[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 193 (Friday, October 5, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 57047-57048]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 07-4943]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Administration for Children and Families


Proposed Information Collection Activity; Comment Request

Proposed Project

    Title: Supporting Healthy Marriage (SHM) Demonstration and 
Evaluation Project: 12-month Follow-up and Implementation Research Data 
Collection.
    OMB No.: New Collection.
    The Administration for Children and Families (ACF), U.S. Department 
of Health and Human Services, is conducting a demonstration and 
evaluation called the Supporting Healthy Marriage (SHM) project. SHM is 
a test of marriage education demonstration programs in eight separate 
locations that will aim to enroll up to 1,000 couples per location, up 
to 500 couples participating in SHM programs and 500 control group 
couples.
    SHM is designed to inform program operators and policymakers of the 
most effective ways to help low-income married couples strengthen and 
maintain healthy marriages. In particular, the project will measure the 
effectiveness of marriage education programs by randomly assigning 
eligible volunteer couples to SHM program groups and control groups.
    This data collection request includes three components. First, a 
survey will be administered to couples 12 months after they are 
enrolled in the program. The survey is designed to assess the effects 
of the SHM program on marital status and stability, quality of 
relationship with spouse, marital expectations and ideals, marital 
satisfaction, participation in services, parenting outcomes, child 
outcomes, parental well-being, employment, income, material hardship, 
and social support characteristics of study participants assigned to 
both the program and control groups. Second, survey data will be 
complemented by videotaped observations of couple, co-parenting, and 
parent-child interactions with a subset of intact and separated couples 
at the 12-month follow-up. Third, qualitative data will be collected 
through a process and implementation study in each of the eight SHM 
demonstration programs across the country.
    These data will complement the information gathered by the SHM 
baseline data collection (OMB Control No. 0970-0299). The information 
collected at the 12-month follow-up will allow the research team to 
examine the effects of SHM services on outcomes of interest and to 
identify mechanisms that might account for these effects. The process 
and implementation research will consist of a qualitative component 
that will help ACF to better understand the results from the impact 
analysis as well as how to replicate programs that prove to be 
successful.
    Respondents: Low-income married couples with children.

[[Page 57048]]



                                             Annual Burden Estimates
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                                                  Annual  number     Number of    Average burden     Estimated
                   Instrument                           of         responses per     hours per     annual burden
                                                    respondents     respondent       response          hours
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
12-month survey.................................          10,240               1            0.83         8,499.2
12-month observational study (intact couples)...           3,200               1            0.68           2,176
12-month observational study (separated couples)             160               1            0.17            27.2
12-month observational study (children of intact           1,600               1            0.33             528
 couples).......................................
12-month observational study (children of                    160               1            0.17            27.2
 separated couples).............................
The process and implementation field research                504               1               1             504
 guide..........................................
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 11,761.6.
    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 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: October 1, 2007
Brendan C. Kelly,
OPRE Reports, Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. 07-4943 Filed 10-4-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4184-01-M