[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 200 (Monday, October 18, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 61393-61394]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-23233]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Administration for Children and Families


Proposed Information Collection Activity; Comment Request

Proposed Projects

    Title: Building Strong Families Demonstration and Evaluation--
Baseline Information.
    OMB No.: New Collection.
    Description: The proposed information collection activity is for 
baseline information during eligibility screening and enrollment in 
local programs participating in the Building Strong Families (BSF) 
evaluation. The BSF evaluation is an important opportunity to learn if 
well-designed interventions can help low-income couples develop the 
knowledge and relationship skills that research has shown are 
associated with healthy marriages. BSF programs will provide 
instruction and support to improve marriage and relationship skills and 
enhance couples' understanding of marriage. In addition, BSF programs 
will provide links to a variety of other services that could help 
couples sustain a healthy relationship (e.g., employment assistance). 
The evaluation's goal is to include a maximum of six programs that will 
add a BSF component to existing services and enroll into the evaluation 
approximately 2,000 couples into each program, i.e., 1,000 couples 
randomly assigned to participate in BSF services and 1,000 couples in 
the control group, for a total of 12,000 couples (24,000 individuals). 
The evaluation will assess the net impact of the BSF interventions on 
these two groups.
    Respondents: The respondents for the baseline data collection will 
be low-income, unmarried, expectant or recent parents who volunteer to 
participate in the evaluation. (Some couples may have been recently 
married since the conception of their child.) There will be four forms 
used in the baseline data collection: (1) The Mother/Father Eligibility 
Checklist; (2) the Consent to Participate in the BSF Study Form; (3) 
the Baseline Information Form; and (4) the Contact Information Form. 
The Mother/Father Eligibility Checklist will be used by program staff 
to determine if respondents meet the minimum requirements for 
participating in the BSF program. We estimate that about 25 percent of 
couples interviewed will meet the eligibility criteria for the program. 
The Consent to Participate in the BSF Study Form explains in detail the 
design of the evaluation, the process for selection, and the results of 
agreeing to participate in the study (e.g., being contacted for follow-
up information). The Baseline Information Form collects basic 
demographic information about respondents, as well as brief information 
concerning pregnancies and births, family structure, employment and 
income, and emotional well-being, all of which is relevant for the 
study. The Contact Information Form gathers information on friends and 
relatives who can assist in locating respondents based on respondents' 
agreements to participate in follow-up surveys that will be conducted 
many months later. All forms will be administered to both members of 
the couples by BSF program staff members. The forms will be 
administered in a number of different settings, but we anticipate the 
two most common will be in hospitals, following the birth of children, 
and in the mother's/father's home shortly after births.

[[Page 61394]]



                                             Annual Burden Estimates
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                                                                                      Average burden
                                                                           Number of     hours per       Total
                         Instrument                           Number of    responses     response       burden
                                                             respondents      per     participants +     hours
                                                                          respondent       staff
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mother/Father Eligibility Checklist........................       96,000           1     0.03 + 0.06       8,640
Consent Form...............................................       24,000           1     0.08 + 0.12       4,800
Baseline Info Form.........................................       24,000           1     0.25 + 0.33      13,920
Contact Info Form..........................................       24,000           1     0.03 + 0.06       2,160
                                                                                                     -----------
Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours........................  ...........  ..........  ..............      29,520
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    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]. Al 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 12, 2004.
Robert Sargis,
Reports Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. 04-23233 Filed 10-15-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4184-01-M