[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 62 (Friday, March 31, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19340-19343]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-06682]


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SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION

[Docket No: SSA-2023-0006]


Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Request and 
Comment Request

    The Social Security Administration (SSA) publishes a list of 
information collection packages requiring clearance by the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) in compliance with Public Law 104-13, the 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, effective October 1, 1995. This notice 
includes two new collection and a revision of OMB-approved information 
collections.
    SSA is soliciting comments on the accuracy of the agency's burden 
estimate; the need for the information; its practical utility; ways to 
enhance its quality, utility, and clarity; and ways to minimize burden 
on respondents, including the use of automated collection techniques or 
other forms of information technology. Mail, email, or fax your 
comments and recommendations on the information collection(s) to the 
OMB Desk Officer and SSA Reports Clearance Officer at the following 
addresses or fax numbers.
    (OMB) Office of Management and Budget, Attn: Desk Officer for SSA, 
Comments: https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. Submit your 
comments online referencing Docket ID Number [SSA-2023-0006].
    (SSA) Social Security Administration, OLCA, Attn: Reports Clearance 
Director, 3100 West High Rise, 6401 Security Blvd., Baltimore, MD 
21235, Fax: 410-966-2830, Email address: [email protected].

    Or you may submit your comments online through https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain, referencing Docket ID Number [SSA-
2023-0023].
    I. The information collection below is pending at SSA. SSA will 
submit it to OMB within 60 days from the date of this notice. To be 
sure we consider your comments, we must receive them no later than May 
30, 2023. Individuals can obtain copies of the collection

[[Page 19341]]

instrument by writing to the above email address.
    State of Georgia's Criminal Justice Coordinating Council's (CJCC) 
Evaluation of the Implementation of the Supplemental Security Income 
(SSI)/Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) Outreach, Access, and 
Recovery (SOAR) Model in County Jails--0960-NEW.

Background

    SSA is requesting clearance to collect data necessary to evaluate 
an intervention under the Interventional Cooperative Agreement Program 
(ICAP) with the State of Georgia's Criminal Justice Coordinating 
Council (CJCC). ICAP allows SSA to partner with various non-federal 
groups and organizations to advance interventional research connected 
to the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Social Security 
Disability Insurance (SSDI) programs. SSA awarded CJCC a cooperative 
agreement to conduct an intervention and evaluation of the Supplemental 
Security Income (SSI)/Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) 
Outreach, Access, and Recovery (SOAR) model in county jails with 
inmates with serious and persistent mental illness (SPMI) across the 
state. In addition to SSA, CJCC has partnered with the following: (1) 
Applied Research Services (ARS); (2) the Georgia Department of 
Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities (DBHDD); and (3) four 
county jails to implement the program.

ICAP CJCC Project Description

    Investigators hypothesize that untreated mental illness and 
repeated psychiatric crises may be a factor in jail recidivism. 
Connection to SSI/SSDI and attendant insurance benefits may help a 
person with SPMI obtain treatment and interrupt criminogenic behavior. 
The intervention will connect respondents in four county jails 
identified as having SPMI to Medicaid Eligibility Specialists (MES) 
hired and trained by the Georgia DBHDD, who will help them apply for 
SSI and SSDI. Respondents in two of the four counties (Fulton County 
Jail and Cobb County Jail) will also have the option of working with a 
Forensic Peer Mentor (FPM), a formerly incarcerated individual who is 
familiar with resources that may help participants increase their 
quality-of-life post incarceration and avoid recidivism. SSA 
anticipates the two DBHDD MESs will each serve 45 participants per 
year, for a total of 90 participants per year.
    To maximize the likelihood of the SSI/SSDI application approval, 
the MES will employ the SOAR method, which uses in-depth medical and 
personal summaries of disability to facilitate the SSI/SSDI application 
process. Researchers will collect data from participant surveys to 
evaluate and study the impact of the intervention. Through the data 
collected through these surveys, along with administrative data from 
SSA, the State of Georgia, participating counties, and DBHDD, SSA hopes 
to address the following research questions:
     Does connection to a SOAR-trained specialist increase the 
likelihood that a person with SPMI in jail will be approved for SSI/
SSDI benefits?
     If a person with SPMI receives SSI/SSDI benefits, are they 
able to connect to treatment resources that they may not have been able 
to obtain before?
     If a person with SPMI connects to treatment resources and 
successfully engages with them, are they able to achieve mental health 
recovery and stay out of jail?
    The respondents are individuals with serious and persistent mental 
illness incarcerated in county jails in the state of Georgia.

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                                                                                                                              Average
                                                                                          Average burden     Estimated      theoretical    Total annual
                 Modality of completion                      Number of     Frequency of    per response    total annual     hourly cost     opportunity
                                                            respondents      response        (minutes)    burden (hours)      amount      cost (dollars)
                                                                                                                            (dollars) *         **
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Initial Enrollment Survey (Paper).......................              90               1              19              29        * $12.81         ** $371
Informed Consent (Paper)................................              90               1              10              15         * 12.81          ** 192
Follow-up Survey (Internet).............................              90               2              23              69         * 12.81          ** 884
                                                         -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Totals..............................................             270  ..............  ..............             113  ..............        ** 1,447
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* We based this figure on the average DI payments based on SSA's current FY 2023 data (https://www.ssa.gov/legislation/2023factsheet.pdf).
** This figure does not represent actual costs that SSA is imposing on recipients of Social Security payments to complete this application; rather,
  these are theoretical opportunity costs for the additional time respondents will spend to complete the application. There is no actual charge to
  respondents to complete the application.

    II. SSA submitted the information collections below to OMB for 
clearance. Your comments regarding these information collections would 
be most useful if OMB and SSA receive them 30 days from the date of 
this publication. To be sure we consider your comments, we must receive 
them no later than May 1, 2023. Individuals can obtain copies of these 
OMB clearance packages by writing to [email protected].
    1. Vocational Resource Facilitator Demonstration--0960-NEW. SSA is 
undertaking the Vocational Resource Facilitator Demonstration (VRFD) 
under the ICAP. ICAP allows SSA to partner with various non-federal 
groups and organizations to advance interventional research connected 
to the SSI and SSDI programs. VRFD will test the Vocational Resource 
Facilitator (VRF) intervention, which helps newly injured spinal cord 
injury or disease (SCI), or brain injury (BI) patients pursue their 
employment goals. The VRFD will provide empirical evidence on the 
impact of the intervention on patients in several critical areas: (1) 
employment and earnings; (2) SSI and SSDI benefit receipt; and (3) 
satisfaction and well-being. A rigorous evaluation of VRFD is critical 
to help SSA and other interested parties assess promising options to 
improve employment-related outcomes and decrease benefit receipt. The 
VRFD evaluation uses a randomized control experimental design that 
includes one treatment group and one control group. Control group 
members will receive a referral for services to the Division of 
Vocational Rehabilitation Services (DVRS), New Jersey's state 
Vocational Rehabilitation agency. The treatment group will receive a 
referral to DVRS and employment services from a resource facilitator 
(RF). RFs are fully integrated members of clinical teams who engage 
with injured workers during inpatient rehabilitation about return to 
work. The central research questions include:
     Was the intervention implemented as planned?
     What are key considerations for scaling up or adopting the 
VRF model at other facilities?

[[Page 19342]]

     What were the impacts of VRF on outcomes of interest?
     Did treatment group members earn or work more than control 
group members?
     Were treatment group members relatively less likely to 
apply to or receive SSI or SSDI benefits?
     Did treatment group members experience greater 
satisfaction and well-being than control group members?
     What were the benefits and costs of the demonstration 
across key groups?
    The proposed public survey data collections will support three 
components of the planned implementation, impact, and benefit-cost 
analyses. The data collection efforts will provide information that is 
not available in SSA program records about the characteristics and 
outcomes of VRFD participants in the treatment and control groups. 
Respondents are newly injured SCI and BI patients, who will provide 
written consent before agreeing to participate in the study and be 
randomly assigned to one of the study groups.
    Type of Request: Request for a new information collection.

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                                                                                                              Average      Average wait
                                                                          Average burden     Estimated      theoretical      time for      Total annual
         Modality of completion              Number of     Frequency of    per response    total annual     hourly cost     teleservice     opportunity
                                            respondents      response        (minutes)    burden (hours)      amount          centers     cost (dollars)
                                                                                                            (dollars) *    (minutes) **         ***
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Informed Consent Form...................             500               1              10              83        * $28.01  ..............      *** $2,325
Baseline Survey.........................             500               1              15             125         * 28.01  ..............       *** 3,501
12-month Follow-up Survey...............             400               1              20             133         * 28.01           ** 19       *** 7,283
Staff Interviews with Site Staff........              10               2              66              22         * 28.01  ..............         *** 616
Onsite Audit of sample of case files....               1               2              30               1         * 28.01  ..............          *** 28
                                         ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Totals..............................           1,411  ..............  ..............             364  ..............  ..............      *** 13,753
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* We based this figure on the average U.S. worker's hourly wages, as reported by Bureau of Labor Statistics data (https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_nat.htm).
** We based this figure by averaging the average FY 2023 wait times for field offices and teleservice centers, based on SSA's current management
  information data.
*** This figure does not represent actual costs that SSA is imposing on recipients of Social Security payments to complete this application; rather,
  these are theoretical opportunity costs for the additional time respondents will spend to complete the application. There is no actual charge to
  respondents to complete the application.

    2. Application for a Social Security Number Card, the Social 
Security Number Application Process (SSNAP), and internet SSN 
Replacement Card (iSSNRC) Application--20 CFR 422.103-422.110--0960-
0066. SSA collects information on the SS-5 (used in the United States) 
and SS-5-FS (used outside the United States) to issue original or 
replacement Social Security cards. SSA also enters the application data 
into the SSNAP application when issuing a card via telephone or in 
person. In addition, hospitals collect the same information on SSA's 
behalf for newborn children through the Enumeration-at-Birth process. 
In this process, parents of newborns provide hospital birth 
registration clerks with information required to register these 
newborns. Hospitals send this information to State Bureaus of Vital 
Statistics (BVS), and they send the information to SSA's National 
Computer Center. SSA then uploads the data to the SSA mainframe along 
with all other enumeration data, and we assign the newborn a Social 
Security number (SSN) and issue a Social Security card. Respondents can 
also use these modalities to request a change in their SSN records. In 
addition, the iSSNRC internet application collects information similar 
to the paper SS-5 for no-change, and a name change due to marriage, 
replacement SSN cards for adult U.S. citizens. The iSSNRC modality 
allows certain applicants for SSN replacement cards to complete the 
internet application and submit the required evidence online rather 
than completing a paper Form SS-5. Finally, oSSNAP collects information 
similar to that which we collect on the paper SS-5 for no change 
situations, with the exception of a name change. oSSNAP allows 
applicants, both U.S. citizens and non-citizens, for new or replacement 
SSN cards to start the application process on-line, receive a list of 
evidentiary documents, and then submit the application data to SSA for 
further processing by SSA employees. Applicants need to visit a local 
SSA office to complete the application process. We are planning to make 
minor changes to clarify that one screen is optional, and to provide a 
space for respondents to inform SSA of the types of documents they will 
present during the in-person follow up meeting. The respondents for 
this information collection are applicants for original and replacement 
Social Security cards, or individuals who wish to change information in 
their SSN records, who use any of the modalities described above.
    Type of Request: Revision of an OMB-approved information 
collection.

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                                                                                                                 Average
                                                                          Average     Estimated     Average     wait time
                                               Number of    Frequency    burden per     total     theoretical    in field     Total annual opportunity
            Application scenario              respondents  of response    response      annual    hourly cost     office         cost (dollars) ***
                                                                         (minutes)      burden       amount     (minutes)
                                                                                       (hours)    (dollars) *       **
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                      EAB Modality
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hospital staff who relay the State birth        3,759,517            1            5      313,293     * $24.49         ** 0                *** $7,672,546
 certificate information to the BVS and SSA
 through the EAB process....................
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[[Page 19343]]

 
                                                                     iSSNRC Modality
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Adult U.S. Citizens requesting a replacement    3,002,698            1            5      250,225      * 28.01         ** 0                 *** 7,008,802
 card with no changes through the iSSNRC....
Adult U.S. Citizens requesting a replacement        1,312            1            5          109      * 28.01         ** 0                     *** 3,053
 card with a name change through iSSNRC.....
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                     oSSNAP Modality
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Adult U.S. Citizens providing information to      822,104            1            5       68,509      * 28.01        ** 24                *** 11,129,802
 receive a replacement card through the
 oSSNAP \+\.................................
Adult U.S. Citizens providing information to       37,323            1            5        3,110      * 28.01         * 24                   *** 505,272
 receive an original card through the oSSNAP
 \+\........................................
Adult Non-U.S. Citizens providing                 204,081            1            5       17,007      * 28.01        ** 24                 *** 2,762,878
 information to receive an original card
 through the oSSNAP \+\.....................
Adult Non-U.S. Citizens providing                  84,635            1            5        7,053      * 28.01        ** 24                 *** 1,145,805
 information to receive a replacement card
 through the oSSNAP \+\.....................
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                   SSNAP/SS-5 Modality
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Respondents who do not have to provide          6,973,505            1            9    1,046,026      * 28.01        ** 24               *** 107,430,338
 parents' SSNs..............................
Respondents whom we ask to provide parents'       207,521            1            9       31,128      * 28.01        ** 24                 *** 3,196,949
 SSNs (when applying for original SSN cards
 for children under age 12).................
Applicants age 12 or older who need to          1,113,144            1           10      185,524      * 28.01        ** 24                *** 17,668,204
 answer additional questions so SSA can
 determine whether we previously assigned an
 SSN........................................
Applicants asking for a replacement SSN card        6,703            1           60        6,703      * 28.01        ** 24                   *** 262,846
 beyond the allowable limits (i.e., who must
 provide additional documentation to
 accompany the application).................
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                                                               Enumeration Quality Review
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Authorization to SSA to obtain personal               500            1           15          125      * 28.01        ** 24                     *** 9,103
 information cover letter...................
Authorization to SSA to obtain personal               500            1           15          125      * 28.01        ** 24                     *** 9,103
 information follow-up cover letter.........
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                                                                       Grand Total
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Totals..................................   16,213,543  ...........  ...........    1,928,937  ...........  ...........               *** 159,309,973
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\+\ The number of respondents for this modality is an estimate based on google analytics data for the SS-5 form downloads from SSA.Gov.
* We based this figure on average Hospital Records Clerks (https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes292098.htm), and average U.S. worker's hourly wages
  (https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_nat.htm) as reported by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
** We based this figure on the average FY 2023 wait times for field offices, based on SSA's current management information data.
*** This figure does not represent actual costs that SSA is imposing on recipients of Social Security payments to complete this application; rather,
  these are theoretical opportunity costs for the additional time respondents will spend to complete the application. There is no actual charge to
  respondents to complete the application.


    Dated: March 28, 2023.
Naomi Sipple,
Reports Clearance Officer, Social Security Administration.
[FR Doc. 2023-06682 Filed 3-30-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4191-02-P