting 
information, please include the information request collection title 
for reference.

[[Page 4477]]

    Information Collection Request Title: Healthy Start Evaluation and 
Quality Improvement OMB No. 0915-0338--Revision.
    Abstract: The National Healthy Start Program, funded through the 
Health Resources and Services Administration's (HRSA) Maternal and 
Child Health Bureau (MCHB), has the goal of reducing disparities in 
infant mortality and adverse perinatal outcomes. The program began as a 
demonstration project with 15 grantees in 1991 and has expanded over 
the past two decades to 105 grantees serving 196 communities across 39 
states. Healthy Start grantees operate in communities with rates of 
infant mortality at least 1\1/2\ times the U.S. national average and 
high rates for other adverse perinatal outcomes. These communities are 
geographically, racially, ethnically, and linguistically diverse low-
income areas. Healthy Start covers services during the perinatal period 
(before, during, after pregnancy) and follows the woman and infant 
through 2 years after the end of the pregnancy. The next round of 
funding represents a transformation of the program framework from nine 
service and systems core components to five approaches. The five 
approaches are as follows: (1) Improving women's health; (2) promoting 
quality services; (3) strengthening family resilience; (4) achieving 
collective impact; and (5) increasing accountability through quality 
improvement, performance monitoring, and evaluation.
    MCHB seeks to conduct a mixed-methods evaluation to assess the 
effectiveness of the program on individual, organizational, and 
community-level outcomes. Data collection instruments will include a 
Women, Children, and Families Information Form; Healthy Start Grantee 
Web Survey; Community Action Network (CAN) Web Survey; Healthy Start 
Site Visit Protocol; and Healthy Start Participant Focus Group 
Protocol.
    Need and Proposed Use of the Information: The purpose of the data 
collection instruments will be to obtain consistent information across 
all grantees about Healthy Start and its outcomes and in-depth 
information for 15 Healthy Start communities and 15 comparison 
communities to support a rigorous evaluation design. The data will be 
used to: (1) Provide credible and rigorous evidence of program effect 
on outcomes; (2) assess the relative contribution of the five program 
approaches to individual and community-level outcomes; (3) meet program 
needs for accountability, programmatic decision-making, and ongoing 
quality improvement; and (4) strengthen the evidence-base, and identify 
best and promising practices for the program to support sustainability, 
replication, and dissemination of the program.
    Likely Respondents: Respondents include pregnant women and women of 
reproductive age who are served by the Healthy Start program for the 
Women, Children, and Families Information Form; project directors and 
staff for the Healthy Start Grantee Web Survey; representatives from 
partner organizations for the Community Action Network (CAN) Web 
Survey; program staff, providers, and partners for the Healthy Start 
Site Visit Protocol; and program participants for the Healthy Start 
Participant Focus Group Protocol.
    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 Information Collection Request are summarized in the table below.

                                     Total Estimated Annualized Burden-Hours
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                                                     Number of                    Average burden
            Form name                Number of     responses per       Total       per response    Total burden
                                    respondents     respondent       responses      (in hours)         hours
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Women, Children, and Families             41,050               1          41,050            0.50          20,525
 Information Form...............
Healthy Start Grantee Web Survey             105               1             105            4.00             420
CAN Member Web Survey...........             600               1             600            0.75             450
Healthy Start Site Visit                      15               1              15            6.00              90
 Protocol.......................
Healthy Start Participant Focus              180               1             180            1.00             180
 Group Protocol.................
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    Total.......................          41,950                          41,950                          21,665
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    HRSA specifically requests comments on (1) the necessity and 
utility of the proposed information collection for the proper 
performance of the agency's functions, (2) the accuracy of the 
estimated burden, (3) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity 
of the information to be collected, and (4) the use of automated 
collection techniques or other forms of information technology to 
minimize the information collection burden.

    Dated: January 22, 2014.
Jackie Painter,
Deputy Director, Division of Policy and Information Coordination.
[FR Doc. 2014-01564 Filed 1-27-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4165-15-P