[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 153 (Thursday, August 8, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38998-38999]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-16984]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Health Resources and Services Administration


Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection: 
Public Comment Request Information Collection Request Title: 
Scholarships for Disadvantaged Students Program OMB No. 0915-0149--
Revision

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

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In compliance with the requirement for opportunity for public 
comment on proposed data collection projects of the Paperwork Reduction 
Act of 1995, HRSA announces plans to submit an Information Collection 
Request (ICR), described below, to the Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB). Prior to submitting the ICR to OMB, HRSA seeks comments from the 
public regarding the burden estimate, below, or any other aspect of the 
ICR.

DATES: Comments on this ICR should be received no later than October 7, 
2019.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments to [email protected] or mail the HRSA 
Information Collection Clearance Officer, Room 14N136B, 5600 Fishers 
Lane, Rockville, Maryland 20857.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request more information on the 
proposed project or to obtain a copy of the data collection plans and 
draft instruments, email [email protected] or call Lisa Wright-
Solomon, the HRSA Information Collection Clearance Officer at (301) 
443-1984.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: When submitting comments or requesting 
information, please include the ICR title for reference.

Information Collection Request Title: Scholarships for Disadvantaged 
Students Program

OMB No. 0915-0149--Revision

    Abstract: HRSA seeks to update the Scholarships for Disadvantaged 
Students (SDS) program-specific form to collect 3 years of student data 
instead of 1 year of student data from SDS program applicants. This 
will assist the agency in making funding decisions for SDS program 
awards. The form will reflect programmatic changes to the SDS program, 
made after consideration of the comments received in response to the 
request for public comment, published at 84 FR 23571, which will be 
finalized in the forthcoming SDS Policy Change Federal Register Notice.
    Need and Proposed Use of the Information: The purpose of the SDS 
Program is to make grant awards to eligible schools to provide 
scholarships to full-time, financially needy students from 
disadvantaged backgrounds enrolled in health professions programs. To 
qualify for participation in the SDS program, a school must be carrying 
out a program for recruiting and retaining students from disadvantaged 
backgrounds, including students who are members of racial and ethnic 
minority groups (section 737(d)(1)(B) of the Public Health Service 
(PHS) Act). To meet this requirement, a school must show that at least 
20 percent of the school's full-time enrolled students and graduates 
are from a disadvantaged background. HRSA previously required schools 
to demonstrate this percentage by submitting 1 year of data; a school 
must now provide this data for the most recent 3-year period. The 
proposed revisions to the SDS program-specific form will require 
applicants to provide the percentage of full-time enrolled students and 
graduates from a disadvantaged background over a 3-year period, 
consistent with this policy change.
    An additional change to the SDS program is that a 3-year average, 
instead of a 1-year average, will be used to calculate priority points, 
which are provided to eligible schools based on the proportion of 
graduating students going into primary care, the proportion of 
underrepresented minority students, and the proportion of graduates 
working in medically underserved communities (section 737(c) of the PHS 
Act). The proposed revisions to the SDS program-specific form will 
require applicants to

[[Page 38999]]

provide a 3-year average for these percentages, consistent with this 
policy change, as opposed to the 1 year of data previously required.
    Likely Respondents: The respondents are institutions that apply for 
SDS program awards.
    Burden Statement: Burden in this context means the time expended by 
persons to generate, maintain, retain, disclose, or provide the 
information requested. This includes the time needed to review 
instructions; to develop, acquire, install, and utilize technology and 
systems for the purpose of collecting, validating, and verifying 
information, processing and maintaining information, and disclosing and 
providing information; to train personnel and to be able to respond to 
a collection of information; to search data sources; to complete and 
review the collection of information; and to transmit or otherwise 
disclose the information. The total annual burden hours estimated for 
this ICR are summarized in the table below.

                                     Total Estimated Annualized Burden Hours
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                                                     Number of
              Form                   Number of     responses per       Total         Hours per      Total hour
                                    respondents     respondent       responses       response         burden
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Application.....................             323               1             323              31          10,013
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    Total.......................             323  ..............             323  ..............          10,013
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    From the last submission, the number of respondents has been 
updated with more recent application figures. There were 400 
applications received for the 2012 application cycle and 323 
applications from the 2016 cycle.
    HRSA specifically requests comments on (1) the necessity and 
utility of the proposed information collection for the proper 
performance of the agency's functions; (2) the accuracy of the 
estimated burden; (3) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity 
of the information to be collected; and (4) the use of automated 
collection techniques or other forms of information technology to 
minimize the information collection burden.

Maria G. Button,
Director, Division of the Executive Secretariat.
[FR Doc. 2019-16984 Filed 8-7-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4165-15-P