[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 51 (Thursday, March 16, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16261-16263]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-05326]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Administration for Community Living


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for OMB 
Review; Public Comment Request; of the State Councils on Developmental 
Disabilities (Councils) State Plan OMB Control Number 0985-0029

AGENCY: Administration for Community Living, HHS.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Administration for Community Living is announcing that the 
proposed collection of information listed above has been submitted to 
the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and clearance as 
required under section 506(c)(2)(A) of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 
1995. This 30-day notice collects comments on the information 
collection requirements related to the Developmental Disabilities State 
Plan OMB control number 0985-0029.

DATES: Submit written comments on the collection of information by 
April 17, 2023.

ADDRESSES: Submit written comments and recommendations for the proposed 
information collection within 30 days of publication of this notice to 
www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. Find the information collection by 
selecting ``Currently under 30-day Review--Open for Public Comments'' 
or by using the search function. By mail to the Office of Information 
and Regulatory Affairs, OMB, New Executive Office Bldg., 725 17th St. 
NW, Rm. 10235, Washington, DC 20503, Attn: OMB Desk Officer for ACL.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sara Newell-Perez, 202-795-7413 or 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In compliance with 44 U.S.C. 3507, ACL has 
submitted the following proposed collection of information to OMB for 
review and clearance of the Developmental Disabilities State Plan OMB 
control number 0985-0029. The State Councils on Developmental 
Disabilities (Councils) are authorized in Subtitle B, of the 
Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act of 2000 
(DD Act), as amended, [42 U.S.C. 15001 et seq.] (The DD Act). The DD 
Act requires Councils to submit a five-year State plan. Section 124(a) 
[42 U.S.C. 15024(a)], states that: Any State desiring to receive 
assistance under this subtitle shall submit to the Secretary, and 
obtain approval of, a 5-year strategic State plan under this section. 
The DD Act regulations outlines additional guiding requirements in 45 
CFR part 1326.30(a), which states that: In order to receive Federal 
financial assistance under this subpart, each State Developmental 
Disabilities Council must prepare and submit to the Secretary, and have 
in effect, a State plan which meets the requirements of sections 122 
and 124 of the Act (42 U.S.C. 6022 and 6024) and these regulations.
    The Council is responsible for the development, and submission of 
the State plan as well as implementation of the activities described in 
the plan. The Council updates the State plan annually during the five 
years. The State plan provides information on individuals with 
developmental disabilities in the State, and a description of the 
services available to them and their families. The State plan sets 
forth the goals and specific objectives to be achieved by the State 
Council in pursuing systems change and capacity building that result in 
empowering people with developmental disabilities to lead independent 
lives within the community. It describes State priorities, strategies, 
and actions, and the allocation of funds to meet these goals and 
objectives. Additionally, the data collected in the State plan and 
submitted to ACL is also used to comply with the GPRA Modernization Act 
of 2010 (GPRAMA).
    The State Plan is used in three ways. First, it provides a 
framework for citizens, State governments, and other key stakeholder to 
provide input and comments to help shape the goals and objectives 
during the development stage. Secondly, it is used by each Council as a 
planning document to operationalize its goals and strategies. Finally, 
it provides information the Department needs for monitoring and 
providing technical assistance to ensure the Council is compliant.
    This IC also adds elements to ensure ACL is gathering necessary and 
relevant demographic information to assess diversity and equity in 
support of the Executive Order on Advancing Racial Equity and Support 
for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government and the 
Executive Order on Advancing Equality for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, 
Transgender, Queer, and Intersex Individuals. On this issue, AoD will 
follow ACL approved policy for the inclusion of sexual orientation and 
gender identity (SOGI) data elements.

Comments in Response to the 60-Day Federal Register Notice

    A notice published in the Federal Register (87 FR 73559) on 
November 30, 2022. During the 60-day notice there were four public 
comments submitted, each comment included a range of topics. ACL lists 
the commenter by topic and provides response in the included table.

[[Page 16262]]



------------------------------------------------------------------------
         Data collection form               Comment        ACL response
------------------------------------------------------------------------
State Plan (Commenters 1-4)..........  Burden hours do   Burden
                                        not accurately    calculation
                                        reflect the       was based on
                                        work of the       the average
                                        Council and       entry
                                        should be         estimates
                                        increased.        shared by a
                                                          sample size of
                                                          Councils.
                                                          While Councils
                                                          range in
                                                          staffing size,
                                                          number of
                                                          goals and
                                                          activities
                                                          they include
                                                          in their State
                                                          Plans. Past
                                                          workgroups
                                                          comprised of
                                                          DD Council
                                                          staff
                                                          developed the
                                                          existing State
                                                          plan template
                                                          after much
                                                          consensus
                                                          building
                                                          conversations
                                                          and a thorough
                                                          vetting
                                                          process. ACL
                                                          will continue
                                                          to have
                                                          conversations
                                                          on areas for
                                                          potential
                                                          streamlining
                                                          as part of our
                                                          continuous
                                                          quality
                                                          improvement
                                                          efforts. Areas
                                                          where the
                                                          reporting
                                                          platform can
                                                          assist in
                                                          streamlining
                                                          will be taken
                                                          under
                                                          consideration.
State Plan (Commenter 1, 3)..........  Some of the       ACL has
                                        required data     conducted
                                        points are        workgroups
                                        difficult to      comprised of
                                        collect and do    council staff
                                        not always        to determine
                                        correlate 1:1     data sets and
                                        to demographic    methods for
                                        data collected    collection.
                                        or reported       Training and
                                        through federal   technical
                                        and state         assistance
                                        sources. Data     resources that
                                        collection is     describe what
                                        only              sections of
                                        utilitarian as    the plan and
                                        to the extent     data points
                                        the data is       are required
                                        applied to        versus
                                        correct or        optional will
                                        rectify an        be shared
                                        identified        again. ACL
                                        shortcoming.      will continue
                                        Asking some of    to work with
                                        these data        Councils to
                                        points may        determine the
                                        result in         effectiveness
                                        people not        of data
                                        attending         collection
                                        council events    efforts and
                                        or decreased      the results
                                        data results.     they provide.
                                        It is
                                        recommended to
                                        focus more on
                                        qualitative
                                        stories. ACL
                                        should give
                                        clear
                                        instructions on
                                        how the
                                        information
                                        collected
                                        relates to the
                                        plan. We
                                        collect much
                                        more
                                        information
                                        than we need to
                                        develop the
                                        plan. If the
                                        optional
                                        sections aren't
                                        needed, they
                                        should be
                                        deleted from
                                        the plan
                                        template.
                                        States feel
                                        obligated to
                                        provide the
                                        information
                                        because it's
                                        there. Also,
                                        the national
                                        data sets
                                        usually come to
                                        states after
                                        we've started
                                        our public
                                        input. That
                                        data isn't
                                        typically a
                                        driving force
                                        of plan/goal
                                        development.
State Plan (Commenter 1, 2)..........  While the intent  As ACL works to
                                        of the            implement new
                                        Executive         SOGI policies,
                                        Orders to         a workgroup
                                        achieve equity    with DD
                                        and equality      network
                                        for LGBTQI        grantees will
                                        individuals is    be developed
                                        vital,            to establish
                                        invasive, or      guidance on
                                        highly personal   how to
                                        demographic       effectively
                                        questions often   capture these
                                        elicit very low   data
                                        response rates.   requirements.
                                        Survey
                                        respondents
                                        question as to
                                        why these
                                        questions are
                                        being asked at
                                        all, and if
                                        they are needed
                                        for the
                                        individual to
                                        obtain the
                                        services that
                                        they need. At
                                        times the terms
                                        and language
                                        used can be
                                        confusing for
                                        respondents.
                                        Each further
                                        question
                                        unrelated to
                                        the specific
                                        needs of the
                                        individual
                                        creates further
                                        mistrust with
                                        the interviewer
                                        or public
                                        survey process
                                        and adds an
                                        even greater
                                        time and work
                                        burden in
                                        adding new
                                        information
                                        into the State
                                        Plan.
State Plan (Commenter 1, 3)..........  Uploading data,   OIDD will
                                        formatting,       explore
                                        entering          platform
                                        graphs, tables,   capabilities
                                        web addresses     as the
                                        and symbols is    commenters
                                        difficult in      suggest (e.g.,
                                        the current       uploading,
                                        reporting         copy/pasting
                                        platform. Staff   opportunities)
                                        spend             .
                                        significant
                                        time getting
                                        data to fit
                                        within existing
                                        character
                                        limits. ACL
                                        should explore
                                        automated
                                        collection
                                        techniques when
                                        appropriate,
                                        and other forms
                                        of information
                                        technology to
                                        reduce burden.
State Plan (Commenter 4).............  There should not  Performance
                                        be                measures were
                                        subcategories     previously
                                        that are added    vetted through
                                        to create         a workgroup
                                        another           comprised of
                                        indicator.        Council and
                                        Indicators        Federal staff.
                                        should simply     ACL will
                                        be the thing      explore
                                        that is           opportunities
                                        collected and     to enhance
                                        reported.         guidance and
                                       --Instead of       plain language
                                        `better able to   to further
                                        say what they     explain what
                                        need',            is being asked
                                        indicator IFA     for.
                                        2.3 should be
                                        `has gained new
                                        skills and
                                        feels more
                                        empowered . .
                                        .'.
                                       --IFA 2.4 and
                                        2.5 can get
                                        confusing for
                                        reporting
                                        purposes. If
                                        there is a way
                                        to distinguish
                                        further, that
                                        would be
                                        helpful.
State Plan (Commenter 4).............  When collecting   We are
                                        Council, Staff,   following ACL
                                        and grantee       guidance for
                                        participant       collecting
                                        data, we          SOGI data and
                                        recommend being   the instrument
                                        able to report    is updated to
                                        under Male,       that effect.
                                        Female, ``X''
                                        (instead of
                                        ``Other''),
                                        which is
                                        consistent with
                                        new legislation
                                        in our state.

[[Page 16263]]

 
State Plan (Commenter 4).............  In Part A(i)      We are
                                        ``Racial and      following ACL
                                        Ethnic            guidance for
                                        Diversity of      collecting
                                        the State         race and
                                        Population,''     ethnicity data
                                        we would          and the
                                        recommend         instrument is
                                        adding ``Middle   updated to
                                        Eastern'' as a    that effect.
                                        racial and
                                        ethnic group.
                                        It would be
                                        beneficial to
                                        be able to
                                        collect data
                                        racial/ethnic
                                        data on Middle
                                        Eastern
                                        population to
                                        make more
                                        visible any
                                        disparities
                                        they may
                                        experience. We
                                        would also
                                        recommend
                                        keeping ``Two
                                        or more races''
                                        as one line
                                        without two
                                        additional
                                        subset lines
                                        (referring to
                                        ``Two races
                                        including Some
                                        other race''
                                        and ``Two races
                                        excluding Some
                                        other race, and
                                        three or more
                                        races''). Those
                                        additional 2
                                        subset lines
                                        are very
                                        general and do
                                        not provide
                                        enough
                                        specificity to
                                        act on or
                                        respond to that
                                        data.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Estimated Program Burden: ACL estimates the burden of this 
collection of information as follows:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                   Number of     Responses per      Hours per      Total annual
      Respondent/data collection activity         respondents      respondent       response       burden hours
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
State Councils on Developmental Disabilities                56                1             367           20,522
 State plan...................................
                                               -----------------------------------------------------------------
    Total.....................................              56                1             367           20,522
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    Dated: March 10, 2023.
Alison Barkoff,
Acting Administrator and Assistant Secretary for Aging.
[FR Doc. 2023-05326 Filed 3-15-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4154-01-P