Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

Periodically, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) will publish a summary of information collection requests under OMB review, in compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35). To request a copy of these documents, call the SAMHSA Reports Clearance Officer on (240) 276-1243.

Project: Protection and Advocacy for Individuals With Mental Illness (PAIMI) Annual Program Performance Report (OMB No. 0930-0169)—Extension

The Protection and Advocacy for Individuals with Mental Illness (PAIMI) Act at 42 U.S.C. 10801 et seq., authorized funds to the same protection and advocacy (P&A) systems created under the Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act of 1975, known as the DD Act (as amended in 2000, 42 U.S.C. 15001 et seq.]. The DD Act supports the Protection and Advocacy for Developmental Disabilities (PADD) Program administered by the Administration on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AIDD) within the Administration on Community Living. AIDD is the lead federal P&A agency. The PAIMI Program supports the same governor-designated P&A systems established under the DD Act by providing legal-based individual and systemic advocacy services to individuals with significant (severe) mental illness (adults) and significant (severe) emotional impairment (children/youth) who are at risk for abuse, neglect and other rights violations while residing in a care or treatment facility.

In 2000, the PAIMI Act amendments created a 57th P&A system—the American Indian Consortium (the Navajo and Hopi Tribes in the Four Corners region of the Southwest). The Act, at 42 U.S.C. 10804(d), states that a P&A system may use its allotment to provide representation to individuals with mental illness, as defined by section 42 U.S.C. 10802 (4)(B)(iii) residing in the community, including their own home, only, if the total allotment under this title for any fiscal year is $30 million or more, and in such cases an eligible P&A system must give priority to representing PAIMI-eligible individuals, as defined by 42 U.S.C. 10802(4)(A) and (B)(i).

The Children's Health Act of 2000 (CHA) also referenced the state P&A system authority to obtain information on incidents of seclusion, restraint and related deaths [see, CHA, Part H at 42 U.S.C. 290ii-1]. PAIMI Program formula grants awarded by SAMHSA go directly to each of the 57 governor-designated P&A systems. These systems are located in each of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, the American Indian Consortium, American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

The PAIMI Act at 42 U.S.C. 10805(7) requires that each P&A system prepare and transmit to the Secretary HHS and to the head of its State mental health agency a report on January 1. This report describes the activities, accomplishments, and expenditures of the system during the most recently completed fiscal year, including a section prepared by the advisory council (the PAIMI Advisory Council or PAC) that describes the activities of the council and its independent assessment of the operations of the system.

The Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) proposes no revisions to its annual PAIMI Program Performance Report (PPR), including the advisory council section, at this time for the following reasons: (1) AIDD is currently piloting a PADD PPR. The results of the pilot will not be available until October 2014 (FY 2015). (2) when the AIDD/ACL PPR is final, SAMHSA will revise its PPR, as appropriate, for consistency with the annual reporting requirements under the PAIMI Act and Rules [42 CFR Part 51]; (3) SAMHSA will develop a mechanism to facilitate electronic submission of the annual PAIMI PPR and ACR as recommended in the Evaluation of the Protection and Advocacy for Individuals with Mental Illness (PAIMI) Program, Phase III. Evaluation Report al Report (SAMHSA (2011). Evaluation of the Protection and Advocacy for Individuals With Mental Illness (PAIMI) Program, Phase III. Final Report. HHS Pub. No. PEP12-EVALPAIMI. Rockville, MD: CMHS, SAMHSA). (4) GPRA requirements for the PAIMI Program will be revised as appropriate to ensure that SAMHSA obtains information that closely measures actual outcomes of programs that it funds and (5) SAMHSA will reduce wherever feasible the current reporting burden by removing any information that does not facilitate evaluation of the programmatic and fiscal effectiveness of a state P&A system. The current report formats will be effective for the FY 2014 PPR reports due on January 1, 2015.

The annual burden estimate is as follows:

Written comments and recommendations concerning the proposed information collection should be sent by July 24, 2014 to the SAMHSA Desk Officer at the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget (OMB). To ensure timely receipt of comments, and to avoid potential delays in OMB's receipt and processing of mail sent through the U.S. Postal Service, commenters are encouraged to submit their comments to OMB via email to: OIRA_Submission@omb.eop.gov. Although commenters are encouraged to send their comments via email, commenters may also fax their comments to: 202-395-7285. Commenters may also mail them to: Office of Management and Budget, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, New Executive Office Building, Room 10102, Washington, DC 20503.