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Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 144 / Friday, July 28, 2023 / Notices

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of life through recreation participation
for individuals with injury, illness or
disability. VA qualification standards
require Recreation Therapists to have an
active, current, full and unrestricted
certification as a Certified Therapeutic
Recreation Specialist from the National
Council for Therapeutic Recreation
Certification (NCTRC). Although
NCTRC is the certification body for
Recreation Therapists, the American
Therapeutic Recreation Association
(ATRA) has developed the Standards for
the Practice of Recreational Therapy,
which is followed by all VA Recreation
Therapists.
VA reviewed whether there are any
alternative registrations, certifications or
State requirements that could be
required for a Recreation Therapist and
found that five States require a license
to practice as a Recreation Therapist in
that State. Of those, one State exempts
Federal employees from its State license
requirements. The standards set forth in
the licensure requirements for all five
States are consistent with what is
permitted under the Standards of
Practice for Recreational Therapy from
the ATRA. Therefore, there is no
variance in how any Recreation
Therapists practice in any State.
VA proposes to adopt a standard of
practice consistent with the ATRA
standards. Therefore, VA Recreation
Therapists will continue to follow the
same standard as set by their national
certification. The ATRA standards can
be found here: https://www.atraonline.com/general/custom.asp?
page=SOP.
Because the practice of Recreation
Therapists is not changing, there will be
no impact on the practice of this
occupation when this national standard
of practice is implemented.
Proposed National Standard of Practice
for Recreation Therapists
1. Recreation Therapists
systematically use recreation and
activity-based interventions for the
specific purpose of improving the
physical, social, emotional, cognitive
and spiritual functioning of individuals;
enhancing wellbeing; and enabling
greater quality of life through recreation
participation for individuals with
injury, illness or disability. Recreation
Therapists utilize treatment
interventions, leisure education and
recreation experiences to improve
functional abilities, foster recovery,
enhance health and wellness, promote
the development and maintenance of a
healthy leisure lifestyle and increase
independent participation in activities
of choice through activity modification,
adaptation and facilitation.

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2. Recreation Therapists in VA
possess the education and certification
required by VA qualification standards.
See VA Handbook 5005, Staffing, Part II,
Appendix G60, dated June 7, 2019.
3. VA Recreation Therapists practice
in accordance with the Standards for the
Practice of Recreational Therapy from
ATRA available at: https://www.atraonline.com/. VA reviewed license and
certification requirements for this
occupation in June 2023 and confirmed
that all Recreation Therapists in VA
follow the ATRA standards.
4. Although VA only requires a
certification, five States require a State
license in order to practice as a
Recreation Therapist in that State: New
Hampshire, New Jersey, North Carolina,
Oklahoma and Utah. Of those, the
following State exempts Federal
employees from its State license
requirements: Oklahoma.
VA reviewed license and certification
requirements for this occupation in June
2023 and confirmed that there is no
variance in how VA Recreation
Therapists practice in any State.
Request for Information
1. Are there any required trainings for
the aforementioned practices that we
should consider?
2. Are there any factors that would
inhibit or delay the implementation of
the aforementioned practices for VA
health care professionals in any States?
3. Is there any variance in practice
that we have not listed?
4. What should we consider when
preempting conflicting State laws,
regulations or requirements regarding
supervision of individuals working
toward obtaining their license or
unlicensed personnel?
5. Is there anything else you would
like to share with us about this national
standard of practice?
Signing Authority
Denis McDonough, Secretary of
Veterans Affairs, approved and signed
this document on July 12, 2023, and
authorized the undersigned to sign and
submit the document to the Office of the
Federal Register for publication
electronically as an official document of
the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Jeffrey M. Martin,
Assistant Director, Office of Regulation Policy
& Management, Office of General Counsel,
Department of Veterans Affairs.
[FR Doc. 2023–16007 Filed 7–27–23; 8:45 am]
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48965

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS
AFFAIRS
[OMB Control No. 2900–0059]

Agency Information Collection
Activity: Statement of Person Claiming
To Have Stood in Relation of Parent
Veterans Benefits
Administration, Department of Veterans
Affairs.
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:

Veteran’s Benefits
Administration (VBA), Department of
Veterans Affairs (VA), is announcing an
opportunity for public comment on the
proposed collection of certain
information by the agency. Under the
Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of
1995, Federal agencies are required to
publish notice in the Federal Register
concerning each proposed collection of
information, including each proposed
revision of a currently approved
collection, and allow 60 days for public
comment in response to the notice.
DATES: Written comments and
recommendations on the proposed
collection of information should be
received on or before September 26,
2023.
ADDRESSES: Submit written comments
on the collection of information through
Federal Docket Management System
(FDMS) at www.Regulations.gov or to
Nancy Kessinger, Veterans Benefits
Administration, Department of Veterans
Affairs, 810 Vermont Avenue NW,
Washington, DC 20420 or email to
nancy.kessinger@va.gov. Please refer to
‘‘OMB Control No. 2900–0059’’ in any
correspondence. During the comment
period, comments may be viewed online
through FDMS.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Maribel Aponte, Office of Enterprise
and Integration, Data Governance
Analytics (008), 810 Vermont Ave. NW,
Washington, DC 20420, (202) 266–4688
or email maribel.aponte@va.gov. Please
refer to ‘‘OMB Control No. 2900–0059’’
in any correspondence.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the
PRA of 1995, Federal agencies must
obtain approval from the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) for each
collection of information they conduct
or sponsor. This request for comment is
being made pursuant to section
3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA.
With respect to the following
collection of information, VBA invites
comments on: (1) whether the proposed
collection of information is necessary
for the proper performance of VBA’s
functions, including whether the
information will have practical utility;
SUMMARY:

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Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 144 / Friday, July 28, 2023 / Notices

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(2) the accuracy of VBA’s estimate of the
burden of the proposed collection of
information; (3) ways to enhance the
quality, utility, and clarity of the
information to be collected; and (4)
ways to minimize the burden of the
collection of information on
respondents, including through the use
of automated collection techniques or
the use of other forms of information
technology.
Authority: 38 U.S.C. 1310, 1315.
Title: Statement of Person Claiming to
Have Stood in Relation of Parent (VA
Form 21P–524).
OMB Control Number: 2900–0059.
Type of Review: Revision of a
currently approved collection.
Abstract: The Department of Veterans
Affairs (VA), through its Veterans
Benefits Administration (VBA),
administers an integrated program of
benefits and services, established by
law, for veterans, service personnel, and
their dependents and/or beneficiaries.
Title 38 U.S.C. 5101(a) provides that a

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specific claim in the form provided by
the Secretary must be filed in order for
benefits to be paid to any individual
under the laws administered by the
Secretary. 38 U.S.C 1315 established
Dependency Indemnity Compensation
to Parents (known as Parents’ DIC).
Parent’s DIC is a monthly benefit
payable to the parent(s) of a deceased
Veteran. The payable monthly benefit is
dependent on the parent’s (parents’)
annual income. Additional funds are
payable to the parent(s) if they are in a
patient in a nursing home, blind, so
nearly blind or significantly disabled as
to need or require the regular aid and
attendance of another person.
38 CFR 3.59 defines the term parent
as ‘‘. . . a natural mother or father
(including the mother of an illegitimate
child or the father of an illegitimate
child if the usual family relationship
existed), mother or father through
adoption, or a person who for a period
of not less than 1 year stood in the

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relationship of a parent to a Veteran at
any time before his or her entry into
active service.’’
The information collected will be
used by VBA to evaluate a claimant’s
parental relationship to a deceased
Veteran when the claimant is not the
Veteran’s natural mother or father or
adopted mother or father.
Affected Public: Individuals and
households.
Estimated Annual Burden: 42 hours.
Estimated Average Burden per
Respondent: 2 hours (120 minutes).
Frequency of Response: Once.
Estimated Number of Respondents:
21.
By direction of the Secretary.
Maribel Aponte,
VA PRA Clearance Officer, Office of
Enterprise and Integration/Data Governance
Analytics, Department of Veterans Affairs.
[FR Doc. 2023–16049 Filed 7–27–23; 8:45 am]
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