2021-13615. Proposed Collection; Comment Request

AGENCY:

The Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, Department of Defense (DoD).

ACTION:

Information collection notice.

SUMMARY:

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness announces a proposed public information collection and seeks public comment on the provisions thereof. Comments are invited on: 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; the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the proposed information collection; ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and ways to minimize the burden of the information collection on respondents, including through the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology.

DATES:

Consideration will be given to all comments received by August 24, 2021.

ADDRESSES:

You may submit comments, identified by docket number and title, by any of the following methods:

Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions for submitting comments.

Mail: The DoD cannot receive written comments at this time due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Comments should be sent electronically to the docket listed above.

Instructions: All submissions received must include the agency name, docket number and title for this Federal Register document. The general policy for comments and other submissions from members of the public is to make these submissions available for public viewing on the internet at http://www.regulations.gov as they are received without change, including any personal identifiers or contact information.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

To request more information on this proposed information collection or to obtain a copy of the proposal and associated collection instruments, please write to Ms. Angela Duncan at the Department of Defense, Washington Headquarters Services, ATTN: Executive Services Directorate, Directives Division, 4800 Mark Center Drive, Suite 03F09-09, Alexandria, VA 22350-3100 or call 571-372-7574.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Title; Associated Form; and OMB Number: QuickCompass of Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Personnel (QSAPR), OMB Control Number 0704-0603.

Needs and Uses: The QuickCompass of Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Personnel (QSAPR) assesses perceived professional or other reprisal or retaliation; access to sufficient physical and mental health services as a result of the nature of their work; access to installation and unit commanders; access to victims and alleged offender's immediate commander; responsiveness of commanders to Sexual Assault Response Coordinators (SARCs); support and services provided to sexual assault victims; understanding of others of the process and their willingness to assist; adequacy of training received by SARCs and Sexual Assault Prevention and Response (SAPR) VAs to effectively perform their duties; and other factors affecting the ability of SARCs and SAPR VAs to perform their duties. In addition, the results of the survey will assess progress, identify shortfalls, and revise policies and programs as needed. The FY21 NDAA requires that not later than June 30, 2021 the Secretary of Defense (SECDEF) survey SARCs and SAPR VAs on their ability to perform duties. SECDEF is required to submit a report of the survey results and actions to be taken as a result of the survey to the Senate and House Committees on Armed Services. In order to be able to meet reporting requirements for DoD leadership, the Military Services, and Congress, the survey needs to be completed by May 2021 to be able to present results to leadership by the end of 2021. That will also allow the results to be shared with the Department and Congress in the DoD SAPRO Annual Report as they have been in previous cycles. Data will be aggregated and reported triennially in perpetuity. Ultimately, the study will provide a report to Congress and all of the data, programs, and computational details necessary for replication and peer review.

Affected Public: Individuals or households.

Annual burden hours: 1,667.

Number of Respondents: 5,000.

Responses per Respondent: 1.

Annual Responses: 5,000.

Average Burden per Response: 20 minutes.

Frequency: Every 3 years.

The target population for this survey will be all SARCs, VAs, and SVCs/VLCs who are either Active Duty, Reserves/National Guard, or a DoD civilian employee. The survey will solicit insights into characteristics of SAPR programs to better understand how responders are trained for their position and their perceptions of how well their program is supported and executed.

The full online survey system will be hosted internally on OPA contractor servers. Participants will receive email communications notifying them about the importance of the survey, the confidential nature of the data collection, how the data will be used, and how to access the website. Respondents will be given a unique link and passcode to enter the survey in all email communications. They will receive up to no more than seven emails during the survey fielding. The reminder emails will be sent only to those selected sample members who have not yet responded to the survey or who are not active refusers. Once they complete the questions on the survey, there is a submit button to send their response.

OPA weights the eligible respondents in order to make inferences about the entire population of SAPR Personnel. The weighting methodology utilizes standard weighting processes.

Dated: June 16, 2021.

Aaron T. Siegel,

Alternate OSD Federal Register Liaison Officer, Department of Defense.