[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 27 (Wednesday, February 9, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6374-6375]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-2663]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Administration for Children and Families


Proposed Information Collection Activity; Comment Request

Proposed Projects

    Title: Head Start Training and Technical Assistance Assessment.
    OMB No.: New Collection.
    Description: This data will be used to assess the Head Start 
Training and Technical Assistance (T/TA) delivery system. Data 
collected will provide

[[Page 6375]]

information on the quality of services that Head Start Quality 
Improvement Centers (QICs) provide to Head Start grantees. Respondents 
will include QIC staff, collaborative partners of QIC organizations, 
and Head Start grantees. Specifically, site visit interviews will be 
conducted with QIC Directors and QIC Area Specialists, while telephone 
interviews will be conducted with QIC Directors, Grantee Directors, and 
Partner Agencies.
    Training and technical assistance are critical in supporting the 
continuous improvement efforts of Head Start grantee and delegate 
agencies serving children birth to five and their families. The report 
of the Advisory Committee on Head Start Quality and Expansion in 
December 1993 reaffirmed the importance of T/TA and recommended that 
the Head Start Bureau reassess and design the T/TA system to support 
program quality and expansion. The Head Start Act of 1994 (Pub. L. 103-
252) also emphasized the importance of T/TA and stated that T/TA 
activities must ensure that needs of local Head Start agencies relating 
to improving program quality and expansion are addressed to the maximum 
extent feasible. The Advisory Committee on Services for Families with 
Infants and Toddlers also stressed the need for ongoing staff training 
and training programs to ensure that staff are ``cross-trained'' in the 
areas of child development, family development, and community building.
    The assessment is designed to gather information for program 
management and planning purposes about the kind and quality of services 
provided by each QIC. Information collected will be used by the Bureau 
to: (1) Identify the quality of approaches undertaken in each phase of 
the strategic planning cycle; (2) identify any patterns or changes over 
time in the delivery of T/TA; and (3) determine the feasibility of 
future initiatives and funding decisions. The data collected will 
provide a means for the Head Start Bureau to carry out the Federal role 
outlined in the Cooperative Agreement establishing the QICs. These data 
also may be used, in part, to fulfill the Department's requirement to 
report to Congress on the Head Start program under the Government 
Performance and Results Act (GPRA).
    Respondents: Head Start Partner Agencies and Head Start Quality 
Improvement Centers.

                                             Annual Burden Estimates
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                                                                          Number of
                                                            Number of     responses      Average    Total burden
                       Instrument                          respondents       per      burden hours      hours
                                                                         respondent   per response
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QIC Director, Site Visit Interview......................           28            30            .1            84
QIC Area Specialist, Site Visit Interview...............          116            19           .16           353
QIC Director, Telephone Interview.......................           28             8           .19            42
Head Start Partner, Agency Telephone Interview..........          112            11           .09           112
Grantee Director, Telephone Interview...................          256            18           .11           512
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    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 1103.
    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 
Information Services, Division of Information Resource Management 
Services, 370 L'Enfant Promenade, SW, Washington, DC 20447, Attn: ACF 
Reports Clearance Officer. 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.

    Dated: February 1, 2000.
Bob Sargis,
Reports Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. 00-2663 Filed 2-8-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4184-01-M