[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 46 (Monday, March 9, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13664-13665]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-04679]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Health Resources and Services Administration


Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission to OMB for 
Review and Approval; Public Comment Request; Nurse Corps Scholarship 
Program (NCSP), OMB No. 0915-0301--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 Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, HRSA 
submitted an Information Collection Request (ICR) to the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval. Comments submitted 
during the first public review of this ICR will be provided to OMB. OMB 
will accept further comments from the public during the review and 
approval period.

DATES: Comments on this ICR should be received no later than April 8, 
2020.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, including the ICR Title, to the desk 
officer for HRSA, either by email to [email protected] or by 
fax to (202) 395-5806.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request a copy of the clearance 
requests submitted to OMB for review, email Lisa Wright-Solomon, the 
HRSA Information Collection Clearance Officer at [email protected] or 
call (301) 443-1984.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Information Collection Request Title: Nurse Corps Scholarship 
Program OMB No. 0915-0301--Revision.
    Abstract: The NCSP, administered by the Bureau of Health Workforce 
in HRSA, provides scholarships to nursing students in exchange for a 
minimum 2-year full-time service commitment (or part-time equivalent) 
at an eligible health care facility with a critical shortage of nurses 
(i.e., Critical Shortage Facility (CSF)). The scholarship consists of 
payment of tuition, fees, other reasonable educational costs, and a 
monthly support stipend. Program recipients are required to fulfill 
NCSP service commitments at CSFs located in the 50 States, the District 
of Columbia, Guam, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Northern 
Mariana Islands, the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, the Federated 
States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the 
Republic of Palau.
    A 60-day notice was published in the Federal Register on October, 
04, 2019, vol. 84, No. 193; pp. 53158-160. No comments were received.
    Need and Proposed Use of the Information: The NCSP collects data to 
determine an applicant's eligibility for the program, monitor a 
participant's continued enrollment in a school of nursing, monitor the 
participant's compliance with the NCSP service obligation, and prepare 
annual reports to Congress. Generally, the following information is 
collected (1) from the schools of nursing, on a quarterly basis--
general applicant and nursing school data such as full name, location, 
tuition/fees, and enrollment status; (2) from the schools of nursing, 
on an annual basis--data concerning tuition/fees and overall student 
enrollment status; and (3) from the participants and their employing 
CSF, on a biannual basis--data concerning the participant's employment 
status, work schedule and leave usage. In addition, this notice 
includes one additional form, Verification of Academic Standing, to be 
completed by the academic institution to verify that the participant 
remains in good academic standing under the policies of the 
institution. The form was not included in the 60 day notice but due to 
programmatic need, it is now being included in this notice.
    The Employment Verification Form has been updated to include two 
questions about participants who work at multiple sites. The In-Service 
Verification form has been updated to include questions on telehealth 
and mental health services provided by NCSP participants. Additionally, 
the application will include an essay question about participation in 
other federal pipeline programs.
    The revised information collection request includes updates to 
existing forms for the Nurse Corps SP in order to expand the service 
options for awarded participants, promote the use of telehealth for 
delivering care throughout the nation especially in rural areas, and to 
reduce the application burden on respondents.
    Updated Form #1--The Participant Semi-Annual Employment In-Service 
Verification Form will be updated to include additional information 
about the participant's service including information about telehealth 
services. This form is also being requested for providers that work at 
multiple CSF sites. Telehealth helps expand the reach of providers 
especially in rural areas where medical service sites are more remote. 
The information collected will assist Program with determining the 
impact and utilization of telehealth services in various health care 
settings which will be used to inform our telehealth policies. Enabling 
service at multiple CSF sites will also allow greater flexibility for 
providers who rotate or split time between multiple sites which 
benefits both the participants and the underserved communities--
especially in our Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHC), which 
support many of our Nurse Corps Nurse Practitioners.
    Updated Form #2--The Nurse Corps SP application will include 
questions for applicants to provide information regarding telehealth 
services, multiple CSF sites, and verification of base salary to 
determine the debt to salary ratio used to rank applicant's for award

[[Page 13665]]

consideration. The application will also be updated to identify 
applicants eligible for Nurse Corps SP psychiatric nurse practitioner 
and women's health funding.
    Likely Respondents: NCSP participants, educational institutions, 
and critical shortage facilities.
    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                      Average burden
            Form name                Number of     responses per       Total       per response    Total burden
                                    respondents     respondent       responses      (in hours)         hours
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Eligible Applications/                     2,600               1           2,600               2           5,200
 Application Program Guidance...
School Enrollment Verification               500               4           2,000             .33             660
 Form...........................
Confirmation of Interest Form...             250               1             250              .2              50
Data Collection Worksheet Form..             500               1             500               1             500
Graduation Close Out Form.......             200               1             200             .17              34
Initial Employment Verification              500               1             500             .42             210
 Form...........................
In Service Verification Form....           1,000               2           2,000             .12             240
Verification of Academic                     500               1             500             .33             165
 Standing.......................
CSF Verification Form...........             200               1             200              .2              40
Authorization to Release                     200               1             200              .2              40
 Information....................
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    Total.......................           6,450  ..............           8,950  ..............           7,139
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Maria G. Button,
Director, Executive Secretariat.
[FR Doc. 2020-04679 Filed 3-6-20; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4165-15-P