2013-16494. Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission to OMB for Review and Approval; Public Comment Request

AGENCY:

Health Resources and Services Administration, HHS.

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

In compliance with Section 3507(a)(1)(D) of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) has submitted an Information Collection Request (ICR) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval. Comments submitted during the first public review of this ICR will be provided to OMB. OMB will accept further comments from the public during the review and approval period.

DATES:

Comments on this ICR should be received within 30 days of this notice.

ADDRESSES:

Submit your comments, including the Information Collection Request Title, to the desk officer for HRSA, either by email to [e-mail] or by fax to 202-395-5806.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

To request a copy of the clearance requests submitted to OMB for review, email the HRSA Information Collection Clearance Officer at [e-mail] or call [phone].

SUPPLMENTARY INFORMATION:

Information Collection Request Title: Data Collection Tool for State Offices of Rural Health Grant Program (SORH).

OMB No. 0915-0322—Extension.

Abstract: The mission of the Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP) is to sustain and improve access to quality care services for rural communities. In its authorizing language (Sec. 711 of the Social Security Act [42 U.S.C. 912]), Congress charged ORHP with administering grants, cooperative agreements, and contracts to provide technical assistance and other activities as necessary to support activities related to improving health care in rural areas.

In accordance with the Public Health Service Act, Section 338J; 42 U.S.C. 254r, the Health Resources and Services Administration proposes to revise the State Offices of Rural Health Grant Program—Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) and Forms for the Application. The FOA is used annually by 50 states in preparing applications for grants under the State Offices of Rural Health Grant Program of the Public Health Service Act, and in preparing the required report.

Need and Proposed Use of the Information: ORHP seeks to continue gathering information from grantees on their efforts to provide technical assistance to clients within their state. SORH grantees would be required to submit a Technical Assistance Report that includes: (1) The total number of technical assistance encounters provided directly by the grantee; and, (2) the total number of unduplicated clients that received direct technical assistance from the grantee. Submission of the Technical Assistance Report would be done via submission to the HRSA Electronic Handbook no later than 30 days after the end of each twelve month budget period.

Likely Respondents: Fifty State Offices of Rural Health grantees.

Burden Statement: Burden in this context means the time expended by persons to generate, maintain, retain, disclose or provide the information requested. This includes the time needed to review instructions, to develop, acquire, install and utilize technology and systems for the purpose of collecting, validating and verifying information, processing and maintaining information, and disclosing and providing information, to train personnel and to be able to respond to a collection of information, to search data sources, to complete and review the collection of information, and to transmit or otherwise disclose the information. The total annual burden hours estimated for this Information Collection Request are summarized in the table below.

Total Estimated Annualized Burden—Hours

Form name	Number of respondents	Number of responses per respondent	Total responses	Average burden per response (in hours)	Total burden hours
Technical Assistance Report	50	1	50	12.5	625
Total	50	1	50	12.5	625

Dated: July 2, 2013.

Bahar Niakan,

Director, Division of Policy and Information Coordination.