[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 176 (Wednesday, September 13, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 62798-62799]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-19795]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Administration for Children and Families


Proposed Information Collection Activity; Serious Medical 
Procedure Request (SMR) Form (Office of Management and Budget #: 0970-
0561)

AGENCY: Office of Refugee Resettlement, Administration for Children and 
Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

ACTION: Request for public comments.

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SUMMARY: The Administration for Children and Families' (ACF) Office of 
Refugee Resettlement is requesting a 3-year extension of the Serious 
Medical Procedure Request (SMR) Form (Office of Management and Budget 
#0970-0561, expiration February 29, 2024). Revisions are proposed to 
the currently approved form.

DATES: Comments due within 60 days of publication. In compliance with 
the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, ACF is 
soliciting public comment on the specific aspects of the information 
collection described above.

ADDRESSES: You can obtain copies of the proposed collection of 
information and submit comments by emailing [email protected]. 
Identify all requests by the title of the information collection.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Description: ACF's ORR places unaccompanied children in their 
custody in care provider programs until unification with a qualified 
sponsor. Care provider programs are required to provide children with a 
range of services including medical, dental, and mental healthcare. 
Children identified as having a serious medical or dental condition may 
require a procedure while in ORR custody to maintain and promote their 
health and wellbeing. Procedures requiring general anesthesia, 
surgeries, and invasive diagnostic procedures (e.g., cardiac 
catheterization, invasive biopsy, amniocentesis) require advance ORR 
approval. Before ORR can approve, data must be collected on the SMR 
form and submitted to ORR by the care provider program (e.g., care 
provider program's contact information, child demographics, authorized 
consenter, unification status) and the lead surgeon (e.g., reason for 
the procedure, potential risks/complications/adverse outcomes if the 
procedure is not performed, timing, recovery timeframe, planned follow-
up procedures, hospital points of contact). ORR will waive the 
completion of the SMR form if it is deemed to be in the best interest 
of the child (e.g., during a hospitalization or emergency department 
visit, related to a medical emergency).
    The form is used as a worksheet for care provider program staff and 
surgeons to compile information that would otherwise have been 
collected during the health evaluation. Once completed, care provider 
program staff upload the form and supporting documentation into ORR's 
secure, electronic data record system and send an email notification to 
ORR staff that the SMR packet is ready for review.
    ORR has incorporated changes to the form to streamline the flow of 
data collection, clarify intent and purpose of the form and fields, 
improve data quality, and ensure alignment with ORR program policies. 
The overall estimated time per form has increased by 1 minute and has 
been adjusted to reflect a decrease by 1 minute for care provider 
program staff and an increase by 2 minutes for surgeons.
    Respondents: Care provider program staff, surgeons.

Annual Burden Estimates

    There are currently about 250 programs that use the SMR form. Over 
the past 2 years, an annual average of 115 SMR forms were submitted 
across all programs. For each form, a care provider program staff 
member completes page 1, and a surgeon completes pages 2 and 3.

                                                        Estimated Reporting Time for Respondents
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                                                                                           Total number   Average burden
                Instrument                           Respondent            Total number    of responses      hours per     Total burden    Annual burden
                                                                          of respondents  per respondent     response          hours           hours
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SMR Form..................................  Care Provider Program Staff.             250            1.38             .07           24.15               8
                                            Surgeons....................             250            1.38             .17           58.65              20
                                                                         -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Total Annual Burden Estimate..........  ............................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............              28
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[[Page 62799]]


                                                              Estimated Recordkeeping Time
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                                                                                      Total number of   Average burden
            Instrument                         Respondent            Total number of   responses per      hours per       Total burden    Annual burden
                                                                       respondents       respondent        response          hours            hours
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SMR Form..........................  Care Provider Program Staff....             250             1.38              .08             27.6                9
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    Comments: The Department specifically requests comments on (a) 
whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the 
proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether 
the information shall have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the 
agency's estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of 
information; (c) the quality, utility, and clarity of the information 
to be collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the collection 
of information on respondents, including through the use of automated 
collection techniques or other forms of information technology. 
Consideration will be given to comments and suggestions submitted 
within 60 days of this publication.
    Authority: 6 U.S.C 279: Exhibit 1, part A.2 of the Flores 
Settlement Agreement (Jenny Lisette Flores, et al., v. Janet Reno, 
Attorney General of the United States, et al., Case No. CV 85-4544-RJK 
[C.D. Cal. 1996])

Mary B. Jones,
ACF/OPRE Certifying Officer.
[FR Doc. 2023-19795 Filed 9-12-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4184-45-P