Emergency
approval is granted. VA shall, as soon as practicable, comply with
the ordinary PRA process at 5 CFR 1320.12. In that submission to
OMB, VA shall modify the form to include "the fact that an agency
may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond
to, a collection of information unless it displays a currently
valid OMB control number" (5 CFR 1320.8(b)(3)(vi)).
Inventory as of this Action
Requested
Previously Approved
02/28/2021
6 Months From Approved
09/30/2021
66,026
0
16,500
16,236
0
4,125
0
0
0
Pursuant to RIN 2900-AQ48, the
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has proposed revisions to its
regulations that govern VA’s Program of Comprehensive Assistance
for Family Caregivers (PCAFC). This rulemaking would make
improvements to PCAFC and update the regulations to comply with
section 161 of Public Law 115-182, the VA MISSION Act of 2018,
which made changes to PCAFC’s authorizing statute. These proposed
changes would allow PCAFC to better address the needs of Veterans
of all eras and standardize the current program to focus on
eligible veterans with moderate and severe needs. The background
for PCAFC and this information collection resides in Title I of
Public Law (Pub. L.) 111-163, Caregivers and Veterans Omnibus
Health Services Act of 2010 (hereinafter referred to as “the
Caregivers Act”), which established section 1720G(a) of title 38 of
the United States Code (U.S.C.) “Assistance and Support Services
for Caregivers.” Section 1720G required VA to establish a Program
of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers (PCAFC) of
eligible veterans. The Caregivers Act also required VA to establish
a Program of General Caregiver Support Services (PGCSS) that is
available to caregivers of covered Veterans of all eras. VA
implemented the PCAFC and the PGCSS through its regulations in part
71 of title 38 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). Through
PCAFC, VA provides family caregivers of eligible veterans (as
defined in 38 CFR 71.15) certain benefits, such as training,
respite care, counseling, technical support, beneficiary travel (to
attend required caregiver training and for an eligible veteran’s
medical appointments), a monthly stipend payment, and access to
health care coverage. In order to administer these benefits to
caregivers, it is necessary that the VA receive information about
the nature of benefit being sought and the persons who will be
serving as primary or secondary family caregivers and receiving
benefits. This information is collected with VA Form 10-10CG. The
rule, at 38 CFR 71.25, includes a provision constituting a
modification to a collection of information under the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501-3521) which requires approval
by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Accordingly, under 44
U.S.C. 3507(d), VA has submitted a copy of the rulemaking to OMB
for review.
VA requests emergency
processing of revisions to OMB Control Number 2900-0768, associated
with final rule AQ48, on the Program of Comprehensive Assistance
for Family Caregivers (PCAFC) Amendments Under the VA MISSION Act
of 2018. This collection is essential for the mission of VA and is
needed prior to the regular time period prescribed by the Paperwork
Reduction Act. Upon review of the final rule AQ48, OMB has required
the addition of another information collection piece – the
notification a Veteran provides to PCAFC when they have a change of
address. The PCAFC address change notification was not previously
included under 2900-0768. At this point, VA cannot reasonably
comply with the regular PRA clearance procedures and have this IC
approved by Oct. 1, 2020. VA, especially the Veterans Health
Administration, has been focused on COVID-19 response over the last
several months. In addition, the use of normal clearance procedures
is reasonably likely to prevent or disrupt the collection of
information. The implementation of this information collection
requires alignment of our information technology resources with the
beginning of the new fiscal year, October 1st, in order to avoid
improper payments and litigation risk. Further, we believe that
implementation of the improved PCAFC will assist caregivers and the
Veterans they serve in the COVID-19 environment.
PL:
Pub.L. 111 - 163 1720G Name of Law: Caregivers and Veterans
Omnibus Health Services Act of 2010
The MISSION Act of 2018
expanded the pool of Veterans eligible for family caregiver
assistance under PCAFC by including military service prior to Sept.
11, 2001. In addition, this IC will now include Veteran change of
address notifications submitted to PCAFC, as required under the
program.
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 VA Form 10-10CG Application for Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers Program
60-day FRN_PCAFC-10-10CG_AQ48_published 071520.pdf
Supp Stmnt A_PCAFC-MISSION Act Amend_Form 10-10CG_AQ48_revised July 2020.docx
Notification of Veteran Change of Address