[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 82 (Tuesday, April 28, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23587-23589]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-08927]


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SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION

[Docket No. SSA-2020-0020]


Agency Information Collection Activities: 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.
    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-2020-0020].
    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 May 28, 2020. Individuals can obtain copies of the 
OMB clearance packages by writing to [email protected].
    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 total    theoretical      Average wait     Total annual
      Modality of completion          Number of       Frequency of     per response    annual burden     hourly cost     time in field     opportunity
                                     respondents        response        (minutes)         (hours)           amount           office       cost (dollars)
                                                                                                         (dollars) *      (minutes) **         ***
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SSA-8060-U3......................          20,000                1               10            3,333         $22.50 *            24 **      $75,533 ***
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* We based this figures on average U.S. citizen's hourly salary, as reported by Bureau of Labor Statistics data.
** We based this figure on the average FY 2020 wait times for field offices, based on SSA's current management information 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. Requests for Self-Employment Information, Employee Information, 
and Employer Information--20 CFR 422.120--0960-0508. When SSA cannot 
identify Form W-2 wage data for an individual, we place the data in an 
earnings suspense file and contact the individual (and certain 
instances the employer) to obtain the correct information. If the 
respondent furnishes the name and Social Security Number (SSN) 
information that agrees with SSA's records, or provides information 
that resolves the discrepancy, SSA adds the reported earnings to the 
respondent's Social Security record. We use Forms SSA-L2765, SSA-L3365, 
and SSA-L4002 for this purpose. The respondents are self-employed 
individuals and employees whose name and SSN information do not agree 
with their employer's and SSA's records.
    Type of Request: Revision of an OMB approved information 
collection.

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                                                                                                              Average
                                                                          Average burden     Estimated      theoretical    Average wait    Total annual
         Modality of completion              Number of     Frequency of    per response    total annual     hourly cost    time in field    opportunity
                                            respondents      response        (minutes)    burden (hours)      amount          office      cost (dollars)
                                                                                                            (dollars) *    (minutes) **         ***
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SSA-L2765...............................          12,321               1              10           2,054        $22.50 *           24 **     $46,755 ***
SSA-L3365...............................         179,749               1              10          29,958         22.50 *           24 **     674,595 ***
SSA-L4002...............................         121,679               1              10          20,280         22.50 *           24 **     456,840 ***
                                         ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Totals..............................         313,749  ..............  ..............          52,292  ..............  ..............   1,178,190 ***
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* We based this figures on average U.S. citizen's hourly salary, as reported by Bureau of Labor Statistics data.
** We based this figure on the average FY 2020 wait times for field offices, based on SSA's current management information 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.

    3. 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

[[Page 23588]]

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; (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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                                                                                                                 Estimated     Average
                                                                                                     Average       total     theoretical   Total annual
                  Modality of completion                     Number of    Frequency    Number of    burden per     annual    hourly cost    opportunity
                                                            respondents  of response   responses     response      burden       amount    cost (dollars)
                                                                                                    (minutes)     (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 these figures on average hourly wage for disabled workers and social and human service workers.
** 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.



[[Page 23589]]

    Dated: April 22, 2020.
Naomi Sipple,
Reports Clearance Officer, Social Security Administration.
[FR Doc. 2020-08927 Filed 4-27-20; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4191-02-P