[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 92 (Friday, May 14, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 26522-26523]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-10239]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Administration for Community Living

[OMB No. 0985-0048]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; 
Public Comment Request; State Grants for Assistive Technology Program 
State Plan for Assistive Technology; [OMB# 0985-0048]

AGENCY: Administration for Community Living, HHS.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Administration for Community Living is announcing that the 
proposed collection of information listed above has been submitted to 
the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and clearance as 
required under section 506(c)(2)(A) of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 
1995. This 30-Day notice collects comments on the information 
collection requirements related to the proposed renewal for the 
information collection requirements related to State Grants for 
Assistive Technology Program State Plan for Assistive Technology.

DATES: Submit written comments on the collection of information by June 
14, 2021.

ADDRESSES: Submit written comments and recommendations for the proposed 
information collection within 30 days of publication of this notice to 
www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain.
    Find the information collection by selecting ``Currently under 30-
day Review--Open for Public Comments'' or by using the search function. 
By mail to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, OMB, New 
Executive Office Bldg., 725 17th St. NW, Rm. 10235, Washington, DC 
20503, Attn: OMB Desk Officer for ACL.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robert Groenendaal, Assistive 
Technology Program Manager, Center for Innovation and Partnership in 
the Office of Interagency Innovation Administration for Community 
Living, 330 C Street SW, Washington, DC 20201, Phone: 202-795-7356, 
Email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In compliance with 44 U.S.C. 3507, ACL has 
submitted the following proposed collection of information to OMB for 
review and clearance. ACL is requesting approval for the renewal of a 
data collection associated with the State Grants for Assistive 
Technology Program, State Plan for Assistive Technology.
    The information collected through this data collection instrument 
is necessary for ACL and states to comply with Sections 4 and 7 of the 
Assistive Technology Act of 1998, as amended (AT Act). ACL is 
requesting a renewal of the state plan data collection instrument (OMB 
No. 0985-0048). Section 4 of the AT Act authorizes grants to public 
agencies in the 50 states and the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, 
the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the 
Northern Marianas (states and outlying areas). With these funds, the 56 
states and outlying areas operate ``Statewide AT Programs'' that 
conduct activities to increase access to and acquisition of assistive 
technology (AT) for individuals with disabilities and older Americans.
    Divided into two comprehensive activity categories: ``State-level 
Activities'' and ``State Leadership Activities,'' according to Section 
4 of the AT Act, as a condition of receiving a grant to support their 
Statewide AT Programs, the 56 states and outlying areas must provide to 
ACL: (1) Applications and (2) annual progress reports on their 
activities.
    Applications: The application required of states and outlying areas 
is a three-year State Plan for Assistive Technology (State Plan for AT 
or State Plan) (OMB No. 0985-0048). The content of the State Plan for 
AT is based on the requirements in Section 4(d) of the AT Act.
    Annual Reports: In addition to submitting a State Plan, every three 
years, states and outlying areas are required to submit annual progress 
reports on their activities. The data required in that progress report 
is specified in Section 4(f) of the AT Act (OMB No. 0985-0042).
    National aggregation of data related to conducting required state-
level and state leadership activities is necessary for the Government 
Performance and Results Modernization Act of 2010 (GPRAMA) (Pub. L. 
111-352), as well as an Annual Report to Congress (see ``Section 7 
Requirements Necessitating Collection'' below). Therefore, this data 
collection instrument provides a way for all 56 grantees--50 U.S. 
states, DC, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, 
and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands to collect and 
report data on their activities in a consistent manner, including a 
uniform survey to be given to consumers. This uniform survey is 
included as part of the Assistive Technology Annual Performance Report 
(APR) data collection package (OMB No. 0985-0042).
    Section 7(d) of the AT Act requires that ACL submit to Congress an 
annual report on the activities conducted under the Act and an analysis 
of the progress of the states and outlying areas in meeting measurable 
goals. This report must include a compilation and summary of the data 
collected under Section 4(f). In order to make this possible, states 
and outlying areas must provide their data uniformly. This data 
collection instrument was developed to ensure that all 56 states and 
outlying areas report data in a consistent manner in alignment with the 
requirements of Section 4(f).
    As stated above, ACL will use the information collected via this 
instrument to:
    (1) Complete the annual report to Congress required by the AT Act;
    (2) Comply with reporting requirements under the Government 
Performance and Results Modernization Act of 2010 (GPRAMA) (Pub. L. 
111-352); and
    (3) Assess the progress of states and outlying areas regarding 
measurable goals.
    Data collected from the grantees will provide a national 
description of activities funded under the AT Act to increase the 
access to and acquisition of AT devices and services through statewide 
AT programs for individuals with disabilities. Data collected from 
grantees will also provide information for usage by Congress, the 
Department, and the public. In addition, ACL will use this data to 
inform program management, monitoring, and technical assistance 
efforts. States will be able to use the data for internal management 
and program improvement.

Comments in Response to the 60-Day Federal Register Notice

    A notice published in the Federal Register on February 25, 2021 in 
FR 86 pg. 11545-11546. There were no public comments received during 
the 60-day FRN comment period.
    Estimated Program Burden: ACL estimates the burden associated with 
this collection of information as follows:

[[Page 26523]]



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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 Plan for Assistive Technology.........              56                1             73.0            4,088
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    Dated: May 11, 2021.
Alison Barkoff,
Acting Administrator and Assistant Secretary for Aging.
[FR Doc. 2021-10239 Filed 5-13-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4154-01-P