[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 251 (Thursday, December 31, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 86942-86943]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-28921]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration


Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission for OMB 
Review; 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 more information on the proposed projects 
or to obtain a copy of the information collection plans, call the 
SAMHSA Reports Clearance Officer at (240) 276-0361.
    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

[[Page 86943]]

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.

Project: 2021 Behavioral Health Workforce Surveys, Part of the Mental 
and Substance Use Disorder Practitioner Data Grant Funded by SAMHSA, 
Grant Number H79FG000028

    SAMHSA is requesting from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
approval to administer two surveys being developed as part of the 
Mental and Substance Use Disorder Practitioner Data grant: (1) A one-
time survey to employers of behavioral health providers and, (2) a one-
time survey of licensed clinical behavioral health providers. The 
information gathered by these surveys will be used to gain critical new 
insights into, and to document, challenges in recruiting and retaining 
behavioral health staffing and to assess the strength of available data 
on the clinical behavioral health workforce actively providing care for 
mental health and substance use disorders.

Employer Survey

    The survey includes questions to assess the following measures: 
Facility type (e.g., outpatient facility, inpatient, residential); type 
of behavioral health staff employed (e.g., addiction medicine 
specialists, psychiatric Nurse Practitioners, marriage and family 
therapists); services offered (e.g., assertive community treatment, 
partial hospitalization); roles and training needs of peer support 
specialists, case managers, care managers, and pharmacists (e.g., 
certification, population served, paid status, reimbursement); 
professions with recruitment and retention challenges (e.g., select 
from list of professions); reasons behind the challenges (e.g., low 
wages, high case load) and work-arounds (e.g., use of locum tenens); 
average wait-time for appointments (e.g., new patient visits); staffing 
needed to address gaps in care (e.g., estimated FTEs needed by 
profession type); use of telehealth (e.g., percent of visits); patient 
mix (e.g., immigrants, LGBTQ communities, number of clients); and form 
of payment (e.g., percent commercial, Medicaid, self-pay). The survey 
will be administered online through Qualtrics.
    The target population will be the 2,800 member organizations of the 
National Council of Behavioral Health (NCBH). NCBH members are 
healthcare organizations and management entities that offer treatment 
and supports to more than eight million adults and children living with 
mental illnesses and addictions.

Provider Survey

    The survey will help identify how many licensed clinical behavioral 
health specialists (licensed psychologists, licensed clinical social 
workers, licensed marriage and family therapists, and licensed 
professional counselors) are seeing clients for behavioral health needs 
and the populations served. The survey includes questions to assess the 
following measures: Demographics (e.g., age, race/ethnicity, sex); 
professional and practice setting (e.g., self-employed, outpatient 
mental health clinic, zip code, hours worked); level of education 
(e.g., Masters in Social Work, Doctorate in Social Work); types of 
services provided (e.g., assertive community treatment); number of and 
type clients served (e.g., Medicaid, Medicare, veteran, immigrants); 
telehealth use (e.g., current or prior to COVID-19 outbreak); and 
career satisfaction and burnout (e.g., very satisfied, ``I enjoy my 
work, I have no symptoms of burnout'').
    The target population will be a random sample of 5,000 licensed 
clinical behavioral health providers (licensed psychologists, licensed 
clinical social workers, licensed marriage and family therapists, and 
licensed professional counselors) in states where email addresses are 
available with state licensure data.
    The primary objectives of the surveys are to:
     Better understand factors associated with challenges in 
both recruitment and retention at behavioral health provider 
organizations.
     Estimate the workforce needed to better address gaps in 
care for mental health and substance use disorder.
     Obtain new insights on staffing models for treatment of 
serious mental illness, such as assertive community treatment.
     Collect new data on use of peer support specialists, care 
coordinators, and pharmacists in behavioral health care.
     Assess whether state licensure data is a reliable data 
source for building a comprehensive database on clinical behavioral 
health practitioners who are actively providing client services that 
require licensure.

                                               Exhibit 1--Total Estimated Annualized Burden by Instrument
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                                                                                                                      Total
              Type of participant activity                  Number of     Responses per     Total      Hours per      burden     Wage rate    Total hour
                                                          participants     participant    responses     response      hours                      cost
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Employer Survey........................................           2,800               1        2,800          .25          700       $21.79      $15,253
Provider Survey........................................           5,000               1        5,000          .25        1,250        21.79    27,237.50
                                                        ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Total..............................................           7,800  ..............        7,800  ...........        1,950  ...........    42,490.50
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    Send comments Carlos Graham, SAMHSA Reports Clearance Officer, 5600 
Fishers Lane, Room 15E57-B, Rockville, Maryland 20857, OR email a copy 
to [email protected]. Written comments should be received by 
March 1, 2021.

Carlos Graham,
Social Science Analyst.
[FR Doc. 2020-28921 Filed 12-30-20; 8:45 am]
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