Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; Comment Request

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: Evaluation of the Comprehensive Community Mental

Health Services for Children and Their Families--Phase III--(New)

The national evaluation of SAMHSA's Comprehensive Community Mental

Health Services for Children and Their Families Program will collect

data on child mental health outcomes, family life, and service system

implementation and development. Data will be collected on 21 service

systems (20 funded systems of care and one comparison site), and on

approximately 5766 children and families. Data collection for this

evaluation will be conducted over a five-year period. The core of the

service system data will be collected every 18 months throughout the

five-year evaluation period, with a provider survey conducted in

selected years.

Service delivery and system variables of interest include the

following: system of care development, adherence to the system of care

program model, and client service experience. The length of time that

individual families will participate in the study ranges from 18 to 36

months depending on when they enter the evaluation. Child and family

outcomes will be collected at intake and during subsequent follow-up

sessions at six-month intervals. The outcome measures include the

following: child symptomatology and functioning, family functioning,

material resources, and caregiver strain. In addition, a treatment

effectiveness study will examine the relative impact of an evidence-

based treatment within one system of care. Internet-based technology

will be used for data entry and management. The average annual

respondent burden is estimated below. The estimate reflects the average

number of respondents in each respondent category, the average number

of responses per respondent each year, the average length of time it

will take for each response, and the total average annual burden for

each category of respondent, and for all categories of respondents

combined.

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Average

Number of Responses/ burden/ Total average

Respondent respondents respondent response annual burden

(hrs.)

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Caregiver....................................... 5,766 1.11 2.25 14,400.59

Youth........................................... 3,460 1.06 0.92 3,374.19

Provider/Administrator.......................... 420 0.52 1.32 288.29

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Total....................................... 9,646 .............. .............. 18,063.07

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[[Page 57642]]

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: October 20, 1999.

Richard Kopanda,

Executive Officer, SAMHSA.

[FR Doc. 99-27859 Filed 10-25-99; 8:45 am]

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