[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 139 (Thursday, July 21, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 43535-43536]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-15570]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Health Resources and Services Administration

[OMB No. 0906-xxxx-New]


Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection: 
Public Comment Request Information Collection Request Title: Healthy 
Start Evaluation and Capacity Building Support

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). Prior to submitting the ICR to OMB, HRSA seeks comments from the 
public regarding the burden estimate, as described below, or any other 
aspect of the ICR.

DATES: Comments on this ICR must be received no later than September 
19, 2022.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments to [email protected] or by mail to the 
HRSA Information Collection Clearance Officer, Room 14N-39, 5600 
Fishers Lane, Rockville, MD 20857.

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-
1984.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: When submitting comments or requesting 
information, please include the information request collection title 
for reference.
    Information Collection Request Title: Healthy Start Evaluation and 
Capacity Building Support, OMB No. 0906-xxxx-New.
    Abstract: The National Healthy Start Program, authorized by 42 
U.S.C. 254c-8 (Sec.  330H of the Public Health Service Act) and funded 
through HRSA's Maternal and Child Health Bureau, has the goal of 
reducing disparities in maternal and infant health. The program began 
as a demonstration project with 15 grantees in 1991 and has expanded 
over the past 3 decades to 101 grantees across 35 states, Washington, 
DC, and Puerto Rico. Healthy Start grantees operate in communities with 
rates of infant mortality at least 1.5 times the U.S. national average, 
or with high rates of other adverse perinatal outcomes (e.g., low 
birthweight, preterm birth). Grantees may also qualify for the program 
if their project areas meet other relevant criteria (e.g., high rates 
of diabetes, obesity, or tobacco use during pregnancy; low utilization 
of prenatal care in the first trimester; no utilization of prenatal 
care during pregnancy) that demonstrate disparities in health outcomes 
for pregnant women in their communities. Healthy Start programs are 
located in communities that are geographically, racially, ethnically, 
and linguistically diverse. Healthy Start covers services during the 
perinatal period (before, during, after pregnancy) and follows the 
women, infants, and fathers/partners through 18 months after the end of 
the pregnancy. The Healthy Start program uses a life course approach 
that includes women's health, family health and wellness, and 
community/population health.
    HRSA seeks to implement a mixed-methods evaluation to assess the 
effectiveness of the program on individual, organizational, and 
community-level outcomes. Data collection instruments will include the 
(1) Healthy Start Program Survey, (2) Healthy Start Network Survey, (3) 
Healthy Start Participant Survey, and (4) Healthy Start Stakeholder 
Interview Guide. These instruments have been specifically designed to 
be non-duplicative. Using previously approved content, the Healthy 
Start Program Survey is designed to collect information on the 
experiences of all 101 grantee programs related to program 
infrastructure, services/activities, participants, community 
partnerships, new maternal and fatherhood initiatives, and health 
equity. The information collected in the survey will allow the Healthy 
Start grantees to better assess risk, identify needed services, provide 
appropriate follow-up activities to program participants, and improve 
overall service delivery and quality.
    The two other surveys and interview guide will be administered to a 
subset of 15 grantees, their community partners, and participants. The 
Healthy Start Network Survey focuses on understanding the participation 
of members in the Healthy Start Community Action Networks (CANs) \1\ 
and collaborations within the CANs to improve maternal, infant, and 
family outcomes within the Healthy Start communities. Results from the 
survey will help the Healthy Start programs and their CANs identify 
areas of strength and opportunities for further collaborations, 
understand how well the CAN members are working together to serve women 
and their families, and whether they are supporting the programs in 
addressing the participants' greatest needs. The Healthy Start 
Participant Survey is designed to collect information about the 
experiences of the Healthy Start participants with the program and 
assess whether the programs are meeting their needs. The Healthy Start 
grantees can use this

[[Page 43536]]

information to identify areas to strengthen the services provided to 
the participants. The Healthy Start Stakeholder Interview Guide is 
designed to collect more in-depth information about the Healthy Start 
services, the new maternal health and fatherhood initiatives, CAN 
activities, and activities developed to improve the Healthy Start 
benchmarks and achieve health equity.
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    \1\ A CAN is an existing, formally organized partnership of 
organizations and individuals. The CAN represents consumers and 
appropriate agencies which unite in an effort to collectively apply 
their resources to the implementation of one or more common 
strategies to achieve a common goal within that project area.
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    Need and Proposed Use of the Information: The purpose of the data 
collection instruments is to obtain consistent information across all 
grantees about Healthy Start, its operations and outcomes. The data 
will be used to (1) conduct ongoing performance monitoring of the 
program; (2) provide credible and rigorous evidence of program effect 
on outcomes; (3) meet program needs for accountability, programmatic 
decision-making, and ongoing quality assurance; and (4) strengthen the 
evidence base and identify best and promising practices for the program 
to support sustainability, replication, and dissemination of the 
program.
    Likely Respondents: Respondents will include project directors and 
staff for the Healthy Start Program Survey, members of the CANs for the 
Healthy Start Network Survey, program participants for the Healthy 
Start Participant Survey, and program and administrative staff for the 
Healthy Start Stakeholder Interview Guide.
    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 utilize technology and systems for the purpose of 
collecting, validating and verifying information, processing and 
maintaining information, and disclosing and providing 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 total number of responses was multiplied by the 
average burden per response and summed to produce the total annualized 
burden hours, which is estimated to be 600 hours. A break-down of these 
hours is detailed in the table below.
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    \2\ This is the maximum number of responses for this data 
collection instrument.
    \3\ Ibid.
    \4\ Ibid.

                                     Total Estimated Annualized Burden Hours
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                                                                                      Average
                                     Number of       Number of         Total        burden per     Total burden
            Form name               respondents    responses per     responses     response  (in       hours
                                                    respondent                        hours)
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Healthy Start Program Survey....             101               1             101            1.00             101
Healthy Start Network Survey....         \2\ 600               1             600            0.33             198
Healthy Start Participant                \3\ 750               1             750            0.25             188
 Survey.........................
Healthy Start Stakeholder                \4\ 150               1             150            0.75             113
 Interview Guide................
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    Total.......................           1,601  ..............           1,601  ..............             600
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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. 2022-15570 Filed 7-20-22; 8:45 am]
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