[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 158 (Thursday, August 15, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 66429-66430]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-18316]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration


Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; 
Comment Request

    In compliance with section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the Paperwork Reduction 
Act of 1995 concerning opportunity for public comment on proposed 
collections of information, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health 
Services Administration (SAMHSA) will publish periodic summaries of 
proposed projects. To request more information on the proposed projects 
or to obtain a copy of the information collection plans, email the 
SAMHSA Reports Clearance Officer at [email protected]. Comments 
are invited on: (a) whether the proposed collections of information are 
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) ways to enhance 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.

Proposed Project: SAMHSA Unified Client-Level Performance Reporting 
Tool (SUPRT)--(OMB No. 0930-NEW)

    The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration 
(SAMHSA) is the agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human 
Services that leads public health efforts to advance the behavioral 
health of the nation. SAMHSA is seeking approval for the new SAMHSA 
Unified Client-level Performance Reporting Tool (SUPRT) to modify the 
existing Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT) and Center for 
Mental Health Services (CMHS) Client-Level Performance Instruments into 
a streamlined, multi-component SAMHSA Client-Level Performance Tool. 
Currently, over 7,500 grantees across a range of prevention, harm 
reduction, treatment, and recovery support discretionary grant programs 
report program performance data into SAMHSA's Performance 
Accountability and Reporting System (SPARS) that serves as a central 
data repository. SPARS also functions as a performance management 
system that captures information on the substance use and mental health 
services delivered via the range of SAMHSA's discretionary grants. 
SAMHSA has historically required grantees to collect much of the 
client-level information in SPARS using a prescribed series of 
questions in long complex instruments. This is not the totality of data 
tools SAMHSA uses, however, to collect performance data on its 
discretionary grant programs. SAMHSA uses data collected, depending on 
the grant program, at the client-level, but also through aggregate 
program performance tools, required narrative performance progress 
reports, or a combination of these. This notice informs the public of 
SAMHSA's intent to develop and implement a new streamlined client-level 
performance tool that will allow SAMHSA to continue to meet Government 
Performance and Results Modernization Act (GPRAMA) of 2010 reporting 
requirements, reduce the scope and associated burden of questions 
requiring responses directly from clients, and limit the amount of 
client-level detail reported by grantees.
    The proposed new client-level performance tool will involve 
streamlining questions from the currently used client-level performance 
reporting tools, as well as incorporating select new measures/questions 
into a multi-component client-level tool. With this change, SAMHSA will 
provide guidance specifying which items SAMHSA expects grantees to ask 
directly of clients and those for which grantees may use alternate data 
sources for gathering and reporting client-level data. This new, 
streamlined client-level performance tool will reduce client and 
grantee reporting burden and enhance consistency of the collected 
performance data. This tool also reflects diverse stakeholder feedback 
SAMHSA obtained through multiple listening sessions conducted with key 
stakeholders and will incorporate findings of cognitive testing to 
improve clarity of the measures. This performance tool will align with, 
and strengthen, SAMHSA's complementary evaluation activities of its 
discretionary grant programs providing client services.
    SAMHSA will use the data collected through the new streamlined 
client-level performance tool for both annual reporting required by 
GPRAMA, grantee monitoring, and continuous improvement of its 
discretionary grant programs. The information collected through this 
process will allow SAMHSA to (1) monitor and report on implementation 
and overall performance of the associated grant programs; (2) advance 
SAMHSA's proposed performance goals; and (3) assess the accountability 
and performance of its discretionary grant programs, focused on efforts 
that promote mental health, prevent substance use, and provide 
treatments and supports to foster recovery.
    Through the proposed new, streamlined single client-level 
performance tool, SAMHSA seeks to (1) improve the utility of client-
level performance tools while decreasing burden; (2) standardize and 
utilize tested questions across programs wherever possible; and, (3) 
elicit programmatic information that helps inform the impact of 
discretionary grant programs on the achievement of SAMHSA's Strategic 
Priority Area goals and objectives (https://www.samhsa.gov/about-us/strategic-plan). Furthermore, this effort is designed to align 
performance reporting requirements with the measurement activities of 
other federal agencies (e.g., the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid 
Services; the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; the U.S. 
Census Bureau; the Office of Management and Budget; etc.) to the extent 
possible. To meet these goals, data from the new client-level 
performance tool for SAMHSA's discretionary grants can be used to 
delineate who is served, how they are served, what services they 
receive, and how the program impacts the progress of clients in terms 
of mental health and substance use issues. The tool reflects SAMHSA's 
goals to elicit pertinent program data that can be used to inform 
current and future programs and practices and respond to stakeholders, 
congressional, and other agency inquiries.
    The proposed structure of the new tool will be one that is 
streamlined and multi-component with client-level information collected 
and reported at varying frequencies. The first component will be 
composed of standardized questions about demographic information (asked 
directly of clients at baseline only) and social determinants of health 
(asked directly of clients at baseline and

[[Page 66430]]

annually as instructed by SAMHSA); the second component will contain 
standardized recovery, quality of life, and client goal measures as 
impacted by services received (also asked of clients at baseline and 
reassessment during the first year of a grant, then annually as 
instructed by SAMHSA); and the third component will consist of a 
streamlined set of questions describing clients' behavioral health 
history, screening and diagnosis items, and services provided to 
clients (as reported at the client-level by the grantee using alternate 
data sources that already may be in use for other purposes, for example 
an electronic health or medical record). Question(s) about services 
provided to the client will only be required at reassessment and 
annually for some programs as instructed by SAMHSA.
    Currently, the tool and final burden table are still under 
development and will be available as part of the 30-Day FRN. However, 
SAMHSA expects that use of the multi-component tool will result in a 
significant decrease in burden for client and grantee annualized 
reporting, not only because of the streamlining of questions, but also 
because not all items will be required at every data collection time 
point. For example, SAMHSA anticipates that the services provided item 
will not be required to report at baseline, only reassessment and, for 
some programs, annually. SAMHSA is also finalizing a revised policy on 
when reassessments are expected to occur, recognizing that a one-size 
fits all approach may not be appropriate for all client-focused grant 
programs. SAMHSA is conducting testing to establish a better estimate 
of the time it will take to complete the information collection given 
the varying degree of direct client involvement across the new tool's 
components and grantee use of alternate data sources for a portion of 
the tool. At this point, SAMHSA estimates that approximately 1500 
client-focused grantees annually will use the tool and with a burden 
hour estimate per assessment that ranges from 0.13 to 0.27 for each of 
the three tool components. SAMHSA's goal is to develop a new 
performance tool that is streamlined and will significantly reduce 
burden compared to the current performance tools.
    Send comments to the SAMHSA Reports Clearance Officer, 5600 Fishers 
Lane, Room 15E45, Rockville, Maryland 20857, OR email a copy to 
[email protected]. Written comments should be received by 
October 15, 2024.

Alicia Broadus,
Public Health Advisor.
[FR Doc. 2024-18316 Filed 8-14-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4162-20-P