[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 37 (Tuesday, February 25, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10804-10806]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-03669]



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SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION

[Docket No: SSA-2020-0006]


Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Request and 
Comment Request

    The Social Security Administration (SSA) publishes a list of 
information collection packages requiring clearance by the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) in compliance with Public Law 104-13, the 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, effective October 1, 1995. This notice 
includes revisions of OMB-approved information collections, and one new 
collection.
    SSA is soliciting comments on the accuracy of the agency's burden 
estimate; the need for the information; its practical utility; ways to 
enhance its quality, utility, and clarity; and ways to minimize burden 
on respondents, including the use of automated collection techniques or 
other forms of information technology. Mail, email, or fax your 
comments and recommendations on the information collection(s) to the 
OMB Desk Officer and SSA Reports Clearance Officer at the following 
addresses or fax numbers.

(OMB) Office of Management and Budget, Attn: Desk Officer for SSA, Fax: 
202-395-6974, Email address: [email protected].
(SSA) Social Security Administration, OLCA, Attn: Reports Clearance 
Director, 3100 West High Rise, 6401 Security Blvd., Baltimore, MD 
21235, Fax: 410-966-2830, Email address: [email protected].

    Or you may submit your comments online through www.regulations.gov, 
referencing Docket ID Number [SSA-2020-0006].
    I. The information collections below are pending at SSA. SSA will 
submit them to OMB within 60 days from the date of this notice. To be 
sure we consider your comments, we must receive them no later than 
April 27, 2020. Individuals can obtain copies of the collection 
instruments by writing to the above email address.
    1. Agreement to Sell Property--20 CFR 416.1240-1245--0960-0127. 
Individuals or couples who are otherwise eligible for Supplemental 
Security Income (SSI) payments, but whose resources exceed the 
allowable limit, may receive conditional payments if they agree to 
dispose of the excess non-liquid resources and make repayments. SSA 
uses Form SSA-8060-U3 to document this agreement, and to ensure the 
individuals understand their obligations. Respondents are applicants 
for, and recipients of, SSI payments who will be disposing of excess 
non-liquid resources.
    Type of Request: Revision of an OMB-approved information 
collection.

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                                                                                                                            Average
                                                                                      Average  burden     Estimated       theoretical      Total annual
              Modality of completion                   Number of       Frequency of    per  response     total annual     hourly cost      opportunity
                                                      respondents        response        (minutes)     burden  (hours)       amount      cost  (dollars)
                                                                                                                          (dollars) *           **
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SSA-8060-U3.......................................          20,000                1               10            3,333          * 10.22        ** 34,063
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* We based this figure on average DI payments, as reported in SSA's disability insurance payment data.
** This figure does not represent actual costs that SSA is imposing on recipients of Social Security payments to complete this application; rather,
  these are theoretical opportunity costs for the additional time respondents will spend to complete the application. There is no actual charge to
  respondents to complete the application.

    2. Supported Employment Demonstration (SED)--0960-0806. Sponsored 
by SSA, the SED builds on the success of the intervention designed for 
the Mental Health Treatment Study (MHTS) previously funded by SSA. The 
MHTS provides integrated mental health and vocational services to 
disability beneficiaries with mental illness. The SED offers the same 
services to individuals with mental illness who SSA denied Social 
Security disability benefits. SSA seeks to determine whether offering 
this evidence-based package of integrated vocational and mental health 
services to denied disability applicants fosters employment that leads 
to self-sufficiency, improved mental health and quality of life, and 
reduced demand for disability benefits. The SED uses a randomized 
controlled trial to compare the outcomes of two treatment groups, and a 
control group. Study participation spans 36 months beginning on the day 
following the date of randomization to one of the three study groups. 
The SED study population consists of individuals aged 18 to 50 who 
apply for disability benefits alleging a mental illness and the initial 
decision is a denial of benefits in the past 60 days. The SED will 
enroll up to 1,000 participants in each of the three study arms for a 
total of 3,000 participants: 40 participants in each of three study 
arms for the 20 urban sites equaling an n of 2,400 urban site 
participants; and 20 participants in each of three arms for the 10 
rural sites equaling an n of 600 rural site participants. We randomly 
select and assign each enrolled participant to one of three study arms:
     Full-Service Treatment (n = 1,000). The multi-component 
service model from the MHTS comprises the Full-Service Treatment. At 
its core are an Individual Placement and Support (IPS) supported 
employment specialist and behavioral health specialist providing IPS 
supported employment services integrated with behavioral health care. 
Participants in the full-service treatment group will also receive the 
services of a Nurse Care Coordinator who coordinates Systematic 
Medication Management services, as well assistance with: Out-of-pocket 
expenses associated with prescription behavioral health medications; 
work-related expenses; and services and treatment not covered by the 
participant's health insurance.
     Basic-Service Treatment (n = 1,000). The Basic-Service 
Treatment model leaves intact IPS supported employment integrated with 
behavioral health services as the centerpiece of the intervention arm. 
The Basic-Service Treatment is essentially the Full-Service model 
without the services of the Nurse Care Coordinator, Systematic 
Medication Management, and the funds associated with out-of-pocket 
expenses for prescription behavioral health medications.
     Usual Services (n = 1,000). This study arm represents a 
control group against which the two treatment groups we can compare. 
Participants assigned to this group seek services as they normally 
would (or would not) in their community. However, at the time of 
randomization, each Usual Service participant will receive a 
comprehensive manual describing mental health and vocational services 
in their locale, along with state and national resources.
    This study will test the two treatment conditions against each 
other and against the control group on multiple outcomes of policy 
interest to SSA. The key outcomes of interest include: (1) Employment; 
(2) earnings; (3) income;

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(4) mental status; (5) quality of life; (6) health services 
utilization; and (7) SSA disability benefit receipt and amount. SSA is 
also interested in the study take up rate (participation), knowing who 
enrolls (and who does not), and fidelity to evidence-based treatments, 
among other aspects of implementation. Data collection for the 
evaluation of the SED will consist of the following activities: 
Baseline in-person participant interviews; quarterly participant 
telephone interviews; receipt of SSA administrative record data; and 
collection of site-level program data. Evaluation team members will 
also conduct site visits involving: (1) Pre-visit environmental scans 
in order to understand the local context in which SED services are 
embedded; (2) independent fidelity assessments in conjunction with 
those carried out by state Mental Health/Vocational Rehabilitation 
staff; (3) key informant interviews with the IPS specialist, the nurse 
care coordinator, the case manager, and facility director; (4) focus 
groups with participants in the Full-Service and Basic-Service 
Treatment groups; and (5) ethnographic data collection consisting of 
observations in the natural environment and person-centered interviews 
with participants and non-participants. The respondents are study 
participants and non-participants, family members, IPS specialists, 
nurse care coordinators, case managers, and facility directors.
    Type of Request: Revision of an OMB-approved information 
collection.

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                                                                                                                                  Average       Total
                                                                                                        Average     Estimated   theoretical     annual
                                                                Number of    Frequency    Number of    burden per     total        hourly    opportunity
                    Modality of completion                     respondents  of response   responses     response      annual        cost         cost
                                                                                                       (minutes)      burden       amount     (dollars)
                                                                                                                     (hours)    (dollars) *       **
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Competency and CIDI Screener.................................        1,878            1        1,878           75        2,348       * 7.50    ** 17,610
Baseline Interview...........................................        3,000            1        3,000           45        2,250       * 7.50    ** 16,875
Quarterly Interview (Quarters 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, and           3,000            9       27,000           20        9,000       * 7.50    ** 67,500
 11).........................................................
Annual Interview (Quarters 4, 8, and 11).....................        3,000            3        9,000           30        4,500       * 7.50    ** 33,750
Fidelity Assessment Participant Interview....................          180            4          720           60          720       * 7.50     ** 5,400
Key Informant Interview......................................          120            4          480           60          480      * 17.22     ** 8,266
Participant Focus Groups.....................................          600            2        1,200           60        1,200       * 7.50     ** 9,000
Person-Centered Interview....................................          180            4          720           60          720       * 7.50     ** 5,400
                                                              ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Totals...................................................       11,958  ...........       43,998  ...........       21,218  ...........   ** 163,801
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* We based this figure on average hourly wage for disabled and social and human service workers, as reported by Bureau of Labor Statistics data.
** This figure does not represent actual costs that SSA is imposing on recipients of Social Security payments to complete this application; rather,
  these are theoretical opportunity costs for the additional time respondents will spend to complete the application. There is no actual charge to
  respondents to complete the application.

    II. SSA submitted the information collections below to OMB for 
clearance. Your comments regarding these information collections would 
be most useful if OMB and SSA receive them 30 days from the date of 
this publication. To be sure we consider your comments, we must receive 
them no later than March 26, 2020. Individuals can obtain copies of the 
OMB clearance packages by writing to [email protected].
    1. Statement Regarding the Inferred Death of an Individual by 
Reason of Continued and Unexplained Absence--20 CFR 404.720 & 404.721--
0960-NEW. Section 202(d)-(i) of the Social Security Act (Act) provides 
for the payment of various monthly survivor benefits, and a lump sum 
death payment, to certain survivors upon the death of an individual who 
dies while fully or currently insured. In cases where insured wage 
earners have been absent from their homes for at least seven years, and 
there is no evidence these individuals are alive, SSA may presume they 
are deceased and pay their survivors the appropriate benefits. SSA uses 
the information from Form SSA-723 to determine if we may presume a 
missing wage earner is deceased, and, if so, establish a date of 
presumed death. The respondents are relatives, friends, neighbors, or 
acquaintances of the presumed deceased wage earner, or the person who 
is filing for survivors benefits.
    Type of Request: Request for a new information collection.

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                                                                                                                            Average
                                                                                      Average  burden     Estimated       theoretical      Total annual
              Modality of completion                   Number of      Frequency  of    per  response    total  annual     hourly cost      opportunity
                                                      respondents        response        (minutes)     burden  (hours)       amount      cost  (dollars)
                                                                                                                          (dollars) *           **
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SSA-723...........................................           3,000                1               30            1,500          * 22.50        ** 33,750
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* We based this figure on average U.S. citizen's hourly salary, as reported by Bureau of Labor Statistics data.
** This figure does not represent actual costs that SSA is imposing on recipients of Social Security payments to complete this application; rather,
  these are theoretical opportunity costs for the additional time respondents will spend to complete the application. There is no actual charge to
  respondents to complete the application.

    2. Supplemental Security Income (SSI)--Quality Review Case 
Analysis--0960-0133. To assess the SSI program and ensure the accuracy 
of its payments, SSA conducts legally mandated periodic SSI case 
analysis quality reviews. SSA uses Form SSA-8508-BK, and the electronic 
Excel application version, e8505, to conduct these reviews, collecting 
information on operating efficiency; the quality of underlying 
policies; and the effect of incorrect payments. SSA also uses the data 
to determine SSI program payment accuracy rate, which is a performance 
measure for the agency's service delivery goals. Respondents are the 
recipients of SSI payments which SSA randomly selects for quality 
reviews.
    Type of Request: Revision of an OMB-approved information 
collection.

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                                                                                                                              Average
                                                                                              Average        Estimated      theoretical    Total annual
                 Modality of completion                      Number of     Frequency  of    burden per     total annual     hourly cost     opportunity
                                                            respondents      response        response         burden          amount           cost
                                                                                             (minutes)        (hours)       (dollars) *    (dollars) **
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SSA-8508-BK (paper interview)...........................             230               1              60             230         * 10.22        ** 2,351
e8508 (electronic interview)............................           4,370               1              60           4,370         * 10.22       ** 44,661
                                                         -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Totals..............................................           4,600  ..............  ..............           4,600  ..............       ** 47,012
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* We based this figure on average DI payments, as reported in SSA's disability insurance payment data.
** This figure does not represent actual costs that SSA is imposing on recipients of Social Security payments to complete this application; rather,
  these are theoretical opportunity costs for the additional time respondents will spend to complete the application. There is no actual charge to
  respondents to complete the application.


    Dated: February 19, 2020.
Naomi Sipple,
Reports Clearance Officer, Social Security Administration.
[FR Doc. 2020-03669 Filed 2-24-20; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4191-02-P