Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 62 / Tuesday, April 1, 2014 / Notices 18283 

Dated: March 26, 2014. 

Daniel J. Basta, 

Director, Office of National Marine 

Sanctuaries, National Ocean Service, 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration. 

[FR Doc. 2014–07204 Filed 3–31–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–NK–P 

CORPORATION FOR NATIONAL AND 

COMMUNITY SERVICE 

Information Collection; Submission for 

OMB Review, Comment Request 

AGENCY: Corporation for National and 

Community Service. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The Corporation for National 

and Community Service (CNCS) has 

submitted a public information 

collection request (ICR) entitled 

AmeriCorps State Commission Support 

Grant Application Instructions to the 

Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB) for review and approval in 

accordance with the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104– 

13, (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35). Copies of 

this ICR, with applicable supporting 

documentation, may be obtained by 

calling the Corporation for National and 

Community Service, Mr. James Stone at 

202–606–6885 or via email jstone@

cns.gov. Individuals who use a 

telecommunications device for the deaf 

(TTY–TDD) may call 1–800–833–3722 

between 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. Eastern 

Time, Monday through Friday. 

ADDRESSES: Comments may be 

submitted, identified by the title of the 

information collection activity, to the 

Office of Information and Regulatory 

Affairs, Attn: Ms. Sharon Mar, OMB 

Desk Officer for the Corporation for 

National and Community Service, by 

any of the following two methods 

within 30 days from the date of 

publication in the Federal Register: 

(1) By fax to: 202–395–6974, 

Attention: Ms. Sharon Mar, OMB Desk 

Officer for the Corporation for National 

and Community Service; or 

(2) By email to: smar@omb.eop.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The OMB 

is particularly interested in comments 

which: 

• Evaluate whether the proposed 

collection of information is necessary 

for the proper performance of the 

functions of CNCS, including whether 

the information will have practical 

utility; 

• Evaluate the accuracy of the 

agency’s estimate of the burden of the 

proposed collection of information, 

including the validity of the 

methodology and assumptions used; 

• Propose ways to enhance the 

quality, utility, and clarity of the 

information to be collected; and 

• Propose ways to minimize the 

burden of the collection of information 

on those who are to respond, including 

through the use of appropriate 

automated, electronic, mechanical, or 

other technological collection 

techniques or other forms of information 

technology. 

Comments 

A 60-day Notice requesting public 

comment was published in the Federal 

Register on August 27, 2013. This 

comment period ended October 28, 

2013. Six entities provided comments. 

Individual comments and the 

disposition of each are addressed below. 

Two commenters focused on several 

aspects of how performance of state 

service commissions will be assessed. 

One commenter asked how progress 

toward state service plan objectives by 

commissions will be assessed. CNCS 

will expect commissions to report 

annually the progress they are making 

toward outcomes they identify in the 

theory of change logic model they 

submit with the Commission Support 

Grant Application. In addition, CNCS 

believes that capacity building is a 

critical activity shared by all state 

service commissions. Given this 

capacity building role, CNCS will 

require commissions to measure their 

performance against at least one aligned 

set of capacity building National 

Performance Measures. 

Two commenters stated that 

evaluation by CNCS would be a more 

effective mechanism for commission 

assessment than using performance 

measures or assessing accomplishment 

against a theory of change logic model. 

One commenter specifically mentioned 

resurrecting the State Administrative 

Standards project as a model of this type 

of evaluation. CNCS agrees that periodic 

inspection and evaluation can be 

effective ways to assess the impact of a 

project, verify compliance and confirm 

the accuracy of reported values. CNCS 

will continue to conduct risk-based 

monitoring site visits to ensure program 

compliance and verify performance 

accomplishments. CNCS also believes 

that all grantees, including 

commissions, must have ways of 

regularly assessing their performance 

and reporting their accomplishments. 

Because a theory of change logic model 

allows performance and 

accomplishments to be assessed within 

a consistent and well-understood 

framework, CNCS will require state 

service commissions to submit a theory 

of change logic model and to select at 

least one aligned set of capacity 

building national performance measures 

as the basis for reporting on their 

accomplishments. 

One commenter expressed the 

opinion that better measures of value for 

a state service commission include the 

number of leveraged volunteers, 

geographic coverage of programming, 

compliance of subgrantees, and program 

development and growth. CNCS agrees 

with the commenter about the 

importance of these measures and 

intends to review these values in any 

assessment of state service 

commissions. CNCS expects 

commissions to report on these values 

in periodic progress reports rather than 

in the application for funding. CNCS 

staff has listened to state commissions 

that have expressed a desire to have a 

better method to capture the full value 

of a state commission’s strategic efforts 

to address the critical needs of the state. 

Allowing commissions to articulate 

their priorities through a theory of 

change logic model is intended to give 

commissions the flexibility to 

communicate and define the intensions 

they have for national service in their 

state. And it also gives commissions a 

measure of control in how they may be 

assessed to reflect differences across 

state priorities. 

One commenter expressed a desire 

that CNCS take a more consultative 

approach with commissions to create 

better methods to capture the value of 

state commissions and their 

contribution to national service. CNCS 

looks forward to receiving input from 

state commissions and will expand 

ways to collaborate to improve the way 

commission performance is assessed. To 

that end, the development of 

commission-appropriate national 

performance measures is especially 

important. CNCS expects that states will 

select applicant-determined measures 

that will best capture aspects of 

commission outputs and outcomes as 

we move forward. CNCS anticipates 

that, through collaboration, these 

applicant-determined measures could 

be the basis of commission-specific 

national performance measures in the 

future. 

One commenter expressed the 

opinion that the requirement to submit 

an application, a theory of change logic 

model, and performance measures, runs 

counter to Section 178(f) of the Serve 

America Act. This particular statutory 

provision gives the agency the option of 

waiving some types of administrative 

requirements otherwise applicable to 

grants made to states. However, 

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18284 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 62 / Tuesday, April 1, 2014 / Notices 

application, reporting and 

accountability are critical requirements 

when federal grant funds are provided 

for a particular purpose. And grant 

makers benefit from an environment of 

accountability. CNCS believes that state 

service commissions have a strong story 

to share with all types of funders and 

believes commissions can report on 

results achieved as a result of receiving 

these funds. Commissions have the 

flexibility of selecting their own 

performance measures (applicant 

determined measures) in addition to 

selecting a set of capacity building 

national measures. Having data that 

demonstrates the effectiveness of 

commissions enables CNCS to articulate 

the value of federal investment in 

commissions. CNCS believes that all 

grantees, including state service 

commissions, should be able to 

demonstrate that granted federal funds 

are effectively used for allowable 

purposes. Periodically reporting on 

accomplishments is vital to 

demonstrating the effective use of grant 

funds. 

One commenter expressed concern 

about linking state service commission 

performance on the Commission 

Support Grant to eligibility for 

competitive program grants. The 

organizational capability selection 

criterion for competitive grants has 

always included a commission’s 

capacity to manage competitive grant 

resources as a factor in making 

AmeriCorps program grant award 

decisions. Information collected from 

the Commission Support Grant 

application as well as what may be 

included in periodic progress reports for 

that grant informs the CNCS assessment 

of a commission’s capacity. In these 

application instructions, CNCS is not 

proposing any change to this capacity 

assessment. 

One commenter noted that CNCS was 

requesting information requested in 

previous applications or that might have 

been collected through monitoring 

activities including how commission 

monitoring and financial policies are 

being implemented. This commenter 

recommended that CNCS should only 

ask whether or not there have been any 

changes. CNCS agrees and expects state 

service commissions to respond to the 

questions under the three narrative 

application sections: Grant Outreach 

and Selection; Compliance and 

Performance; and Collaboration and 

Sustainability only at the beginning of 

each grant cycle or when the 

commission makes changes. CNCS does 

not expect a state service commission to 

rewrite these application sections when 

they apply for continuation funding in 

the succeeding years unless necessary to 

reflect a change in commission policy, 

procedure or operations. The applicant 

responses made in the initial 

application are carried forward to 

succeeding applications and only those 

sections needing modification are 

expected to be changed. 

One commenter asserted that adding 

a capacity building performance 

measure and requiring the submission 

of a theory of change logic model will 

incompletely capture the value of state 

service commissions while increasing 

the time burden on commission grantees 

to compile the requested information. 

CNCS acknowledges that the level of 

burden will be higher for some state 

service commissions and has increased 

the burden estimate. CNCS believes the 

inclusion of the theory of change logic 

model will better capture the value of 

commissions because commissions will 

have a way to articulate their aspirations 

and accomplishments on matters other 

than the management of subgrantee 

program awards. CNCS also believes the 

inclusion of an aligned set of capacity 

building national performance measures 

will allow commissions to report on the 

important accomplishments they all 

make in this area. 

Two commenters expressed concern 

that the capacity building measure is the 

only measure of success or 

accomplishment for a state service 

commission. CNCS recognizes that state 

service commission missions span a 

wide variety of responsibilities and vary 

widely from state to state. CNCS also 

believes that all commissions are 

engaged in capacity building activities 

related to outreach to new grantees, the 

training and support of subgrantees in 

their portfolio, the collaborative 

activities they undertake with their 

stakeholders, and the facilitation of 

volunteerism to address state priorities. 

Therefore CNCS believes a capacity 

building measure is appropriate to 

document these efforts not otherwise 

being reported under AmeriCorps 

program subgrants. 

CNCS encourages state service 

commissions to develop other measures 

to capture their accomplishments if they 

constitute a significant part of their 

mission. CNCS envisions state service 

commissions collaborating in the 

development of other standardized 

measures that might capture other 

important aspects of their operations. If 

there is sufficient consensus these 

measures could be included among the 

national performance measures in the 

future. 

One commenter expressed concern 

that instituting performance measures 

and a theory of change logic model may 

restrict programming efforts and limit 

innovation in addressing the needs in 

the state. One other commenter stated 

the capacity building measure was 

unnecessary because the state service 

plan already requires measurable goals 

and outcomes for national service 

programs in the state. The inclusion of 

the theory of change logic model and an 

aligned set of national capacity building 

performance measures is not intended 

by CNCS to restrict programming efforts. 

State service commissions, in 

collaboration with their stakeholders, 

determine the national service priorities 

in the respective states. The intent of the 

theory of change logic model is to have 

commissions condense the critical 

priorities of their state service plan in a 

concise standardized format and allow 

them to articulate these priorities to 

CNCS. Commissions should be able to 

use the measurable goals and outcomes 

they have included in their state service 

plan to inform their theory of change 

logic model to include with their 

Commission Support Grant application. 

One commenter expressed concern 

regarding the use of the percentage of 

programs meeting performance 

measures as an indicator for 

commission support grant 

accomplishment. CNCS uses a wide 

variety of compliance and performance 

information from its data systems to 

inform the assessment of the 

accomplishments of state service 

commissions. Meeting, partially 

meeting, on-track to meet, or not 

meeting performance measure targets 

are of factors that CNCS considers in 

assessing Commission Support Grant 

accomplishment. The application 

instructions have been amended to 

indicate that CNCS uses the progress of 

programs toward meeting performance 

measures to better capture how this 

information is used. 

Two commenters questioned the need 

for a performance measure for the 

Commission Support Grant. Another 

commenter stated CNCS should not 

impose a performance measure on the 

Commission Support Grant because 

Section 179 (k) of the National and 

Community Service Act limits 

performance measures to national 

service programs. That statutory 

provision requires performance 

measurement of national service 

programs, but does not prohibit 

performance measurement of other 

CNCS grants. CNCS supports a culture 

of accountability. It is in the best 

interest of CNCS and state service 

commissions to measure 

accomplishment and have performance 

measure information available to make 

the best case that money spent on and 

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Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 62 / Tuesday, April 1, 2014 / Notices 18285 

by state service commissions is money 

well spent; performance measurement is 

one way to demonstrate that. 

As the Comptroller General testified 

to Congress on May 22, 2013: 

‘‘Performance measurement, because of 

its ongoing nature, can serve as an early 

warning system to management and a 

vehicle for improving accountability to 

the public. To help ensure that their 

performance information will be both 

useful and used by decision makers, 

agencies must consider the differing 

information of various users—including 

those in Congress.’’ 

One commenter requested additional 

clarity regarding the definition of 

community and private sector resources 

as indicated in the inputs section of the 

theory of change logic model and 

specifically whether this includes state 

funds. CNCS has amended the 

application to clarify the intent is to 

capture all resources including those 

from the State, private funders or from 

Federal sources. The purpose is not to 

document sources of funding but the 

magnitude of resource commitment by 

the commission in addressing the 

community need and the strategies 

intended to be implemented by the 

commission. 

One person expressed a desire for 

examples and additional guidance on 

CNCS’s expectations for the theory of 

change logic model. CNCS intends to 

provide technical assistance prior to the 

deadline for submission to assist 

commissions prepare their theory of 

change logic model and performance 

measures. CNCS expects to include 

examples at that time. 

One commenter stated the narrative 

questions are narrowly focused on 

AmeriCorps and do not allow 

commissions to articulate the breadth of 

their operations. CNCS recognizes that 

commission missions vary from state to 

state; however, all commissions are 

engaged in managing and overseeing 

AmeriCorps program grants. CNCS 

intends the questions provided in the 

guidance to be minimum starting points 

and not a specific limit on what may be 

included in state commission 

applications. If an activity is included in 

the state service plan and the 

commission is dedicating Commission 

Support Grant resources to that effort, it 

should be reflected in the commission’s 

application. 

One commenter suggested that CNCS 

adopt a single open narrative instead of 

three-sections as proposed for 2014. 

CNCS considered a single narrative 

section but decided that there were 

efficiency gains by being able to 

separately process information related 

to the distinct outreach and selection, 

compliance and performance, and 

collaboration and sustainability 

sections. 

Description: CNCS is seeking approval 

of the AmeriCorps State Commission 

Application Instructions. State service 

commissions will respond to the 

questions included in this Information 

Collection Request in order to report on 

their use of federal funds and progress 

against their annual plan. 

Type of Review: Reinstatement. 

Agency: Corporation for National and 

Community Service. 

Title: AmeriCorps State Commission 

Support Grant Application Instructions. 

OMB Number: 3045–0099. 

Agency Number: None. 

Affected Public: State service 

commissions. 

Total Respondents: 54. 

Frequency: Annually. 

Average Time Per Response: 37 hours. 

Estimated Total Burden Hours: 1,998 

hours. 

Total Burden Cost (capital/startup): 

None. 

Total Burden Cost (operating/

maintenance): None. 

Dated: March 26, 2014. 

Bill Basl, 

Director, AmeriCorps State and National. 

[FR Doc. 2014–07276 Filed 3–31–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6050–28–P 

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE 

Office of the Secretary 

[Docket ID: DoD–2012–HA–0116] 

Proposed Collection; Comment 

Request 

AGENCY: Office of the Assistant 

Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs, 

DoD. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: In compliance with Section 

3506(c)(2)(A) of the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995, the Office of the 

Assistant Secretary of Defense for 

Health Affairs announces a proposed 

public information collection and seeks 

public comment on the provisions 

thereof. 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 

information collection; (c) ways to 

enhance the quality, utility, and clarity 

of the information to be collected; and 

(d) ways to minimize the burden of the 

information collection on respondents, 

including through the use of automated 

collection techniques or other forms of 

information technology. 

DATES: Consideration will be given to all 

comments received by June 2, 2014. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, 

identified by docket number and title, 

by any of the following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments. 

• Mail: Federal Docket Management 

System Office, 4800 Mark Center Drive, 

East Tower, Suite 02G09, Alexandria, 

VA 22350–3100. 

Instructions: All submissions received 

must include the agency name, docket 

number and title for this Federal 

Register document. The general policy 

for comments and other submissions 

from members of the public is to make 

these submissions available for public 

viewing on the Internet at http://

www.regulations.gov as they are 

received without change, including any 

personal identifiers or contact 

information. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To 

request more information on this 

proposed information collection or to 

obtain a copy of the proposal and 

associated collection instruments, 

please write to the SNPMIS Project 

Officer, DHSS, 7700 Arlington 

Boulevard, Falls Church, VA 22042– 

2902 or call 703–681–2236. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Title; OMB Number: Special Needs 

Program Management Information 

System (SNPMIS); OMB Control 

Number 0720–TBD. 

Needs and Uses: The information 

collection requirement is necessary to 

provide access to a comprehensive 

program of therapy, medical support, 

and social services for young 

Department of Defense (DoD) Military 

Health System (MHS) beneficiaries with 

special needs. Special Needs Program 

Management Information System 

(SNPMIS) is the MHS automated 

information system designed to ensure 

the DoD meets the unique information 

requirements associated with 

implementation of the Individuals with 

Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). 

SNPMIS captures records referral, 

evaluation, eligibility, and service plan 

data for children with special needs 

who are eligible for MHS services under 

IDEA. Management reports provide 

historical analysis to monitor ongoing 

improvements in quality of care 

initiatives. It also allows program 

managers to identify areas where 

additional services are needed. At the 

service level, activities of different 

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