[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 68 (Tuesday, April 11, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17494-17497]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-07174]


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SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION

[Docket No: SSA-2017-0017]


Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Request

    The Social Security Administration (SSA) publishes a list of 
information collection packages requiring clearance by the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) in compliance with Public Law 104-13, the 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, effective October 1, 1995. This notice 
includes revisions of OMB-approved information collections.
    SSA is soliciting comments on the accuracy of the agency's burden 
estimate; the need for the information; its practical utility; ways to 
enhance its quality, utility, and clarity; and ways to minimize burden 
on respondents, including the use of automated collection techniques or 
other forms of information technology. Mail, email, or fax your 
comments and recommendations on the information collection(s) to the 
OMB Desk Officer and SSA Reports Clearance Officer at the following 
addresses or fax numbers.

[[Page 17495]]

(OMB)

Office of Management and Budget, Attn: Desk Officer for SSA, Fax: 202-
395-6974, Email address: [email protected].

(SSA)

Social Security Administration, OLCA, Attn: Reports Clearance Director, 
3100 West High Rise, 6401 Security Blvd., Baltimore, MD 21235, Fax: 
410-966-2830, Email address: [email protected].

    Or you may submit your comments online through www.regulations.gov, 
referencing Docket ID Number [SSA-2017-0017].
    The information collections below are pending at SSA. SSA will 
submit them to OMB within 60 days from the date of this notice. To be 
sure we consider your comments, we must receive them no later than June 
12, 2017. Individuals can obtain copies of the collection instruments 
by writing to the above email address.
    1. Disability Case Development Information Collections By State 
Disability Determination Services On Behalf of SSA--20 CFR, subpart P, 
404.1503a, 404.1512, 404.1513, 404.1514, 404.1517, 404.1519; 20 CFR 
subpart Q, 404.1613, 404.1614, 404.1624; 20 CFR subpart I, 416.903a, 
416.912, 416.913, 416.914, 416.917, 416.919 and 20 CFR subpart J, 
416.1013, 416.1014, 416.1024--0960-0555. State Disability Determination 
Services (DDS) collect the information necessary to administer the 
Social Security Disability Insurance and Supplemental Security Income 
(SSI) programs. They collect medical evidence from consultative 
examination (CE) sources; credential information from CE source 
applicants; and medical evidence of record (MER) from claimants' 
medical sources. The DDSs collect information from claimants regarding 
medical appointments, pain, symptoms, and impairments. The respondents 
are medical providers, other sources of MER, and disability claimants.
    Type of Request: Revision of an OMB-approved information 
collection.

CE Collections

    There are three CE information collections: (a) Medical evidence 
about claimants' medical condition(s) the DDSs use to make disability 
determinations when the claimant's own medical sources cannot, or will 
not, provide the required information, and proof of credentials from CE 
providers; (b) CE appointment letters; and (c) CE claimant reports sent 
to claimants' doctors.

                               Medical Evidence and Credentials From CE Providers
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                             Average  burden    Total estimated
       Modality of completion             Number of         Frequency of      per  response      annual burden
                                         respondents          response          (minutes)           (hours)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CE Paper Submissions................          1,400,000                  1                 30            700,000
CE Electronic Submissions...........            296,000                  1                 10             49,333
CE Credentials......................              4,000                  1                 15              1,000
                                     ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Totals..........................          1,700,000  .................  .................            750,333
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                      CE Appointment Letters and CE Claimants' Report to Medical Providers
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                             Average  burden
       Modality of completion             Number of         Frequency of      per  response    Estimated  annual
                                         respondents          response          (minutes)        burden  (hours)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(b) CE Appointment Letters..........            880,000                  1                  5             73,333
(c) CE Claimants' Report to Medical             450,000                  1                  5             37,500
 Providers..........................
                                     ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Totals..........................          1,330,000  .................  .................            110,833
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MER Collections

    The DDSs collect MER information from the claimant's medical 
sources to determine a claimant's physical or mental status prior to 
making a disability determination.

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                                                                              Average burden    Total estimated
       Modality of completion             Number of         Frequency of       per response      annual burden
                                         respondents          response          (minutes)           (hours)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Paper Submissions...................          3,150,000                  1                 20          1,050,000
Electronic Submissions..............          9,450,000                  1                 12          1,890,000
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    Totals..........................         12,600,000  .................  .................          2,940,000
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Pain/Other Symptoms/Impairment Information From Claimants

    The DDSs use information about pain/symptoms to determine how pain 
and symptoms affect the claimant's ability to do work-related 
activities prior to making a disability determination.

[[Page 17496]]



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                                                                                                Total estimated
     Modality of completion            Number of         Frequency of     Average burden per     annual burden
                                      respondents          response       response (minutes)        (hours)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pain/Other Symptoms/Impairment            2,100,000                   1                  20             700,000
 Information....................
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The total estimated annual burden for all categories described in 
this information collection is 4,501,166 hours.
    2. Teacher Questionnaire and Request for Administrative 
Information--20 CFR 404.1513, 416.913, and 416.924a(a)--0960-0646. When 
determining the effects of a child's impairment(s), SSA obtains 
information about the child's functioning from teachers; parents; and 
others who observe the child on a daily basis. SSA obtains results of 
formal testing, teacher reports, therapy progress notes, individualized 
education programs, and other records of a child's educational aptitude 
and achievement using Forms SSA-5665-BK and SSA-5666. The respondents 
are parents, teachers, and other education personnel.
    Type of Request: Revision of an OMB-approved information 
collection.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                              Average burden    Estimated total
       Modality of completion             Number of         Frequency of       per response      annual burden
                                         respondents          response          (minutes)           (hours)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SSA-5665-BK (electronic)............            293,375                  1                 40            195,583
SSA-5665 (paper form)...............                  0                  1                 40                  0
SSA-5666 (electronic)...............            111,189                  1                 30             55,595
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    Totals..........................            404,564  .................  .................            251,178
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    3. Generic Clearance for the Collection of Qualitative Feedback on 
Agency Service Delivery--0960-0788. As part of our continuing effort to 
reduce paperwork and respondent burden, SSA invites the general public 
to take this opportunity to comment on the ``Generic Clearance for the 
Collection of Qualitative Feedback on Agency Service Delivery'' for 
approval under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) (44 U.S.C. 3501 et 
seq.). We developed this collection as part of a Federal Government-
wide effort to streamline the process for seeking feedback from the 
public on service delivery. Under the auspices of Executive Order 
12862, Setting Customer Service Standards, SSA conducts multiple 
satisfaction surveys each year. This proposed information collection 
activity provides a means to garner qualitative customer and 
stakeholder feedback in an efficient, timely manner, in accordance with 
SSA's commitment to improving service delivery. By qualitative 
feedback, we mean information that provides useful insights on 
perceptions and opinions, but are not statistical surveys that yield 
quantitative results that can be generalized to the population of 
study. This feedback will provide insights into customer or stakeholder 
perceptions; experiences and expectations; provide an early warning of 
issues with service; or focus attention on areas where communication; 
training; or changes in operations might improve delivery of products 
or services. These collections will allow for ongoing, collaborative, 
and actionable communications between SSA and our customers and 
stakeholders. The solicitation of feedback will target areas such as: 
Timeliness; appropriateness; accuracy of information; courtesy; 
efficiency of service delivery; and resolution of issues with service 
delivery. We will assess responses to plan and inform efforts to 
improve or maintain the quality of service offered to the public. If we 
do not collect this information, we would not have access to vital 
feedback from customers and stakeholders on SSA's services.
    We will only submit a collection for approval under this generic 
clearance if it meets the following conditions: (1) The collections are 
voluntary; (2) the collections are low-burden for respondents (based on 
considerations of total burden hours, total number of respondents, or 
burden-hours per respondent) and are low-cost for both the respondents 
and the Federal Government; (3) the collections are non-controversial 
and do not raise issues of concern to other Federal agencies; (4) any 
collection targeted to the solicitation of opinions from respondents 
who have experience with the program or may have experience with the 
program in the near future; (5) we collect personally identifiable 
information (PII) only to the extent necessary and we do not retain it; 
(6) we will use information gathered only internally for general 
service improvement and program management purposes and we will not 
release it outside of the agency; (7) we will not use information we 
gather for the purpose of substantially informing influential policy 
decisions; and (8) information we gather will yield qualitative 
information; the collections will not be designed or expected to yield 
statistically reliable results or used as though the results are 
generalizable to the population of study.
    Feedback collected under this generic clearance provides useful 
information, but it does not yield data that can be generalized to the 
overall population. We will not use this type of generic clearance for 
qualitative information collections designed to yield reliably 
actionable results, such as monitoring trends over time or documenting 
program performance. Such data uses require more rigorous designs that 
address the target population to which generalizations will be made; 
the sampling frame, the sample design (including stratification and 
clustering); the precision requirements or power calculations that 
justify the proposed sample size; the expected response rate, methods 
for assessing potential non-response bias; the protocols for data 
collection; and any testing procedures that were or will be undertaken 
prior to fielding the study. Depending on the degree of influence the 
results are likely to have, such collections may still be eligible for 
submission for other generic mechanisms designed to yield quantitative 
results. As a general matter, information collections will not result 
in any new system of records containing privacy information and will 
not ask questions of a sensitive nature, such as

[[Page 17497]]

sexual behavior and attitudes, religious beliefs, and other matters 
commonly considered private.
    The respondents are recipients of SSA services (including most 
members of the public), professionals, and individuals who work on 
behalf of SSA beneficiaries.
    Type of Request: Revision of an OMB-approved information 
collection.
    Affected Public: Individuals and households, businesses and 
organizations, State, Local or Tribal government.
    Total Estimated Number of Respondents: 205,485.
    Below we provide projected average estimates for the next three 
years:
    Annual Respondents: 68,495.
    Annual Responses: 68,495.
    Frequency of Response: Once per request.
    Average minutes per response: 18 minutes.
    Estimated Annual Burden: 205,549 hours.

    Dated: April 5, 2017.
Naomi R. Sipple,
Reports Clearance Officer, Social Security Administration.
[FR Doc. 2017-07174 Filed 4-10-17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4191-02-P