[Federal Register: April 7, 2003 (Volume 68, Number 66)]
[Notices]
[Page 16807-16808]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr07ap03-74]
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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 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, call the SAMHSA
Reports Clearance Officer on (301) 443-7978.
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
National Outcomes Performance Assessment of the Collaborative
Initiative to Help End Chronic Homelessness--New--This Initiative is
coordinated by the U.S. Interagency Council on the Homeless and
involves the participation of three Council members: the Department of
Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the Department of Health and Human
Services (HHS), and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Within
HHS, SAMHSA's Center for Mental Health Services is the lead agency.
This project will monitor the implementation and effectiveness of
the Initiative. A national assessment of client outcomes is needed to
assure a high level of accountability and to identify which models work
best for which people, using the same methods for all sites. To this
end, this project will provide a site-by-site description of program
implementation, as well as descriptive information on clients served;
services received; housing quality, stability, and satisfaction; and,
client outcomes in health and functional domains. The VA Northeast
Program Evaluation Center (NEPEC), based at the VA Connecticut
Healthcare System in West Haven, Connecticut, will be responsible for
conducting this project.
Data collection will be conducted over a 36-month period. At each
site, a series of measures will be used to assess (1) program
implementation (e.g., number and types of housing units produced and
intensity and types of treatment and supportive services provided), (2)
client descriptive information (e.g., demographic and clinical
characteristics, and housing and treatment services received) and, (3)
client outcomes.
Client outcomes will be measured using a series of structured
instruments administered by evaluation personnel employed and funded by
the local VA medical center or outpatient clinic involved at each
Initiative site who will work closely with central NEPEC staff.
Assessments will be conducted through face-to-face interviews and, when
needed, telephone interviews. Interviews (approximately one hour in
length) will be conducted at baseline, defined as the date of entry
into the clinical treatment program leading to placement into permanent
housing, and quarterly (every 3 months) thereafter for up to three
years. Discharge data will be collected from program staff at the time
of official discharge from the program, or when the client has not had
any clinical contact from members of the program staff for at least 6
months. In addition to client interviews, key informant interviews with
up to 15 program managers at each site will be conducted annually.
At most Initiative sites, it is expected that more people will be
screened and/or evaluated for participation in the program than receive
the full range of core housing and treatment services. We have
conceptualized entry into the Initiative as a two-phase process
involving an Outreach/Screening/Assessment Phase (Phase I), and an
Active Housing Placement/Treatment Phase (Phase II) that is expected to
lead to exit from homelessness. In some programs these two phases may
be described as the Outreach and Case Management Phases. It will be
important to have at least some minimal information on all clients so
as to be able to compare those who enter Housing/Treatment with those
who do not.
Client-level data at the time of first contact with the program
(i.e., before the client receives more intensive treatment or housing
services) will be collected using a screener form. The screener form
will be completed by the Evaluation assistant or member of the clinical
staff when prospective clients are first told about the program, and
express interest in participating in the program (i.e., when they enter
Phase I). The purpose of this form is to identify the sampling frame of
the evaluation at
[[Page 16808]]
each site, or the pool of potential clients from which clients are then
selected. Program implementation will be measured using a series of
progress summaries.
Initiative sites will be responsible for screening potential
participants, assessing homeless and disabling condition eligibility
criteria for the program, and documenting eligibility as part of the
national performance assessment. Each site will identify a limited
number of portals of entry into the program in a relatively small
geographic area, so that the evaluator can practically and
systematically contact clients about participating in the evaluation.
VA evaluation staff, clinical program staff, and NEPEC will work
together to establish systematic procedures for assessing eligibility,
enrolling clients into the Housing/Treatment Activity of the
Initiative, obtaining written informed consent to participate in the
national performance assessment, and other evaluation activities.
The estimated response burden to collect this information is as
follows:
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Burden/
Instrument No. of Responses/ response Total burden
respondents respondent (hrs) (hrs)
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Client screener (completed by program staff).... 10 300 0.083 249
Client baseline interview....................... 1,200 1 1.00 1,200
Client followup interviews...................... 1,200 11 0.67 8,844
Client discharge form (completed by program 10 120 0.083 100
staff).........................................
Key informant interviews with site program 108 3 1.00 324
managers.......................................
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Total....................................... 1,318 .............. .............. 10,717
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3-Year annual average....................... 1,318 .............. .............. 3,572
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Send comments to Nancy Pearce, SAMHSA Reports Clearance Officer,
Room 16-105, Parklawn Building, 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, MD 20857.
Written comments should be received within 60 days of this notice.
Dated: April 1, 2003.
Richard Kopanda,
Executive Officer, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
Administration.
[FR Doc. 03-8324 Filed 4-4-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4162-20-P