[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 50 (Wednesday, March 14, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11212-11213]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-05064]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Health Resources and Services Administration


Proposed Changes to the Graduate Psychology Education Program

AGENCY: Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), Department 
of Health and Human Services.

ACTION: Request for Public Comment on the Graduate Psychology Education 
Program.

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SUMMARY: The Graduate Psychology Education (GPE) Program is authorized 
by section 756 of the Public Health Service Act and administered by 
HRSA. The program provides financial support to organizations and 
institutions that train doctoral-level psychologists. This notice seeks 
public comment to inform and guide policy and planning associated with 
the GPE Program.

DATES: Individuals and organizations interested in providing 
information must submit written comments no later than April 13, 2018. 
To receive consideration, comments must be received no later than 11:59 
p.m. Eastern Time on that date.

ADDRESSES: Interested parties should submit their comments to Cynthia 
Harne, Public Health Analyst and Project Officer for the GPE Program, 
Division of Nursing and Public Health, Behavioral and Public Health 
Branch, Bureau of Health Workforce, HRSA, 5600 Fishers Lane, Room 11N-
90C, Rockville, Maryland 20857; phone (301) 443-7661; fax (301) 443-
0791; or email [email protected]. Please include the title of this 
notice, ``Request for Comment: GPE Program'' in the subject line of the 
email. Response to this request is voluntary. Responders are free to 
address any or all of the questions listed below. This request is for 
information and planning purposes only and should not be construed as a 
solicitation or as an obligation on the part of the federal government. 
All submitted comments will be available to the public by request in 
their entirety.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Cynthia Harne, Public Health Analyst, 
Division of Nursing and Public Health, Behavioral and Public Health 
Branch, Bureau of Health Workforce, Health Resources and Services 
Administration, at the contact information listed above.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The GPE Program was established in 2002 to 
assist American Psychological Association (APA) accredited doctoral 
programs and internships in meeting the costs to plan, develop, 
operate, or maintain graduate psychology education programs to train 
health service psychologists to work with vulnerable populations. The 
purpose of the current program (Funding Opportunity Announcement HRSA-
16-059) is to prepare doctoral-level psychologists to provide 
behavioral health care, including mental health and substance use 
disorder prevention and treatment services, in settings that provide 
integrated primary and behavioral health services to underserved and/or 
rural populations. The program is designed to foster an integrated and 
interprofessional approach to address access to behavioral health care 
for underserved and/or rural populations.
    Given the value of feedback from stakeholders, HRSA is seeking 
comments from interested parties including current and former grant 
recipients, former applicants to the program, doctoral psychology 
schools and programs, and health care delivery sites that provide 
behavioral health experiential training to students. The purpose is to 
identify doctoral-level health service psychologist training needs, 
salient issues and challenges in the delivery of behavioral health 
services, including substance use, and to provide individual 
recommendations to maximize the reach, capacity and success of the GPE 
Program in addressing Opioid Use Disorder and other behavioral health 
concerns. This information may be used by HRSA will consider the input 
as it develops future technical assistance and funding opportunities, 
and strategic planning to meet the training demands of the behavioral 
health workforce.

Graduate Psychology Program in FY 2019--Proposal for Public Comment

    HRSA seeks comments on how the GPE program (and the students it 
supports) can help address the opioid epidemic. In your comments, 
please address one or more of the following:
    1. What do you see as the most prevalent behavioral health and 
public health trends or concerns that should be addressed in developing 
the psychologist workforce?
    2. What do you see as the role for doctoral-level health 
psychologists in addressing the opioid epidemic?
    3. What are the didactic and experiential training needs in 
preparing

[[Page 11213]]

doctoral-level health psychologists to effectively address substance 
use disorder (SUD) including opioid use?
    4. If your institution has received in the past, is currently 
receiving, or applied for but did not receive GPE funding, what 
features or requirements of the GPE Program were easy to incorporate 
and/or beneficial in the development and implementation of your 
program, and which ones posed challenges? Please provide specific 
examples. If your institution did not apply for GPE funding, what 
features or requirements of the GPE Program posed challenges to the 
development of your program or dissuaded your institution from applying 
to the program?
    5. What health workforce training strategies within the 
experiential training sites could the GPE Program address to increase 
access to integrated behavioral health/primary care services in 
underserved and/or rural populations? Please provide a description of 
practice.
    6. Type and site including geographic locations (e.g., large health 
system, private practices, group practices, Federally Qualified Health 
Center, etc.).

    Dated: March 8, 2018.
George Sigounas,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2018-05064 Filed 3-13-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4165-15-P