[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 134 (Thursday, July 14, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42183-42184]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-15082]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Health Resources and Services Administration


Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection: 
Public Comment Request Information Collection Request Title: The 
Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program: Advancing 
Health Equity in Response to the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency, 
0906-XXXX, New

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

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In compliance with the requirement for opportunity for public 
comment on proposed data collection projects of the Paperwork Reduction 
Act of 1995, HRSA announces plans to submit an Information Collection 
Request (ICR), described below, to the Office of Management and Budget 
(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 August 15, 
2022.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments to [email protected] or mail the HRSA 
Information Collection Clearance Officer, 14N136B, 5600 Fishers Lane, 
Rockville, MD 20857.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request a copy of the clearance 
requests submitted to OMB for review, email Samantha Miller, the acting 
HRSA Information Collection Clearance Officer at [email protected] or 
call (301) 443-9094.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Information Collection Request Title: The Maternal, Infant, and 
Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) Program: Advancing Health Equity 
in Response to the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency, OMB No. 0906-XXXX, 
NEW.
    Abstract: The MIECHV Program is authorized by Social Security Act, 
Title V, Sec.  511 (42 U.S.C. 711) and Congress made available 
supplemental appropriations to carry out the program through the 
American Rescue Plan Act (Pub. L. 117-2). American Rescue Plan Act 
funds are being used to support the MIECHV: Advancing Health Equity in 
Response to the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency project. The MIECHV 
Program: Advancing Health Equity in Response to the COVID-19 Public 
Health Emergency project aims to understand how health equity can be 
advanced during the COVID-19 public health emergency in communities 
with MIECHV-funded home visiting programs. The project includes five 
case studies to be conducted in communities across the United States. 
Communities will be selected based on a county level assessment from 
the County Response Index to Support Equity in Home Visiting (County 
RISE-HV), the variation in COVID-19 patterns including indicating 
disproportionality in experiences of COVID-19, and the presence of 
MIECHV-funded local implementing agencies. The five communities will 
represent a mix of urban and rural counties, will include a Tribal 
community, and will include communities with existing health 
disparities by race and ethnicity. The case studies will lead to a 
deeper understanding of the ways in which COVID-19 has shaped families' 
experiences, and the role home visiting plays (and could play) in 
addressing the inequities that continue to accrue from the pandemic 
within a community. Information gained from these case studies can 
inform the development of more responsive home visiting systems and 
more equitable health and family support systems, in general. Data 
collection activities include key informant interviews, focus groups, 
and online surveys. The data collection activities have been revised 
based on the public comments received during the 60-day comment period. 
The purpose of these changes is to address concerns with the burden 
estimate and to modify items for clarity. To address the burden 
estimates, the number of items on each of the data collection 
instruments has been reduced. To reduce items, the project team 
identified item content where there was unnecessary overlap across 
instruments and identified items that were extraneous to addressing 
research questions. The burden estimate was only increased for the 
completion of the program data tool. All specific recommendations for 
revisions to item wording and instructions for participants to improve 
clarity have been incorporated into the revised data collection 
instruments. All necessary human subjects protections will be adhered 
to, including seeking Institutional Review Board approval of data 
collection and analysis plans prior to commencing any data collection 
activities.
    A 60-day notice for public comments on the proposed data collection 
activities required by Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the Paperwork Reduction 
Act of 1995 was published in the Federal Register on March 17, 2022, 
(Document Number 2022-05635; document citation 87 FR 15254, pages 
15254-15255). Public comments were requested by May 16, 2022. There 
were public comments from three organizations.
    Need and Proposed Use of the Information: HRSA is seeking 
additional information about the strategies and partners home visiting 
programs have used to advance health equity in communities 
disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 public health emergency. 
HRSA intends to use this information to provide technical assistance 
and disseminate best practices to MIECHV awardees, publish findings for 
lay and research audiences to advance the field's knowledge of home 
visiting's role in COVID-19 response, and to prepare state and local 
home visiting programs for future public health emergencies.
    Likely Respondents: MIECHV Program awardees that are states, 
territories, and, where applicable, nonprofit organizations receiving 
MIECHV funding to provide home visiting services within states; state 
and local representatives from home visiting, public health, health 
care, and other human service agencies in the early childhood system; 
community organizers, Tribal elders, religious leaders; families 
(including families participating in MIECHV-funded home visiting 
services and those with shared experiences); community members, 
including community-based program administrators and community service 
providers, including home visitors.
    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

[[Page 42184]]

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. 
Compared to the versions submitted for the 60-day approval process in 
March, estimated burden hours have increased as a result of 
implementing the feedback provided in public comments during the 60-day 
comment period and pre-testing data collection protocols. The total 
annual burden hours estimated for this ICR are summarized in the table 
below.

                                   Total Estimated Annualized Burden Hours \1\
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                                                     Number of                    Average burden
            Form name                Number of     responses per       Total       per response    Total burden
                                    respondents     respondent       responses      (in hours)         hours
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Community Interview Protocol....              60               1              60            1.50              90
Family and Community Focus Group             240               1             240            2.00             480
 Guide..........................
Community and Home Visitor                   500               1             500            0.75             375
 Survey Instrument..............
Program Data....................              15               1              15           10.00             150
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    Total.......................             815  ..............             815  ..............            1095
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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.
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    \1\ There may be variation in the number of study participants 
and home visiting programs in each community (e.g., some selected 
communities may have fewer home visitors). The total burden hours 
presented here provide information assuming the maximum number of 
respondents in each community.

Maria G. Button,
Director, Executive Secretariat.
[FR Doc. 2022-15082 Filed 7-13-22; 8:45 am]
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