[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 26 (Wednesday, February 8, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6502-6503]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 06-1159]


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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 (BSF) Demonstration and 
Evaluation--Implementation and Impact Study.
    OMB No.: New Collection.
    Description: This proposed information collection activity is for 
two types of data collections: (1) Interview and focus group protocols 
for use with program staff and couples enrolled in BSF programs and (2) 
a telephone survey to be administered to both partners in couples 
enrolled in the BSF research sample about 15 mounts after enrollment.
    These data collections are a part of the BSF evaluation, which 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 health relationship (e.g., 
employment assistance). The BSF evaluation uses an experimental design 
that randomly assigns couples who volunteer to participate in BSF 
programs to a program or to a control group.
    The BSF evaluation has two parts, an implementation study and an 
impact study. For the implementation study, the BSF evaluation will use 
the interview and focus-group protocols to document how the programs 
worked and the experiences of staff and couples enrolled. For the 
impact study, the BSF evaluation will use telephone surveys to 
determine whether the BSF programs helped couples form healthier 
marriages.
    Respondents: For the implementation study, respondents will be BSF 
program managers and staff, couples who participated in the BSF group 
sessions, and couples who dropped out of the program or never 
participated in the BSF groups. Information from staff will be obtained 
in face-to-face interviews. Information from participating couples will 
be collected in focus groups. Non-participating couples and couples who 
dropped out of the program will be interviewed by phone. For the impact 
study, the respondents for the 15-month survey will be all couples in 
the BSF evaluation. They will be interviewed by telephone. Both types 
of information collection will take place over about a 24-month period.

                                             Annual Burden Estimates
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                                                                           Number of      Average
                                                              Number of    responses   burden hours     Total
                         Instrument                          respondents      per           per         burden
                                                                           respondent    responses      hours
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                                              Implementation Study
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Staff interview protocol...................................          126            1          1.5           189
Focus group protocol.......................................           70            1          1.5           105
Telephone interview protocol (non-participants/drop-outs)..           84            1           .17           14
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                                                  Impact Study
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15-month Survey (females)..................................        1,434            1           .91        1,305
15-month Survey (males)....................................        1,434            1           .83        1,190
                                                            --------------
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours....................  ...........  ...........  ............        2,803
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    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

[[Page 6503]]

whether the informtion 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. Consideration will be given to comments 
and suggestions submitted within 60 days of this publication.

    Dated: February 2, 2006.
Robert Sargis,
Reports Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. 06-1159 Filed 2-7-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4184-01-M