[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 100 (Friday, May 23, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28232-28233]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-12907]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Administration for Children and Families


Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

    Title: DHHS/ACF/ASPE/DOL Enhanced Services for the Hard-to-Employ 
Demonstration and Evaluation Project Baseline Survey.
    OMB No.: New collection.
    Description: The Enhanced Services for the Hard-to-Employ 
Demonstration and Evaluation Project (HtE) is the most ambitious, 
comprehensive effort to learn what works in this area to date and is 
explicitly designed to build on previous and ongoing research by 
rigorously testing a wide variety of approaches to promote employment 
and improve family functioning and child well-being. The HtE project 
will ``conduct a multi-site evaluation that studies the implementation 
issues, program design, net impact and benefit-costs of selected 
programs'' \1\ designed to help Temporary Assistance for Needy Families 
(TANF) recipients, former TANF recipients, or low-income parents who 
are hard-to-employ. The project is sponsored by the Office of Planning, 
Research and Evaluation (OPRE) of the Administration for Children and 
Families (ACF), the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and 
Evaluation (ASPE) in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services 
(HHS), and the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). The evaluation involves 
an experimental, random assignment design in six sites, testing a 
diverse set of strategies to promote employment for low-income parents 
who face serious obstacles to employment, including physical and mental 
health problems, substance abuse, human capital deficiencies, and 
situational barriers. At least two of the sites included in the 
evaluation will feature ``two generation'' models, serving both parents 
and their children. Over the next several years, the HtE project will 
generate a wealth of rigorous data on implementation, effects, and 
costs of these alternative approaches. The data collected will be used 
for the following purposes:
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    \1\ From the Department of Health and Human Services RFP No.: 
233-01-0012.
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    [sbull] To study the extent to which different HtE approaches 
impact employment, earnings, income, welfare dependence, and the 
presence or persistence of employment barriers;
    [sbull] To collect data on a wider range of outcome measures than 
is available through Welfare, Medicaid, Food Stamps, Social Security, 
the Criminal Justice System or Unemployment Insurance records in order 
to understand the family circumstances and attributes and situations 
that contribute to the difficulties in finding employment; job 
retention and job quality; educational attainment; interactions with 
and knowledge of the HtE program; household composition; childcare; 
transportation; health care; income; physical and mental health 
problems; substance abuse; domestic violence; and criminal history;
    [sbull] To conduct non-experimental analyses to explain 
participation decisions and provide a descriptive picture of the 
circumstances of individuals who are hard-to-employ;
    [sbull] To obtain participation information important to the 
evaluation's benefit-cost component; and,
    [sbull] To obtain contact information for possible future follow-
up, information that will be important to achieving high response rates 
for additional surveys.
    Respondents: The respondents to the baseline survey are Temporary 
Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) recipients, former TANF 
recipients, or low-income individuals who are hard-to-employ from six 
states likely to be participating in the HtE Project: California, 
Georgia, Kansas, New York, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island. Survey 
respondents can be grouped according to four target populations: Ex-
offenders with children; low-income mothers with mental health 
barriers; populations connected to the TANF system; and

[[Page 28233]]

programs working with two generations (parents and their children). 
Prior to random assignment, basic demographic information for all 
survey respondents will be obtained wherever possible from the 
program's automated system. In addition, all survey respondents will 
receive a core set of questions that will be administered by Audio-
Computer Assisted Self Interview (ACASI-Core). In the site operating a 
program aimed specifically at ex-offenders, an additional supplementary 
module will be administered by Audio-CASI. Similarly, an additional 
supplementary module will be administered by Audio-CASI in the site 
operating a program aimed at survey respondents with mental health 
problems. Finally, in the two-generation sites (two of the six sites), 
survey respondents will complete a two-generation survey administered 
by a Computer Assisted Personal Interview (CAPI). Approximately 12,000 
respondents will complete the core survey, 2,000 will complete the 
criminal justice module, 2,000 will complete the mental health module, 
and 4,000 will complete the two-generation CAPI survey.

                                                                 Annual Burden Estimates
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                                                                  Number of
                  Instrument                      Number of     responses per              Average burden hours per response               Total burden
                                                 respondents     respondent                                                                    hours
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Audio-CASI Core..............................          12,000               1  10 minutes or .17 hrs....................................        2,000
Criminal Justice Module......................           2,000               1  12 minutes or .20 hrs....................................          400.00
Mental Health Module.........................           2,000               1  11 minutes or .18 hrs....................................          366.67
Two-Generation CAPI..........................           4,000               1  24 minutes or .4 hrs.....................................        1,600
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    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 4,366.67.
    Additionally Information: Copies of the proposed collection may be 
obtained by writing to the Administration for Children and Families, 
Office of Information Services, 370 L'Enfant Promenade, SW., 
Washington, DC 20447, Attn: ACF Reports Clearance Officer.
    OMB Comment: OMB is required to make a decision concerning the 
collection of information between 30 and 60 days after publication of 
this document in the Federal Register. Therefore, a comment is best 
assured of having its full effect if OMB receives it within 30 days of 
publication. Written comments and recommendations for the proposed 
information collection should be sent directly to the following: Office 
of Management and Budget, Paperwork Reduction Project, 725 17th Street, 
NW., Washington, DC 20503. Attn: Desk Officer for ACF.

    Dated: May 16, 2003.
Bob Sargis,
Reports Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. 03-12907 Filed 5-22-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4184-01-M