Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 92 (Thursday, May 13, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 25897-25898]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-12093]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration


Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission for OMB 
Review; Comment Request

    Periodically, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services 
Administration (SAMHSA) will publish a list of information collection 
requests under OMB review, in compliance with the Paperwork Reduction 
Act (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35). To request a copy of these documents, call 
the SAMHSA Reports Clearance Officer on (301) 443-7978.

Assessment of the National Leadership Institute Program and 
Services--New

    The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration's (SAMHSA) 
Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT) intends to conduct an 
assessment of its National Leadership Institute (NLI). The goal 
underlying the technical assistance and training opportunities provided 
through the NLI is to strengthen the competitive position and power of 
nonprofit community-based organizations (CBOs) which are essential 
components of local substance abuse services for the uninsured and 
under-insured.
    The NLI gathers, adapts, and disseminates the best available 
knowledge about business management for nonprofit agencies, including 
competitive bidding, strategic development and business planning, 
cultural competency, team building and change management, and 
Management Information Systems. Participants in the NLI technical 
assistance programs are self-identified and participate in either 
short- or long-term technical assistance (TA). Short-term TA includes 
two on-site TA visits, one training event, one group technical 
assistance activity, and up to five resource packages. Long-term TA 
includes up to four on-site TA visits, up to three training events, two 
group TA activities, and up to 10 resource packages. Training efforts 
are also conducted by the NLI, using curricula developed by and 
administered by the NLI.
    Both a process and an impact assessment will be conducted. The 
process assessment will describe the needs faced by CBOs, the types of 
training and technical assistance that CBOs receive through the NLI, 
and CBO satisfaction with services. The impact assessment will focus on 
specific changes made by CBOs in response to NLI recommendations, and

[[Page 25898]]

improvements in self-rated organizational performance and several 
organization status measures.
    Analysis of this information will assist CSAT in documenting the 
numbers and types of participants accessing these services, and 
describing the extent to which participants improve in their knowledge, 
skill, and ability to manage their organizations in this changing 
business environment. This type of information is crucial to support 
CSAT in complying with GPRA reporting requirements and will inform 
future development of technical assistance activities.
    The assessment design for technical assistance participants will be 
a pre-post design that collects identical information at initiation of 
NLI contact and again after 12 months. This time frame is necessary to 
allow CBOs the opportunity to address NLI technical assistance 
recommendations and to plan and implement their changes. In addition, 
the assessment will collect satisfaction measures after each technical 
assistance event, and both a comprehensive satisfaction summary and an 
activity summary at 6 and 12 months after initial NLI contact. A formal 
comparison group is not available, but comparisons of changes in key 
organization status measures can be made with similar data on changes 
collected from other CSAT KDA-funded grantees. These key status 
indicators include organization revenues, revenue per client, revenue 
sources, client flow, staff level, staff turnover, services provided, 
and major growth/expansion or contraction. In addition, these same 
indicators will be collected, in one interview, for several prior years 
to establish a pattern of change within specific CBOs.
    A feature of the data collected in this evaluation is the inclusion 
of pre- and post-service perceptions of organizational functioning 
across 14 business and financial management domains. This information 
constitutes a self-assessment that is used in planning NLI services, 
and comprises the baseline against which follow-up measures of 
functioning will be assessed.
    NLI anticipates receiving requests for assistance from 79 CBOs per 
year over the next 3 years, for a total of 237 programs. This includes 
up to 54 CBOs requiring long-term TA, and up to 25 CBOs requiring 
short-term TA. Data collection burden will be borne primarily by 
directors of the CBOs who will provide initial contact information (30 
minutes), pre- and post-test versions of organizational self 
assessments (60 minutes), satisfaction forms (5 minutes each for 2 
types of questionnaire), and activity summaries (10 minutes). Moreover, 
up to 10 focus groups will be held with staff representatives from 3 to 
6 CBOs per focus group. Discussions will be held with staff 
representatives from CBOs receiving NLI services. An estimated 54 staff 
representatives will be contacted each year. Each focus group will have 
approximately 18 attendees. Finally, an estimated 475 attendees at 
training events per year will also receive a brief satisfaction 
questionnaire. The chart below summarizes the total three-year and 
annualized burden for this project.

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                                                     Estimated
                      Form                           number of     Responses per     Hours per      Total hours
                                                    respondents     respondent       response
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                                         Technical Assistance Recipients
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Initial Contact Form............................             237               1             .25              59
Organization Self-Assessment....................             237               2             .75             356
Technical Assistance Event Satisfaction.........             237               1             .08              19
Activity Summary................................             237               2             .33             156
Comprehensive NLI Satisfaction..................             237               1             .16              40
Focus Groups....................................             180               1             180             180
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                                              Training Participants
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Training Participant Information Form...........           1,425               2             .08             228
Training Participant 30 day follow-up...........           1,425               1             .08             114
                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------
    Total.......................................           1,842  ..............  ..............            1152
                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------
    Annual average..............................             614  ..............  ..............             384
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    Written comments and recommendations concerning the proposed 
information collection should be sent within 30 days of this notice to: 
Daniel Chenok, Human Resources and Housing Branch, Office of Management 
and Budget, New Executive Office Building, Room 10235, Washington, DC 
20503.

    Dated: May 7, 1999.
Richard Kopanda,
Executive Officer, SAMHSA.
[FR Doc. 99-12093 Filed 5-12-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4162-20-P