2010-18877. 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 [phone].

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: Program Evaluation for Assertive Adolescent & Family Treatment (AAFT) Program—NEW

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's (SAMHSA) Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT) has implemented the Assertive Adolescent and Family Treatment (AAFT) program to promote the adoption of evidence-based practices by community providers in the area of adolescent substance use treatment. The AAFT program provides evidence-based substance use services to adolescents and their families, as well as to transition-age youth (TAY), caregivers, and their families/mentors. This program is based on evidence that families/caregivers are an integral part of the treatment process and their inclusion in services increases the likelihood of successful treatment and reintegration of adolescents/TAYs into their communities following treatment. AAFT requires grantees to implement the Adolescent Community Reinforcement Approach (A-CRA) coupled with Assertive Continuing Care (ACC) to provide treatment that is context-specific, family-centered, and community-based. Grantees are also required to use the Global Appraisal of Individual Needs (GAIN) as the common assessment instrument across programs to improve intake assessment, clinical interpretation, monitoring, and data management. The GAIN is used for diagnosis and to assist in placement, treatment planning, local evaluation, and continuous quality improvement for programs. In supporting AAFT and to ensure that each implementation activity required by AAFT is implemented well and with fidelity, CSAT has provided, through Chestnut Health Systems, a package of implementation supports, including manual-assisted training in and certification for clinical staff on A-CRA and ACC, training/certification in GAIN, monitoring/coaching/mentoring/support for clinicians and supervisors, implementation calls and monthly progress reports, and topical workgroups that share ideas and resources among grantees. The overarching objective of the multi-site, Assertive Adolescent and Family Treatment (AAFT) process and outcome evaluation is to assess and document the process of implementation in the 2009 cohort of AAFT grantees and to explore the role that implementation supports play in how well these programs evolve.

CSAT is requesting approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to implement three versions of a data collection document, the AAFT Implementation Survey, to gather longitudinal data (end of each of 3 project years) from a range of grantee personnel to evaluate the implementation, expansion, and sustainability of adolescent substance use services developed under the AAFT program.

The current proposal requests implementing the AAFT Implementation Surveys to collect information in the following areas:

a. Attitudes toward evidence-based practices generally, and AAFT model components in particular (e.g., attitudes toward using a treatment manual, achieving certification);

b. Grantee involvement with the implementation supports provided by Chestnut Health Systems and their reactions to those implementation supports;

c. Perceived changes in clinical practice/behavior indicating movement toward full A-CRA/ACC implementation;

d. Perceived barriers encountered in implementation and compensatory strategies;

e. Report on project progress, including activities related to the AAFT program, changes to program plans, project accomplishments, and efforts to plan for sustainability of the program.

This information would be collected annually, at the end of each project year. The surveys three versions are tailored to address the respondents' roles in the grant (Principal Investigator/Program Director, Clinical Supervisor/Clinician, and Evaluator/Data Manager). Staffing patterns at each grantee site vary greatly; therefore, the estimate includes the total number of respondents for each category based on initial grantee proposals. The goal is to conduct surveys with approximately 21 administrators, 56 clinical staff, and 28 evaluators/data managers. The total number of respondents—105 individuals—represent project staff at three distinct levels across 14 grantee sites.

The burden estimate for completing the Annual Program Survey is as follows:

Annual Reporting Burden—Summary Table

Data collection activity	Number of respondents 1	Responses per respondent 2	Total responses	Average hours per response	Total hour burden	Wage rate (hourly)	Total hour cost ($)
CY 2010-12 Annual Reporting Burden
AAFT Implementation Survey—Principal Investigator/Program Director	21	1	21	0.75	15.75	50	787.50
AAFT Implementation Survey—Clinical Supervisor/Clinician	56	1	56	0.75	42	26	1092.00
AAFT Implementation Survey—Evaluator/Data Manager	28	1	28	0.75	21	15	315.00
Annual Total	105		105		78.75		2,194.50
1 Represents project staff at three distinct levels—administrators, clinical staff, evaluators—across 14 grantee sites. Number of respondents is an average of respondents per role based on staffing patterns described in grantee proposals.
2 The AAFT Implementation Survey will be completed once by respondents at all 14 sites at the end of each project year.

Send comments to Summer King, SAMHSA Reports Clearance Officer, OAS, Room 7-1044, 1 Choke Cherry Road, Rockville, MD 20857. Written comments should be received by October 1, 2010.

Dated: July 27, 2010.

Elaine Parry,

Director, Office of Program Services.