Proposed Data Collection Submitted for Public Comment and Recommendations

AGENCY:

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

ACTION:

Notice with comment period.

SUMMARY:

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as part of its continuing efforts to reduce public burden and maximize the utility of government information, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. This notice invites comment on the 2017 and 2019 National Youth Risk Behavior Surveys (YRBS). The goal of the study is to assess priority health-risk behaviors related to the major preventable causes of mortality, morbidity, and social problems among both youth and adults in the United States. CDC is requesting a 3-year approval to reinstate with change the data collection for the National YRBS.

DATES:

Written comments must be received on or before May 2, 2016.

ADDRESSES:

You may submit comments, identified by Docket No. CDC-2016-0022 by any of the following methods:

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Regulation.gov. Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
• Mail: Leroy A. Richardson, Information Collection Review Office, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Road NE., MS-D74, Atlanta, Georgia 30329.

Instructions: All submissions received must include the agency name and Docket Number. All relevant comments received will be posted without change to Regulations.gov, including any personal information provided. For access to the docket to read background documents or comments received, go to Regulations.gov.

Please note:

All public comment should be submitted through the Federal eRulemaking portal (Regulations.gov) or by U.S. mail to the address listed above.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

To request more information on the proposed project or to obtain a copy of the information collection plan and instruments, contact the Information Collection Review Office, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Road NE., MS-D74, Atlanta, Georgia 30329; phone: 404-639-7570; Email: omb@cdc.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) (44 U.S.C. 3501-3520), Federal agencies must obtain approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for each collection of information they conduct or sponsor. In addition, the PRA also requires Federal agencies to provide a 60-day notice in the Federal Register concerning each proposed collection of information, including each new proposed collection, each proposed extension of existing collection of information, and each reinstatement of previously approved information collection before submitting the collection to OMB for approval. To comply with this requirement, we are publishing this notice of a proposed data collection as described below.

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 collection of information; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; (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; and (e) estimates of capital or start-up costs and costs of operation, maintenance, and purchase of services to provide information. Burden means the total time, effort, or financial resources expended by persons to generate, maintain, retain, disclose or provide information to or for a Federal agency. This includes the time needed to review instructions; to develop, acquire, install and utilize technology and systems for the purpose of collecting, validating and verifying information, processing and maintaining information, and disclosing and providing information; to train personnel and to be able to respond to a collection of information, to search data sources, to complete and review the collection of information; and to transmit or otherwise disclose the information.

Proposed Project

2017 and 2019 National Youth Risk Behavior Surveys (OMB Control No. 0920-0493)—Reinstatement with change—National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention (NCHHSTP), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Background and Brief Description

The purpose of this request is to obtain OMB approval to reinstate with change, the data collection for the National Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS), a school-based survey that has been conducted biennially since 1991. OMB approval for the 2013 YRBS and 2015 YRBS expired September 30, 2015 (OMB Control No. 0920-0493). CDC seeks a three-year approval to conduct the YRBS in Spring 2017 and Spring 2019. Minor changes incorporated into this reinstatement request include: An updated title for the information collection to accurately reflect the years in which the survey will be conducted, minor changes to the data collection instrument, and a reclassification of urban status for schools based on a different variable now present in the commercially available sampling frame.

The YRBS assesses priority health risk behaviors related to the major preventable causes of mortality, morbidity, and social problems among both youth and young adults in the United States. Data on health risk behaviors of adolescents are the focus of approximately 65 national health objectives in Healthy People 2020, an initiative of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The YRBS provides data to measure 20 of the health objectives and 1 of the Leading Health Indicators established by Healthy People 2020. In addition, the YRBS can identify racial and ethnic disparities in health risk behaviors. No other national source of data measures as many of the Healthy People 2020 objectives addressing adolescent health risk behaviors as the YRBS. The data also will have significant implications for policy and program development for school health programs nationwide.

In Spring 2017 and Spring 2019, the YRBS will be conducted among nationally representative samples of students attending public and private schools in grades 9-12. Information supporting the YRBS also will be collected from state-, district-, and school-level administrators and teachers. The table below reports the number of respondents annualized over the 3-year project period.

There are no costs to respondents except their time. The total estimated annualized burden hours are 7,822.