[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 36 (Friday, February 23, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8189-8190]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-3107]


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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 (240) 276-1243.
    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: Protection and Advocacy for Individuals with Mental 
Illness (PAIMI) Annual Program Performance Report (OMB No. 0930-0169)--
Revision

    The Protection and Advocacy for Individuals with Mental Illness 
(PAIMI) Act, [42 U.S.C. 10801 et seq.] authorized funds to support 
protection and advocacy services on behalf of individuals with severe 
mental illness and severe emotional impairment who are at risk for 
abuse (including incidents of seclusion, restraint, and serious 
injuries or fatalities related to such incidents, neglect, residing in 
a public or private care or treatment facility. The PAIMI Program is 
managed by the Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS) within the 
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).
    Under the PAIMI Act, formula grant awards are made to governor-
designated protection and advocacy (P&A) systems in each of the 50 
states, the District of Columbia (Mayor), the American Indian 
Consortium [the Dine (Navajo) and Hopi Peoples in Northern Arizona and 
New Mexico), and five (5) territories--American Samoa, Guam, the 
Northern Mariana Islands, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the U.S. 
Virgin Islands. The awards are used to provide legal-based advocacy 
services which ensure protection against violation of the 
constitutional and federal rights of individuals with significant 
(severe) mental illness (adults) and significant (severe) emotional 
impairment.
    In 2000, the PAIMI Act amendments, created a 57th P&A system--the 
American Indian Consortium and authorized P&A systems to serve PAIMI-
eligible individuals, as defined under the Act [42 U.S.C. at 10802 
(4)], who reside in the community including their own homes. However, 
P&A services to PAIMI-eligible clients residing in the community is 
permissible only when the annual PAIMI appropriation met or exceeded 
$30 million, and that residents in public and private residential care 
or treatment facilities had service priority over community residents. 
The Children's Health Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 290aa et seq.), also 
referenced State P&A authority to obtain information on incidents of 
seclusion, restraint, and related deaths in certain facilities.
    The PAIMI Act requires each of the 57 P & A systems to file an 
annual report, no later than January 1st, of its activities and 
accomplishments and to provide information on such topics as, the 
numbers of individuals served, types of complaints addressed, and the 
number of intervention strategies used to resolve the presenting 
issues. Under the Act, the PAIMI Advisory Council (PAC) of each P&A 
system is also required to submit its independent assessment of the 
effectiveness of the services provided to, and the activities conducted 
by, the P&A systems on behalf of PAIMI-eligible individuals and their 
family members, in a separate section of the PPR.
    The Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act of 
1975, referred to as the DD Act [42 U.S.C. 6042 et seq.], created the 
State P&A systems. The Administration on Developmental Disabilities, 
within the Administration for Children and Families, has administrative 
oversight of the Protection and Advocacy for Developmental Disabilities 
(PADD) Program. Since 1986, the Department has provided formula grant 
funds to the same governor-designated P&A systems to protect and 
advocate for individuals with significant mental illness. SAMHSA is 
currently waiting for the ADD to issue a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking 
(NPR) for the DD Act of 2000 amendments. These amendments will also 
govern activities fulfilled by the State P&A systems under the PAIMI 
Act. Therefore, to ensure to the greatest extent possible that all 
facets of the P&A system administered by the Department are subject to 
the same requirements, SAMHSA will wait until the DD Act NPR is 
published before revising the PAIMI Rules. [The Final PAIMI Rules were 
issued in 1997 and were extended in 2000 and 2004. An FRN was published 
May 2006 to extend the current PAIMI Rules, which will expire in 2007, 
until 2010].
    The Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) 
is revising the PAIMI Annual Program Performance Report for the 
following reasons: (1) To make it consistent with the requirements of 
the annual reporting requirements under the PAIMI Act and the PAIMI 
Rules (42 CFR Part 51), as 2), and the CHA of 2000 Parts H and I; (2) 
to conform with the Office of Management and Budget 's (OMB)

[[Page 8190]]

findings and recommendations from the FY 2005 PART of the PAIMI 
Program; (3) to broaden the category of deaths investigated by the 
State P&A systems; (4) to reduce the reporting burdens for the State 
P&A systems and the PAIMI Advisory Council (PAC) in certain areas; and, 
(5) to enhance the PAC section by providing better information on its 
role, responsibility, and authority on P&A system PAIMI activities and 
services.
    Planned revisions to the PAIMI Annual Program Performance Report 
(PPR) and the PAC include the following items:
    (1) Changing the fonts to improve readability;
    (2) Adding Tables of Contents and Glossaries to the PPR and ACR 
sections;
    (3) Reducing the reporting burden in Section 2. PAIMI Program 
Priorities and Objectives by requesting only one case example per 
priority (goal) rather than per objective;
    (4) Revising Sections: 2. PAIMI Program Priorities (Goals) and 
Objectives: 4. Case Complaints/Problems of Individuals; and, 5. 
Intervention Strategies on Behalf of Groups of PAIMI-eligible 
Individuals, for consistency with the findings and recommendations from 
the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), 2005 PART evaluation/
assessment of the PAIMI Program and to clarify and/or enhance the 
instructional guidance for determining activity/intervention outcomes 
and estimating the number of individuals or groups impacted by P&A 
system activities/interventions in sections 4 and 5;
    (5) Expanding Section 4. E. 2. by adding an item c. for the number 
of death investigation activities not related in incidents of seclusion 
and restraint;
    (6) Providing the applicable PAIMI citations to the guidance in 
Section 8. Other Services & Activities.
    (7) Modifying the Advisory Council Report (ACR), Sections B. PAIMI 
Advisory Council (PAC) Membership and C. PAC Ethnicity/Racial Diversity 
for consistency with the format used in the PAIMI Application for FY 
2007-2009;
    (8) Enhancing Section F. PAC Activities to include the applicable 
citations that will provide each PAC with better information on its 
authority, role, and responsibilities as the P&A governing authority.
    (9) Revising Section G. PAIMI Assessment of PAIMI Program 
Operations, by eliminating the previous requirement that the PAC 
comment on each P&A system annual and objective. The PAC will only 
submit a summary of its assessment of the P&A system's annual PAIMI 
Program priorities, objectives, activities and program operations;
    (10) Adding an additional item to Section G. to identify the 
training and technical assistance needs of each PAC; and,
    (11) Adding the applicable citations to Section H. Grievance 
Procedures to include the applicable citations that will provide the 
PAC with better information on its authority, role, and 
responsibilities.
    The revised report formats will be effective for the report due on 
January 1, 2008.
    The annual burden estimate is as follows:

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                                                                   Number of
                                                   Number of     responses per     Hours per        Total hour
                                                  respondents     respondent        response          burden
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Annual Program Performance Report.............              57               1              26            1,482
Activities & Accomplishments..................  ..............  ..............             (20)          (1,140)
Performance outcomes..........................  ..............  ..............              (3)            (171)
Expenses......................................  ..............  ..............              (1)             (57)
Budget........................................  ..............  ..............              (1)             (57)
Priority statements & objectives..............  ..............  ..............              (1)             (57)
Advisory Council Report.......................              57               1              10              570
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    Total.....................................             114  ..............  ...............           2,052
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    Send comments to Summer King, SAMHSA Reports Clearance Officer, 
Room 7-1045, 1 Choke Cherry Road, Rockville, MD 20857. Written comments 
should be received within 60 days of this notice.

    Dated: February 11, 2007.
Elaine Parry,
Acting Director, Office of Program Services, SAMHSA.
[FR Doc. E7-3107 Filed 2-22-07; 8:45 am]
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