Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 134 / Friday, July 16, 2021 / Notices 37757 

information they conduct or sponsor. 

The term ‘‘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 

requires federal agencies to publish a 

60-day notice in the Federal Register 

concerning each proposed collection of 

information, including each proposed 

extension or reinstatement of an existing 

collection of information, before 

submitting the collection to OMB for 

approval. To comply with this 

requirement, CMS is publishing this 

notice. 

Information Collection 

1. Type of Information Collection 

Request: New collection (Request for a 

new OMB control number); Title of 

Information Collection: The ESRD 

Network Peer Mentoring Program; Use: 

The End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) 

Network Peer Mentoring Program is a 

voluntary program designed to provide 

patient peer support to people with 

kidney disease. In part, the peer support 

is beneficial because patients can give 

each other something most practitioners 

do not have: Lived experience with 

kidney disease. The support and 

perspective of someone who has ‘‘been 

there’’ can help people better cope with 

their circumstances. 

The ESRD Network Peer Mentoring 

Program is a partnership between 

dialysis facilities, ESRD Networks, and 

patient peer mentors and mentees that 

wish to engage in the program. The peer 

mentoring program is organized and 

published with educational 

opportunities for peer mentors and 

mentees, provides resources, and 

includes a complementary toolkit for 

ESRD Networks and dialysis facilities to 

promote and operationalize the 

program. 

Program applicants are people with 

ESRD who: (1) Are adults over the age 

of 18; have been receiving in-center or 

home dialysis or have been transplanted 

for at least six months; actively engage 

in the care plan; consistently 

demonstrate leadership qualities at 

facility Quality Assurance & 

Performance Improvement (QAPI) 

meetings, Lobby Days, and other facility 

activities; and wish to be a peer mentor; 

or (2) are over 18 years of age; are newly 

diagnosed patients but have been on incenter dialysis for at least six months; 

are looking for peer support to help 

them transition to their new reality; and 

are known as a peer mentee. 

To participate in the ESRD Network 

Peer Mentoring Program, peer mentors 

and mentees will complete an online 

application form stored in Confluence. 

The application serves to validate the 

peer mentor or peer mentee interest in 

the ESRD Network Peer Mentoring 

Program. Information collection is 

important to the process of pairing peer 

mentors and mentees with similarly 

lived experience and interests with their 

kidney disease. In addition, the 

application collects information about 

the peers’ interest in kidney disease, 

treatment modality, age range, preferred 

gender recognition, and attitudes toward 

their kidney disease diagnosis. It also 

supports aligning hobbies, and genders 

to support best matched peers with each 

other. Form Number: CMS–10768 (OMB 

control number: 0938–NEW); 

Frequency: Once; Affected Public: 

Individuals and Households; Number of 

Respondents: 75; Total Annual 

Responses: 75; Total Annual Hours: 19. 

(For policy questions regarding this 

collection, contact Lisa Rees at 816– 

426–6353.) 

Dated: July 12, 2021. 

William N. Parham, III, 

Director, Paperwork Reduction Staff, Office 

of Strategic Operations and Regulatory 

Affairs. 

[FR Doc. 2021–15099 Filed 7–15–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4120–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES 

Best Practices for Advancing Cultural 

Competency, Language Access and 

Sensitivity Toward Asian Americans 

and Pacific Islanders 

AGENCY: Office of Minority Health, 

Department of Health and Human 

Services (HHS). 

ACTION: Request for information. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of 

Health and Human Services (HHS) 

Office of Minority Health (OMH) seeks 

input from Asian American and Pacific 

Islander (AAPI) communities and AAPIserving organizations to inform the 

development of guidance describing 

best practices for advancing cultural 

competency, language access, and 

sensitivity toward Asian Americans and 

Pacific Islanders in the context of the 

Federal Government’s COVID–19 

response. This is NOT a solicitation for 

proposals or proposal abstracts. 

Please note: This request is for 

information (RFI) and is for planning 

purposes only. It is not a notice for a 

proposal and does not commit the 

federal government to issue a 

solicitation, make an award, or pay any 

costs associated with responding to this 

announcement. All submitted 

information shall remain with the 

federal government and will not be 

returned. All responses will become 

part of the public record and will not be 

held confidential. The federal 

government reserves the right to use 

information provided by respondents 

for purposes deemed necessary and 

legally appropriate. Respondents are 

advised that the federal government is 

under no obligation to acknowledge 

receipt of the information received or 

provide feedback to respondents with 

respect to any information submitted. 

Responses will not be accepted after the 

due date. After a review of the responses 

received, a notice of funding 

opportunity or pre-solicitation synopsis 

and solicitation may be published. 

DATES: To be assured consideration in 

the development of best practices 

guidance, written comments must be 

submitted and received at the address 

provided below, no later than 11:59 

p.m. on August 17, 2021. 

ADDRESSES: OMH invites the 

submission of the requested information 

through one of the following methods: 

• Preferred method: Submit 

information through the Federal 

eRulemaking Portal at http://

www.regulations.gov. Follow the online 

instructions for submissions. 

• Email: Send comments to 

minorityhealth@hhs.gov with the 

subject line ‘‘OMH RFI: AAPI Best 

Practices.’’ 

Submissions received after the 

deadline will not be reviewed. Respond 

concisely and in plain language. You 

may use any structure or layout that 

presents your information well. You 

may respond to some or all of our 

questions, and you can suggest other 

factors or relevant questions. You may 

also include links to online material or 

interactive presentations. Clearly mark 

any proprietary information and place it 

in its own section or file. Your response 

will become government property, and 

we may publish some of its nonproprietary content. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Juliet Bui, 1101 Wootton Parkway, Suite 

100, Rockville, MD, 20852, (240) 453– 

6166, Juliet.Bui@hhs.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background Information 

On January 26, 2021, President Biden 

issued a Memorandum Condemning and 

Combating Racism, Xenophobia, and 

Intolerance against Asian Americans 

and Pacific Islanders in the United 

States. The memorandum directed the 

HHS Secretary, in coordination with the 

COVID–19 Health Equity Task Force, to 


jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with NOTICES
37758 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 134 / Friday, July 16, 2021 / Notices 

consider issuing guidance describing 

best practices for advancing cultural 

competency, language access, and 

sensitivity toward AAPIs in the context 

of the federal government’s COVID–19 

response, including best practices set 

forth by public health organizations and 

experts for mitigating racially 

discriminatory language in describing 

the COVID–19 pandemic. OMH is 

leading a Departmental response to the 

memorandum. In accordance with this 

memorandum, OMH seeks to obtain 

information that may become part of or 

inform guidance to be issued regarding 

best practices. 

II. Definitions 

For the purposes of this RFI, the 

following working definitions apply. 

Best practices—A practice supported 

by evidence indicating effectiveness in 

advancing cultural competence, 

language access or sensitivity toward 

AAPIs in the context of the COVID–19 

response, generally demonstrated 

through systematic review, research, 

evaluation or practice-based evidence. 

Practices could include interventions, 

programs, strategies, policies, 

procedures, processes or other activities. 

COVID–19 response—Federal 

activities including, but not limited to: 

• Data collection, utilization and 

reporting 

• Allocation of personal protective 

equipment (PPE), tests, vaccines, 

therapeutics and other resources 

• Enforcement of anti-discrimination 

and HIPAA requirements pertaining 

to availability and access to COVID– 

19 care and treatment 

• Assistance to individuals and families 

experiencing disproportionate 

economic or health effects from 

COVID–19 

• Training and placement of contact 

tracers and other workers 

• Outreach related to vaccine trust and 

uptake, public health measures/ 

prevention, testing, or other 

mitigation measure 

III. Questions 

• What specific best practices in the 

areas listed below should be included in 

federal guidance? Please describe the 

best practice(s), evidence of its 

effectiveness, and how it has been 

applied (or could be applied) to COVID– 

19 response activities. 

Æ Advancing cultural competency 

toward AAPIs 

Æ Advancing language access for AAPIs 

Æ Advancing sensitivity toward AAPIs 

Æ Mitigating racially discriminatory 

language against AAPIs 

Æ Practices that apply the National 

Standards for Culturally and 

Linguistically Appropriate Services in 

Health and Health Care (National 

CLAS Standards). 

• What sources/resources should 

HHS use to identify additional best 

practices in these areas? 

• What considerations should be 

made in the content, audiences and 

format for best practices guidance 

products, particularly to support 

implementation? 

• How should the best practices 

guidance be disseminated (e.g., 

mechanisms, audiences)? 

• Beyond issuing best practices 

guidance, how can HHS support 

implementation of the best practices? 

Dated: July 12, 2021. 

Juliet Bui, 

Public Health Advisor, Office of Minority 

Health. 

[FR Doc. 2021–15168 Filed 7–15–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4150–29–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES 

National Institutes of Health 

Center for Scientific Review; Notice of 

Closed Meeting 

Pursuant to section 10(d) of the 

Federal Advisory Committee Act, as 

amended, notice is hereby given of the 

following meeting. 

The meeting will be closed to the 

public in accordance with the 

provisions set forth in sections 

552b(c)(4) and 552b(c)(6), Title 5 U.S.C., 

as amended. The grant applications and 

the discussions could disclose 

confidential trade secrets or commercial 

property such as patentable material, 

and personal information concerning 

individuals associated with the grant 

applications, the disclosure of which 

would constitute a clearly unwarranted 

invasion of personal privacy. 

Name of Committee: Center for Scientific 

Review Special Emphasis Panel; 

Endocrinology and Reproduction. 

Date: August 5, 2021. 

Time: 12:00 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. 

Agenda: To review and evaluate grant 

applications. 

Place: National Institutes of Health, 

Rockledge II, 6701 Rockledge Drive, 

Bethesda, MD 20892 (Telephone Conference 

Call). 

Contact Person: Dianne Hardy, Ph.D., 

Scientific Review Officer, Center for 

Scientific Review, National Institutes of 

Health, 6701 Rockledge Drive, Room 6175, 

MSC 7892, Bethesda, MD 20892, 301–435– 

1154, dianne.hardy@nih.gov. 

(Catalogue of Federal Domestic Assistance 

Program Nos. 93.306, Comparative Medicine; 

93.333, Clinical Research, 93.306, 93.333, 

93.337, 93.393–93.396, 93.837–93.844, 

93.846–93.878, 93.892, 93.893, National 

Institutes of Health, HHS) 

Dated: July 12, 2021. 

Tyeshia M. Roberson-Curtis, 

Program Analyst, Office of Federal Advisory 

Committee Policy. 

[FR Doc. 2021–15119 Filed 7–15–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4140–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES 

National Institutes of Health 

Center for Scientific Review; Notice of 

Closed Meeting 

Pursuant to section 10(d) of the 

Federal Advisory Committee Act, as 

amended, notice is hereby given of the 

following meeting. 

The meeting will be closed to the 

public in accordance with the 

provisions set forth in sections 

552b(c)(4) and 552b(c)(6), Title 5 U.S.C., 

as amended. The grant applications and 

the discussions could disclose 

confidential trade secrets or commercial 

property such as patentable material, 

and personal information concerning 

individuals associated with the grant 

applications, the disclosure of which 

would constitute a clearly unwarranted 

invasion of personal privacy. 

Name of Committee: Center for Scientific 

Review Special Emphasis Panel; Member 

Conflict: Neurodevelopment, 

Neurodegeneration, Neuroimmunology, 

Infections Diseases and Brain Tumors. 

Date: July 29, 2021. 

Time: 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. 

Agenda: To review and evaluate grant 

applications. 

Place: National Institutes of Health, 6701 

Rockledge Drive, Bethesda, MD 20892 

(Virtual Meeting). 

Contact Person: Pat Manos, Ph.D., 

Scientific Review Officer, Center for 

Scientific Review, National Institutes of 

Health, 6701 Rockledge Drive, Room 5200, 

MSC 7846, Bethesda, MD 20892, 301–408– 

9866, manospa@csr.nih.gov. 

This notice is being published less than 15 

days prior to the meeting due to the timing 

limitations imposed by the review and 

funding cycle. 

(Catalogue of Federal Domestic Assistance 

Program Nos. 93.306, Comparative Medicine; 

93.333, Clinical Research, 93.306, 93.333, 

93.337, 93.393–93.396, 93.837–93.844, 

93.846–93.878, 93.892, 93.893, National 

Institutes of Health, HHS) 

Dated: July 12, 2021. 

Tyeshia M. Roberson-Curtis, 

Program Analyst, Office of Federal Advisory 

Committee Policy. 

[FR Doc. 2021–15120 Filed 7–15–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4140–01–P 


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