[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 140 (Friday, July 20, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42741-42742]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-17699]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Administration for Children and Families


Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

    Title: National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System.
    OMB No. 0980-0229.
    Description: The Children's Bureau of the Administration on 
Children, Youth and Families in the Administration for Children and 
Families of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services collects 
national child abuse and neglect statistics through the National Child 
Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS). NCANDS was established in 
response to the 1988 amendment (Pub. L. 100-294) to the Child Abuse 
Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) (42 U.S.C. 5101 et seq.), which 
called for the creation of a coordinated national data collection and 
analysis program, both universal and case specific in scope, to examine 
standardized data on false, unfounded, or unsubstantiated reports.
    The 1996 CAPTA amendment (42 U.S.C. 5106a(d)) required all States 
that receive Basic State Grant funds to provide specific data elements, 
to the extent practicable, to the Federal Government. These data items 
were incorporated into NCANDS. Since that time, other CAPTA revisions 
that pertain to child welfare have been included in NCANDS. This 
application is related to the most recent reauthorization of CAPTA 
during 2010 (Pub. L. 113-320).
    The CAPTA provisions included in NCANDS state that each State to 
which a grant is made under this section shall annually work with the 
Secretary to provide, to the maximum extent practicable, a report that 
includes the following:
    1. The number of children who were reported to the State during the 
year as victims of child abuse or neglect.
    2. Of the number of children described in paragraph (1), the number 
with respect to whom such reports were--
    A. Substantiated;
    B. Unsubstantiated; or
    C. Determined to be false.
    3. Of the number of children described in paragraph (2)--
    A. The number that did not receive services during the year under 
the State program funded under this section or an equivalent State 
program;
    B. The number that received services during the year under the 
State program funded under this section or an equivalent State program; 
and
    C. The number that were removed from their families during the year 
by disposition of the case.
    4. The number of families that received preventive services, 
including use of differential response, from the State during the year.
    5. The number of deaths in the State during the year resulting from 
child abuse or neglect.
    6. Of the number of children described in paragraph (5), the number 
of such children who were in foster care.
    7.
    A. The number of child protective service personnel responsible for 
the--
    i. Intake of reports filed in the previous year;
    ii. Screening of such reports;
    iii. Assessment of such reports; and
    iv. Investigation of such reports.
    B. The average caseload for the workers described in subparagraph 
(A).
    8. The agency response time with respect to each such report with 
respect to initial investigation of reports of child abuse or neglect.
    9. The response time with respect to the provision of services to 
families and children where an allegation of child abuse or neglect has 
been made.
    10. For child protective service personnel responsible for intake, 
screening, assessment, and investigation of child abuse and neglect 
reports in the State--
    A. Information on the education, qualifications, and training 
requirements established by the State for child protective service 
professionals, including for entry and advancement in the profession, 
including advancement to supervisory positions;
    B. Data of the education, qualifications, and training of such 
personnel;
    C. Demographic information of the child protective service 
personnel; and
    D. Information on caseload or workload requirements for such 
personnel, including requirements for average number and maximum number 
of cases per child protective service worker and supervisor.
    11. The number of children reunited with their families or 
receiving family preservation services that, within five years, result 
in subsequent substantiated reports of child abuse or neglect, 
including the death of the child.
    12. The number of children for whom individuals were appointed by 
the court to represent the best interests of such children and the 
average number of out of court contacts between such individuals and 
children.
    13. The annual report containing the summary of activities of the 
citizen review panels of the State required by subsection (c)(6).
    14. The number of children under the care of the State child 
protection system who are transferred into the custody of the State 
juvenile justice system.
    15. The number of children referred to a child protective services 
system under subsection (b)(2)(B)(ii).
    16. The number of children determined to be eligible for referral, 
and the number of children referred, under subsection (b)(2)(B)(xxi), 
to agencies providing early intervention services under part C of the 
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1431 et seq.).
    The Children's Bureau proposes continue collecting NCANDS data 
using two files of the Detailed Case Data Component (DCDC): (1) Child 
File, the case-level component of NCANDS and (2) Agency File, the 
aggregate data component. The Children's Bureau is not proposing to 
continue collecting NCANDS data via the Summary Data Component (SDC), 
as States will no longer be using this file to submit data.
    The Children's Bureau is seeking reapproval of these instruments 
with modifications. Modifications are being proposed to meet 
requirements of the amendments in the CAPTA Reauthorization Act of 2010 
(Pub. L. 111-320) passed on December 20, 2010 and to clarify existing 
reporting. The Children's Bureau proposes to modify the Child File as 
follows:
     Field 147, Report Time: The Report Time field will collect 
the exact time (hour and minute) that a report was received by the 
hotline or other intake unit. CAPTA requires that each State submits 
the time from the report of abuse or neglect to the start of the 
initial child protective services (CPS) agency's response (42 U.S.C. 
5106a(d)(8)). Currently, NCANDS only collects the date a report was 
received. Adding the time field will improve reporting for the Child 
and Family Services reviews and the GPRA Modernization Act of 2010 
(Pub. L. 111-352).
     Field 148, Investigation Start Time: The Investigation 
Start Time field will collect the exact time (hour and minute) that the 
CPS agency's response was

[[Page 42742]]

initiated. CAPTA requires that each Sate report the time from the 
report of abuse or neglect to the start of the CPS agency response (42 
U.S.C. 5106a(d)(8)). Currently, NCANDS collects the CPS response start 
date. Adding the time field will enable a more accurate computation of 
the time between receipt of the report and the start of the CPS 
response. This addition will improve reporting for the Child and Family 
Services Reviews and GPRA.
     Field 149, Maltreatment Death Date: The Maltreatment Death 
Date field will collect the exact date (day, month, and year) that a 
child died due to child abuse or neglect. CAPTA requires that each 
State report the number of deaths in the State during the year 
resulting from child abuse or neglect (42 U.S.C. 5106a(d)(5)). 
Currently, NCANDS collects that the child was determined to have died 
due to maltreatment, but does not collect the date of death. Because 
determinations of the cause of death can take several months, adding 
the date of death will ensure a more accurate reporting of child 
fatality data.
     Field 150, Foster Care Discharge Date: The Foster Care 
Discharge Date field will collect the exact date (day, month, and year) 
that a child exits from foster care. This field will be completed for 
those children who were removed from their homes and have entries in 
the removal date and foster care services fields. Currently, NCANDS 
collects the exact date (day, month, and year) that a child entered 
foster care, but not the exact date (day, month, and year) when the 
child exited foster care. This addition will improve reporting for the 
Child and Family Services Reviews.
    The reauthorization of CAPTA asks for the number of children who 
are eligible for referral and the number of children referred to Part C 
agencies (42 U.S.C. 5106a(d)(16)).The Children's Bureau proposes to 
modify the Agency File by adding two new fields to meet these 
requirements:
     Field 5.1, Number of Children Eligible for Referral to 
Agencies Providing Early Intervention Services Under Part C of the 
Individuals With Disabilities Education Act: This field will collect 
the number of children who were the subject of a CPS response, received 
a disposition, and were considered by the State to be eligible for 
referral to Part C agencies during the reporting period.
     Field 5.2, Number of Children Referred to Agencies 
Providing Early Intervention Services Under Part C of the Individuals 
With Disabilities Education Act: This field will collect the number of 
children who were considered eligible and actually were referred to 
Part C agencies during the reporting period.
    The information collected by NCANDS will be used to better 
understand the experiences of children and families served by State and 
local child protective services agencies and to guide policy and 
program development at the national and local levels. Data collected 
through the NCANDS will also be used to support HHS with responding to 
the requirements of the Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA); 
reporting to Congress on States' performance on national child welfare 
outcomes; and monitoring States through the CFSRs.
    Respondents: State governments, the District of Columbia, and the 
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.

                                             Annual Burden Estimates
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                                                       Number of        Average
            Instrument                 Number of     responses per   burden hours    Total burden
                                      respondents     respondent     per response        hours
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Detailed Case Data Component Child              52               1           112.3           5,841
 File and Agency File.............
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    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 5,841.
    Additional Information: Copies of the proposed collection may be 
obtained by writing 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. Email 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, Fax: 
202-395-6974, Attn: Desk Officer for the Administration for Children 
and Families.

Robert Sargis,
Reports Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. 2012-17699 Filed 7-19-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4184-01-P