[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 144 (Tuesday, July 28, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44981-44982]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-18429]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration


Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission for OMB 
Review; Comment Request

    Periodically, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services 
Administration (SAMHSA) will publish a summary of information 
collection requests under OMB review, in compliance with the Paperwork 
Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35). To request a copy of these 
documents, call the SAMHSA Reports Clearance Officer on (240) 276-1243.

Project: Data Resource Toolkit Protocol for the Crisis Counseling 
Assistance and Training Program (CCP)--Revision

    The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's 
(SAMHSA) Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS) as part of an 
interagency agreement with the Federal Emergency Management Agency 
(FEMA) provides a toolkit to be used for the purposes of collecting 
data on the Crisis Counseling Assistance and Training Program (CCP). 
The CCP provides supplemental funding to states and territories for 
individual and community crisis intervention services during a federal 
disaster.
    The CCP has provided disaster mental health services to millions of 
disaster survivors since its inception and, as a result of 30 years of 
accumulated expertise, it has become an important model for federal 
response to a variety of catastrophic events. Recent State CCPs include 
programs in New Jersey and New York following 2012 Hurricane Sandy; two 
programs in Colorado, one related to a wildfire and the second to a 
flood; a program in Oklahoma in the aftermath of severe storms and 
tornadoes in 2013; and programs in Washington and Alaska related to 
flooding and mudslides in 2014. These programs have primarily addressed 
the short-term mental health needs of communities through (a) outreach 
and public education, (b) individual and group counseling, and (c) 
referral. Outreach and public education serve primarily to normalize 
reactions and to engage people who might need further care. Crisis 
counseling assists survivors to cope with current stress and symptoms 
in order to return to predisaster functioning. Crisis counseling relies 
largely on ``active listening,'' and crisis counselors also provide 
psycho-education (especially about the nature of responses to trauma) 
and help clients build coping skills. Crisis counseling typically 
continues no more than a few times. Because crisis counseling is time-
limited, referral is the third important functions of CCPs. Counselors 
are expected to refer clients to formal treatment if the person has 
developed more serious psychiatric problems.
    Data about services delivered and users of services will be 
collected throughout the program period. The data will be collected via 
the use of a toolkit that relies on standardized forms. At the program 
level, the data will be entered quickly and easily into a cumulative 
database to yield summary tables for quarterly and final reports for 
the program. Additionally, we are in the process of developing and 
testing the feasibility of using mobile devices for data entry 
purposes. Because the data will be collected in a consistent way from 
all programs, they can be uploaded or linked into an ongoing national 
database that likewise provides CMHS and FEMA with a way of producing 
summary reports of services provided across all programs funded.
    The components of the tool kit are listed and described below:
     Encounter logs. These forms document all services 
provided. Completion of these logs is required by the crisis 
counselors. There are three types of encounter logs: (1) Individual/
Family or Household Crisis Counseling Services Encounter Log; (2) Group 
Encounter Log; and (3) Weekly Tally Sheet.
    [cir] Individual/Family or Household Crisis Counseling Services 
Encounter Log. Crisis counseling is defined as an interaction that 
lasts at least 15 minutes and involves participant disclosure. This 
form is completed by the Crisis Counselor for each service recipient, 
defined as the person or persons who actively participated in the 
session (e.g., by verbally participating), not someone who is merely 
present. The same form may be completed with other family or household 
members who are actively engaged in the visit. Information collected 
includes demographics, service characteristics, risk factors, event 
reactions, and referral data.
    [cir] Group Encounter Log. This form is used to identify either a 
group crisis counseling encounter or a group public education 
encounter. A check at the top identifies the class of activities (i.e., 
counseling or education). Information collected includes services 
characteristics, group identity and characteristics, and group 
activities.
    [cir] Weekly Tally Sheet. This form documents brief educational and 
supportive encounters not captured on any other form. Information 
collected includes service characteristics, daily tallies and weekly 
totals for brief educational or supportive contacts, and material 
distribution with no or minimal interaction.
     Assessment and Referral Tools. This tool provides 
descriptive information about intense users of services either child/
youth or adults, defined as all individuals receiving a third 
individual crisis counseling visit. This tool will be used beginning 
three months postdisaster and will be completed by the crisis 
counselor.

[[Page 44982]]

     Participant Feedback. These surveys are completed by and 
collected from a sample of service recipients, not every recipient. A 
time sampling approach (e.g., soliciting participation from all 
counseling encounters one week per quarter) will be used. Information 
collected includes satisfaction with services, perceived improvements 
in self-functioning, types of exposure, and event reactions.
     CCP Service Provider Feedback. These surveys are completed 
by and collected from the CCP service providers anonymously at six 
months and one year postevent. The survey will be coded on several 
program-level as well as worker-level variables. However, the program 
itself will be identified and shared with program management only if 
the number of individual workers was greater than 20.
There are no changes to the Individual Encounter Log, Group Encounter 
Log, Weekly Tally, and the Assessment and Referral Tools since the last 
approval. Revisions include the addition of mobile device questions to 
the Service Provider Feedback Form and minor revisions to the gender 
question on the Participant Feedback Form and Service Provider Feedback 
Form.
    The table below is the estimates of annualized hour burden.

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                                                     Number of     Responses per     Hours per      Total hour
                      Form                          respondents     respondents      responses        burden
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Individual Crisis Counseling Services Encounter              200             196             .13           5,096
 Log............................................
Group Encounter Log.............................             100              33             .07             231
Weekly Tally Sheet..............................             200              33              .2           1,320
Assessment and Referral Tools...................             200              14             .25             700
Participant Feedback Survey.....................           1,000               1             .25             250
Service Provider Feedback Survey................             100               1             .41              41
                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------
    Total.......................................           1,800  ..............  ..............           7,638
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    Written comments and recommendations concerning the proposed 
information collection should be sent by August 27, 2015 to the SAMHSA 
Desk Officer at the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB). To ensure timely receipt of 
comments, and to avoid potential delays in OMB's receipt and processing 
of mail sent through the U.S. Postal Service, commenters are encouraged 
to submit their comments to OMB via email to: 
[email protected]. Although commenters are encouraged to send 
their comments via email, commenters may also fax their comments to: 
202-395-7285. Commenters may also mail them to: Office of Management 
and Budget, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, New Executive 
Office Building, Room 10102, Washington, DC 20503.

Summer King,
Statistician.
[FR Doc. 2015-18429 Filed 7-27-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4162-20-P