Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection: Comment Request

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Health Resources And Services Administration

Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection:

Comment Request

In compliance with the requirement for opportunity for public

comment on proposed data collection projects (section 3506(c)(2)(A) of

Title 44, United States Code, as amended by the Paperwork Reduction Act

of 1995, Public Law 104-13), the Health Resources and Services

Administration (HRSA) publishes periodic summaries of proposed projects

being developed for submission to OMB under the Paperwork Reduction Act

of 1995. To request more information on the proposed project or to

obtain a copy of the data collection plans and draft instruments, call

the HRSA Reports Clearance Officer on (301) 443-1129.

Comments are invited on: (a) 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; (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: Voluntary Partner Surveys To Implement Executive

Order 12862 in the Health Resources and Services Administration--

(OMB 0915-0213)--Extension

In response to Executive Order 12862, the Health Resources and

Services Administration (HRSA) is proposing to conduct voluntary

customer surveys of its ``partners'' to assess strengths and weaknesses

in program services. A generic approval is being requested from OMB to

conduct the partner surveys. HRSA partners are typically State or local

governments, health care facilities, health care consortia, health care

providers, and researchers.

Partner surveys to be conducted by HRSA might include, for example,

mail or telephone surveys of grantees to determine satisfaction with a

technical assistance contractor, or in-class evaluation forms completed

by providers who receive training from HRSA grantees, to measure

satisfaction with the training experience. Results of these surveys

will be used to plan and redirect resources and efforts as needed to

improve service. Focus groups may also be used to gain partner input

into the design of mail and telephone surveys. Focus groups in-class

evaluation forms, mail surveys, and telephone surveys are expected to

be the preferred methodologies.

A generic approval will permit HRSA to conduct a limited number of

partner surveys without a full-scale OMB review of each survey. If

generic approval is granted, information on each individual partner

survey will not be published in the Federal Register.

The estimated response burden is as follows:

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Responses

Type of survey Number of per Hours per Total hour

respondents respondent response burden

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In-class evaluations........................................ 40,000 1 .05 2,000

Mail/Telephone surveys...................................... 12,000 1 .25 3,000

Focus groups................................................ 50 1 1.5 75

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Total................................................. 52,050 1 .10 5,075

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[[Page 70045]]

Send comments to Susan G. Queen, Ph.D., HRSA Reports Clearance

Officer, Room 14-33, Parklawn Building, 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville,

MD 20857. Written comments should be received within 60 days of this

notice.

Dated: December 9, 1999.

Jane Harrison,

Director, Division of Policy Review and Coordination.

[FR Doc. 99-32429 Filed 12-14-99; 8:45 am]

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