[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 55 (Tuesday, March 22, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15309-15310]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-06342]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Administration for Community Living


Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; 
Comment Request; the National Maltreatment Reporting System

AGENCY: Administration for Community Living, HHS.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Administration for Community Living (ACL) is announcing an 
opportunity for public comment on the proposed collection of certain 
information by the agency. Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 
(the PRA), Federal agencies are required to publish notice in the 
Federal Register concerning each proposed collection of information, 
including each proposed extension of an existing collection of 
information, and to allow 60 days for public comment in response to the 
notice. This notice solicits comments on the information collection 
requirements relating to the National Maltreatment Reporting System 
(NAMRS). The proposed collection of information tools may be found in 
the NAMRS section of the ACL Web site.

DATES: Submit written or electronic comments on the collection of 
information by: May 23, 2016.

ADDRESSES: Submit electronic comments on the collection of information 
to Stephanie Whittier Eliason at [email protected].
    Submit written comments on the collection of information to: 
Administration for Community Living, Attention: Stephanie Whittier 
Eliason, 330 C St SW., Washington, DC 20201.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Stephanie Whittier Eliason at 
202.795.7467.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the PRA (44 U.S.C. 3501-3520), Federal 
agencies must obtain approval from the Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB) for each collection of information they conduct or sponsor. 
``Collection of information'' is defined in 44 U.S.C. 3502(3) and 5 CFR 
1320.3(c) and includes agency request or requirements that members of 
the public submit reports, keep records, or provide information to a 
third party. Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)) 
requires Federal agencies to provide a 60-day notice in the Federal 
Register concerning each proposed collection of information, including 
each proposed extension of an existing collection of information, 
before submitting the collection to OMB for approval. To comply with 
this requirement, ACL is publishing notice of the proposed collection 
of information set forth in this document.

Authority

    This data collection effort is in response to the Elder Justice Act 
of 2009, which amended title XX of the Social Security Act (42.U.S.C. 
13976 et seq.). These provisions require that the Secretary of HHS 
``collects and disseminates data annually relating to the abuse, 
exploitation, and neglect of elders in coordination with the Department 
of Justice'' (Sec. 2041(a)(1)(B)), and ``conducts research related to 
the provision of adult protective services'' (Sec. 2041(a)(1)(D)). 
Furthermore, the Elder Justice Coordinating Council (EJCC) included as 
its third recommendation for increasing federal involvement in 
addressing elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation: Develop a national 
adult protective services (APS) system based upon standardized data 
collection and a core set of service provision standards and best 
practices.

Background

    From 2013-2015, ACL, in partnership with the U.S. Department of 
Health & Human Services' Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning 
and Evaluation (ASPE), developed and pilot tested NAMRS. When 
implemented, NAMRS will be the first comprehensive, national reporting 
system for APS programs. NAMRS is intended to collect quantitative and 
qualitative data on the practices and policies of adult protective 
services (APS) agencies, as well as the outcomes of investigations into 
the maltreatment of older adults and adults with disabilities.
    In developing NAMRS, ACL and ASPE convened key stakeholders to 
identify data elements that are the most critical for a national 
system. More than 40 state administrators, researchers, service 
providers, and other stakeholders provided input in focus group 
conference calls. Additionally, more than 30 state representatives from 
25 different states met in three in-person working sessions to discuss 
the uses of collected data and the key functionalities.
    A pilot version of NAMRS was tested in nine (9) diverse states, and 
refined based on feedback from the pilot and additional stakeholder 
engagement. A full discussion on the background of NAMRS, including the 
development of the system, the public engagement process, and the pilot 
testing can be found in the NAMRS section of the ACL Web site.

Proposed Collection Effort

    NAMRS has been developed as a voluntary system to collect annually 
both summary and de-identified case-level data on APS investigations. 
NAMRS consists of three components:
    (1) ACL proposes to collect descriptive data on state agency 
policies and practices from all states through the ``Agency 
Component,'' and
    (2) Case-level, non-identifiable data on persons who receive an 
investigation by APS in response to an allegation of abuse, neglect, or 
exploitation through the ``Case Component.''
    (3) For states that are unable to submit a case-level file through 
the ``Case Component,'' a ``Key Indicators Component'' will be 
available for them to submit data on a smaller set of core items.
    ACL will provide technical assistance to states to assist in the 
preparation of their data submissions. Respondents will be state APS 
agencies and APS agencies in the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, 
Guam, Northern Marianas Islands, Virgin Islands, and American Samoa. No 
personally identifiable information will be collected. ACL has 
calculated the following burden estimates (information on how the 
estimates were calculated is available in the NAMRS section of the ACL 
Web site):

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                                                                     Number of    Average burden
                   Instrument                        Number of     responses per     hours per     Total burden
                                                    respondents     respondent       response          hours
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Agency Component................................              56               1              13             728
Key Indicators Component........................              31               1              40           1,240

[[Page 15310]]

 
Case Component..................................              25               1             150           3,750
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    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours.........  ..............  ..............  ..............           5,718
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With respect to the collection of information via NAMRS, ACL 
specifically requests comments 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) the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be 
collected; and
    (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.
Consideration will be given to comments and suggestions submitted 
within 60 days of this publication. The proposed collection of 
information tools may be found in the NAMRS section of the ACL Web 
site.

    Dated: March 16, 2016.
Kathy Greenlee,
Administrator and Assistant Secretary for Aging.
[FR Doc. 2016-06342 Filed 3-21-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4154-01-P