[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 26 (Wednesday, February 8, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6503-6504]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 06-1160]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Administration for Children and Families


Proposed Information Collection Activity; Comment Request

Proposed Projects

    Title: National Implementation of Head Start National Reporting 
System on Child Outcomes.
    OMB No.: 0970-0249.
    Description: The Administration on Children, Youth and Families 
(ACYF), within the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) of 
the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), is requesting 
comments on plans to implement the Head Start National Reporting System 
(HSNRS) on Child Outcomes. Child-outcomes information collected by this 
implementation is expected to enhance Head Start programs' 
accountability and quality.
    HSNRS addresses Presidentially mandated reforms and Congressionally 
mandated requirements for information on specific child outcomes and 
provides Head Start program managers and teachers with useful 
information to support program-improvement strategies.
    HSNRS has three major goals. First, HSNRS will provide local Head 
Start programs with information about the progress of groups of 
children on a limited number of performance measures. This information 
is captured by measuring how children are doing at the beginning and at 
the end of each program year. Second, HSNRS will capture the same set 
of information across the nation in a consistent manner, allowing for 
creation of normative comparison groups. Individual programs can use 
this information to target needs for training and technical assistance. 
Third, the child-outcomes information captured in HSNRS should serve as 
one component of the current national progress monitoring effort, which 
involves on-site, systematic review of programs. The Head Start Bureau 
can use compiled HSNRS data as part of the process for ensuring the 
effectiveness of services. These results can highlight the needs of 
specific groups of children, identify local programs' technical 
assistance and training needs, and contribute to the accountability of 
Head Start.
    The first three rounds of the HSNRS national implementation (2003-
04, 2004-05, and 2005-06 program years) were successful. In each round 
of the data collection, over 400,000 assessments were completed, making 
this the largest assessment of preschool children ever conducted. Over 
99 percent of Head Start programs and Head Start parents and children 
cooperated fully with the HSNRS procedures. The HSNRS data show good 
internal reliability, both in terms of Item Response Theory (IRT) 
reliability and Cronbach's Coefficient Alpha at the individual child-
level, for both English-language and Spanish-language assessments. IRT 
estimates of the internal reliability of the program-level English-
language assessment scores were excellent, with most IRT-reliability 
coefficients greater than .90.
    For each program year, participating local Head Start programs 
received HSNRS Program Reports at the aggregated program-level for the 
fall assessment (baseline) and the spring assessment (fall-spring 
growth). These reports provided local Head Start programs with 
information about the progress of their children in all assessed 
domains and demonstrated how these scores compared to all other Head 
Start children (national-level reference tables) as well as children in 
similar programs (sub-group reference tables).
    HSNRS will continue to collect child-outcomes information from 
children who are four years old or older and who will enter 
Kindergarten next year. As in the previous three years, all eligible 
Head Start children will be assessed twice a year using a standardized 
direct child-assessment battery. The assessment battery will address a 
limited set of early literacy, language, and numerary skills.
    Twice a year, HSNRS will also collect teachers' reports of social-
emotional development of Head Start children using standardized rating 
scales. These social-emotional rating scales will be field-tested in 
spring 2006 prior to national implementation in fall 2006. Head Start 
teachers will rate children in their classrooms on the aspects of 
cooperative classroom behaviors, preschool learning behaviors, and 
problem behaviors.
    HSNRS will also collect health and safety information on children 
and programs, including children's height and weight, immunization 
status, receipt of dental care, and occurrences of injuries requiring 
medical attention.
    Respondents: Head Start children and Head Start staff.

                                             Annual Burden Estimates
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                            Number of     Average
                                                               Number of    responses      burden       Total
                 Respondents and activities                   respondents      per       hours  per     burden
                                                                            respondent    response      hours
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                               Fall Implementation
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Head Start Children: Participate in Child Assessments.......      425,000            1        \1/4\      106,250
Head Start Staff (Assessors): Participate in Training on           25,000            1            4      100,000
 Child Assessments..........................................
Head Start Staff (Local HSNRS Trainers): Participate in             1,800            1            4        7,200
 Training on Child Assessments..............................
Head Start Staff (Assessors): Administer Child Assessments..       25,000           17        \1/4\      106,250
Head Start Teachers: Participate in Training on Social-            38,500            1            1       38,500
 Emotional Development Ratings..............................
Head Start Teachers: Complete Social-Emotional Development         38,500           11        \1/6\       70,583
 Ratings....................................................
Head Start Teachers: Complete Child Health Questions........       38,500           11       \1/12\       35,292
Head Start Staff: Complete Health and Safety of Program             1,800            1       \1/12\          150
 Questions..................................................

[[Page 6504]]

 
Head Start Staff: Enter Information on Computer-Based               1,800            1            3        5,400
 Reporting System (CBRS)....................................
-------------------------------------------------------------
                                              Spring Implementation
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Head Start Children: Participate in Child Assessments.......      425,000            1        \1/4\      106,250
Head Start Staff (Assessors): Participate in Refresher             25,000            1            4      100,000
 Training on Child Assessments..............................
Head Start Staff (Local HSNRS Trainers): Participate in             1,800            1            4        7,200
 Training on Child Assessments..............................
Head Start Staff (Assessors): Administer Child Assessments..       25,000           17        \1/4\      106,250
Head Start Teachers: Participate in Refresher Training on          38,500            1        \1/2\       19,250
 Social-Emotional Development Ratings.......................
Head Start Teachers: Complete Social-Emotional Development         38,500           11        \1/6\       70,583
 Ratings....................................................
Head Start Teachers: Complete Child Health Questions........       38,500           11       \1/12\       35,292
Head Start Staff: Complete Health and Safety of Program             1,800            1       \1/12\          150
 Questions..................................................
Head Start Staff: Enter Information on CBRS.................        1,800            1        \3/2\        2,700
                                                             --------------
    Total Annual Burden Estimates...........................  ...........  ...........  ...........      917,300
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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 this proposed 
collection of information can be obtained and comments may be forwarded 
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. All requests should be 
identified by the title of the information collection. E-mail: 
[email protected].
    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: February 2, 2006.
Robert Sargis,
Reports Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. 06-1160 Filed 2-7-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4184-01-M