[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 247 (Monday, December 27, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 77250-77251]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-28212]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Administration for Children and Families


Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

    Title: Building Strong Families Demonstration and Evaluation--
Baseline.
    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 
up to 2,000 couples into each program, e.g., 1,000 couples randomly 
assigned to participate in BSF services and 1,000 couples in the 
control group, for a maximum 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 77251]]



                                             Annual Burden Estimates
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                                                                                  Average burden
                                                                     Number of       hours per
                   Instrument                        Number of     responses per     response:     Total burden
                                                    respondents     respondent    participants +       hours
                                                                                       staff
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mother/Father Elig. 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
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    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 29,520.
    Additional Information: Copies of the proposed collection may be 
obtained 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. All requests should identified by the title of the information 
collection. E-mail address: [email protected].
    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, Attn: Desk 
Officer for ACF, E-mail address: [email protected].

    Dated: December 20, 2004.
Robert Sargis,
Reports Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. 04-28212 Filed 12-23-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4184-01-P