[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 57 (Friday, March 24, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14926-14927]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 06-2867]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Administration for Children and Families


Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

    Title: Evaluation of Child Care Subsidy Strategies.
    OMB No.: New Collection.
    Description: To conduct three experiments to test aspects of the 
child care subsidy system. One of these experiments will occur in Cook 
County, Illinois; one will occur in Washington State; and one will 
occur in Massachusetts.
    Illinois. The State of Illinois has agreed to conduct an experiment 
in Cook County to test the impact of receiving a child care subsidy on 
parental employment and income and on the stability of child care 
arrangements. For the experiment, families with incomes above the 
current income eligibility ceiling who apply or reapply for subsidies 
will be approved to receive subsidies. In addition, the experiment will 
test the effects of a longer certification period by certifying 
eligibility for some families in the treatment group for six months and 
other families for one year. Families in the treatment group will 
retain eligibility for subsidies over the two-year study period, 
provided their income remains below the experimental limit, they 
reapply when their certification ends, and they comply with other 
requirements (e.g., continue to work). Outcomes will be measured 
through administrative records and periodic interviews with parents.
    Washington. In Washington State, the study will test a co-payment 
schedule that smoothes out the currently abrupt increases in co-
payments that occur when a family moves from one income category to the 
next and reduces the co-payment burden for many families. Families that 
apply (or reapply) for subsidies and are determined to be eligible 
under current rules will be randomly assigned to the experimental co-
payment schedule or the existing schedule. (Families with co-payments 
from the experimental schedule will either pay the same amount, or 
less, than families whose co-payments are calculated using the existing 
schedule.) Families will retain the same co-payment schedule for two 
years, provided they continue to be eligible for subsidies. Outcomes 
will be measured through analysis of administrative data and periodic 
interviews with parents.
    Massachusetts. In Massachusetts, the study is an experimental test 
of the effectiveness of a developmental curriculum implemented in 
family child care homes. Family child care providers who serve 
subsidized and other low-income children and are linked to family child 
care networks will be randomly assigned to a treatment or control 
group. Providers in the treatment group will use the developmental 
curriculum and be trained through regular visits to the home by 
specially trained mentors. These providers will receive materials to 
use with children from 0 to 5 years

[[Page 14927]]

of age. Providers in the control group will receive the more general 
technical assistance and support visits that they currently receive. 
Impacts on provider behavior and the home environment will be measured 
through direct observations in the homes. Child assessments will be 
conducted through provider reports for the younger children and through 
standardized tests for children 30 months and older.

Respondents

    Illinois. Parents who apply (or reapply) for subsidies and are 
eligible and agree to be in the study will be interviewed by telephone 
up to three times in the 24 months after they enter the study.
    Washington State. Parents who apply (or reapply) for subsidies and 
are eligible and agree to be in the study will be interviewed by 
telephone up to three times over the 24 months of the study. 
Approximately 30 State employees working at the Department of Health 
and Human Services in the Division of Child Care and Early Learning or 
the Division of Community Service will be interviewed as part of the 
implementation study.
    Massachusetts. Children will be assessed 7 months after 
implementing the curriculum, after 11 months, and after 23 months. 
Providers will be asked to respond to a brief survey 7 and 23 months 
after the study begins. Home visitors, who support providers in the 
treatment and control groups, will be asked to respond to a brief 
interview at 23 months.

                                             Annual Burden Estimates
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                    Number of     Average burden
                   Instrument                       Number of     responses per      hours per     Total burden
                                                   respondents      respondent       response          hours
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Illinois parent survey.........................           2,000              1.5             .58           1,740
Washington parent survey.......................           2,000              1.5             .58           1,740
Washington process study interview.............              30               .5             .5                8
Massachusetts child assessments................             700              1.5             .5              525
Massachusetts provider interview...............             350              1               .16              56
Massachusetts home visitor interview...........              32               .5             .16               3
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    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 4,072.

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 be 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: March 20, 2006.
Robert Sargis,
Reports Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. 06-2867 Filed 3-23-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4184-01-M