[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 34 (Friday, February 18, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9368-9369]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-03499]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Health Resources and Services Administration


Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission to OMB for 
Review and Approval; Public Comment Request; Proposed Collection: 
Public Comment Request; Rural Communities Opioid Response Program 
Performance Measures, OMB No. 0906-0044--Revision

AGENCY: Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), Department 
of Health and Human Services.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In compliance with of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 
HRSA has submitted an Information Collection Request (ICR) to the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval. Comments 
submitted during the first public review of this ICR will be provided 
to OMB. OMB will accept further comments from the public during the 
review and approval period. OMB may act on HRSA's ICR only after the 
30-day comment period for this Notice has closed.

DATES: Comments on this ICR should be received no later than March 21, 
2022.

ADDRESSES: Written comments and recommendations for the proposed 
information collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of 
this notice to www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. Find this particular 
information collection by selecting ``Currently under Review--Open for 
Public Comments'' or by using the search function.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request more information on the 
proposed project or to obtain a copy of the data collection plans and 
draft instruments, email [email protected] or call Samantha Miller, 
the acting HRSA Information Collection Clearance Officer, at (301) 443-
9094.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: When submitting comments or requesting 
information, please include the information request collection title 
for reference.
    Information Collection Request Title: Rural Communities Opioid 
Response Program (RCORP) Performance Measures, OMB No. 0906-0044--
Revision.
    Abstract: RCORP is authorized by Section 711(b)(5) of the Social 
Security Act (42 U.S.C. 912(b)(5)) and is a multi-initiative program 
that aims to: (1) Support treatment for and prevention of substance use 
disorder (SUD), including opioid use disorder (OUD); and (2) reduce 
morbidity and mortality associated with SUD, to include OUD, by 
improving access to and delivering prevention, treatment, and recovery 
support services to high-risk rural communities. To support this 
purpose, RCORP grant initiatives include:
     RCORP-Implementation grants to fund established networks 
and consortia to deliver SUD/OUD prevention, treatment, and recovery 
activities in high-risk rural communities;
     RCORP-Medication Assisted Treatment Expansion grants to 
enhance access to medication-assisted treatment within eligible 
hospitals, health clinics, or tribal organizations in high-risk rural 
communities;
     RCORP-Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome grants to reduce the 
incidence and impact of Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome in rural 
communities by improving systems of care, family supports, and social 
determinants of health;
     RCORP-Psychostimulant Support grants to strengthen and 
expand prevention, treatment, and recovery services for individuals in 
rural areas who misuse psychostimulants; to enhance their ability to 
access treatment and move towards recovery; and

[[Page 9369]]

     Note that additional grant programs may be added pending 
Fiscal Year 2022 and future Fiscal Year appropriations.
    Additionally, all RCORP grant award recipients are supported by 
eight cooperative agreements: RCORP-Technical Assistance, which 
provides extensive technical assistance to award recipients; RCORP-
Evaluation, which evaluates the impact of the RCORP initiative on rural 
communities; three RCORP-Behavioral Health Care Workforce Centers, 
which provide workforce training and education initiatives in the 
region served by the Northern Border Regional Commission; and three 
RCORP-Centers of Excellence, which disseminate best practices related 
to the treatment for and prevention of substance use disorders within 
rural communities.
    A 60-day notice published in the Federal Register, 86 FR 69655 
(December 8, 2021). There were no public comments.
    Need and Proposed Use of the Information: Due to the growth in the 
number of grant programs included in the RCORP initiative, as well as 
emerging SUD and other behavioral health trends in rural communities, 
HRSA is submitting a revised package that includes changes to existing 
RCORP performance measures as well as new performance measures that 
better demonstrate the impact of the initiative on rural communities 
and reduce burden on the grant recipients.
    For this program, performance measures were developed to provide 
data on each RCORP initiative and to enable HRSA to provide aggregate 
program data required by Congress under the Government Performance and 
Results Act of 1993. These measures cover the principal topic areas of 
interest to the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy, including: (a) 
Provision of, and referral to, rural behavioral health care services, 
including SUD prevention, treatment and recovery support services; (b) 
behavioral health care, including SUD prevention, treatment, and 
recovery, process and outcomes; (c) education of health care providers 
and community members; (d) emerging trends in rural behavioral health 
care needs and areas of concern; and (e) consortium strength and 
sustainability. All measures will speak to the Federal Office of Rural 
Health Policy's progress toward meeting the goals set.
    Likely Respondents: The respondents will be the grant award 
recipients of the RCORP initiatives.
    Burden Statement: Burden in this context means the time expended by 
persons to generate, maintain, retain, disclose or provide the 
information requested. This includes the time needed to review 
instructions; to develop, acquire, install, and utilize technology and 
systems for the purpose of collecting, validating and verifying 
information, processing and maintaining information, and disclosing and 
providing information; to train personnel and to be able to respond to 
a collection of information; to search data sources; to complete and 
review the collection of information; and to transmit or otherwise 
disclose the information. The total annual burden hours estimated for 
this ICR are summarized in the table below.
    The below burden estimate is significantly lower than the original 
package submitted in 2019 (2,750 total burden hours). This is likely 
due to the fact that (1) many of the grant recipients HRSA consulted to 
obtain the burden estimate for this ICR revision have been collecting 
and reporting RCORP performance measures since March 2020 and have a 
better understanding of the burden required; (2) HRSA eliminated and/or 
streamlined some of the more burdensome prevalence and workforce 
measures; and (3) grant recipients of the RCORP-Psychostimulant program 
will only report on an annual (vs. biannual) basis.

                                    Total Estimated Annualized Burden--Hours
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                                                     Number of
                                     Number of     responses per       Total      Average burden   Total burden
            Form name               respondents     respondent       responses     per response        hours
                                                    (annually)                      (in hours)
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Rural Communities Opioid                     290               2             580            1.24          719.20
 Response Program-Implementation/
 Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome/
 MAT Expansion..................
Rural Communities Opioid                      15               1              15            1.30           19.50
 Response Program-
 Psychostimulant Support........
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    Total.......................             305  ..............             595  ..............          738.70
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    HRSA specifically requests comments on (1) the necessity and 
utility of the proposed information collection for the proper 
performance of the agency's functions, (2) the accuracy of the 
estimated burden, (3) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity 
of the information to be collected, and (4) the use of automated 
collection techniques or other forms of information technology to 
minimize the information collection burden.

Maria G. Button,
Director, Executive Secretariat.
[FR Doc. 2022-03499 Filed 2-17-22; 8:45 am]
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