[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 42 (Monday, March 5, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9767-9768]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-3764]


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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 summary 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 (240) 276-1243.
    Project: School Climate Survey for the National Cross-Site 
Evaluation of Safe School/Healthy Student (SS/HS) Initiative Grants-
NEW.
    The SS/HS Initiative is a collaborative grant program supported by 
three Federal departments--the U.S. Departments of Health and Human 
Services, Education, and Justice. The program is authorized under the 
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended, and the 
Higher Education Act of 1965, Title IV, Part A, Subpart 2 (National 
Programs), Section 4121 (Federal Activities). It is also authorized 
under Section 581 of the Public Health Service Act.
    This initiative, instituted by Congress following the murderous 
assaults at Columbine High School in Colorado, is designed to provide 
Local Educational Agencies (LEAs), including school districts and 
multi-district regional consortia, with 3 years of funding to 
simultaneously improve school safety, student access to mental health 
services, the reduction of violence and substance abuse, school 
relationships with the larger community, and early childhood 
preparation for learning. Collectively, Congress expects these changes 
to be reflected in improved school climate.
    Local Education Agencies (LEAs) serve as the primary applicants for 
SS/HS grants, but the LEAs are required to establish formal 
partnerships with the local mental health system, the local law 
enforcement agency, and the local juvenile justice agency. Other 
partners often include public and private social services agencies, 
businesses, civic organizations, the faith community, and private 
citizens. As a result of these partnerships, comprehensive plans are 
developed, implemented, evaluated, and sustained with the goals of 
promoting the healthy development of children and youth, fostering 
their resilience in the face of adversity, and preventing violence.

[[Page 9768]]

    From FY 1999 through FY 2004, grants of $1 million to $3 million 
annually for 3 years were awarded to 190 LEAs, for a total of $916 
million. Approximately 40 new SS/HS grants were awarded in FY 2005. 
These grants are providing support for rural, tribal, suburban, and 
urban communities that include diverse racial and ethnic groups across 
the country.
    In compliance with the Government Performance and Results Act 
(GPRA) of 1993, grantees are required to collect and report data that 
measure the results of the programs implemented with this grant. 
Specifically, grantees are required to collect and report information 
on the following GPRA indicators:
    1. The percentage of SS/HS grant sites that experience a decrease 
in the number of violent incidents at schools.
    2. The percentage of SS/HS grant sites that experience a decrease 
in substance abuse.
    3. The percentage of SS/HS grant sites that improve school 
attendance.
    4. The percentage of SS/HS grant sites that increase mental health 
services to students and families.
    In addition to GPRA measures, the Federal Evaluation Work Group of 
the Safe School/Healthy Students (SS/HS) Initiative national 
evaluation, comprised of Federal officials representing the U.S. 
Departments of Education, Health and Human Services, and Justice, 
determined that information on changes in school climate is also 
required to provide a direct basis of comparison for performance with 
subsequent cohorts of grantees. Although GPRA measures monitor changes 
in individual outcomes among students, GPRA measures have been found to 
provide an incomplete metric of performance in terms of observed in 
changes in overall ``school climate.''
    The SS/HS National Evaluation Team proposes to adopt the staff 
version of the California Healthy Kids Survey for this purpose. This 
instrument contains 43 multiple choice questions that are used to 
obtain school staff perceptions of student behavior and attitudes, 
school programs and policies, and the overall school climate as they 
relate to student well-being and learning. It deals with such issues as 
truancy, safety, harassment, substance abuse, school connectedness and 
learning supports. The instrument, modified slightly to form the SS/HS 
School Climate Survey, will track changes in school climate in schools 
targeted for program services under the SS/HS Initiative. In the 
absence of the School Climate Survey, there would be no common, cross-
site measure of performance across SS/HS initiative grantees. In 
practice, the School Climate Survey will be administered electronically 
among approximately 67,500 local educational system employees. These 
employees will be encouraged to log onto a Web site during each year 
that their school benefits from the grant to answer questions 
concerning their perception of student behavior and safety at the 
school.
    The burden estimate for the annual survey is as follows:

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                                                                                    Burden/
                    Number of respondents                       Responses  per      response       Total annual
                                                                  respondent        (hours)      burden  (hours)
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70,875.......................................................               1            0.117            8,269
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    Written comments and recommendations concerning the proposed 
information collection should be sent by April 4, 2007 to: SAMHSA Desk 
Officer, Human Resources and Housing Branch, Office of Management and 
Budget, New Executive Office Building, Room 10235, Washington, DC 
20503; due to potential delays in OMB's receipt and processing of mail 
sent through the U.S. Postal Service, respondents are encouraged to 
submit comments by fax to: 202-395-6974.

    Dated: February 27, 2007.
Patricia S. Bransford,
Acting Director, Office of Program Services.
 [FR Doc. E7-3764 Filed 3-2-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4162-20-P