[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 95 (Wednesday, May 18, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-12083]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: May 18, 1994]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Administration for Children and Families

 

Agency Information Collection Under OMB Review

    Under the provisions of the Federal Paperwork Reduction Act (44 
U.S.C. chapter 35), the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) 
is requesting approval for the instruments to be used to collect child 
welfare data from the States are part of the Voluntary Cooperative 
Information System (VCIS) formerly operated by the American Public 
Welfare Association as part of a cooperative agreement with ACF. These 
data will provide a statistical information on the characteristics, 
legal status, location and length of stay of children being served by 
the States and Territories that administer State plans under Title IV-B 
and Title IV-E of the Social Security Act.
    Addressees: Copies of this information collection request may be 
obtained from Edward E. Saunders of the Office of Information Systems 
Management, ACF, by calling (202) 205-7921.
    Written comments and questions regarding this information 
collection should be sent directly to: Laura Oliven, OMB Desk Officer 
for ACF, OMB Reports Management Branch, New Executive Office Building, 
room 3002, 725 17th Street, NW., Washington, DC 20503, (202) 395-7316.

Information on Document

    Title: Collection of Child Welfare Data under the Cooperative 
Information System (VCIS)
    OMB No.:
    Description: The Administration for Children and Youth (ACF) has 
been collecting national child welfare data since 1982 through a 
cooperative agreement awarded to the American Public Welfare 
Association (APWA). The APWA has established the Voluntary Cooperative 
Information System (VCIS) as the mechanism to collect these date. The 
data for 1990 were recently collected during 1993. From 1981 through 
1990, VCIS has served the data needs of the Congress, federal agencies, 
state human service agencies, and many advocacy and research 
organizations. The purpose of this data collection request is to 
continue the VCIS for 1991 through 1993 through the procurement 
process.
    The VCIS questionnaire that has been in use since 1987 will 
continue to be used for these three collections. The questionnaire is 
divided into two parts: Part I, ``Children in Substitute Care'' and 
Part II, ``Adoption Information.'' The questionnaire is designed to 
gather aggregated state statistics on a total of 32 data items. Twenty-
two of the data items requested information on a point-in-time basis, 
while ten items ask for information on a cumulative basis. Fourteen of 
the questions pertain to children in substitute care, the remaining 
eighteen are adoption questions. The majority of questions deal with 
demographic characteristics of children in substitute care and who have 
been adopted. The demographic questions pertain to race/ethnicity, 
reasons for entering care, eligibility status, age, time in care, type 
of care arrangements, sex, status of parental rights, disability 
conditions, number of placements, and permanency plan goals.
    Section 476 (b) of the Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act of 
1980 (Pub. L. 96-272) requires that states submit statistical reports 
as required by the Secretary of HHS regarding the children for whom 
payments are made, including such information as demographic 
characteristics, legal status, location and length of stay in foster 
care.
    More recently, section 9443 of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation 
Act of 1986 (Pub. L. 99-509) amended Title IV-E of the Social Security 
Act and authorized the creation of a National Committee on Adoption and 
Foster Care Information. This committee issued a report in the fall of 
1987 and recommended that the collection of foster care and adoption 
data from state children welfare agencies be mandated, effective 
October 1991. Subsequently, the Administration for Children and 
Families (ACF) (formerly the Office of Human Development Services) 
issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on September 27, 1990, 
describing federal regulations (Adoption and Foster Care Reporting 
System [AFCARS] regarding a federally mandated reporting system for 
adoption and foster care data. This request for data collection using 
the VCIS will bridge the gap between the 1990 data collection and the 
projected start of the mandatory data collection process in 1994.
    Annual Number of Respondents: 54.
    Annual Frequency: 1.
    Average Burden Per Response: 3.
    Total Burden Hours: 162.

    Dated: May 5, 1994.
Larry Guerrero,
Deputy Director, Office of Information Systems Management.
[FR Doc. 94-12083 Filed 5-17-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4184-01-M