[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 246 (Tuesday, December 23, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 77006-77007]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-29925]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

[60Day-15-15IG]


Proposed Data Collections Submitted for Public Comment and 
Recommendations

    The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as part of 
its continuing effort to reduce public burden and maximize the utility 
of government information, invites the general public and other Federal 
agencies to take this opportunity to comment on proposed and/or 
continuing information collections, as required by the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995. To request more information on the below 
proposed project or to obtain a copy of the information collection plan 
and instruments, call 404-639-7570 or send comments to Leroy A. 
Richardson, 1600 Clifton Road, MS-D74, Atlanta, GA 30333 or send an 
email to [email protected].
    Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized 
and/or included in the request for Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB) approval. 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; (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; and (e) 
estimates of capital or start-up costs and costs of operation, 
maintenance, and purchase of services to provide information. Burden 
means the total time, effort, or financial resources expended by 
persons to generate, maintain, retain, disclose or provide information 
to or for a Federal agency. 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. Written comments should be received within 60 
days of this notice.

Proposed Project

    Public Health Associate Program (PHAP) Alumni Assessment--New--
Office for State, Tribal, Local, and Territorial Support (OSTLTS), 
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Background and Brief Description

    The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) works to 
protect America from health, safety and security threats, both foreign 
and in the U.S. CDC strives to fulfill this mission, in part, through a 
competent and capable public health workforce. One mechanism to 
developing the public health workforce is through training programs 
like the Public Health Associate Program (PHAP).
    The mission of the PHAP is to train and provide experiential 
learning to early career professionals who contribute to the public 
health workforce. PHAP targets recent graduates with bachelors or 
masters degrees that are beginning a career in public health.
    Each year, a new cohort of up to 200 associates is enrolled in the 
program. Associates are CDC employees who complete two year assignments 
in a host site (i.e., a state, tribal, local, or territorial health 
department or non-profit organization). Host sites design their 
associates' assignments to meet their agency's unique needs while also 
providing on-the-job experience that prepare associates for future 
careers in public health. Associates also receive CDC-based training in 
core public health concepts and topics to provide the knowledge, 
skills, and abilities necessary to succeed in their assignments and 
provide a foundation for a career in public health.
    PHAP hosts an initial in-person orientation and annual public 
health training at CDC and offers long-distance learning opportunities 
throughout the program. It is the goal of PHAP that following 
participation in the two-year program, alumni will seek employment 
within the public health system (i.e.,

[[Page 77007]]

federal, state, tribal, local, or territorial health agencies, or non-
governmental organizations), focusing on public health, population 
health, or health/healthcare.
    When PHAP originated in 2007, the program focused on increasing 
recruitment and enrollment; to date, there has been no systematic 
assessment of the program. As a result, one current program priority is 
focused on documenting program outcomes to inform refinements to 
program processes and activities, demonstrate program impact, and 
inform decision making about future program direction. The purpose of 
this information collection request is to gain approval to follow 
alumni career progression following participation in PHAP.
    The collection will enable the program to demonstrate evidence of 
program outcomes, specifically to document how many alumni are retained 
as members of the public health workforce, where alumni are employed, 
what topical and functional public health areas alumni support (e.g., 
chronic disease, infectious disease, assessment, communications, etc.), 
to what extent alumni support the capabilities of public health 
agencies at the federal, state, territorial, local, tribal, and non-
governmental organizational levels, and to what extent PHAP has 
influenced alumni career paths (if at all).
    Information will be used to answer key program assessment 
questions, specifically: ``Is PHAP a quality program?'', ``Is PHAP an 
effective program?'', and ``What is the impact of PHAP?''
    CDC will administer the PHAP Alumni Assessment at three different 
time points (1 year post-graduation, 3 years post-graduation, and 5 
years post-graduation) to PHAP alumni. Assessment questions will remain 
consistent at each administration (i.e., 1 year, 3 years, or 5 years 
post-PHAP graduation). The language, however, will be updated for each 
assessment administration to reflect the appropriate time period. It is 
estimated that there will be no more than 500 respondents annually. The 
estimated time for data collection is eight minutes per assessment 
administration. Assessments will be administered electronically; a link 
to the assessment Web site will be provided in the email invitation. 
The total annualized estimated burden is 67 hours.
    There are no costs to respondents except their time.

                                                            Estimated Annualized Burden Hours
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                                                                                                          Number of     Average  burden
               Type of respondent                              Form name                 Number of      responses per    per  response     Total burden
                                                                                        respondents       respondent       (in hours)       (in hours)
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PHAP Alumni.....................................  PHAP Alumni Assessment............             500                1             8/60               67
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Leroy A. 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. 2014-29925 Filed 12-22-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4163-18-P