82 FR 46247 - Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; Public Comment Request; Revision of a Currently Approved Information Collection (OMB Approval Number 0985-0042); State Grant for Assistive Technology Program Annual Progress Report (AT APR)

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Administration for Community Living

Federal Register Volume 82, Issue 191 (October 4, 2017)

The Administration for Community Living (ACL) is announcing that the proposed collection of information listed above has been submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and clearance as required under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (the PRA). This 30-day notice requests comments on the information collection requirements related to a proposed Revision of a Currently Approved Information Collection (ICR-Rev). The revision would allow ACL to continue to collect information necessary to determine grantee compliance with Section 4 of the Assistive Technology Act of 1998, as Amended (AT Act).

[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 191 (Wednesday, October 4, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 46247-46248]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2017-21259]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Administration for Community Living


Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; 
Public Comment Request; Revision of a Currently Approved Information 
Collection (OMB Approval Number 0985-0042); State Grant for Assistive 
Technology Program Annual Progress Report (AT APR)

AGENCY: Administration for Community Living, Department of Health and 
Human Services.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Administration for Community Living (ACL) is announcing 
that the proposed collection of information listed above has been 
submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and 
clearance as required under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (the 
PRA). This 30-day notice requests comments on the information 
collection requirements related to a proposed Revision of a Currently 
Approved Information Collection (ICR-Rev). The revision would allow ACL 
to continue to collect information necessary to determine grantee 
compliance with Section 4 of the Assistive Technology Act of 1998, as 
Amended (AT Act).

DATES: Submit written comments on the collection of information by 
November 3, 2017.

ADDRESSES: Submit written comments on the collection of information: by 
fax at (202) 395-5806 or by email to [email protected], Attn: 
OMB Desk Officer for ACL.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robert Groenendaal at (202) 795-7356 
or [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the 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. 
``Collection of information'' is defined in 44 U.S.C. 3502(3) and 5 CFR 
1320.3(c) and includes agency requests or requirements that members of 
the public submit reports, keep records, or provide information to a 
third party. Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)) 
requires Federal agencies to provide a 60-day notice in the Federal 
Register concerning each proposed collection of information, including 
each proposed extension or update of an existing collection of 
information, before submitting the collection to OMB for approval. The 
proposed data collection represents a revision of a currently approved 
information collection. In order to comply with the above requirement, 
ACL is requesting approval of an update of a previously approved 
collection, the State Grants for Assistive Technology Program Annual 
Progress Report (AT APR), formerly the 572 Report (0985-0042).
    The AT APR is submitted annually by all State Grants for AT 
programs receiving formula funds under Section 4 of the Assistive 
Technology Act of 1998, as Amended (AT Act). The AT APR is used by ACL 
to assess grantees' compliance with Section 4 of the AT Act, with 
section 1329 of the Code of Federal Regulations, and with applicable 
provisions of the HHS regulations at 45 CFR part 75. The AT APR enables 
ACL to analyze qualitative and quantitative data to track performance 
outcomes and efficiency measures of the State Grants for AT programs; 
support budget requests; comply with the GPRA Modernization Act of 2010 
(GPRAMA) reporting requirements; provide national benchmark 
information; and inform program development and management activities. 
This information collection has 3 pieces: (a) Web-based system that 
collects data from states; (b) performance measure survey on the access 
and acquisition of AT devices and services that states collect from 
individuals; and, (c) customer satisfaction survey that states collect 
from individuals on their experiences accessing and acquiring AT 
through the State AT program. The burden table below identifies the 
data collection activities for the three surveys above as well as the 
estimates for record keeping and entry of aggregate data. In addition 
to submitting a State Plan every three years, states and outlying areas 
are required to submit annual progress reports on their activities. The 
data required for these progress reports is specified in Section 4(f) 
of the AT Act. The State Grants for AT program conduct the following 
state-level and state leadership activities: State financing, device 
demonstration, device loans, device reutilization, training and 
technical assistance, public awareness, and information and referral.

Comments in Response to the 60-Day Federal Register Notice

    A 60-Day notice was published in the Federal Register in Vol. 82, 
No. 135, pg. 32710, on July 17th, 2017. ACL received one comment from 
the Association of Assistive Technology Act Programs (ATAP), which 
represents 54 State Grant for AT programs. The comment noted that the 
proposed changes to the currently approved information collection were 
developed with extensive input of those it directly impacts, the State 
AT Program grantees. The revision process began over two years ago and 
grantees had multiple opportunities to discuss and make recommendations 
on the proposed changes, which were reviewed during numerous meetings 
with ATAP membership at national conferences and during online events. 
There is uniform support within the ATAP membership for the revisions.

Annual Burden Estimates

    The proposed State Grants for Assistive Technology Program Annual 
Progress Report (AT APR) may be found on the ACL Web site at: https://www.acl.gov/about-acl/public-input. The total estimated hour burden per 
respondent for the proposed AT APR will decrease from the 406 hours per 
respondent estimated in FY 2014 to 404 hours estimated for FY 2017, an 
estimated reduction of two hours per respondent or 112 in total. These 
are in addition to reductions made during the last information 
collection process. The reduction in burden is a result of a data

[[Page 46248]]

collection workgroup composed of State AT program staff that met with 
ACL on several occasions to suggest revisions to the current 
instrument. The workgroup identified minor changes in several sections 
of the instrument, including the reporting of state-level and state 
leadership activities. For example, AT Device Reassignment and Open-
Ended Loan have been combined into a single line in ``A. Recipient 
Table.'' This update aligns the AT APR with the State Plan for AT 
structure and will streamline data reporting by grantees. A separate 
module has been created for all the General Information for State AT 
programs that is consistent between the AT APR and the State Plan for 
AT. Data will be entered once and from that point forward only updates 
will be needed, which will streamline the data entry process for 
grantees. The Public Awareness table with numeric data has been 
replaced with two narrative text boxes. Numeric data reported in this 
section has been historically estimated with little consistency in how 
data is reported between grantees. With a shift to more electronic 
information sharing, quantified public awareness data is difficult to 
report for all grantees and aggregate data is not useful. This change 
will allow for qualitative data that is more helpful in understanding 
the activities conducted. The workgroup solicited feedback from all of 
the grantees through face-to-face meetings and webinar presentations. 
The number of hours is multiplied by 56 AT State Grants programs, 
resulting in a total estimated hour burden of 22,624 hours.

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                                                     Number of     Responses per     Hours per    Annual  burden
       Respondent/data collection activity          respondents     respondent       response          hours
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State Grants for AT Annual Progress Report (AT                56               1            80.0           4,480
 APR)...........................................
Performance Measure Surveys.....................              56               1            54.0           3,024
Customer Satisfaction Surveys...................              56               1            54.0           3,024
Data Entry for the Instruments..................              56               1           208.0          11,648
Record Keeping Burden...........................              56               1             8.0             448
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    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 22,624.

    Dated: September 27, 2017.
Mary Lazare,
Principal Deputy Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2017-21259 Filed 10-3-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4154-01-P