[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 153 (Thursday, August 10, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54344-54345]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-17176]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration


Proposed Information Collection Activity; Data Security 
Requirements for Accessing Confidential Data

AGENCY: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration; 
Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality; Department of 
Health and Human Services.

ACTION: Submission for OMB review; comment request.

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SUMMARY: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration 
(SAMHSA) within the Department of Health and Human Services has 
submitted the following information collection requirement to OMB for 
review and clearance under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. This is 
the second notice for public comment; the first was published in the 
Federal Register on November 22, 2022 and no comments were received. 
SAMHSA is forwarding the proposed Data Security Requirements for 
Accessing Confidential Data information collection to the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) for clearance simultaneously with the 
publication of this second notice. The full submission may be found at: 
http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain.

DATES: Written comments and recommendations for the proposed 
information collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of 
this notice to www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. Find this particular 
information collection by selecting ``Currently under 30-day Review--
Open for Public Comments'' or by using the search function.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Carlos Graham, SAMHSA Reports 
Clearance Officer, 5600 Fishers Lane, Room 15E57-A, Rockville, Maryland 
20857, OR email a copy to [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: SAMHSA may not conduct or sponsor a 
collection of information unless the collection of information displays 
a currently valid OMB control number and the agency informs potential 
persons who are to respond to the collection of information that such 
persons are not required to respond to the collection of information 
unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number.
    Comments: Comments regarding (a) whether the collection of 
information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of 
[agency], including whether the information will have practical 
utility; (b) the accuracy of [agency's] estimate of the burden of the 
proposed collection of information; (c) ways to enhance the quality, 
use, and clarity of the information to be collected, including through 
the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of 
information technology; (d) ways to minimize the burden of the 
collection of information on those who are to respond, including 
through the use of appropriate automated or other forms of information 
technology should be addressed to the points of contact in the FOR 
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section.
    Title of collection: Data Security Requirements for Accessing 
Confidential Data.
    OMB Control Number: 3145-0271.
    Summary of Collection: Title III of the Foundations for Evidence-
Based Policymaking Act of 2018 (44 U.S.C. 3583; hereafter referred to 
as the Evidence Act) mandates that OMB establish a Standard Application 
Process (SAP) for requesting access to certain confidential data 
assets. While the adoption of the SAP is required for statistical 
agencies and units designated under the Confidential Information 
Protection and Statistical Efficiency Act of 2018 (CIPSEA), it is 
recognized that other agencies and organizational units within the 
Executive Branch may benefit from the adoption of the SAP to accept 
applications for access to confidential data assets. The SAP is to be a 
process through which agencies, the Congressional Budget Office, State, 
local, and Tribal governments, researchers, and other individuals, as 
appropriate, may apply to access confidential data assets held by a 
federal statistical agency or unit for the purposes of developing 
evidence. With the Interagency Council on Statistical Policy (ICSP) as 
advisors, the entities upon whom this requirement is levied are working 
with the SAP Project Management Office (PMO) and with OMB to implement 
the SAP.
    The SAP Portal is to be a single web-based common application 
designed to collect information from individuals requesting access to 
confidential data assets from federal statistical agencies and units. 
When an application for confidential data is approved through the SAP 
Portal, SAMHSA will collect information to fulfill its data security 
requirements. This is a required step before providing the individual 
with access to restricted use microdata for the purpose of evidence 
building. SAMHSA's data security agreements and other paperwork, along 
with the corresponding security protocols, allow SAMHSA to maintain 
careful controls on confidentiality and privacy, as required by law. 
SAMHSA's collection of data security information will occur outside of 
the SAP Portal.
    The following bullets outline the major components and processes in 
and around the SAP Portal, leading up to SAMHSA's collection of 
security requirements.
     SAP Policy: At the recommendation of the ICSP, the SAP 
Policy establishes the SAP to be implemented by statistical agencies 
and units and incorporates directives from the Evidence Act. The

[[Page 54345]]

SAP Policy may be found in OMB Memorandum 23-04.
     The SAP Portal: The SAP Portal is an application interface 
connecting applicants seeking data with a catalog of metadata for data 
assets owned by the federal statistical agencies and units. The SAP 
Portal is not a new data repository or warehouse; confidential data 
assets will continue to be stored in secure data access facilities 
owned and hosted by the federal statistical agencies and units. The 
Portal provides a streamlined application process across agencies, 
reducing redundancies in the application process.
     Data Discovery: Individuals begin the process of accessing 
restricted use data by discovering confidential data assets through the 
SAP metadata catalog, maintained by federal statistical agencies at 
www.researchdatagov.org.
     SAP Portal Application Process: Individuals who have 
identified and wish to access confidential data assets apply through 
the SAP Portal. Applicants must create an account and follow all steps 
to complete the application. Applicants enter personal, contact, and 
institutional information for the research team and provide summary 
information about their proposed project.
     Submission for Review: Agencies approve or reject an 
application within a prompt timeframe. Agencies may also request 
applicants to revise and resubmit their application.
     Access to Confidential Data: Approved applicants are 
notified through the SAP Portal that their proposal has been accepted. 
This concludes the SAP Portal process. Agencies will contact approved 
applicants to initiate completion of their security documents. The 
completion and submission of the agency's security requirements will 
take place outside of the SAP Portal.
     Collection of Information for Data Security Requirements: 
In the instance of a positive determination for an application 
requesting access to an SAMHSA-owned confidential data asset, SAMHSA 
will contact the applicant(s) to initiate the process of collecting 
information to fulfill its data security requirements. This process 
allows SAMHSA to place the applicant(s) in a trusted access category.
    Estimate of Burden: The amount of time to complete the agreements 
and other paperwork that comprise SAMHSA's security requirements will 
vary based on the confidential data assets requested. To obtain access 
to SAMHSA confidential data assets, it is estimated that the average 
time to complete and submit SAMHSA's data security agreements and other 
paperwork is 40 minutes. This estimate does not include the time needed 
to complete and submit an application within the SAP Portal. All 
efforts related to SAP Portal applications occur prior to and separate 
from SAMHSA's effort to collect information related to data security 
requirements.
    The expected number of applications in the SAP Portal that receive 
a positive determination from SAMHSA in a given year may vary. Overall, 
per year, SAMHSA estimates it will collect data security information 
for 15 application submissions that received a positive determination 
within the SAP Portal. SAMHSA estimates that the total burden for the 
collection of information for data security requirements over the 
course of the three-year OMB clearance will be about 30 hours and, as a 
result, an average annual burden of 10 hours.
    Comments: As required by 5 CFR 1320.8(d), comments on the 
information collection activities as part of this study were solicited 
through the publication of a 60-Day Notice in the Federal Register at 
[insert FR citation]. SAMHSA received [number] comments, to which we 
here respond.
    Updates: This section is needed if there have been any major 
changes since the first FRN was published, for example, if estimates of 
burden (in terms of hours or respondents), scope, sampling, etc. were 
changed. Outline what the initial FRN specified, the new information, 
and the reason(s) why it changed.

Carlos Graham,
Reports Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. 2023-17176 Filed 8-9-23; 8:45 am]
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