[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 239 (Thursday, December 12, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 75569-75570]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-29668]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Administration for Children and Families


Proposed Information Collection Activity; Comment Request

    Title: Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey (FACES).
    OMB No.: 0970-0151.
    Description: The Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation 
(OPRE), Administration for Children and Families (ACF), U.S. Department 
of Health and Human Services (HHS), is proposing to collect data for a 
new round of the Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey 
(FACES). Featuring a new ``Core Plus'' Study design, FACES 2014-2018 
will provide data on a set of key indicators, including information for 
performance measures,

[[Page 75570]]

more rapidly and with greater frequency (Core Studies) and serve as a 
vehicle for studying more complex issues and topics in greater detail 
and with increased efficiency (Plus Studies). In fall 2014 and spring 
2015, FACES will assess the school readiness skills of 2,400 Head Start 
children, survey their parents, and ask their Head Start teachers to 
rate children's social and emotional skills. In spring 2015 and again 
in spring 2017, the number of programs in the FACES sample will 
increase from the 60 that are used to collect data on children's school 
readiness outcomes to 180 for the purpose of conducting observations in 
720 Head Start classrooms. Program director, center director, and 
teacher surveys will also be conducted in the spring. Plus features 
include additional survey content of policy or programmatic interest, 
which may include more programs being sampled. This notice is specific 
to the data collection activities needed to recruit Head Start programs 
and centers into FACES 2014-2018. A future notice will provide 
information about data collection for the Core and Plus studies.
    A total of 230 Head Start programs and 460 Head Start centers will 
be selected to participate in FACES 2014-2018. The Core Study will 
include a nationally representative sample of 180 programs, with up to 
50 additional programs potentially selected for Plus studies. For the 
Core, the 60 programs participating in the Core child-level data 
collection will be contacted and recruited for the study in spring 
2014. In fall 2014, the remaining 120 programs will be contacted. All 
180 programs will be contacted a second time in fall 2016 to confirm 
their continued participation in the Core spring 2017 data collection. 
The 50 Plus study programs would be recruited at a similar time as the 
Core study programs (i.e., spring 2014 or fall 2014/2016) depending on 
the nature of the study being conducted.
    The method of data collection for recruitment of all programs will 
include telephone conversations with program directors and on-site 
coordinators who serve as liaisons between the FACES study team and the 
Head Start centers. These calls will inform program staff about the 
purpose of the study and will gather lists of centers in each program 
in order to compile the center sampling frame.
    The purpose of this data collection is to support the 2007 
reauthorization of the Head Start program (Pub. L. 110-134), which 
calls for periodic assessments of Head Start's quality and 
effectiveness.
    Respondents: Head Start Program Directors and Staff.

                                             ANNUAL BURDEN ESTIMATES
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                                                     Number of        Average        Estimated       Estimated
           Instrument              Total number    responses per    burden hour    total burden    annual burden
                                  of respondents    respondent     per response        hours           hours
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Telephone script for program                 230               2            1                460             154
 directors......................
Telephone script for on-site                 230               2             .75             345             115
 coordinators...................
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    Total.......................  ..............  ..............  ..............             805             269
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    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. Email 
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.

Karl Koerper,
OPRE Reports Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. 2013-29668 Filed 12-11-13; 8:45 am]
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