[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 165 (Monday, August 28, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 40782-40783]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-18136]


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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.

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.

[[Page 40783]]



                                               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 Interview.........          \4\ 28               1              28               1              28
PATH Intermediary Telephone               \5\ 14               1              14               1              14
 Interview......................
PATH Provider Telephone                   \6\ 60               1              60               1              60
 Interview......................
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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 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.

    Written comments and recommendations concerning the proposed 
collection should be sent by DATE 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 Services, 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. 2017-18136 Filed 8-25-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4162-20-P