[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 191 (Wednesday, October 4, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 68642-68643]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-21967]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration


Tribal Opioid Response (TOR) Consultation

AGENCY: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration 
(SAMHSA), HHS.

ACTION: Notice of meeting and request for testimony.

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SUMMARY: SAMHSA announces a Tribal Consultation Session on the Tribal 
Opioid Response (TOR) grant funding methodology. SAMHSA will host 
American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) Federally Recognized Tribes 
for a virtual Tribal consultation session.

DATES: The Tribal consultation will be held on November 9th, at 2 p.m. 
ET.
    SAMHSA will accept written Tribal testimony until 5 p.m., November 
23rd, 2023.

ADDRESSES: Written tribal testimony should be submitted by email to 
[email protected]. All submissions must include Tribal affiliation. 
All relevant comments, including any personal information provided, 
will be posted without change.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Karen Hearod, MSW, LCSW, Director, 
Office of Tribal Affairs and Policy, Substance Abuse and Mental Health 
Services Administration, Telephone: 202-868-9931, Email: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Federally Recognized Indian Tribes 
represented by the Tribal President, Tribal Chair, or Tribal Governor, 
or an elected or appointed Tribal Leader, or their authorized 
representative(s) may participate in this consultation by submitting 
written views, opinions, recommendations, and data. Testimony received, 
including attachments and other supporting materials, are part of the 
public record and subject to public disclosure. Do not include any 
information in your testimony or supporting materials considered 
confidential or inappropriate for public disclosure. If you include 
your name, contact information, or other personal identifiers in the 
body of your testimony, that information will be on public display. 
SAMHSA will review all submissions and may choose to redact, or 
withhold, submissions containing private or proprietary information 
such as Social Security numbers, medical information, inappropriate 
language, or duplicate/near duplicate examples of a mass-mail campaign. 
SAMHSA will carefully consider all testimony submitted into the docket.
    Oral Tribal Testimony: Based on the number of participants giving 
testimony and the time available, it may be necessary to limit speaking 
times for each presenter. We will adjourn the Tribal consultation 
meeting early if all attendees who requested to provide oral testimony 
in advance of and during the consultation have delivered their 
testimony.
    Written Tribal Testimony: Written testimony will be accepted per 
the instructions provided in the ADDRESSES section above. Written 
testimony received in advance of the meeting will be included in the 
official record of the meeting. The consultation meeting will be 
recorded, transcribed, and posted without change to https://www.samhsa.gov/tribal-affairs/news-events, including any personal 
information provided.
    This meeting is being held in accordance with Presidential 
Executive Order No. 13175, November 6, 2000, and Presidential 
Memorandums of November 5, 2009, and September 23, 2004, and January 
26, 2021 on Consultation and Coordination with Indian Tribal Government 
and SAMHSA's Tribal Consultation Policy, which can be found at: https://www.samhsa.gov/sites/default/files/topics/tribal_affairs/tribal-consultation-policy-2017.pdf.
    Purpose: The purpose of this Consultation meeting is to advance 
SAMHSA support for, and collaboration with, federally recognized 
American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) Tribes. To advance these 
goals, SAMHSA conducts government-to-government consultations with 
Indian Tribes represented by the Tribal President, Tribal Chair, or 
Tribal Governor, or an elected or appointed Tribal Leader, or their 
authorized representative(s) to the extent practicable and permitted by 
law before SAMHSA takes any action that will significantly affect 
Indian Tribes. Consultation is an enhanced form of communication that 
emphasizes trust, respect, and shared responsibility. It is an open and 
free exchange of

[[Page 68643]]

information and opinion among parties that leads to mutual 
understanding.
    Matters To Be Considered:
    The Tribal Opioid Response Program was first authorized in 2018 
along with the State Opioid Response Program (SOR) under Title II 
Division H of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018. This 
announcement addressed Healthy People 2020, Substance Abuse Topic Area 
HP 2020-SA. All grants and sub-awards made under this announcement were 
governed by 45 CFR part 75.
    The purpose of the TOR program is to assist in addressing the 
overdose crisis in Tribal communities by increasing access to treatment 
of opioid use disorder (MOUD), and supporting the continuum of 
prevention, harm reduction, treatment, and recovery support services 
for opioid use disorder (OUD) and co-occurring substance use disorders.
    The TOR program also supports the full continuum of prevention, 
harm reduction, treatment and recovery support services for stimulant 
misuse and use disorders, including for cocaine and methamphetamine. 
The TOR program emphasizes the use of medication-assisted treatment 
using one of the three FDA-approved medications for OUDs.
    The TOR program encourages the use of traditional practices. 
Funding is for a two-year time frame. Since inception the TOR program 
has been funded using the user population estimates distributed by the 
Indian Health Services (IHS). SAMHSA is interested in receiving 
feedback and suggestions for alternate funding methodologies for the 
TOR program, including the questions below.
    Should SAMHSA continue to use the IHS user population estimates as 
the basis for determining TOR grant award amounts? If so, what tiers of 
funding should be established?
    Should SAMHSA award each TOR grant recipient the same amount, 
similar to other SAMHSA discretionary Tribal grant programs?
    Should SAMHSA award funds based on proposed number of clients 
served using grant funding?
    Should SAMHSA award funds based on proposed activities that will be 
funded through the grant?
    Should SAMHSA use some combination of the above methodologies?
    What other methodologies should be considered instead?
    Meeting Information: Zoom Virtual Tribal Consultation. If you wish 
to attend the virtual consultation session, please register here: 
https://www.zoomgov.com/meeting/register/vJItdu6qpzsoH6xCvLzSWzOWOK3ENOV2iWQ.
    Instructions to access the Zoom virtual consultation will be 
provided in the link following registration. All elected Tribal 
officials are encouraged to submit written Tribal testimony by email.

    Dated: September 28, 2023.
Carlos Castillo,
Committee Management Officer.
[FR Doc. 2023-21967 Filed 10-3-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4162-20-P