The Administration for Community Living/Administration on Aging (ACL/AoA) is requesting approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for data collection associated with the Process Evaluation and Special Studies Related to the Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program (LTCOP) (Contract # HHSP233201500048I). ). The Older Americans Act (OAA) Title III-C Elderly Nutrition Services Program (statutory authority is contained in Title II section 205(a)(2)(A) authorizes ACL to evaluate all named programs. The goal of the LTCOP (named in section 712 of the Older Americanâs Act) is to protect and promote the health, safety, welfare, and rights of long-term care facility residents. Administered by ACL/AoA, LTCOPs operate in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and Guam. Each of these programs is led by a full-time ombudsman who is responsible for statewide program administration and oversight of representatives of the office and volunteers who assist in carrying out the core activities of the program, including resolving residents' complaints, advocating for systemic change, and providing information and consultation to residents and their families. In 2014, there were 1,293 paid program staff and 8,155 volunteers serving the program across the country and in Puerto Rico.
The purpose of the process evaluation is to obtain a thorough understanding of the LTCOPâs structure and operations at the national, state and local levels; use of resources to carry out legislative mandates; the nature of program partnerships; and processes for sharing information on promising program practices and areas for improvement. Data collection for the process evaluation consists of two rounds. ACL seeks clearance for round one and provisional clearance for Round 2 dependent upon receiving final marked up surveys. The first round focuses on obtaining information from three respondent categories at the national and state levels: Federal staff, national stakeholders, and State ombudsmen. Data collection from these respondents will help inform and refine the second round of data collection focusing on obtaining information from respondents at the local level. These include local directors/regional representatives, local representatives, and volunteers. For example, data collected from Round 1 will serve to inform the subsequent data collection for Task 7 of the project. This task focuses on investigating how the ombudsman program has been addressing and affecting the changing landscape of long term services and supports (LTSS). State ombudsmen responses to questions about reforms in LTSS and home and community-based care will help identify states for further study and obtain information at the local level. This package addresses these two rounds of the project, with an emphasis on the first round
On behalf of this Federal agency, I certify that the collection of information encompassed by this request complies with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR 1320.8(b)(3).
The following is a summary of the topics, regarding the proposed collection of information, that the certification covers:
(i) Why the information is being collected;
(ii) Use of information;
(iii) Burden estimate;
(iv) Nature of response (voluntary, required for a benefit, or mandatory);
(v) Nature and extent of confidentiality; and
(vi) Need to display currently valid OMB control number;
If you are unable to certify compliance with any of these provisions, identify the item by leaving the box unchecked and explain the reason in the Supporting Statement.
Form 1 Volunteers Survey
OMB Package Section B_FINAL.docx
Volunteers Survey