82 FR 48819 - Proposed Information Collection Activity; Comment Request

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Administration for Children and Families

Federal Register Volume 82, Issue 202 (October 20, 2017)

[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 202 (Friday, October 20, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 48819-48820]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2017-22713]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Administration for Children and Families


Proposed Information Collection Activity; Comment Request

    Title: Head Start Child and Family Experiences Survey (FACES).
    OMB No.: 0970-0151.
    Description: The Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation 
(OPRE), Administration for Children and Families (ACF), U.S. Department 
of Health and Human Services (HHS), is proposing to collect data for a 
new round of the Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey 
(FACES). Featuring a ``Modified Core Plus'' Study design, FACES 2019 
will provide data on a set of key indicators in Head Start Regions I-
XI. While data collection for FACES 2019 will occur in Regions I-XI, 
there is a slightly different sample design and recruitment strategy 
for Regions I-X and Region XI (whose grants are awarded to tribal 
governments or consortiums of tribes). In fall 2019 and spring 2020, 
FACES will assess the school readiness skills of 2,400 Head Start 
children in Regions I-X and 800 children in Region XI, survey their 
parents, and ask their Head Start teachers to rate children's social 
and emotional skills. This sample will be drawn from 60 programs in 
Regions I-X and 22 programs in Region XI. In spring 2020 classroom 
observations of sampled programs will occur. In Regions I-X, the number 
of programs will increase from the 60 that are used to collect data on 
children's school readiness outcomes to 180 for the purpose of 
conducting observations in 720 Head Start classrooms. In Region XI, the 
program sample will remain at 22, and approximately 80 Head Start 
classroom observations will take place. Program director, center 
director, and teacher surveys will also be conducted in spring 2020 in 
Regions I-XI. In spring 2022, program level data collection will be 
repeated in Regions I-X only. If any plus studies are conducted, they 
will be conducted within the Core sample.
    This notice is specific to the data collection activities needed to 
recruit Head Start programs and centers into FACES 2019. A future 
notice will provide information about data collection for the study. A 
nationally representative sample of Head Start programs and centers 
from Regions I-X and a representative sample of Head Start programs and 
centers from Region XI will be selected to participate in FACES 2019. 
From Regions I-X, the programs participating in the Core child-level 
data collection will be contacted and recruited for the study in spring 
2019. In fall 2019, the remaining

[[Page 48820]]

programs participating in classroom-level data collection will be 
contacted. All programs will be contacted a second time in fall 2021 to 
confirm their continued participation in the Core spring 2022 data 
collection. The programs from Region XI would be recruited a year 
earlier (i.e., spring 2018) given the increased amount of time to 
recruit programs in tribal communities and to obtain tribal council 
and/or tribal leadership approval.
    The method of data collection for recruitment of all programs will 
include telephone conversations with program directors and on-site 
coordinators who serve as liaisons between the FACES study team and the 
Head Start centers. In Region XI, an additional recruitment telephone 
call with tribal leadership/tribal council will be required. All of 
these calls will inform program staff about the purpose of the study 
and will gather lists of centers in each program in order to compile 
the center sampling frame. The purpose of this data collection is to 
support the 2007 reauthorization of the Head Start program (Pub. L.110-
134), which calls for periodic assessments of Head Start's quality and 
effectiveness.
    Respondents: Head Start Program Directors and Staff, as well as 
tribal leadership.

                                             Annual Burden Estimates
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                     Number of    Average burden
           Instrument              Total number    Annual number   responses per     hours per     Annual burden
                                  of respondents  of respondents    respondent       response          hours
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Telephone script and recruitment             230              77               3               1             231
 information collection for
 program directors, Regions I-X.
Telephone script and recruitment              30              10               2               1              20
 information collection for
 program directors, Region XI...
Telephone script and recruitment             230              77               3             .75             173
 information collection for on-
 site coordinators, Regions I-X.
Telephone script and recruitment              30              10               2             .75              15
 information collection for on-
 site coordinators, Regions XI..
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 439.
    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. 2017-22713 Filed 10-19-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4184-22-P