48818 Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 202 / Friday, October 20, 2017 / Notices 

accrediting organization is voluntary 

and is not required for Medicare 

participation. 

If an accrediting organization is 

recognized by the Secretary of Health 

and Human Services as having 

standards for accreditation that meet or 

exceed Medicare requirements, any 

provider entity accredited by the 

national accrediting body’s approved 

program would be deemed to meet the 

Medicare conditions. A national 

accrediting organization applying for 

CMS approval of their accreditation 

program under 42 CFR part 488, subpart 

A must provide CMS with reasonable 

assurance that the accrediting 

organization requires the accredited 

provider entities to meet requirements 

that are at least as stringent as the 

Medicare conditions. Our regulations 

concerning the approval of accrediting 

organizations are set forth at § 488.5. 

The regulations at § 488.5(e)(2)(i) 

require accrediting organizations to 

reapply for continued approval of its 

accreditation program every 6 years or 

sooner as determined by CMS. 

The Community Health Accreditation 

Partner’s (CHAP’S) term of approval for 

their HHA accreditation program 

expires March 31, 2018. 

II. Approval of Accreditation 

Organizations 

Section 1865(a)(2) of the Act and our 

regulations at § 488.5 require that our 

findings concerning review and 

approval of a national accrediting 

organization’s requirements consider, 

among other factors, the applying 

accrediting organization’s requirements 

for accreditation; survey procedures; 

resources for conducting required 

surveys; capacity to furnish information 

for use in enforcement activities; 

monitoring procedures for provider 

entities found not in compliance with 

the conditions or requirements; and 

ability to provide us with the necessary 

data for validation. 

Section 1865(a)(3)(A) of the Act 

further requires that we publish, within 

60 days of receipt of an organization’s 

complete application, a notice 

identifying the national accrediting 

body making the request, describing the 

nature of the request, and providing at 

least a 30-day public comment period. 

We have 210 days from the receipt of a 

complete application to publish notice 

of approval or denial of the application. 

The purpose of this proposed notice 

is to inform the public of CHAP’s 

request for continued approval for its 

HHA accreditation program. This notice 

also solicits public comment on whether 

CHAP’s requirements meet or exceed 

the Medicare conditions for 

participation (CoPs) for HHAs. 

III. Evaluation of Accreditation 

Organization Request 

CHAP submitted all the necessary 

materials to enable us to make a 

determination concerning its request for 

continued approval of its HHA 

accreditation program. This application 

was determined to be complete on 

August 25, 2017. Under section 

1865(a)(2) of the Act and our regulations 

at § 488.5 (Application and reapplication procedures for national 

accrediting organizations), our review 

and evaluation of CHAP will be 

conducted in accordance with, but not 

necessarily limited to, the following 

factors: 

• The equivalency of CHAP’s 

standards for HHAs as compared with 

CMS’ HHA CoPs. 

• CHAP’s survey process to 

determine the following: 

++ The composition of the survey 

team, surveyor qualifications, and the 

ability of the organization to provide 

continuing surveyor training. 

++ The comparability of CHAP’s 

processes to those of state agencies, 

including survey frequency, and the 

ability to investigate and respond 

appropriately to complaints against 

accredited HHAs. 

++ CHAP’s processes and procedures 

for monitoring HHAs found out of 

compliance with CHAP’s program 

requirements. These monitoring 

procedures are used only when CHAP 

identifies noncompliance. If 

noncompliance is identified through 

validation reviews or complaint 

surveys, the state survey agency 

monitors corrections as specified at 

§ 488.9(c). 

++ CHAP’s capacity to report 

deficiencies to the surveyed HHAs and 

respond to the HHA’s plan of correction 

in a timely manner. 

++ CHAP’s capacity to provide us 

with electronic data, and reports 

necessary for effective validation and 

assessment of the organization’s survey 

process. 

++ The adequacy of CHAP’s staff and 

other resources, and its financial 

viability. 

++ CHAP’s capacity to adequately 

fund required surveys. 

++ CHAP’s policies with respect to 

whether surveys are announced or 

unannounced, to assure that surveys are 

unannounced. 

++ CHAP’s agreement to provide us 

with a copy of the most current 

accreditation survey together with any 

other information related to the survey 

as we may require (including corrective 

action plans). 

IV. Collection of Information 

Requirements 

This document does not impose 

information collection requirements, 

that is reporting, recordkeeping or thirdparty disclosure requirements. 

Consequently, there is no need for 

review by the Office Management and 

Budget under the authority of the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1955 (44 

U.S.C. Chapter 35). 

V. Response to Comments 

Because of the large number of public 

comments we normally receive on 

Federal Register documents, we are not 

able to acknowledge or respond to them 

individually. We will consider all 

comments we receive by the date and 

time specified in the DATES section of 

this notice, and, we will respond to the 

comments in the preamble to that 

document. 

Dated: October 6, 2017. 

Seema Verma, 

Administrator, Centers for Medicare & 

Medicaid Services. 

[FR Doc. 2017–22812 Filed 10–19–17; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4120–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES 

Administration for Children and 

Families 

Proposed Information Collection 

Activity; Comment Request 

Title: Prenatal Alcohol and Other 

Drug Exposures in Child Welfare 

(PAODE–CW) Study. 

OMB No.: New Collection. 

Description: The Administration for 

Children and Families (ACF), U.S. 

Department of Health and Human 

Services (HHS) is proposing a data 

collection activity as part of the Prenatal 

Alcohol and Other Drug Exposures in 

Child Welfare (PAODE–CW) Study. The 

study examines the current state of 

child welfare practice regarding the 

identification and provision of services 

for children with prenatal substance 

exposures, including alcohol and other 

drugs. 

The descriptive study will document 

the policies and practices of child 

welfare agencies and related 

organizations to identify, assess, and 

refer to services children who may have 

been exposed to prenatal substances 

and/or diagnosed with a resulting 

condition such as fetal alcohol spectrum 

disorders (FASD). The study will 


srobinson on DSKBC5CHB2PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 202 / Friday, October 20, 2017 / Notices 48819 

document procedures as well as 

challenges faced and lessons learned to 

inform the field of practice as well as 

policy makers, program administrators, 

and funders at various levels. 

The proposed information collection 

activities consist of semi-structured 

interviews and surveys conducted at 28 

child welfare agency sites. Focus groups 

conducted at 8 of the 28 sites will gather 

information on needs, challenges, and 

strategies to support children with 

prenatal substance exposures and their 

families within the child welfare 

system. 

Respondents: State and child welfare 

agency directors, child welfare staff and 

supervisors; agency partners and service 

providers; and family members and 

caregivers of children who may have 

been prenatally exposed to substances. 

ANNUAL BURDEN ESTIMATES

Instrument Number of 

respondents 

Number of 

responses per 

respondent 

Average 

burden hours 

per tresponse 

Total burden 

hours 

Interview Protocol for Local Agency Staff—Frontline Only ............................. 28 1 1 28 

Interview Protocol for Local Agency Staff—Ongoing Only .............................. 28 1 1 28 

Interview Protocol for Local Agency Staff—Frontline and Ongoing ................ 15 1 1.25 19 

Interview Protocol for Local Agency Medical Staff .......................................... 14 1 1 14 

Interview Protocol for Local Agency Director .................................................. 14 1 1 14 

Focus Group of Caregivers ............................................................................. 32 1 1.5 48 

Survey Instrument for Local Agency Staff—Form A General ......................... 140 1 .5 70 

Survey Instrument for Local Agency—Form B General .................................. 90 1 .5 45 

Survey Instrument for Local Agency Form B Differential Response .............. 50 1 .5 25 

Survey Instrument for Service Providers ......................................................... 12 1 .5 6 

Interview Protocol for Data Staff ...................................................................... 6 1 1.5 9 

Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours ..................................................... ........................ ........................ ........................ 305 

In compliance with the requirements 

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

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the 

Administration for Children and 

Families is soliciting public comment 

on the specific aspects of the 

information collection described above. 

Copies of the proposed collection of 

information can be obtained and 

comments may be forwarded by writing 

to the Administration for Children and 

Families, Office of Planning, Research, 

and Evaluation, 330 C Street SW., 

Washington, DC 20201, Attn: ACF 

Reports Clearance Officer. Email 

address: infocollection@acf.hhs.gov. All 

requests should be identified by the title 

of the information collection. 

The Department specifically requests 

comments 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 collection of information; (c) 

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. 

Consideration will be given to 

comments and suggestions submitted 

within 60 days of this publication. 

Mary Jones, 

ACF/OPRE Reports Clearance Officer. 

[FR Doc. 2017–22716 Filed 10–19–17; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4184–25–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES 

Administration for Children and 

Families 

Proposed Information Collection 

Activity; Comment Request 

Title: Head Start Child and Family 

Experiences Survey (FACES). 

OMB No.: 0970–0151. 

Description: The Office of Planning, 

Research and Evaluation (OPRE), 

Administration for Children and 

Families (ACF), U.S. Department of 

Health and Human Services (HHS), is 

proposing to collect data for a new 

round of the Head Start Family and 

Child Experiences Survey (FACES). 

Featuring a ‘‘Modified Core Plus’’ Study 

design, FACES 2019 will provide data 

on a set of key indicators in Head Start 

Regions I–XI. While data collection for 

FACES 2019 will occur in Regions I–XI, 

there is a slightly different sample 

design and recruitment strategy for 

Regions I–X and Region XI (whose 

grants are awarded to tribal 

governments or consortiums of tribes). 

In fall 2019 and spring 2020, FACES 

will assess the school readiness skills of 

2,400 Head Start children in Regions I– 

X and 800 children in Region XI, survey 

their parents, and ask their Head Start 

teachers to rate children’s social and 

emotional skills. This sample will be 

drawn from 60 programs in Regions I– 

X and 22 programs in Region XI. In 

spring 2020 classroom observations of 

sampled programs will occur. In 

Regions I–X, the number of programs 

will increase from the 60 that are used 

to collect data on children’s school 

readiness outcomes to 180 for the 

purpose of conducting observations in 

720 Head Start classrooms. In Region XI, 

the program sample will remain at 22, 

and approximately 80 Head Start 

classroom observations will take place. 

Program director, center director, and 

teacher surveys will also be conducted 

in spring 2020 in Regions I–XI. In spring 

2022, program level data collection will 

be repeated in Regions I–X only. If any 

plus studies are conducted, they will be 

conducted within the Core sample. 

This notice is specific to the data 

collection activities needed to recruit 

Head Start programs and centers into 

FACES 2019. A future notice will 

provide information about data 

collection for the study. A nationally 

representative sample of Head Start 

programs and centers from Regions I–X 

and a representative sample of Head 

Start programs and centers from Region 

XI will be selected to participate in 

FACES 2019. From Regions I–X, the 

programs participating in the Core 

child-level data collection will be 

contacted and recruited for the study in 

spring 2019. In fall 2019, the remaining 


srobinson on DSKBC5CHB2PROD with NOTICES