[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 245 (Tuesday, December 22, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 79600-79601]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-32061]


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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: Now is the Time (NITT)--Project AWARE Evaluation--Site 
Notification and Recruitment--New

    SAMHSA is conducting a national evaluation of the Now is the Time 
(NITT) initiative, which includes separate programs--NITT Project AWARE 
(Advancing Wellness and Resilience in Education)-State Educational 
Agency (SEA), Healthy Transitions, and two Minority Fellowship Programs 
(Youth and Addictions Counselors). These programs are united by their 
focus on capacity building, system change, and workforce development.
    NITT--Project AWARE, which is the focus of this activity, 
represents a response to the third and fourth components of President 
Obama's NITT Initiative: making schools safer and focusing on access to 
mental health services. NITT--Project AWARE is authorized under Section 
520A of the Public Health Service Act, as amended, and addresses the 
Healthy People 2020 Mental Health and Mental Disorders Topic Area. 
Project AWARE grantees are required to provide mental health awareness 
training to adults who interact with youth, create partnerships to 
connect youth to mental health services, and create a school climate to 
reduce violence. NITT--Project AWARE grants were made to 20 state 
education agencies, each of which will partner with 3-5 local education 
agencies (LEAs or school districts) in their state to plan and 
implement Project AWARE activities. Project AWARE activities may be 
implemented in all schools in the district or may be focused on a 
specific type or number of schools.
    The evaluation of NITT--Project AWARE will examine the process, 
outcomes, and impact of activities by SEA grantees and their LEA and 
school partners. The study will evaluate the capacity of SEAs to 
increase awareness of mental health issues among school-aged youth; 
provide training for school personnel and other adults who interact 
with youth to detect and respond to mental illness in children and 
young adults; connect children, youth, and families/caregivers who may 
have behavioral health issues with appropriate services; and improve 
conditions for learning and behavioral health outcomes for all school-
aged youth (grades K-12). At the grantee, district, and school levels, 
the evaluation will collect data from key staff in all partner 
organizations. At each Project AWARE and comparison school, annual 
surveys will be used to collect data from the school principal (or 
designee), students, and teachers, beginning in spring 2016. The NITT--
Project AWARE evaluation will also rely on information collected from 
existing sources or noted in award requirements.
    Site notification and recruitment of Project AWARE grantees and 
their school and district partners is being conducted for the purpose 
of enlisting sites for participation in the Project AWARE component of 
the NITT evaluation. Site notification and recruitment will be 
conducted in school year 2015-2016. Data collection is planned to begin 
in spring 2016. Subsequent OMB packages will be submitted separately 
for each of the three program evaluations (i.e., Project AWARE, Healthy 
Transitions, MFP--Youth & Addiction Counselors) in fall 2015, 
requesting approval for instruments and data collection procedures.
    Current activities are focused on notification and recruitment of 
state grantees, grantee and nongrantee districts, and grantee and 
nongrantee schools. Each grantee state will be asked to support the 
evaluation by encouraging the grantee districts to cooperate with the 
national evaluation contractor when contacted, enlist the participation 
of grantee schools, and provide access to data available through the 
district's management information system (MIS). Each grantee district 
will also be asked to assist the study with identifying and encouraging 
the participation of comparison (i.e, nongrantee) schools, where 
possible. For each treatment (i.e., Project AWARE) school, one matched 
comparison school will be identified that is similar to the treatment 
school in terms of demographic characteristics and rates of incidents 
of violence and

[[Page 79601]]

other measures but is not implementing Project AWARE activities. Both 
treatment and comparison schools will be asked to participate in the 
school, teacher, and student surveys (teachers and students) and data 
abstraction from the schools' MIS system.
    If a comparison school cannot be identified or recruited from the 
same grantee district as the treatment school, an attempt will be made 
to recruit nongrantee districts and schools in a neighboring community 
where potential matched schools have been identified.
    During site notification and recruitment, the evaluation contractor 
will send packets that include a letter, brochure, and frequently asked 
questions, and will follow up with a telephone call. The following 
entities will be contacted:

     All 20 NITT--Project AWARE grantees at the state level
     An estimated 90 local education agency partners (3-5 
districts per state, under the grant requirements).
     An estimated 396 schools in grantee districts that will 
be implementing Project AWARE activities (``treatment schools'') 
(approximately 4-5 schools per grantee district are expected to 
participate in the evaluation). This estimate includes additional 
schools that may need to be contacted to replace grantee schools 
that are unable or unwilling to participate.
     An estimated 432 schools in grantee districts that are 
NOT currently implementing Project AWARE activities (``comparison 
schools''). This estimate includes additional schools that may need 
to be contacted to replace comparison schools that are unable or 
unwilling to participate.
     Approximately 30 nongrantee districts will be 
identified and recruited as needed if no comparison school is 
available in a grantee district to form a matched pair with a 
treatment school.
     Approximately 90 comparison schools in nongrantee 
districts will be identified and recruited as needed to form a 
matched pair for treatment schools with no comparison school 
available. For each treatment school without a comparison school, 
one best match and two alternates will be identified in each of the 
30 districts.

    The table below summarizes the reporting burden associated with 
this notification and recruitment activity. The total burden is 1,058 
hours.

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                                     Number of     Responses per   Total number      Hours per     Total burden
           Respondent               respondents     respondent     of responses      response          hours
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
State grantee official..........              20               1              20               1              20
District official in grantee                  90               1              90               1              90
 district.......................
School official in grantee                   396               1             396               1             396
 district--treatment school.....
School official in grantee                   432               1             432               1             432
 district--comparison school....
District official in nongrantee               30               1              30               1              30
 district.......................
School official in nongrantee                 90               1              90               1              90
 district.......................
                                 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Total.......................           1,058  ..............           1,058  ..............           1,058
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    Written comments and recommendations concerning the proposed 
information collection should be sent by January 21, 2016 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. 2015-32061 Filed 12-21-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4162-20-P