[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 71 (Thursday, April 13, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19190-19192]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 06-3524]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Administration for Children and Families


Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

    Title: National Implementation of Head Start National Reporting 
System on Child Outcomes.
    OMB No.: 0970-0249.
    Description: 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.

[[Page 19191]]

    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 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 program 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 (subgroup 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 numeracy 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.
    Finally, a computer-assisted version of the HSNRS assessment 
battery and PDA version of answer forms will be used on a field trial 
basis starting in fall 2006 with a nationally representative sample of 
Head Start programs. The purpose of the field trial is to investigate 
the feasibility of the use of computer and PDA technologies in HSNRS 
data collection. To collect feedback on the computer-assisted 
assessment and PDA answer form approaches, brief telephone interviews 
will be conducted with program staff from participating Head Start 
programs in fall and spring.
    Respondents: Head Start children and Head Start staff.

                                             Annual Burden Estimates
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                     Number of    Average burden
           Respondents and activities                Number of     responses per     hours per     Total burden
                                                    respondents     respondent       response          hours
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fall Implementation.............................
Head Start Children: Participate in Child                425,000               1           \1/4\         106,250
 Assessments....................................
Head Start Staff (Assessors): Participate in              25,000               1               4         100,000
 Training on Child Assessments..................
Head Start Staff (Local HSNRS Trainers):                   1,800               1               4           7,200
 Participate in Training on Child Assessments...
Head Start Staff (Local HSNRS Trainers):                     220               1              12           2,640
 Participate in Training on Computer-Assisted
 Child Assessments and PDA Answer Forms.........
Head Start Staff (Assessors): Administer Child            25,000              17           \1/4\         106,250
 Assessments....................................
Head Start Teachers: Participate in Training on           38,500               1               1          38,500
 Social-Emotional Development Ratings...........
Head Start Teachers: Complete Social-Emotional            38,500              11           \1/6\          70,583
 Development Ratings............................
Head Start Teachers: Complete Child Health                38,500              11          \1/12\          35,292
 Questions......................................
Head Start Staff, Complete Health and Safety of            1,800               1          \1/12\             150
 Program Questions..............................
Head Start Staff: Enter Information on Computer-           1,800               1               3           5,400
 Based Reporting System (CBRS)..................
Head Start Staff: Provide feedback on Computer-              220               1          \1/12\              18
 Assisted Child Assessments and PDA Answer Forms
Spring Implementation...........................
Head Start Children: Participate in Child                425,000               1           \1/4\         106,250
 Assessments....................................
Head Start Staff (Assessors): Participate in              25,000               1               4         100,000
 Refresher Training on Child Assessments........
Head Start Staff (Local HSNRS Trainers):                   1,800               1               4           7,200
 Participate in Training on Child Assessments...
Head Start Staff (Assessors): Administer Child            25,000              17           \1/4\         106,250
 Assessments....................................

[[Page 19192]]

 
Head Start Teachers: Participate in Refresher             38,500               1           \1/2\          19,250
 Training on Social-Emotional Development
 Ratings........................................
Head Start Teachers: Complete Social-Emotional            38,500              11           \1/6\          70,583
 Development Ratings............................
Head Start Teachers: Complete Child Health                38,500              11          \1/12\          35,292
 Questions......................................
Head Start Staff: Complete Health and Safety of            1,800               1          \1/12\             150
 Program Questions..............................
Head Start Staff: Enter Information on CBRS.....           1,800               1           \3/2\           2,700
Head Start Staff: Provide feedback on Computer-              220               1          \1/12\              18
 Assisted Child Assessments and PDA Answer Forms
                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------
    Total Annual Burden Estimates...............  ..............  ..............  ..............         919,976
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    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 OBM 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: April 16, 2006.
Robert Sargis,
Reports Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. 06-3524 Filed 4-12-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4184-01-M