[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 121 (Monday, June 26, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28870-28871]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-13240]



[[Page 28870]]

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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration


Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; 
Comment Request

    In compliance with Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the Paperwork Reduction 
Act of 1995 concerning opportunity for public comment on proposed 
collections of information, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health 
Services Administration (SAMHSA) will publish periodic summaries of 
proposed projects. To request more information on the proposed projects 
or to obtain a copy of the information collection plans, call the 
SAMHSA Reports Clearance Officer on (240) 276-1243.
    Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed collections of 
information are 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) ways to enhance 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.

Proposed Project: Evaluation of the Projects for Assistance in 
Transition From Homelessness (PATH) Program--New

    SAMHSA is conducting the federally mandated Evaluation of the PATH 
program. The PATH grant program, created as part of the Stewart B. 
McKinney Homeless Assistance Amendments Act of 1990, is administered by 
SAMHSA's CMHS' Homeless Programs Branch. The PATH program is authorized 
under Section 521 et seq. of the Public Health Service (PHS) Act, as 
amended. The SAMHSA PATH program funds each Fiscal Year the 50 states, 
the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and four U.S. Territories (the 
U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the 
Northern Mariana Islands). The PATH grantees make grants to local, 
public and non-profit organizations to provide the PATH allowable 
services.
    The SAMHSA Administrator is required under Section 528 of the PHS 
Act to evaluate the expenditures of PATH grantees at least once every 
three years to ensure they are consistent with legislative requirements 
and to recommend changes to the program design or operations. The 
primary task of the PATH evaluation is to meet the mandates of Section 
528 of the PHS Act. The second task of the PATH evaluation is to 
conduct additional data collection and analysis to further investigate 
the sources of variation in key program output and outcome measures 
that are important for program management and policy development. The 
PATH evaluation builds on the previous evaluation which was finalized 
in 2016 and was conducted as part of the National Evaluation of SAMHSA 
Homeless Programs. The PATH evaluation will use web surveys, telephone 
interviews and site visits to facilitate the collection of information 
regarding the structures and processes in place at the grantee and 
provider level. Data regarding the outputs and outcomes of the PATH 
program will be obtained from grantee applications, providers' intended 
use plans (IUPs) and from PATH annual report data, which is also 
required by Section 528 of the PHS Act and is approved under OMB No. 
0930-0205.
    Web Surveys will be conducted with all State PATH Contacts (SPCs) 
and staff from intermediary and PATH provider organizations. The Web 
Surveys will capture detailed and structured information in the 
following topics: Selection, monitoring and oversight of PATH 
providers; populations served; the PATH allowable or eligible services 
provided; sources for match funds; provision of training and technical 
assistance; implementation of Evidence Based Practices (EBPs) and 
innovative practices including SOAR; data reporting, use of data and 
the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS); and collaboration, 
coordination and involvement with Continuums of Care (CoCs) and other 
organizations. The SPCs for all grantees (n=56), the Project Directors 
from the PATH provider organizations (n=500) and staff from the 
intermediary organizations (n=28) will be contacted to complete the web 
surveys. The Web Surveys will be administered once.
    Site Visits will be conducted with a purposive sample of PATH 
grantees and providers to collect more nuanced information than will be 
possible with the web survey. Semi-structured discussions will take 
place with the SPCs, grantee staff, PATH provider staff including the 
Project Director and other key management staffs, outreach workers, 
case managers and other clinical treatment staff, key stakeholders at 
the grantee and provider level and consumers. Five grantees will be 
selected for Site Visits and visited within each grantee will be one to 
two PATH providers. The Site Visits will be utilized to collect 
information regarding: Provider and state characteristics; practices 
and priorities; context within which the grantees and providers 
operate; and services available within the areas the providers operate. 
Also, discussed will be the successes, barriers, and strategies faced 
by PATH grantees and providers. Focus groups will be held with current 
or former consumers of the PATH program to obtain consumer perspectives 
regarding the impact of the programs. The Site Visits will be conducted 
once.
    Telephone Interviews will be conducted with a sample of SPCs (n=28) 
and intermediary (n=14) and provider staff (n=60) to explore through 
open-ended questions in greater detail, explanations for variations 
among providers in measures that are important for program management 
and policy development. The outputs of the PATH program include: the 
number of persons receiving PATH-funded services, outreached/contacted 
and enrolled; the number of services provided; and the number of 
referrals provided. The outcome evaluation will be limited, given 
limitations in available data and will include the number of persons 
referred to and attaining substance use treatment, primary health 
services, job training, educational services, housing services, housing 
placement assistance, income assistance, employment assistance and 
medical assistance. The Telephone interviews will be conducted once.
    The estimated burden for the reporting requirements for the PATH 
evaluation is summarized in the table below.

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                                               Annual Burden Table
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                                     Number of     Responses per       Total         Hours per      Total hour
       Instrument/activity          respondents     respondent       responses       response         burden
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                                                   Web Surveys
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SPC Web Survey..................            1 56               1              56               1              56
PATH Intermediary Web Survey....            2 28               1              28               1              28
PATH Provider Web Survey........           3 500               1             500               1             500
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                                              Telephone Interviews
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SPC Telephone Interviews........            4 28               1              28               1              28
PATH Intermediary Telephone                 5 14               1              14               1              14
 Interviews.....................
PATH Provider Telephone                     6 60               1              60               1              60
 Interviews.....................
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                                              Site Visit Interviews
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Opening Session with State Staff            7 25               1              25               2              50
SPC Session.....................             8 5               1               5               2              10
State Stakeholder Session.......            9 25               1              25             1.5            37.5
Opening Session with PATH                  10 50               1              50               2             100
 Provider Leadership Staff......
PATH Provider PD Session........           11 10               1              10               2              20
PATH Provider Direct Care Staff            12 50               1              50               2             100
 Session........................
Provider Stakeholder Session....           13 50               1              50             1.5              75
Consumer Focus Groups...........          14 100               1             100             1.5             150
                                 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Total.......................           1,001  ..............           1,001  ..............         1,228.5
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\1\ 1 respondent x 56 SPCs = 56 respondents.
\2\ 1 respondent x 28 Intermediaries = 28 respondents.
\3\ 1 respondent x 500 PATH providers = 500 respondents.
\4\ 1 respondent x 28 SPCs = 28 respondents.
\5\ 1 respondent x 14 Intermediaries = 14 respondents.
\6\ 1 respondent x 60 PATH providers = 60 respondents.
\7\ 5 respondents x 5 site visits = 25 respondents.
\8\ 1 respondent x 5 site visits = 5 respondents.
\9\ 5 respondents x 5 site visits = 25 respondents.
\10\ 5 respondents x 10 site visits (2 providers per state) = 50 respondents.
\11\ 1 respondent x 10 site visits (2 providers per state) =10 respondents.
\12\ 5 respondents x 10 site visits (2 providers per state) = 50 respondents.
\13\ 5 respondents x 10 site visits (2 providers per state) = 50 respondents.
\14\ 10 respondents x 10 site visits (10 Consumers per provider (2 providers per state) = 100 respondents.

    Send comments to Summer King, SAMHSA Reports Clearance Officer, 
5600 Fishers Lane, Room 15E57-B, Rockville, Maryland 20857, OR email a 
copy to [email protected]. Written comments should be received 
by August 25, 2017.

Summer King,
Statistician.
[FR Doc. 2017-13240 Filed 6-23-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4162-20-P