[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 2 (Wednesday, January 4, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 365-367]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-28575]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

[Docket No. FR-7060-N-08]


60-Day Notice of Proposed Information Collection: Evaluation of 
the Supportive Services Demonstration; OMB Control No.: 2528-0321

AGENCY: Office of Policy Development and Research, HUD.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: HUD is seeking approval from the Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB) for the information collection described below. In 
accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act, HUD is requesting comment 
from all interested parties on the proposed collection of information. 
The purpose of this notice is to allow for 60 days of public comment.

DATES: Comments Due Date: March 6, 2023.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments regarding 
this proposal. Comments should refer to the proposal by name and/or OMB 
Control Number and should be sent to: Anna P. Guido, Reports Management 
Officer, REE, Department of Housing and Urban Development, 451 7th 
Street SW, Room 4176, Washington, DC 20410-5000; telephone 202-402-5534 
(this is not a toll-free number) or email at [email protected] for a 
copy of the proposed forms or other available information. HUD welcomes 
and is prepared to receive calls from individuals who are deaf or hard 
of hearing, as well as individuals with speech or communication 
disabilities. To learn more about how to make an accessible telephone 
call, please visit https://www.fcc.gov/consumers/guides/telecommunications-relay-service-trs.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Anna P. Guido, Reports Management 
Officer, REE, Department of Housing and Urban Development, 451 7th 
Street SW, Washington, DC 20410; email Anna P. Guido at 
[email protected] or telephone 202-402-5535. This is not a toll-free 
number. HUD welcomes and is prepared to receive calls from individuals 
who are deaf or hard of hearing, as well as individuals with speech or 
communication disabilities. To learn more about how to make an 
accessible telephone call, please visit https://www.fcc.gov/consumers/guides/telecommunications-relay-service-trs.
    Copies of available documents submitted to OMB may be obtained from 
Ms. Guido.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This notice informs the public that HUD is 
seeking approval from OMB for the information collection described in 
Section A.

A. Overview of Information Collection

    Title of Information Collection: Evaluation of the Supportive 
Services Demonstration.
    OMB Approval Number: 2528-0321.
    Type of Request: Revision.
    Form Number: NA.
    Description of the need for the information and proposed use: The 
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has contracted 
with Abt Associates Inc. and L&M Policy Research to continue conducting 
an evaluation of HUD's Supportive Services Demonstration 
(demonstration, or SSD), which was extended by Congress for an 
additional two years in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021. The 
demonstration tests the Integrated Wellness in Supportive Housing 
(IWISH) model and is designed to learn whether structured health and 
wellness support can help older adults living in affordable housing 
successfully age in place. The demonstration funds a full-time Resident 
Wellness Director and part-time Wellness Nurse to work in HUD-assisted 
housing developments that either predominantly or exclusively serve 
households headed by people aged 62 and over. The demonstration is 
testing whether IWISH will affect unplanned hospitalizations and the 
use of other types of acute care with high healthcare costs, the use of 
primary and nonacute care, the length of stay in housing, transitions 
to long-term care facilities, and mortality. Eligible HUD-assisted 
properties applied for the

[[Page 366]]

demonstration and were randomly assigned to one of three groups:
    1. A ``treatment group'' that received grant funding to hire a 
Resident Wellness Director and Wellness Nurse and implement the SSD 
model (40 properties).
    2. An ``active control'' group that did not receive grant funding 
but received a stipend to participate in the evaluation (40 
properties).
    3. A ``passive control'' group that received neither grant funding 
nor a stipend (44 properties).
    The random assignment permits an evaluation that quantifies the 
impact of the SSD model by comparing outcomes at the 40 treatment group 
properties to outcomes at the 84 properties in the active and passive 
control groups.
    Under contract with HUD's Office of Policy Development and 
Research, Abt Associates Inc. has been conducting a two-part 
evaluation: a process study to describe the implementation of the 
demonstration, and an impact study to measure the effect of the SSD 
model on residents' use of healthcare services and housing stability. 
The first phase of the demonstration ran from October 2017-October 
2020. The Continuing Appropriations Act, 2021 and Other Extensions Act 
and the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 extended the 
demonstration for an additional two years. Abt will continue to 
evaluate the demonstration through September 2026.
    During the first phase of the evaluation, Abt Associates Inc. 
received OMB approval for the following primary data collection 
activities:
     Questionnaires with staff from the treatment and active 
control properties.
     Focus groups with residents of treatment and active 
control properties and caregivers of residents of the treatment 
properties.
     Interviews with Resident Wellness Directors and Wellness 
Nurses at the treatment group properties.
     Interviews with Service Coordinators at the active control 
group properties.
     Interviews with representatives of organizations that own 
or manage the active control or treatment properties.
    This request is for an additional round of data collection for the 
activities listed below:
     Interviews with Resident Wellness Directors and Wellness 
Nurses at each of the 40 treatment properties.
     Interviews with property owners or managers at the 40 
treatment properties and 40 active control properties.
     Interviews with up to 150 residents of 10 of the treatment 
properties.
    The purpose of these activities is to collect data from 
demonstration staff, property owners and managers, and residents about 
the continued implementation of the demonstration, including the 
model's strengths and weakness, and how resident wellness services and 
activities compare across treatment and control properties. The 
evaluation will culminate in a comprehensive report that will be made 
publicly available.
    Respondents: (i.e., affected public): Resident Wellness Directors, 
Wellness Nurses, Property owners and managers, and HUD-assisted 
residents (aged 62 and over).
    Estimated Number of Respondents: Up to 54 Resident Wellness 
Directors, 44 Wellness Nurses, 40 property owners and managers of 
treatment properties, 40 property owners and managers of active control 
properties, and 150 HUD-assisted residents aged 62 and older living in 
treatment properties.
    Frequency of Response: Once for all interviews.
    Average Hours per Response: Interviews with Resident Wellness 
Directors and Wellness Nurses will take an estimated take 3 hours each, 
interviews with property owners and managers will take an estimated 2 
hours each, resident interviews conducted in the resident's preferred 
language an estimated 1.5 hours each, and resident interviews conducted 
via on-demand interpretation will take an estimated 3 hours each.
    Total Estimated Burdens:

                                                Estimated Hour and Cost Burden of Information Collection
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                                             Number of     Frequency of    Responses per    Burden hour    Annual burden    Hourly cost
         Information collection             respondents      response          annum       per response        hour        per response     Annual cost
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Interviews with Resident Wellness                     54               1              54               3             162      \1\ $40.00       $6,480.00
 Directors..............................
Interviews with Wellness Nurses.........              44               1              44               3             132       \2\ 63.99        8,446.68
Interviews with Treatment Group Property              40               1              40               2              80       \3\ 51.23        4,098.40
 Owners and Managers....................
Interviews with Active Control Property               40               1              40               2              80       \3\ 51.23        4,098.40
 Owners and Managers....................
Resident Interviews conducted in core                120               1             120             1.5             180        \4\ 9.63        1,733.40
 languages..............................
Resident Interviews conducted via on                  30               1              30               3              90        \4\ 9.63          866.70
 demand interpretation..................
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    Total...............................             328  ..............  ..............  ..............             724  ..............       25,723.58
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\1\ Estimated cost burden for Resident Wellness Directors participating in interviews is based on the average hourly wage for private industry workers
  by industry sector. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, June 2022, for the healthcare and social assistance industry ($40.00), accessed September 26,
  2022 at Table 4. Private industry workers by occupational and industry group--2022 Q02 Results (bls.gov).
\2\ Estimated cost burden for property Wellness Nurses participating in interview is based on the average hourly wage for private industry workers by
  industry sector. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, June 2022, for Registered Nurse Occupations ($63.99), accessed September 26, 2022 at Table 4.
  Private industry workers by occupational and industry group--2022 Q02 Results (bls.gov).

[[Page 367]]

 
\3\ Estimated cost burden for property owners and managers is a blended rate based on average hourly and weekly earnings of all employees on private
  nonfarm payrolls by industry sector, seasonally adjusted. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, June 2022 for all private industry workers ($38.91) and the
  hourly cost for management, professional, and related workers ($63.55). Accessed September 26, 2022: Table 4. Private industry workers by occupational
  and industry group--2022 Q02 Results (bls.gov).
\4\ To estimate hourly cost for the residents, we used average monthly Social Security benefit for retired works in June 2022, (accessed in September
  26, 2022: https://www.ssa.gov/news/press/factsheets/basicfact-alt.pdf) which was $1,669 and converted this into an hourly rate of $9.63 per hour (by
  multiplying $1,669 by 12 months and dividing by 2,080 hours).

B. Solicitation of Public Comment

    This notice is soliciting comments from members of the public and 
affected parties concerning the collection of information described in 
Section A on the following:
    (1) Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for 
the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including 
whether the information will have practical utility;
    (2) The accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the 
proposed collection of information;
    (3) Ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected, and
    (4) Ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on 
those who are to respond; including through the use of appropriate 
automated collection techniques or other forms of information 
technology, e.g., permitting electronic submission of responses. HUD 
encourages interested parties to submit comment in response to these 
questions.

C. Authority

    Section 3507 of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 44 U.S.C. 
chapter 35 and title 42 U.S.C. 5424 note, title 13 U.S.C. 8(b), and 
title 12, U.S.C., section 1701z-

Solomon J. Greene,
Principle Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy Development and 
Research.
[FR Doc. 2022-28575 Filed 1-3-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4210-67-P