[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 239 (Friday, December 11, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 80124-80126]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-27247]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration


Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; 
Comment Request

    In compliance with Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the Paperwork Reduction 
Act of 1995 concerning opportunity for public comment on proposed 
collections of information, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health 
Services Administration (SAMHSA) will publish periodic summaries of 
proposed projects. To request a copy of these documents, call or email 
the SAMHSA Reports Clearance Officer at (240) 276-0361 or 
[email protected].
    Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed collections of 
information are necessary for the proper performance of the functions 
of the agency, including whether the

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information shall have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the 
agency's estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of 
information; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of 
the information to be collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of 
the collection of information on respondents, including through the use 
of automated collection techniques or other forms of information 
technology.

Proposed Project: Networking Suicide Prevention Hotlines--Evaluation of 
Imminent Risk (OMB No. 0930-0333)--REVISION

    The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's 
(SAMHSA), Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS) funds a National 
Suicide Prevention Lifeline Network (``Lifeline''), consisting of a 
toll-free telephone number that routes calls from anywhere in the 
United States to a network of local crisis centers. In turn, the local 
centers link callers to local emergency, mental health, and social 
service resources. This project is a revision of the Evaluation of 
Imminent Risk and builds on previously approved data collection 
activities [Evaluation of Networking Suicide Prevention Hotlines 
Follow-Up Assessment (OMB No. 0930-0274) and Call Monitoring of 
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline Form (OMB No. 0930-0275)]. The 
extension data collection is an effort to advance the understanding of 
crisis hotline utilization and its impact.
    The overarching purpose of the proposed Evaluation of Imminent Risk 
data collection is to evaluate hotline counselors' management of 
imminent risk callers and third party callers concerned about persons 
at imminent risk, assess counselor adherence to the Lifeline Policies 
and Guidelines for Helping Callers at Imminent Risk of Suicide, and 
identify the types of interventions implemented with imminent risk 
callers. Specifically, the Evaluation of Imminent Risk will collect 
data, using the Imminent Risk Form, to inform the network's knowledge 
of the extent to which counselors are aware of and being guided by 
Lifeline's imminent risk guidelines; counselors' definitions of 
imminent risk; the rates of active rescue of imminent risk callers; the 
types of rescue and non-rescue interventions used; barriers to 
intervention; and the circumstances in which active rescue is 
initiated, including the caller's agreement to receive the 
intervention. To capture differences across centers, the form also 
collects information on counselors' employment status and hours worked/
volunteered, level of education, license status, training status, 
source of safety planning protocols, and responsibility for follow up.
    Clearance is being requested for the activity to assess the 
knowledge, actions, and practices of counselors to aid callers who are 
determined to be at imminent risk for suicide and who may require 
active rescue. This evaluation will allow researchers to examine and 
understand the actions taken by counselors to aid imminent risk 
callers, the need for active rescue, the types of interventions used, 
and, ultimately, improve the delivery of crisis hotline services to 
imminent risk callers. A total of nine centers will participate in this 
evaluation. Thus, SAMHSA is requesting OMB review and approval of the 
Imminent Risk Form.
    Crisis counselors at nine participating centers will record 
information discussed with imminent risk callers on the Imminent Risk 
Form, which does not require direct data collection from callers. As 
with previously approved evaluations, callers will maintain anonymity. 
Participating counselors will be asked to complete the form for 100% of 
their imminent risk calls. At centers with high call volumes, data 
collection may be limited to designated shifts. The Imminent Risk Form 
contains minor changes from the earlier data collection with revised 
options of either receiving emergency department services or crisis 
stabilization centers services while the caller was determined to be at 
imminent risk for suicide. The prior option was for the emergency 
department or hospital services. This form requests information in 15 
content areas, each with multiple sub-items and response options. 
Response options include open-ended, yes/no, Likert-type ratings, and 
multiple choice/check all that apply. The form also requests 
demographic information on the caller, the identification of the center 
and counselor submitting the form, and the date of the call. 
Specifically, the form is divided into the following sections: (1) 
Counselor information, (2) center information, (3) call characteristics 
(e.g., line called, language spoken, participation of third party), (4) 
suicidal desire, (5) suicidal intent, (6) suicidal capability, (7) 
buffers to suicide, (8) interventions agreed to by caller or 
implemented by counselor without caller's consent, (9) whether imminent 
risk was reduced enough such that active rescue was not needed, (10) 
interventions for third party callers calling about a person at 
imminent risk, (11) whether supervisory consultation occurred during or 
after the call, (12) barriers to getting needed help to the person at 
imminent risk, (13) steps taken to confirm whether emergency contact 
was made with person at risk, (14) outcome of attempts to rescue person 
at risk, and (15) outcome of attempts to follow-up on the case. The 
form also includes an Additional Counselor Training section that 
counselors complete only when applicable. The form will take 
approximately 15 minutes to complete and will be completed by the 
counselor after the call. It is expected that a total of 440 forms will 
be completed by 116 counselors over the two-year data collection 
period.
    The estimated response burden to collect this information is 
annualized over the requested two-year clearance period and is 
presented below:

                                              Total and Annualized Burden: Respondents, Responses and Hours
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                                                                        Number of        Responses/                        Hours per        Total hour
                             Instrument                                respondents       respondent    Total responses      response          burden
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National Suicide Prevention Lifeline--Imminent Risk Form...........             116              1.9              220              .26               57
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    Send comments to Carlos Graham, SAMHSA Reports Clearance Officer at 
[email protected]. Written comments should be received by 
February 9, 2021.

Carlos Graham,
Social Science Analyst.
[FR Doc. 2020-27247 Filed 12-10-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4162-20-P