82 FR 47212 - Proposed Information Collection Activity; Comment Request

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Administration for Children and Families

Federal Register Volume 82, Issue 195 (October 11, 2017)

[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 195 (Wednesday, October 11, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47212-47213]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2017-21885]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Administration for Children and Families

[OMB No. 0970-0356]


Proposed Information Collection Activity; Comment Request

    Title: Formative Data Collections for ACF Research and Program 
Support
    Description: The Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation 
(OPRE), in the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) at the 
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) intends to request 
approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to renew a 
generic clearance to conduct a variety of formative data collections 
with more than nine respondents. The data collections will inform 
future research and program

[[Page 47213]]

support but will not be highly systematic nor intended to be 
statistically representative.
    ACF programs promote the economic and social well-being of 
families, children, individuals and communities. OPRE studies ACF 
programs, and the populations they serve, through rigorous research and 
evaluation projects. These include evaluations of existing programs, 
evaluations of innovative approaches to helping low income children and 
families, research syntheses and descriptive and exploratory studies. 
OPRE's research serves to provide further understanding of current 
programs and service populations, explore options for program 
improvement, and assess alternative policy and program designs. OPRE 
anticipates undertaking a variety of new research projects related to 
welfare, employment and self-sufficiency, Head Start, child care, 
healthy marriage and responsible fatherhood, family and youth services, 
home visiting, and child welfare. Many ACF program offices find a need 
to learn more about funded program services to inform internal decision 
making and to provide adequate support. Some program offices conduct 
their own research and evaluation projects.
    Under this generic clearance, ACF would engage in a variety of 
formative data collections with researchers, practitioners, TA 
providers, service providers and program participants throughout the 
field to fulfill the following goals: (1) Inform the development of ACF 
research, (2) maintain a research agenda that is rigorous and relevant, 
(3) ensure that research products are as current and responsive to 
audience needs as possible and (4) inform the provision of technical 
assistance. ACF envisions using a variety of techniques including semi-
structured discussions, focus groups, and telephone or in-person 
interviews, in order to reach these goals.
    Following standard OMB requirements, OPRE will submit a change 
request for each individual data collection activity under this generic 
clearance. Each request will include the individual instrument(s), a 
justification specific to the individual information collection, and 
any supplementary documents. OMB should review requests within 10 days 
of submission.
    Under this generic IC information will not be collected with the 
primary purpose of publication, but findings are meant to inform ACF 
activities and may be incorporated into documents or presentations that 
are made public. The following are some examples of ways in which we 
may disseminate information resulting from these data collections: 
Research design documents or reports; research or technical assistance 
plans; background materials for technical workgroups; concept maps, 
process maps, or conceptual frameworks; contextualization of research 
findings from a follow-up data collection that has full PRA approval; 
informational reports to stakeholders such as funders, grantees, local 
implementing agencies, and/or TA providers. In presenting findings, we 
will describe the study methods and limitations with regard to 
generalizability and as a basis for policy recommendations.
    Respondents: Key stakeholder groups involved in ACF projects and 
programs, state or local government officials, service providers, 
participants in ACF programs or similar comparison groups; experts in 
fields pertaining to ACF research and programs, or others involved in 
conducting ACF research or evaluation projects.

                                             Annual Burden Estimates
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                     Estimated       Estimated
                                                   total  number     number of        Average        Estimated
                 Instrument type                        of         responses per   burden hours    total burden
                                                    respondents     respondent     per response        hours
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Semi-Structured Discussions, Focus Groups.......           1,750               1               2           3,500
Interviews......................................             750               1               1             750
Questionnaires/Surveys..........................             500               1              .5             250
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Total Estimated Burden Hours: 4,500.
    In compliance with the requirements of Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Administration for Children and 
Families is soliciting public comment on the specific aspects of the 
information collection described above. Copies of the proposed 
collection of information can be obtained and comments may be forwarded 
by writing to the Administration for Children and Families, Office of 
Planning, Research, and Evaluation, 330 C Street SW., Washington, DC 
20201, Attn: OPRE Reports Clearance Officer. Email address: 
[email protected]. All requests should be identified by 
the title of the information collection.
    The Department specifically requests comments 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) the quality, utility, and clarity of the information 
to be collected; and (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. 
Consideration will be given to comments and suggestions submitted 
within 60 days of this publication.

Mary Jones,
ACF/OPRE Certifying Officer.
[FR Doc. 2017-21885 Filed 10-10-17; 8:45 am]
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