[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 231 (Tuesday, December 1, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 77217-77218]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-26513]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Administration for Community Living

[OMB #0985-0067]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; 
Comment Request; Study on the Impact of COVID-19 on Adult Protective 
Service (APS) Programs

AGENCY: Administration for Community Living, HHS.

ACTION: Notice

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SUMMARY: The Administration for Community Living (ACL) is announcing an 
opportunity for the public to comment on the proposed collection of 
information listed above. Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 
(the PRA), Federal agencies are required to publish a notice in the 
Federal Register concerning each proposed collection of information, 
including each proposed extension of an existing collection of 
information, and to allow 60 days for public comment in response to the 
notice.
    This notice solicits comments on the Proposed Extension with 
Revisions and solicits comments on the information collection 
requirements related to Study on the impact of COVID-19 on Adult 
Protective Service (APS) Programs.

DATES: Comments on the collection of information must be submitted 
electronically by 11:59 p.m. (EST) or postmarked by February 1, 2021.

ADDRESSES: Submit electronic comments on the collection of information 
to Stephanie Whittier Eliason [email protected]. 
Submit written comments on the collection of information to 
Administration for Community Living, Washington, DC 20201, Attention: 
Stephanie Whittier Eliason.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Stephanie Whittier Eliason, 
Administration for Community Living, Washington, DC 20201, Phone: (202) 
795-7467, E: Mail [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the PRA (44 U.S.C. 3501-3520), Federal 
agencies must obtain approval from the Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB) for each collection of information they conduct or sponsor. 
``Collection of information'' is defined in 44 U.S.C. 3502(3) and 5 CFR 
1320.3(c) and includes agency requests or requirements that members of 
the public submit reports, keep records, or provide information to a 
third party. Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)) 
requires Federal agencies to provide a 60-day notice in the Federal 
Register concerning each proposed collection of information, including 
each proposed extension of an existing collection of information, 
before submitting the collection to OMB for approval. To comply with 
this requirement, ACL is publishing a notice of the proposed collection 
of information set forth in this document.
    With respect to the following collection of information, ACL 
invites comments on our burden estimates or any other aspect of this 
collection of information, including:
    (1) Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for 
the proper performance of ACL's functions, including whether the 
information will have practical utility;
    (2) the accuracy of ACL's estimate of the burden of the proposed 
collection of information, including the validity of the methodology 
and assumptions used to determine burden estimates; (3) ways to enhance 
the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; 
and
    (4) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on 
respondents, including through the use of automated collection 
techniques when appropriate, and other forms of information technology.
    This data collection is an extension of ACL's investigation on the 
impact of COVID-19 on APS programs across the country. The COVID-19 
pandemic is causing changes in APS policy and practice in several 
areas, including, but not limited to, a reduction of in-person 
interactions with clients, perpetrators, and collaterals. As ACL 
collects information on the impact of APS during the COVID-19 pandemic, 
the opioid overdose death rates are rising at the same time.\1\ The 
opioid epidemic affects older adults through opioid misuse and is 
associated with increases in elder abuse including physical abuse, 
threatening behavior; emotional abuse; and financial 
exploitation.2 3
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    \1\ Haley DF, Saitz R. The Opioid Epidemic During the COVID-19 
Pandemic. JAMA. Published online September 18, 2020. doi:10.1001/
jama.2020.18543.
    \2\ Blog Post (March 4, 2019): https://eldermistreatment.usc.edu/opioids-and-elder-abuse-a-disquieting-connection/.
    \3\ Washington Post Article (June 17, 2019): https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2019/06/17/how-opioid-crisis-is-leading-elder-financial-abuse/?utm_term=.594b4dd84d9d.
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    The revisions to this study includes structured individual and 
group interviews with state administrators and local field staff to 
discuss opioid cases pre- and during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study 
will reveal the characteristics of opioid cases in older adults and how 
APS staff are responding to these cases. In addition, it will compare 
how these cases are handled pre- and during the COVID-19 pandemic by 
APS. The findings of the study will assist ACL in addressing the 
challenges of opioid cases under normal and emergency conditions. In 
particular, it will help to prioritize any policies and procedures 
during and after the COVID-19 pandemic to improve APS responses to 
these cases.
    The proposed data collection tools may be found on the ACL website 
for review at https://www.acl.gov/about-acl/public-input.

Estimated Program Burden

    ACL estimates the burden associated with this collection of 
information as follows:

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                                                     Number of     Responses per     Hours per     Annual burden
       Respondent/data collection activity          respondents     respondent       response          hours
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State Administrator Interviews..................              12               1             .75               9
Local Field Staff Group Interviews..............              60               1             .75              45
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    Total:......................................  ..............  ..............  ..............              54
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[[Page 77218]]

    Dated: November 25, 2020.
Lance Robertson,
Administrator and Assistant Secretary for Aging.
[FR Doc. 2020-26513 Filed 11-30-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4154-01-P