[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 213 (Tuesday, November 4, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 62459-62460]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-27612]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Administration for Children and Families


Proposed Information Collection Activity; Comment Request

Proposed Projects

    Title: Evaluation of Child Care Subsidy Strategies.
    OMB No.: New collection.
    Description: To conduct four experiments to test aspects of the 
child care subsidy system. This OMB submission will refer to the 
experiments in the first two sites: Illinois and Florida.
    The State of Illinois has agreed to conduct two simultaneous 
experiments. The first will test the impact of receiving a child care 
subsidy on parental employment and income, and on the stability of 
child care arrangements; the second experiment will examine the impacts 
of losing a subsidy on the same set of outcomes. For the first 
experiments, families with incomes above the current income eligibility 
ceiling who apply for subsidies will be approved to receive subsidies. 
In the second experiments, families in the treatment group with incomes 
above the eligibility ceiling who apply to be recertified to continue 
using subsidies will remain eligible. In addition, each experiment will 
test the effects of a longer certification period by certifying 
eligibility for some families for six months and other families for one 
year. Families in the two treatment groups will retain eligibility for 
subsidies over the two-year study period, provided their income remains 
below the experimental limit and they comply with other requirements 
(e.g., continue to work). Outcomes will be measured through 
administrative records and interviews with parents.
    In Miami/Dade County Florida, the study is an experimental test of 
the effects of three early language and literacy curricula on the 
school-readiness of low-income and subsidized 4-year-old children in 
child care centers. Participating centers will be randomly assigned to 
one of three curricula or to a control group. All participating centers 
will receive a set of basic literacy materials for their classroom. 
Teachers in the curricula-centers will be trained on their given 
curricula. Outcomes will be measured through classroom observations and 
child assessments.

Respondents

    Illinois: Parents who apply for subsidies and are eligible and 
agree to be in the study will be interviewed by telephone or in person 
up to three times in the 24 months after they enter the study.
    Florida: Participating classrooms will be observed prior to the 
implementation of the curricula. Children will be assessed at the end 
of the school year.
    Annual Burden Estimates:

[[Page 62460]]



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                                                                     Number of    Average burden
          Instrument                 Number of  respondents        responses per     hours per     Total burden
                                                                    respondent       response          hours
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Illinois parent survey.......  5000.............................               3              .5            7500
Florida child assessments....  Cohort 1: 1620...................               1              .3             486
                               Cohort 2: 1620...................               2              .3             972
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    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 8958.
    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 
Administration, Office of Information Services, 370 L'Enfant Promenade, 
SW., Washington, DC 20447, Attn: ACF Reports Clearance Officer. E-mail 
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.

    Dated: October 28, 2003.
Robert Sargis,
Reports Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. 03-27612 Filed 11-3-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4184-01-M