[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 60 (Wednesday, March 29, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15751-15752]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 06-2997]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Administration for Children and Families


Proposed Information Collection Activity; Comment Request

Proposed Projects

    Title: Evaluation to Determine the Effectiveness of the Public 
Assistance Reporting Information System (PARIS).
    OMB No. New Collection.
    Description: The PARIS program is a voluntary information exchange 
system that allows States and other entities (counties or jurisdictions 
like the District of Columbia) to submit Medical Assistance, Medicaid, 
Food Stamp, and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) 
participant data to the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) 
to be matched with Federal and participating States' databases to 
detect potential dual participation and improper payments. Launched by 
ACF in 1997, the PARIS project was developed to provide States with 
usable data by which they could identify and correct erroneous payments 
and to promote State partnerships and matching of cross-state data to 
improve program integrity. There are currently 36 entities 
participating in the PARIS project (Member States). ACF is encouraging 
the expansion of PARIS via a grantee program by providing funds to 
Member States to partner with nonparticipating States to develop the 
internal organization and mechanisms needed for PARIS participation. An 
implementation and outcome evaluation of the PARIS program will 
determine the effectiveness of the program and the resulting impact on 
reducing improper payments. Data collected will determine factors 
affecting program participation, relevant PARIS administrative and 
implementation information, challenges in implementation, cost of 
program participation and estimated savings through identified and 
resolved participant matches.
    Health Systems Research, an ACF Contractor conducting the research, 
will send State-level PARIS Administrators surveys regarding the 
organization and administration of PARIS, processes used for submitting 
data, and follow-up protocols. Information obtained though key-
informant interviews of Medicaid, TANF, and Food Stamp program 
officials will provide information regarding relationships among the 
various stakeholders, opinions on effectiveness of PARIS, and the 
rationale behind decisions. E-mails sent to States will contain cost-
accounting forms, providing cost information on program start-up, 
submission of data, follow-up of potential participant matches, and 
will then be verified through telephone interviews with program and 
fiscal administrators. As part of the final PARIS evaluation, a 
prospective and retrospective analysis is planned. Collections of 
prospective information from a sample of States that are not yet 
committed to permanent participation in PARIS and prospective and 
retrospective information from States already participating in the 
program are planned.
    Two current PARIS sites and one non-PARIS grantee site will 
comprise a pilot of the data collection instruments to ensure 
evaluation questions are clear and elicit salient responses. Findings 
from the pilot study will inform the final PARIS evaluation tool 
development.
    Respondents: Approximately sixteen States will comprise the sample, 
with an estimated twelve respondents from each State, county or 
jurisdiction.

                                             Annual Burden Estimates
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                                                                     Numer of         Average
                   Instrument                        Number of     responses per   burden hours    Total burden
                                                    respondents     respondent     per response        hours
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State-Level PARIS Administrator Survey..........              16               1               1              16
Medicaid, Food Stamp and TANF Program Officials              160               1               1             160
 Key-Informant Interviews.......................
State Cost-Accounting Forms.....................              16               1             1.5              24
Fiscal Administrator Telephone Interviews.......              32               1             1.5              48
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    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 248.
    In compliance with the requirements of Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Administration for Children and

[[Page 15752]]

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 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: March 22, 2006.
Robert Sargis,
Reports Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. 06-2997 Filed 3-28-06; 8:45am]
BILLING CODE 4184-01-M