[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 152 (Monday, August 8, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 52438-52439]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-18731]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Administration for Community Living


Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission for OMB 
Review; 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 (formerly the 
Administration on Aging (AoA) is announcing that the proposed 
collection of information listed below has been submitted to the Office 
of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and clearance under the 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. The purpose of this notice is to allow 
for an additional 30 days of public comment on the information 
collection requirements relating to the National Adult 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 comments on the collection of information by 
September 7, 2016.

ADDRESSES: Submit written comments on the collection of information to 
the Office of Management and Budget, Office for Information and 
Regulatory Affairs, Attention: Desk Officer for ACL by email: 
[email protected] or fax: 202.395.6974.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Stephanie Whittier Eliason, 
Administration for Community Living, 330 C St. SW., Washington, DC 
20201; email: [email protected]; telephone: 
202.795.7467.
    Copies of available documents submitted to OMB may be obtained by 
contacting Stephanie Whittier Eliason.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In compliance with PRA (44 U.S.C. 3501-
3520), the Administration for Community Living (ACL, formerly the 
Administration for Aging) has submitted the following proposed 
collection of information to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
for

[[Page 52439]]

review and clearance. The Federal Register notice that solicited public 
comment on the information collection for a period of 60 days was 
published on March 22, 2016.
    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
                   Instrument                        Number of    responses  per   burden hours    Total burden
                                                    respondents      respondent    per response        hours
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Agency Component................................              56               1              13             728
Key Indicators Component........................              31               1              40           1,240
Case Component..................................              25               1             150           3,750
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    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours.........  ..............  ..............  ..............           5,718
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    OMB is required to make a decision concerning the collection of 
information between 30 and 60 days after publication of this document 
in the Federal Register. Therefore, a comment is best assured of having 
its full effect if OMB receives it within 30 days of publication of 
this announcement. Written comments and recommendations for the 
proposed information collection should be sent directly to the 
following address: Office of Management and Budget, Paperwork Reduction 
Project, email: [email protected]; Attention: Desk Officer 
for the Administration for Community Living.
    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 30 days of this publication. The proposed collection of 
information tools may be found in the NAMRS section of the ACL Web 
site.

    Dated: August 2, 2016.
Edwin L. Walker,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Aging.
[FR Doc. 2016-18731 Filed 8-5-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4154-01-P