[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 187 (Tuesday, September 28, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Page 59726]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-24122]



[[Page 59726]]

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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Administration for Children and Families


Proposed Information Collection Activity; Comment Request

    Title: Innovative Strategies for Increasing Self-Sufficiency: 
Baseline Data Collection.
    OMB No.: 0970-0343.
    Billing Accounting Code (BAC): 418409 (CAN G996121).
    Description: The Administration for Children and Families (ACF), 
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), is proposing a data 
collection activity as part of the Innovative Strategies for Increasing 
Self-Sufficiency (ISIS) demonstration and evaluation. The ISIS project 
will test a range of promising strategies to promote employment, self-
sufficiency, and reduce dependence on cash welfare. The ISIS project 
will evaluate multiple employment-focused strategies that build on 
previous approaches and are adapted to the current Federal, State, and 
local policy environment. The major goals of the project include 
increasing the empirical knowledge about the effectiveness of a variety 
of programs for low-income families to sustain employment and advance 
to positions that enable self-sufficiency, as well as producing useful 
findings for both policymakers and program administrators.
    This proposed information collection activity focuses on collecting 
baseline data elements. Two data collection instruments will be 
completed by all participants prior to random assignment, and a third 
will be an interview guide to collect information from program staff. 
The first is a short baseline information form (BIF) that will collect 
basic identification, demographic, and contact information. The form 
will include relatively standard items from prior evaluations and 
national surveys. The second instrument will be a self-administered 
questionnaire (SAQ), covering information related to the project goals. 
The third instrument, baseline implementation data collection 
interviews, will be used to collect information from knowledgeable 
informants about the service context for each evaluation site using a 
baseline implementation guide. The purpose of such interviews is to 
document and assess the service environment in which the evaluation is 
implemented and the opportunities for control group members to access 
the same or similar services as the treatment group members.
    Respondents: Individuals enrolled in ISIS demonstration 
interventions, control group members, ISIS program operators (BIF and 
SAQ) and State and local informants (interviews).

                                             Annual Burden Estimates
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                  Annual  number     Number of    Average burden
                   Instrument                           of         responses per     hours per     Total annual
                                                    respondents     respondent       response      burden hours
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Baseline Information Form.......................           4,800               1            0.75           3,600
Self-Administered Questionnaire.................            4800               1            0.75           3,600
Baseline Implementation Data Collection                       30               1               1              30
 Interviews.....................................
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 7,230
    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 
Planning, Research and Evaluation, 370 L'Enfant Promenade, SW., 
Washington, DC 20447, Attn: OPRE 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: September 21, 2010.
Steven M. Hanmer,
Reports Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. 2010-24122 Filed 9-27-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4184-01-M