Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; Comment Request, 55794-55796 [E7-19303]
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55794
Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 189 / Monday, October 1, 2007 / Notices
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND
HUMAN SERVICES
National Institutes of Health
Notice of Listing of Members of the
National Institutes of Health’s Senior
Executive Service Performance Review
Board (PRB)
The National Institutes of Health
(NIH) announces the persons who will
serve on the National Institutes of
Health’s Senior Executive Service
Performance Review Board. This action
is being taken in accordance with Title
5, U.S.C., Section 4314 (c) (4), which
requires that members of performance
review boards be appointed in a manner
to ensure consistency, stability, and
objectivity in performance appraisals
and requires that notice of the
appointment of an individual to serve as
a member be published in the Federal
Register.
The following persons will serve on
the NIH Performance Review Board,
which oversees the evaluation of
performance appraisals of NIH Senior
Executive Service (SES) members:
Ms. Colleen Barros (Chair)
Dr. Norka Ruiz Bravo
Mr. Gahan Breithaupt
Dr. Michael Gottesman
Dr. Raynard Kington
Dr. Michael Marron
Dr. Lore Anne McNicol
Dr. Ellen Stover
For further information about the NIH
Performance Review Board, please
contact the Office of Human Resources,
Workforce Relations Division, National
Institutes of Health, Building 31, Room
B3C07, Bethesda, Maryland 20892,
telephone 301–402–9203 (not a toll-free
number).
Dated: September 20, 2007.
Elias A. Zerhouni,
Director, National Institutes of Health.
[FR Doc. E7–19285 Filed 9–28–07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4140–01–P
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND
HUMAN SERVICES
Substance Abuse and Mental Health
Services Administration
mstockstill on PROD1PC66 with NOTICES
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
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Services Administration (SAMHSA)
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: The National CrossSite Evaluation of Safe Schools/Healthy
Students (SS/HS) Initiative Grants—In
Use Without Approval
The Safe Schools/Healthy Students
(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), and 42U.S.C.,
Section 290hh (Children and Violence).
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 multidistrict regional
consortia, with funding to
simultaneously improve school safety,
improve student access to mental health
services, reduce violence and substance
use, and strengthen both 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, in partnership with the local
mental health system, the local law
enforcement agency, and the local
juvenile justice agency. Other
community partners often involved in
these grants include public and private
social services agencies, businesses,
civic organizations, the faith
community, and private citizens. As a
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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.
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. In
FY–2005, 40 new SS/HS grants were
awarded; in FY–2006, an additional 19
grants were awarded; and in FY–2007,
an additional 27 grants will be awarded.
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
use.
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.
As authorized by 42 U.S.C. 290hh,
item (f), SAMHSA has begun a national
evaluation of the Safe School/Healthy
Students (SS/HS) projects. In addition
to GPRA measures, a Federal Evaluation
Work Group of the national evaluation,
comprising Federal officials
representing the U.S. Departments of
Education, and Health and Human
Services, has determined that
information is also required to address
four overarching questions:
1. Do conditions and resources in the
pre-grant environment facilitate or
impede the implementation of the SS/
HS Initiative at both the local education
agency (LEA) and school levels?
2. Do SS/HS activities lead to the
intended system changes
(comprehensive policies, enhanced
services, and improved coordination)?
3. Do system changes (near-term
outcomes) associated with the SS/HS
Initiative lead to improvements in longterm outcomes (reduction in substance
use and violence, increased access to
mental health services, and
improvement in attendance and school
climate)?
4. Overall, does the SS/HS Initiative
meet the Federal Government’s
E:\FR\FM\01OCN1.SGM
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Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 189 / Monday, October 1, 2007 / Notices
expectations of achieving improvements
in long-term outcomes (reduction in
substance use and violence, increased
access to mental health services, and
improvement in attendance and school
climate)?
The SS/HS National Evaluation Team
(NET) proposes seven (7) data collection
instruments for use with various
audiences and at various times to
provide systematic, rigorous answers to
these questions. These instruments are
listed below and discussed:
1. A Year 1 Site Visit protocol.
2. Project-Level Survey.
3. School-Level Survey.
4. Staff School Climate Survey.
5. Group Interview.
6. Project Director Interview.
7. Partnership Inventory.
With the exception of the Staff School
Climate Survey, these instruments are
currently in use without approval.
1. Year 1 Site Visit Protocol. The NET
will conduct a Year 1 site visit to all SS/
HS grantees in their first year of
funding. The Year 1 Site Visit is
designed to clarify and expand upon
information presented in the grant
application. The Site Visit Guide
includes a set of questions for each of
five general topical areas:
1. Planning for the SS/HS project.
2. Current status of project
implementation.
3. Enhancing interagency services.
4. Update on the SS/HS schoolcommunity partnership structure,
composition, and functioning including
the current status of required partners
(i.e., education, mental health, law
enforcement, and juvenile justice).
5. Local evaluation status.
2. Project-Level Survey is to be
administered annually to collect projectlevel information provided by the local
project director, in consultation with the
local evaluator and other key staff. This
Web-based instrument will (1) collect
data and project level assessments on
technical assistance and near-term
outcomes, and (2) collect data and
project-level assessments on the
penetration of SS/HS-related activities
among the targeted population(s) and on
the sustainability of the activities
beyond the grant period. The survey
contains 114 multiple-choice questions
covering seven topical areas:
1. The relationship between the local
education agency (LEA) and schools.
2. Technical assistance and training.
3. Comprehensive policies and
interventions.
4. Evidence-based interventions.
5. Enhanced service integration.
6. Improved coordination.
7. Sustainability.
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This survey will generate
standardized cross-site measures for the
required data.
3. School-Level Survey, also
administered annually, is a Web-based
survey completed by the SS/HS
coordinator at each school, identified by
the local project director. Its main
purpose is to collect information
describing system changes at the level of
the individual schools included in the
grant (e.g., involvement of the grant
partners in activities and adoption of
comprehensive safety policies at the
school level).
This instrument contains 131
multiple-choice questions covering two
main areas: (1) Organizational structure,
characteristics and activities; and (2) the
school’s emphasis on and student
participation in activities and programs.
The School-Level Survey is designed
specifically to provide an indicator as to
whether and how project-level SS/HSrelated policies are consistently diffused
to the individual schools.
Prior to fielding Project-Level and
School-Level Surveys, an e-mail and/or
letter will be sent to project directors
and SS/HS school coordinators to
explain the purpose of the survey and
provide information on how to complete
the surveys. The e-mail and/or letter
will provide names, e-mail addresses,
telephone numbers, and fax numbers for
the NET contact(s) to ensure
respondents have appropriate contact
information if they have questions or
need to clarify survey-related questions.
The e-mail and/or letter will also
explain the options available for
completing and returning the survey
(Web-based, paper, and electronic).
Designated NET staff responsible for
the two surveys will call or e-mail the
respondents after distribution to ensure
responses are received in a timely
fashion. The NET also plans additional
follow-up efforts to track any
respondents who fail to submit their
completed surveys after the initial
follow-up.
4. Staff School Climate Survey is
planned as an annual survey to be
completed by all staff at each school
participating in the SS/HS program.
Administration and scoring will be
conducted via an existing infrastructure
that allows immediate access to the
results at school, district, and aggregate
levels for use by local and NET
evaluators. The major purposes of this
survey are:
1. Assess changes in school climate at
the project level.
2. Identify the extent of variation in
school climate among the target schools
of each project.
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55795
3. Provide a basis for comparison of
changes in the individual dimensions of
school climate.
4. Provide added value to LEAs by
helping them meet Federal legislative
requirements for assessing staff
perceptions of the incidence,
prevalence, and attitudes related to
substance use and violence in their
schools.
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
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. The survey
deals with such issues as truancy,
safety, harassment, substance use,
school connectedness, and learning
supports. The instrument will track
changes in school climate in schools
targeted for program services under the
SS/HS Initiative. In the absence of the
Staff School Climate Survey, there
would be no common, cross-site
measure of performance across SS/HS
initiative grantees. In practice, the Staff
School Climate Survey will be
administered electronically among
approximately 106,000 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.
5. Group Interview will assess the
status of the following:
1. Implementation of planned
activities.
2. The status of the SS/HS schoolcommunity partnership.
3. Progress towards enhancing
interagency services.
4. The status of the local evaluation.
Information will be gathered from a
larger group of key informants than
during the Year 1 site visits. In addition
to the project director, key informants
will include the local evaluator,
required partners from each site, and
representatives from other local
organizations (e.g., alcohol and drug
prevention or treatment agencies, afterschool programs, early childhood
programs). The NET will consult with
Federal Project Officers and the local
project directors in deciding which
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Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 189 / Monday, October 1, 2007 / Notices
partners/organizations will serve as key
informants in the telephone interviews.
The intent is to conduct these group
interviews as a semistructured exchange
among participants, guided by topics
and issues raised by the NET moderator.
6. Project Director Interview of the
local SS/HS site will follow the group
interview. These structured interviews
will be used primarily to assess each
partner’s contribution to the core
elements of collaborative functioning.
The project director interview will be
conducted twice for each SS/HS grant,
following the group telephone
interviews of partnership members in
the spring of Years 2 and 3 of the grant.
The interviews will be structured
around 11 topics, designed to gather
information that will be used to:
1. Update program status.
2. Discuss strategies and activities the
sites intend to implement.
3. Explore key partners’ involvement
in the project.
4. Investigate the role of the
community partnership in the local
project.
5. Secure information regarding the
site’s perspective on the impact of the
SS/HS project on students, families, and
the community.
6. Assess collaborative functioning.
This information will be used to
refine project classifications, examine
changes in the number and types of
evidence-based practices being
implemented, and document the
number and type of new service
structures or systems sites plan to
implement through the grant.
A NET site liaison will conduct the
Project Director interview by telephone.
This interview contains a total of 31
questions, focusing on 10 core areas of
collaborative functioning. Three subset
questions focus on the contribution
rating of the partnership, examples to
support that rating, and the level of
contribution of each required partner. A
final question assesses the overall
Responses
per
respondent
Number of
respondents
Data collection instrument
contribution of each of the partners to
the SS/HS project.
7. The Partnership Inventory is a 32item self-completion questionnaire emailed to designated representatives of
local partnering organizations. Its
purpose is to obtain a subjective
assessment of perceptions of operating
characteristics of the partnership
process through Likert-type scaling. The
first 16 items ask respondents to give
their opinions about how the SS/HS
partnership is functioning in their
community. Items 17–26 focus on the
contributions the respondent’s
organization has made to the
collaborative functions related to SS/HS
planning and implementation. The final
six questions focus on interactions
among the participating members of the
collaboration, asking how often and
how intensely the various organizations
work together.
The annualized burden estimates are
below:
Average hours
per response
Total annual
burden (hours)
Site Visit Protocol ..........................................................................................
Project-Level Survey ......................................................................................
School-Level Survey ......................................................................................
Staff School Climate Survey ..........................................................................
Group Interview .............................................................................................
Project Director Interview ..............................................................................
Partnership Inventory .....................................................................................
425
85
2,500
106,250
425
85
340
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
3
0.75
0.75
0.117
1.5
0.75
0.25
1,275
64
1,875
12,431
638
64
85
Total ........................................................................................................
106,675
........................
..........................
16,431
Send comments to Summer King,
SAMHSA Reports Clearance Officer,
Room 7–1044, One Choke Cherry Road,
Rockville, MD 20857 and e-mail her a
copy at summer.king@samhsa.hhs.gov.
Written comments should be received
within 60 days of this notice.
Dated: September 24, 2007.
Elaine Parry,
Acting Director, Office of Program Services.
[FR Doc. E7–19303 Filed 9–28–07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4162–20–P
DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND
SECURITY
Federal Emergency Management
Agency
mstockstill on PROD1PC66 with NOTICES
Compendium of Flood Map Changes
Federal Emergency
Management Agency, DHS.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: The Federal Emergency
Management Agency (FEMA)
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18:31 Sep 28, 2007
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announces the availability of the
Compendium of Flood Map Changes
which provides a listing of changes
made to the National Flood Insurance
Program (NFIP) maps that became
effective from January 1, 2005 through
June 30, 2007. Future notices of changes
to NFIP maps will be made available
approximately every 6 months.
The five listings include changes
to NFIP maps that became effective from
January 1, 2005 through June 30, 2007.
This includes the Compendium of Flood
Map Changes from, January 1, 2005
through June 30, 2005; July 1, 2005
through December 31, 2005; January 1,
2006 through June 30, 2006; July 1, 2006
through December 30, 2006; and January
1, 2007 through June 30, 2007.
DATES:
The Compendium of Flood
Map Changes is available on the Internet
at www.fema.gov/plan/prevent/fhm/
dl_comp.shtm. You may also request a
copy of the Compendium of Flood Map
Changes on CD from the Map Service
Center at https://www.msc.fema.gov, or
(800) 358–9616.
ADDRESSES:
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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
William R. Blanton, Jr., Engineering
Management Section, Mitigation
Directorate, Federal Emergency
Management Agency, 500 C Street, SW.,
Washington, DC 20472, (202) 646–3151.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In
accordance with section 1360(i) of the
National Flood Insurance Reform Act of
1994, this notice is provided to inform
interested parties of the availability of
changes made by FEMA to NFIP maps.
In the Compendium of Flood Map
Changes, the two listings provided show
communities affected by map changes
made by letter and communities
affected by physical map changes. For
each Letter of Map Change, the first
listing provides the map panel(s)
affected, effective (determination) date
of the change, case number, and
determination type. For each physical
map change, the Map Revision listing
provides the map panel(s) affected and
the effective date of the change. The
listing also identifies: (1) Those panels
on which the Special Flood Hazard
Areas have not been changed or have
E:\FR\FM\01OCN1.SGM
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Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 189 (Monday, October 1, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55794-55796]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-19303]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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 (SAMHSA) 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: The National Cross-Site Evaluation of Safe Schools/
Healthy Students (SS/HS) Initiative Grants--In Use Without Approval
The Safe Schools/Healthy Students (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), and 42U.S.C., Section 290hh (Children and Violence).
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
multidistrict regional consortia, with funding to simultaneously
improve school safety, improve student access to mental health
services, reduce violence and substance use, and strengthen both 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, in partnership with the local mental health system, the
local law enforcement agency, and the local juvenile justice agency.
Other community partners often involved in these grants 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.
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. In FY-2005, 40 new SS/HS grants were awarded; in FY-2006, an
additional 19 grants were awarded; and in FY-2007, an additional 27
grants will be awarded. 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 use.
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.
As authorized by 42 U.S.C. 290hh, item (f), SAMHSA has begun a
national evaluation of the Safe School/Healthy Students (SS/HS)
projects. In addition to GPRA measures, a Federal Evaluation Work Group
of the national evaluation, comprising Federal officials representing
the U.S. Departments of Education, and Health and Human Services, has
determined that information is also required to address four
overarching questions:
1. Do conditions and resources in the pre-grant environment
facilitate or impede the implementation of the SS/HS Initiative at both
the local education agency (LEA) and school levels?
2. Do SS/HS activities lead to the intended system changes
(comprehensive policies, enhanced services, and improved coordination)?
3. Do system changes (near-term outcomes) associated with the SS/HS
Initiative lead to improvements in long-term outcomes (reduction in
substance use and violence, increased access to mental health services,
and improvement in attendance and school climate)?
4. Overall, does the SS/HS Initiative meet the Federal Government's
[[Page 55795]]
expectations of achieving improvements in long-term outcomes (reduction
in substance use and violence, increased access to mental health
services, and improvement in attendance and school climate)?
The SS/HS National Evaluation Team (NET) proposes seven (7) data
collection instruments for use with various audiences and at various
times to provide systematic, rigorous answers to these questions. These
instruments are listed below and discussed:
1. A Year 1 Site Visit protocol.
2. Project-Level Survey.
3. School-Level Survey.
4. Staff School Climate Survey.
5. Group Interview.
6. Project Director Interview.
7. Partnership Inventory.
With the exception of the Staff School Climate Survey, these
instruments are currently in use without approval.
1. Year 1 Site Visit Protocol. The NET will conduct a Year 1 site
visit to all SS/HS grantees in their first year of funding. The Year 1
Site Visit is designed to clarify and expand upon information presented
in the grant application. The Site Visit Guide includes a set of
questions for each of five general topical areas:
1. Planning for the SS/HS project.
2. Current status of project implementation.
3. Enhancing interagency services.
4. Update on the SS/HS school-community partnership structure,
composition, and functioning including the current status of required
partners (i.e., education, mental health, law enforcement, and juvenile
justice).
5. Local evaluation status.
2. Project-Level Survey is to be administered annually to collect
project-level information provided by the local project director, in
consultation with the local evaluator and other key staff. This Web-
based instrument will (1) collect data and project level assessments on
technical assistance and near-term outcomes, and (2) collect data and
project-level assessments on the penetration of SS/HS-related
activities among the targeted population(s) and on the sustainability
of the activities beyond the grant period. The survey contains 114
multiple-choice questions covering seven topical areas:
1. The relationship between the local education agency (LEA) and
schools.
2. Technical assistance and training.
3. Comprehensive policies and interventions.
4. Evidence-based interventions.
5. Enhanced service integration.
6. Improved coordination.
7. Sustainability.
This survey will generate standardized cross-site measures for the
required data.
3. School-Level Survey, also administered annually, is a Web-based
survey completed by the SS/HS coordinator at each school, identified by
the local project director. Its main purpose is to collect information
describing system changes at the level of the individual schools
included in the grant (e.g., involvement of the grant partners in
activities and adoption of comprehensive safety policies at the school
level).
This instrument contains 131 multiple-choice questions covering two
main areas: (1) Organizational structure, characteristics and
activities; and (2) the school's emphasis on and student participation
in activities and programs. The School-Level Survey is designed
specifically to provide an indicator as to whether and how project-
level SS/HS-related policies are consistently diffused to the
individual schools.
Prior to fielding Project-Level and School-Level Surveys, an e-mail
and/or letter will be sent to project directors and SS/HS school
coordinators to explain the purpose of the survey and provide
information on how to complete the surveys. The e-mail and/or letter
will provide names, e-mail addresses, telephone numbers, and fax
numbers for the NET contact(s) to ensure respondents have appropriate
contact information if they have questions or need to clarify survey-
related questions. The e-mail and/or letter will also explain the
options available for completing and returning the survey (Web-based,
paper, and electronic).
Designated NET staff responsible for the two surveys will call or
e-mail the respondents after distribution to ensure responses are
received in a timely fashion. The NET also plans additional follow-up
efforts to track any respondents who fail to submit their completed
surveys after the initial follow-up.
4. Staff School Climate Survey is planned as an annual survey to be
completed by all staff at each school participating in the SS/HS
program. Administration and scoring will be conducted via an existing
infrastructure that allows immediate access to the results at school,
district, and aggregate levels for use by local and NET evaluators. The
major purposes of this survey are:
1. Assess changes in school climate at the project level.
2. Identify the extent of variation in school climate among the
target schools of each project.
3. Provide a basis for comparison of changes in the individual
dimensions of school climate.
4. Provide added value to LEAs by helping them meet Federal
legislative requirements for assessing staff perceptions of the
incidence, prevalence, and attitudes related to substance use and
violence in their schools.
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 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. The survey deals with such
issues as truancy, safety, harassment, substance use, school
connectedness, and learning supports. The instrument will track changes
in school climate in schools targeted for program services under the
SS/HS Initiative. In the absence of the Staff School Climate Survey,
there would be no common, cross-site measure of performance across SS/
HS initiative grantees. In practice, the Staff School Climate Survey
will be administered electronically among approximately 106,000 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.
5. Group Interview will assess the status of the following:
1. Implementation of planned activities.
2. The status of the SS/HS school-community partnership.
3. Progress towards enhancing interagency services.
4. The status of the local evaluation.
Information will be gathered from a larger group of key informants
than during the Year 1 site visits. In addition to the project
director, key informants will include the local evaluator, required
partners from each site, and representatives from other local
organizations (e.g., alcohol and drug prevention or treatment agencies,
after-school programs, early childhood programs). The NET will consult
with Federal Project Officers and the local project directors in
deciding which
[[Page 55796]]
partners/organizations will serve as key informants in the telephone
interviews. The intent is to conduct these group interviews as a
semistructured exchange among participants, guided by topics and issues
raised by the NET moderator.
6. Project Director Interview of the local SS/HS site will follow
the group interview. These structured interviews will be used primarily
to assess each partner's contribution to the core elements of
collaborative functioning. The project director interview will be
conducted twice for each SS/HS grant, following the group telephone
interviews of partnership members in the spring of Years 2 and 3 of the
grant. The interviews will be structured around 11 topics, designed to
gather information that will be used to:
1. Update program status.
2. Discuss strategies and activities the sites intend to implement.
3. Explore key partners' involvement in the project.
4. Investigate the role of the community partnership in the local
project.
5. Secure information regarding the site's perspective on the
impact of the SS/HS project on students, families, and the community.
6. Assess collaborative functioning.
This information will be used to refine project classifications,
examine changes in the number and types of evidence-based practices
being implemented, and document the number and type of new service
structures or systems sites plan to implement through the grant.
A NET site liaison will conduct the Project Director interview by
telephone. This interview contains a total of 31 questions, focusing on
10 core areas of collaborative functioning. Three subset questions
focus on the contribution rating of the partnership, examples to
support that rating, and the level of contribution of each required
partner. A final question assesses the overall contribution of each of
the partners to the SS/HS project.
7. The Partnership Inventory is a 32-item self-completion
questionnaire e-mailed to designated representatives of local
partnering organizations. Its purpose is to obtain a subjective
assessment of perceptions of operating characteristics of the
partnership process through Likert-type scaling. The first 16 items ask
respondents to give their opinions about how the SS/HS partnership is
functioning in their community. Items 17-26 focus on the contributions
the respondent's organization has made to the collaborative functions
related to SS/HS planning and implementation. The final six questions
focus on interactions among the participating members of the
collaboration, asking how often and how intensely the various
organizations work together.
The annualized burden estimates are below:
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Number of Responses per Average hours Total annual
Data collection instrument respondents respondent per response burden (hours)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Site Visit Protocol............................. 425 1 3 1,275
Project-Level Survey............................ 85 1 0.75 64
School-Level Survey............................. 2,500 1 0.75 1,875
Staff School Climate Survey..................... 106,250 1 0.117 12,431
Group Interview................................. 425 1 1.5 638
Project Director Interview...................... 85 1 0.75 64
Partnership Inventory........................... 340 1 0.25 85
---------------------------------------------------------------
Total....................................... 106,675 .............. .............. 16,431
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Send comments to Summer King, SAMHSA Reports Clearance Officer,
Room 7-1044, One Choke Cherry Road, Rockville, MD 20857 and e-mail her
a copy at summer.king@samhsa.hhs.gov. Written comments should be
received within 60 days of this notice.
Dated: September 24, 2007.
Elaine Parry,
Acting Director, Office of Program Services.
[FR Doc. E7-19303 Filed 9-28-07; 8:45 am]
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