[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 221 (Thursday, November 16, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 66786-66787]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 06-9223]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Administration for Children and Families


Proposed Information Collection Activity; Comment Request

    Title: Identifying Promising Temporary Assistance for Needy 
Families (TANF) Diversion Practices.
    OMB No.: New Collection.
    Description: The Identifying Promising TANF Diversion Practices 
study is designed to understand States' and local offices' TANF 
diversion policies and practices. Since the passage of the Personal 
Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, a 
majority of States have implemented formal diversion programs that 
provide assistance to families and/or impose program requirements on 
them when they apply for TANF in order to reduce the number of families 
who enroll in the program. These programs can send a strong signal to 
applicants that TANF is a work-oriented program and/or prevent 
applicants' need to use time-limited welfare benefits. States have 
implemented three types of formal diversion programs: (1) Lump-sum 
payment programs targeted to work-ready applicants to help them through 
short-term crises; (2) ``up-front'' program requirements, such as 
mandatory participation in a program orientation or job search as a 
condition of eligibility; and (3) hybrid programs that provide short-
term cash assistance and impose up-front requirements. The 
Administration for Children and Families has contracted with 
Mathematica Policy Research, Inc. to learn more about States' 
implementation of these programs and to identify best practices.
    The study consists of a survey of States and in-depth visits to 
local sites. The survey of States will be administered in four stages: 
(1) A State survey to the TANF director in all 50 States and the 
District of Columbia to obtain a profile of States' diversion policies 
and practices; (2) a semi-structured, one-hour follow-up telephone 
interview with the State TANF director or designee in an estimated 35 
States with States with current diversion programs to gather additional 
information about these programs; (3) a semi-structured, 20-minute 
telephone interview with the State TANF director or designee in other 
States without current diversion programs to learn about future plans 
for diversion programs; and (4) a semi-structured, one-hour telephone 
interview with local TANF administrators from 30 selected local offices 
in States that provide local flexibility in administering diversion 
policies to learn about their practices.
    To further understand the local implementation of diversion 
policies and practices, the study includes site visits to two local 
offices in each of three States with promising diversion programs. In 
each office, interviews will be conducted with one TANF administrator, 
an average of two supervisors or mid-level management staff members, an 
average of three line staff members, and an average of two staff 
members from partner organizations. Site visitors also will observe 
selected activities, such as intake, orientation, and job search.
    Respondents: State TANF directors and administrators and local TANF 
administrators and line staff.

                                             Annual Burden Estimates
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                                                                     Number of        Average
                   Instrument                        Number of     responses per   burden hours    Total burden
                                                    respondents     respondent     per response        hours
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                Survey of States
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Stage 1: State Survey...........................              51               1             0.2            10.2
Stage 2: Interview State TANF Director with                   35               1             1.0            35.0
 Diversion Program..............................
Stage 3: Interview State TANF Director without                16               1             0.3             4.8
 Diversion Program..............................
Stage 4: Interview Local TANF Administrator.....              30               1             1.0            30.0
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                                              Site Visit Protocols
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Administrator...................................               6               1             1.5             9.0
Supervisor......................................              12               1             1.0            12.0
Line Staff......................................              18               1             1.0            18.0
Partner Organization............................              12               1             1.0            12.0
Observation.....................................              12               1  ..............  ..............
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    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 131.
    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 the proposed 
collection of information can be obtained and comments may be forwarded 
by writing

[[Page 66787]]

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: November 9, 2006.
Robert Sargis,
Report Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. 06-9223 Filed 11-15-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4184-01-M