Proposed Data Collections 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 proposed generic information collection entitled CDC Fellowship Programs Assessments. CDC is requesting Office of Management and Budget approval for a new generic clearance for data collection associated with quality improvement for the CDC fellowship programs that develop the current, emerging, and future public health workforce.

DATES:

Written comments must be received on or before August 23, 2016.

ADDRESSES:

You may submit comments, identified by Docket No. CDC-2016-0056, by any of the following methods:

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Regulations.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

Data Collection for CDC Fellowship Programs—New—Division of Scientific Education and Professional Development (DSEPD), Center for Surveillance, Epidemiology, and Laboratory Services (CSELS), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Background and Brief Description

CDC's mission is to protect America from health, safety, and security threats, both foreign and in the U.S. To ensure a competent, sustainable, and empowered public health workforce prepared to meet these challenges, CDC plays a key role in developing, implementing, and managing a number of fellowship programs. A fellowship is defined as a training or work experience lasting at least 1 month and consisting of primarily experiential (i.e., on-the-job) learning, in which the trainee has a designated mentor or supervisor. CDC fellowships are intended to develop public health professionals, enhance the public health workforce, and strengthen collaborations with partners in public health and healthcare organizations, academia, and other stakeholders in governmental and non-governmental organizations. Assessing fellowship activities is essential to ensure that the public health workforce is equipped to promote and protect the public's health.

CDC requests a three-year approval of a generic clearance to collect data about its fellowship programs, as they relate to public health workforce development. Data collections will allow for ongoing, collaborative, and actionable communications between CDC fellowship programs and stakeholders (e.g., fellows, supervisors/mentors, alumni). These collections might include short surveys, interviews, and focus groups. Intended use of the resulting information is to:

• Inform planning, implementation, and continuous quality improvement of fellowship activities and services;
• improve efficiencies in the delivery of fellowship activities and services; and
• determine to what extent fellowship activities and services are achieving established goals.

Collection and use of information about CDC fellowship activities will help ensure effective, efficient, and satisfying experiences among fellowship program participants and stakeholders.

CDC estimates that annually, a given fellowship program will conduct one query each with one of the three respondent groups: Fellowship applicants or fellows; mentors, supervisors, or employers; and alumni. The total annualized burden hours of 2,957 was determined as depicted in the following table.