[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 236 (Friday, December 9, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 75639-75641]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-26846]


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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: Rural 
Public Health Workforce Training Network Program Data Collection--OMB 
No. 0915-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). Prior to submitting the ICR to OMB, HRSA seeks comments from the 
public regarding the burden estimate, below, or any other aspect of the 
ICR.

DATES: Comments on this ICR should be received no later than February 
7, 2023.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments to [email protected] or mail the HRSA 
Information Collection Clearance Officer, Room 14N39, 5600 Fishers 
Lane, Rockville, Maryland 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 HRSA Information Collection Clearance Officer at (301) 594-4394.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: When submitting comments or requesting 
information, please include the ICR title for reference.
    Information Collection Request Title: Rural Public Health Workforce 
Training Network (RPHWTN) Program Data Collection--OMB No. 0915-xxxx-
NEW.
    Abstract: The RPHWTN program is authorized by Section 330A(f) of 
the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C.

[[Page 75640]]

254c(f)). Furthermore, section 2501 of the American Rescue Plan Act of 
2021 (ARP, Pub. L. 117-2) provides funding for the Department of Health 
and Human Services to carry out activities related to expanding and 
sustaining a public health workforce, including to respond to COVID-19.
    The RPHWTN program, which is managed by the Federal Office of Rural 
Health Policy at HRSA, intends to expand public health capacity by 
supporting health care job development, training, and placement in 
rural communities. This grant program intends to address the ongoing 
critical need for trained public health professionals in health care 
facilities serving rural communities by establishing networks that will 
develop formal training/certification programs. The long-term objective 
of this program is to enhance clinical and operational capacity to 
adequately address population health needs of rural communities 
negatively impacted by COVID-19, including long COVID-19. The HRSA 
Office of Planning, Analysis, and Evaluation will work with the Federal 
Office of Rural Health Policy to design and distribute surveys to 
RPHWTN grantees and trainees, which will serve as program data 
collection tools. Grantees will establish networks that support health 
care job development, training, and placement in rural communities. 
Trainees are individuals participating in the training programs made 
possible through the RPHTWN-supported networks established by program 
grantees.
    To accomplish RPHWTN program goals, HRSA would like to collect the 
following type of information from respondents:
     From grantees: training content, count of trainings and 
attendees, specific strategies in supporting patients with long COVID-
19 and behavioral health needs, and trainee retention/completion.
     From trainees: limited demographic information (age, ZIP 
code, race, and ethnicity), skills needed to fulfill roles in specific 
tracks selected, skill assessment, professional and/or educational 
experience, and career goals/intentions.
    Need and Proposed Use of the Information: Per OMB memo M-21-20, the 
ARP provides funding for critical resources to respond to the public 
health crisis the nation faces resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. 
The memo emphasizes the need for a swift government-wide response, 
underscoring the need to ensure the public's trust in how the Federal 
Government implements ARP programs and distributes ARP funding. 
Accountability and transparency of Federal Government spending and 
achieving results are necessary for effective stewardship of these 
funds. To this end, Federal awarding agencies must collect recipient 
performance reports in a manner that enables the Federal Government to 
articulate the outcomes of Federal financial assistance to the American 
people. HRSA seeks to collect performance information that measures 
progress in achieving program goals and objectives, ensures payment 
integrity, and demonstrates equity-oriented results--all while 
minimizing the reporting burden to Federal financial assistance 
recipients.
    Data from grantees is necessary for understanding programmatic 
activities supported by this HRSA investment, providing program 
monitoring and oversight, assessing the sustainability of program-
supported activities, and ultimately affording HRSA the insights and 
ability to make specific, evidence-informed policy and program 
recommendations moving forward. To successfully accomplish the goals of 
this program in supporting job development and training, it is also 
crucial that HRSA receives a clear understanding of trainees' existing 
and needed skillsets, their reception to/feedback about the trainings 
they receive, and a sense of their potential career trajectories as 
they pertain to the workforce training tracks specified by HRSA in the 
program Notice of Funding Opportunity (HRSA-22-117).
    There are several consequences of the Federal Government not 
collecting the data for the RPHWTN program as described herein. These 
include: (1) the inability to monitor grant activities and therefore 
inability to ensure sufficient oversight of and accountability for this 
HRSA investment, (2) a lost opportunity to better understand the 
workforce capacity-building needs of the rural communities that HRSA 
serves, and (3) a failure to gather key information that could 
ultimately lead to more evidence-informed policy and program 
recommendations in the future.
    Likely Respondents: Respondents of these surveys will be RPHWTN 
grantees and trainees.
    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.

                                     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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Grantee Surveys.................              32               4             128            0.25              32
Trainee Surveys.................             500               4           2,000            0.25             500
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    Total.......................             532  ..............           2,128  ..............             532
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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.


[[Page 75641]]


Maria G. Button,
Director, Executive Secretariat.
[FR Doc. 2022-26846 Filed 12-8-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4165-15-P