[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 78 (Monday, April 24, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 21028-21029]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 06-3822]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Administration for Children and Families


Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

    Title: Follow-Up Study of Issues Affecting the Duration of Child 
Care Subsidy Use.
    OMB No.: New Collection.
    Description: Child care subsidies provide an important benefit to 
low-income working families, offering them increased access to forms of 
child care that would otherwise be beyond their means. However, recent 
research suggests that, for many families, this benefit may be short-
lived or unstable. There are many possible explanations for these 
patterns, and the explanations may be different for different types of 
families. Recognizing that information about the reasons for short 
subsidy duration would be helpful to States, the Child Care Bureau has 
funded Abt Associates Inc. to conduct a two-State investigative study 
on the duration and use of child care subsidies. This study will, in 
the short term, provide States with information to shape or modify 
their child care subsidy procedures. In addition, the study will 
generate hypotheses that could be systematically tested in later 
research.
    The study will examine the use of child care subsidies by 840 
families in Illinois and 840 in Oregon. In each State, the sample will 
be a representative sample of current Temporary Assistance for Needy 
Families (TANF) families and non-TANF families--all of whom apply and 
are approved for subsidies and who use them for at least one month. 
Families will be contacted by telephone approximately nine months after 
they began using subsidies and will be asked to participate in the 
study. If they agree, a 45-minute telephone interview will ensue 
immediately or will be scheduled. It is expected that, after the nine 
months, over half of the families will no longer be using subsidies. 
Patterns of subsidy use prior to and during the study period will be 
tracked through State administrative data.
    The parent telephone interview will include questions about 
parents' employment, subsidy status and experience, child care usage, 
and changes in household composition over the nine-month period. 
Although the analyses will rely heavily on identification of trigger 
events, the survey will include questions about other less tangible 
considerations that may have influenced the duration of parents subsidy 
use. Telephone interviews will be conducted using Computer-Assisted-
Telephone Interviewing (CATI). Responses are voluntary and 
confidential.
    The study will also analyze State administrative data on all 
families who are approved for subsidies during the recruitment period 
for the study. This will allow researchers to assess the 
generalizability of the sub-sample of families who are recruited for 
the in-depth telephone interview; this sub-sample consists of 
approximately 840 families in each State.
    No existing data sources can provide all the information needed to 
complete the Follow-Up Study of Issues Affecting the Duration of Child 
Care Subsidy Use. These data will help the Child Care Bureau and States 
to better understand reasons for short child care subsidy duration.
    Respondents: The sample includes 840 families in Illinois and 840 
in Oregon.

[[Page 21029]]



                                             Annual Burden Estimates
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                     Number of        Average
                   Instrument                        Number of     responses per   burden hours    Total burden
                                                    respondents     respondent     per response        hours
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Illinois parent survey..........................             840               1             .75             630
Oregon parent survey............................             840               1             .75             630
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 1,260
    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: April 17, 2006.
Robert Sargis,
Reports Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. 06-3822 Filed 4-21-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4184-01-M