Proposed Data Collection Submitted for Public Comment and Recommendations

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

[60Day-26-1414; Docket No. CDC-2026-0827]

Proposed Data Collection Submitted for Public Comment and Recommendations

AGENCY:

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

ACTION:

Notice with comment period.

SUMMARY:

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as part of its continuing effort to reduce public burden and maximize the utility of government information, invites the general public and other federal agencies the opportunity to comment on a continuing information collection, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. This notice invites comment on a proposed information collection project titled Advancing Violence Epidemiology in Real-Time (AVERT). The AVERT program provides funding to jurisdictions to conduct routine monitoring of Emergency Department visits related to violence-related injuries and mental health conditions, and to analyze these data in a timely manner.

DATES:

CDC must receive written comments on or before July 27, 2026.

ADDRESSES:

You may submit comments, identified by Docket No. CDC-2026-0827 by either of the following methods:

•

Federal eRulemaking Portal: www.regulations.gov.

Follow the instructions for submitting comments.

•

Mail:

Jeffrey M. Zirger, Information Collection Review Office, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Road NE, MS H21-8, Atlanta, Georgia 30329.

Instructions:

All submissions received must include the agency name and Docket Number. CDC will post, without change, all relevant comments to

www.regulations.gov.

Please note:

Submit all comments through the Federal eRulemaking portal (

www.regulations.gov

) or by U.S. mail to the address listed above.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

To request more information on the proposed project or to obtain a copy of the information collection plan and instruments, contact Jeffrey M. Zirger, Information Collection Review Office, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Road NE, MS H21-8, Atlanta, Georgia 30329; Telephone: 404-639-7570; Email:

omb@cdc.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) (44 U.S.C. 3501-3520), federal agencies must obtain approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for each collection of information they conduct or sponsor. In addition, the PRA also requires federal agencies to provide a 60-day notice in the

Federal Register

concerning each proposed collection of information, including each new proposed collection, each proposed extension of existing collection of information, and each reinstatement of previously approved information collection before submitting the collection to the OMB for approval. To comply with this requirement, we are publishing this notice of a proposed data collection as described below.

The OMB is particularly interested in comments that will help:

1. Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the information will have practical utility;

2. Evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of information, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used;

3. Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected;

4. Minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms of information technology,

e.g.,

permitting electronic submissions of responses; and

5. Assess information collection costs.

Proposed Project

Advancing Violence Epidemiology in Real-Time (AVERT) (OMB Control No. 0920-1414, Exp. 9/30/2026)—Revision—National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (NCIPC), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Background and Brief Description

This Information Collection Request (ICR) for Advancing Violence Epidemiology in Real-Time (AVERT) is submitted as a renewal of previously approved information collection. This request is for continued approval to collect information for AVERT using the existing data collection approach, case definitions, and National Syndromic Surveillance Program (NSSP) infrastructure. The length of data collection requested for OMB approval is three years. AVERT supports data collection efforts that expand and enhance partnerships with public health departments initiated to share

emergency department (ED) visit data with CDC. The AVERT program provides funding to jurisdictions to conduct routine monitoring of ED visits related to violence-related injuries and mental health conditions, and to analyze these data in a timely manner and share these data with CDC to support public health surveillance and response. AVERT also ensures that participating jurisdictions use their data to track these violent injury outcomes by providing jurisdictions standardized definitions, which can facilitate rapid identification and tracking of violence and mental health related ED visits. AVERT leverages existing ED data collection efforts deployed across state health departments through CDC's National ED Syndromic Surveillance program. The Office of Public Health Data, Surveillance, and Technology (OPHDST) in CDC operates the National Syndromic Surveillance Program (NSSP) BioSense Platform (OMB Control No. 0920-0824) through which state and local health departments share preliminary ED visit data from approximately 85% of ED facilities in the US (>7,500 participating EDs).

AVERT will continue to establish and maintain local and state information collection of violence-related injuries and mental health conditions and provide public health partners and the public with more timely and useful violence surveillance data than is currently available. Jurisdictions provide CDC access to their syndromic surveillance data from EDs in CDC's NSSP system. Health departments have used this data to populate state data dashboards and develop alerts for local communities. In addition, health departments have used this data in concert with other violence data sources, including the National Violent Death Reporting System, to gain a better overall picture of violence-related injuries in their communities.

Health departments sharing syndromic surveillance data with CDC will be required to complete the

ED Violence Data Form

on a bimonthly basis using data from existing state and local ED data collection efforts, described previously.

In Year 1, the AVERT program received funding to support a total of 12 jurisdictions. Additionally, through collaboration with NSSP, the AVERT program has developed advanced scripts and standardized data reports. As a result, participating jurisdictions will receive these reports directly and will no longer need to develop their own. This has reduced estimated burden hours. CDC requests OMB approval for an estimated 18 annual burden hours. There is no cost to respondents other than their time.

Estimated Annualized Burden Hours

Type of respondent

Form name

Number of

respondents

Total

number of

responses per

respondent

(annual No.)

Average

burden per

response

(hours)

Total annual

burden

(hours)

Participating health departments sharing case-level ED data with CDC through the NSSP BioSense (OMB #0920-0824)

ED form (ED violence data form)

12

6

15/60

18

Total

18

Jeffrey M. Zirger,

Lead, Information Collection Review Office, Office of Public Health Ethics and Regulations, Office of Science, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

[FR Doc. 2026-10513 Filed 5-26-26; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4163-18-P