[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 66 (Wednesday, April 6, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19959-19960]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-07294]


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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 more information on the proposed projects 
or 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 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: Data Resource Toolkit Protocol for the Crisis 
Counseling Assistance and Training Program (OMB No. 0930-0270) --
Reinstatement

    The SAMHSA Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS), as part of an 
interagency agreement with the Federal Emergency Management Agency 
(FEMA), provides a toolkit to be used for the purposes of collecting 
data on the Crisis Counseling Assistance and Training Program (CCP). 
The CCP provides supplemental funding to states, territories, and 
tribes for individual and community crisis intervention services after 
a presidentially declared disaster.
    The CCP has provided disaster mental health services to millions of 
disaster survivors since its inception, and, with more than 30 years of 
accumulated expertise, it has become an important model for federal 
response to a variety of catastrophic events. Recent CCP grants have 
been issued for nearly all 50 states, 5 territories, and 1 tribe. These 
grants have helped survivors of disasters such asthe coronavirus 
disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in 2020 and 2021; Hurricanes Laura and 
Iota in 2020; and wildfires, severe storms, flooding, and earthquakes 
in 2019 through 2021. CCPs address the short-term mental health needs 
of communities primarily through (a) outreach and public education, (b) 
individual and group counseling, and (c) referral. Outreach and public 
education serve primarily to normalize disaster reactions and to engage 
people who may need further care. Crisis counseling assists survivors 
in coping with current stress and symptoms to return to pre-disaster 
functioning. Crisis counseling relies largely on ``active listening,'' 
and crisis counselors also provide psycho-education (especially about 
the nature of responses to trauma) and help clients build coping 
skills. Crisis counselors typically work with a single client once or a 
few times. Because crisis counseling is time-limited, referral is the 
third important function of CCPs. Counselors are expected to refer a 
survivor to formal treatment if he or she has developed a mental and/or 
substance use disorder or is having difficulty in coping with his or 
her disaster reactions.
    Data about services delivered and users of services are collected 
throughout the program period. The data are collected via the use of a 
toolkit that relies on standardized forms. At the program level, the 
data are entered quickly and easily into a cumulative database mainly 
through mobile data entry or paper forms (depending on resource 
availability) to yield summary tables for quarterly and final reports 
for the program. Mobile data entry allows for the data to be uploaded 
and linked to a national database that houses data collected across 
CCPs. This database provides SAMHSA CMHS and FEMA with a way of 
producing summary reports of services provided across all programs 
funded.
    The components of the toolkit are listed and described below:
     Encounter logs. These forms document all services 
provided. The CCP requires crisis counselors to complete these logs. 
There are three types of encounter logs: (1) Individual/Family Crisis 
Counseling Services Encounter Log, (2) Group Encounter Log, and (3) 
Weekly Tally Sheet.
    [cir] Individual/Family Crisis Counseling Services Encounter Log. 
Crisis counseling is defined as an interaction that lasts at least 15 
minutes and involves participant disclosure. This form is completed by 
the crisis counselor for each service recipient, defined as the person 
or people who actively participated in the session (that is, by 
participating in conversation), not someone who is merely present. One 
form may be completed for all family or household members who are 
actively engaged in the visit. Information collected includes 
demographics, service characteristics, risk factors, event reactions, 
and referral data.
    [cir] Group Encounter Log. This form is used to collect data on 
either a group crisis counseling encounter or a group public education 
encounter. The crisis counselor indicates in a checkbox the class of 
activities (that is, counseling or education). Information collected 
includes service characteristics, group identity and characteristics, 
and group activities.
    [cir] Weekly Tally Sheet. This form documents brief educational and 
supportive encounters not captured on any other form. Information 
collected includes service characteristics, daily tallies, and weekly 
totals for brief educational or supportive contacts, material 
distribution with no or minimal interaction, and social media activity.

[[Page 19960]]

     Assessment and Referral Tools (ARTs). These tools--one for 
adults and one for children and youth--provide descriptive information 
about intensive users of services, defined as all individuals receiving 
a third or fifth individual crisis counseling visit or those who are 
continuing to experience severe post-disaster distress that may be 
affecting their ability to perform daily activities. This tool will 
typically be used beginning 3 months after the disaster and will be 
completed by the crisis counselor.
     Participant Feedback Survey. These surveys are completed 
by and collected from a sample of service recipients, not every 
recipient. Sampling is done on a biannual basis at 6 months and 1 year 
after the disaster. Information collected includes satisfaction with 
services, perceived improvements in coping and functioning, types of 
exposure, and event reactions.
     Service Provider Feedback Form. These surveys are 
completed by and collected from the CCP service providers anonymously 
at 6 months and 1 year after the disaster. The survey is coded on 
several program-level as well as worker-level variables. However, the 
program is only identified and shared with program management if more 
than 10 individual workers complete the survey.
    There are no changes to the Participant Feedback Survey and Service 
Provider Feedback Form since the last approval. Revisions to the 
Individual Encounter Log include rewording the category ``adult (18-39 
years)'' to ``young adult (18-29 years)'' to clarify age categories; 
adding a question about recent move from another county to the United 
States; rewording selections for telephone calls to differentiate 
between incoming and outgoing calls; adding a location selection for 
virtual services; rewording risk category selections to incorporate 
stressors related to impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic (e.g., 
underemployment, illness, virtual learning for children/youth, and 
physical distancing/social isolation); and adding risk category 
selections that address stressors including food insecurity, lack of 
access to reliable information, and lack of access to reliable 
transportation. For the Group Encounter Log, changes include adding a 
location selection for virtual services and adding a question about 
recent immigration to the United States. For the Weekly Tally Sheet, 
changes include rewording the category for brief educational contact to 
include virtual contact, rewording the categories for phone calls to 
differentiate between incoming and outgoing calls, rewording the 
electronic interaction category to encompass more channels than just 
email (e.g., text, chat, direct messages), rewording the materials 
mailed category to include emailed materials, rewording the social 
media messages category to clarify that it is only for posts to social 
media channels, and adding categories to better record reach and 
engagement of social media efforts. Minor changes to demographics, 
location of service, and risk categories were submitted for the Adult 
ART and Child/Youth ART to align the forms with the Individual/Family 
Crisis Counseling Services Encounter Log. The assessment tool sections 
of the ARTs were not changed. The estimates of the annualized burden 
hours are provided in Table 1.

                                    Table 1--Annualized Hour Burden Estimates
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                                             Estimated
       Data collection instrument            number of     Responses per      Total      Hours per    Total hour
                                            respondents      respondent     responses     response      burden
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Individual/Family Crisis Counseling            \1\ 1,500          \2\ 190      285,000         0.08       22,800
 Services Encounter Log.................
Group Encounter Log.....................         \3\ 750           \3\ 33       24,750         0.05        1,238
Weekly Tally Sheet......................       \1\ 1,500           \4\ 52       78,000         0.15       11,700
Assessment and Referral Tools...........       \1\ 1,500           \5\ 14   \6\ 14,250         0.17        2,423
Participant Feedback Form...............           2,000                1        2,000         0.25          500
Service Provider Feedback Form..........         \7\ 750                1          750         0.41          308
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    Total...............................           8,000  ...............      404,750  ...........       38,969
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\1\ This value (1,500) is based on an average of 50 full-time equivalent (FTE) crisis counselors per grant with
  an approximate average of 30 grants per year (i.e., 50 x 30 = 1,500).
\2\ On average, each FTE crisis counselor will complete 190 forms over the course of the grant.
\3\ On average, a pair of FTE crisis counselors completes one form per week (i.e., two counselors completing one
  form = 750 crisis counselors) for 33 weeks.
\4\ The average length of a CCP grant is 52 weeks.
\5\ On average, each FTE crisis counselor will complete 14 Assessment Referral Tool forms over the course of the
  grant.
\6\ On average, 5 percent of the Individual/Family Crisis Counseling Services Encounter Logs completed will
  result in the use of this tool (i.e., 285,000 logs x 5% = 14,250).
\7\ On average, 50 percent of service providers/crisis counselors may complete or use this tool.

    Send comments to Carlos D. Graham, SAMHSA Reports Clearance 
Officer, 5600 Fishers Lane, Room 15E57-A, Rockville, Maryland 20857, or 
email a copy to [email protected]. Written comments should 
be received by June 6, 2022.

Carlos Graham,
Reports Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. 2022-07294 Filed 4-5-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4162-20-P