[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 85 (Thursday, May 2, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18847-18848]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-08931]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

[30Day-19-0604]


Agency Forms Undergoing Paperwork Reduction Act Review

    In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Centers 
for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has submitted the information 
collection request titled School-Associated Violent Deaths Surveillance 
System (SAVD) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review 
and approval. CDC previously published a ``Proposed Data Collection 
Submitted for Public Comment and Recommendations'' notice on February 
2, 2019 to obtain comments from the public and affected agencies. CDC 
received four comments related to the previous notice. This notice 
serves to allow an additional 30 days for public and affected agency 
comments.
    CDC will accept all comments for this proposed information 
collection project. The Office of Management and Budget is particularly 
interested in comments that:
    (a) Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is 
necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, 
including whether the information will have practical utility;
    (b) Evaluate the accuracy of the agencies estimate of the burden of 
the proposed collection of information, including the validity of the 
methodology and assumptions used;
    (c) Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to 
be collected;
    (d) Minimize the burden of the collection of information on those 
who are to respond, including, through the use of appropriate 
automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection 
techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting 
electronic submission of responses; and
    (e) Assess information collection costs.
    To request additional information on the proposed project or to 
obtain a copy of the information collection plan and instruments, call 
(404) 639-7570 or send an email to [email protected]. Direct written comments 
and/or suggestions regarding the items contained in this notice to the 
Attention: CDC Desk Officer, Office of Management and Budget, 725 17th 
Street NW, Washington, DC 20503 or by fax to (202) 395-5806. Provide 
written comments within 30 days of notice publication.

Proposed Project

    School-Associated Violent Deaths Surveillance System (SAVD) (OMB#: 
0920-0604, expiration 05/31/2019)--Revision--National Center for Injury 
Prevention and Control (NCIPC), Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention (CDC).

Background and Brief Description

    The Division of Violence Prevention (DVP), National Center for 
Injury Prevention and Control (NCIPC) proposes to maintain a system for 
the surveillance of school-associated homicides and suicides. The 
system relies on existing public records and interviews with law 
enforcement officials and school officials. The purpose of the system 
is to (1) estimate the rate of school-associated violent death in the 
United States and (2) identify common features of school-associated 
violent deaths. The system will contribute to the understanding of 
fatal violence associated with schools, guide further research in the 
area, and help direct ongoing and future prevention programs.
    Violence is the leading cause of death among young people, and 
increasingly recognized as an important public health and social issue. 
In 2016, over 3,600 school-aged children (five to 18 years old) in the 
United States died violent deaths due to suicide, homicide, and 
unintentional firearm injuries. The vast majority of these fatal 
injuries were not school associated. However, whenever a homicide or 
suicide occurs in or around school, it becomes a matter of particularly 
intense public interest and concern. NCIPC conducted the first 
scientific study of school-associated violent deaths (SAVD) during the 
1992-99 academic years to establish the true extent of this highly 
visible problem. Despite the important role of schools as a setting for 
violence research and

[[Page 18848]]

prevention interventions, relatively little scientific or systematic 
work has been done to describe the nature and level of fatal violence 
associated with schools. Until NCIPC conducted the first nationwide 
investigation of violent deaths associated with schools, public health 
and education officials had to rely on limited local studies and 
estimated numbers to describe the extent of school-associated violent 
death.
    SAVD is an ongoing surveillance system that draws cases from the 
entire United States in an attempt to capture all cases of school-
associated violent deaths that have occurred. Investigators review 
public records and published press reports concerning each school-
associated violent death. For each identified case, investigators also 
contact the corresponding law enforcement agency and speak with an 
official in order to confirm or reject the case as an SAVD, and to 
request a copy of the official law enforcement report for confirmed 
SAVD cases.
    In past years, investigators would interview an investigating law 
enforcement official (defined as a police officer, police chief, or 
district attorney), and a school official (defined as a school 
principal, school superintendent, school counselor, school teacher, or 
school support staff) who were knowledgeable about the case in 
question; however, moving forward, the interviews with these 
respondents will be eliminated, and instead CDC study personnel will 
abstract data from law enforcement reports to enter using a Data 
Abstraction Tool. Data to be abstracted from the law enforcement report 
include the following: Information on both the victim and alleged 
offender(s)--including demographic data, their criminal records, and 
their relationship to one another; the time and location of the 
incident precipitating the fatality; the circumstances, motive, and 
method of the fatal injury; and the security and violence prevention 
activities in the school and community where the death occurred, before 
and after the fatal injury event. The revised data collection process 
eliminating the use of telephone interviews will reduce respondents' 
burden greatly.
    All data are secured through the use of technical, physical, and 
administrative controls. Hard copies of data are kept under lock and 
key in secured offices, located in a secured facility that can be 
accessed only by presenting the appropriate credentials. Digital data 
are password protected and then stored (and backed up routinely) onto a 
secure Local Area Network that can only be accessed by individuals who 
have been appropriately authorized. Study data are reported in the 
aggregate, such that no individual case can be identified from the 
reports. There are no costs to the respondents other than their time. 
The total estimated annual burden hours are 17.

                                        Estimated Annualized Burden Hours
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                     Number of    Average burden
          Type of respondent                    Form name            Number of     responses per   per response
                                                                    respondents     respondent      (in hours)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Law Enforcement Officer...............  Law Enforcement Case                  50               1            5/60
                                         Confirmation Script.
                                        Letter to Local Law                   50               1           15/60
                                         Enforcement Officials.
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Jeffrey M. Zirger,
Lead, Information Collection Review Office, Office of Scientific 
Integrity, Office of Science, Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention.
[FR Doc. 2019-08931 Filed 5-1-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4163-18-P