[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 229 (Monday, November 30, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 74752-74754]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-30287]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Census Bureau


Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; 2016 National 
Survey of Children's Health

AGENCY: U.S. Census Bureau, Commerce.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce, as part of its continuing effort 
to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public 
and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on the 
proposed 2016 National Survey of Children's Health, as required by the 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

DATES: To ensure consideration, written comments must be submitted on 
or before January 29, 2016.

ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments to Jennifer Jessup, Departmental 
Paperwork Clearance Officer, Department of Commerce, Room 6616, 14th 
and Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20230 (or via the Internet 
at [email protected]).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or 
copies of the information collection instrument(s) and instructions 
should be directed to Jason Fields, U.S. Census Bureau, ADDP, HQ-7H153, 
4600 Silver Hill Road, Washington, DC 20233-0001 (301-763-2465 or via 
the Internet at [email protected]).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Abstract

    Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' 
(HHS') Health Resources Services Administration's Maternal and Child 
Health Bureau (HRSA MCHB), the National Survey of Children's Health 
(NSCH) is designed to produce data on the physical and emotional health 
of American children under 18 years of age. The NSCH collects 
information on factors related to the well-being of children, including 
access to health care, in-home medical care, family interactions, 
parental health, school and after-school experiences, and neighborhood 
characteristics. In 2011-2012, the NSCH also collected information to 
assess parents' awareness of, experience with, and interest in 
enrolling in Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Program 
(CHIP).
    The NSCH project plan divides the sample into two groups of 
respondents to facilitate mailout procedures. We also include plans to 
test incentive efficacy (the relative benefit for reducing survey non-
response by providing $0, $2, $5 incentives as a token of 
appreciation), contact materials, and modifications to data collection 
strategies based on modeled information about internet access. 
Preliminary results from the NSCH pretest (administered from June-
December 2015) were used to inform the decisions made regarding this 
first year 2016 NSCH production survey project plan. First, the amount 
of respondent incentives to gain cooperation and participation in the 
survey will be tested with the initial mailing. From the NSCH pretest, 
the results showed that there was no statistically significant 
difference in the response rates when respondents were provided $5 or 
$10 as incentives to complete the survey. The cost of incentives are 
balanced against the reduction in follow-up effort and cost required to 
collect the required data. With the results from the pretest failing to 
show a substantial benefit for the larger $10 incentive, smaller 
amounts will be evaluated during the 2016 NSCH. In the 2016 NSCH, 
sampled addresses will receive either a $2 or a $5 cash incentive or 
they will be part of the control group that does not receive a cash 
incentive.
    In addition to testing incentives and developing materials, the 
pretest also served as a platform to evaluate two options for the mode 
of data collection. The pretest included a mail only mode of data 
collection where respondents were mailed an advance letter, then a 
paper questionnaire to screen households with children into the survey 
and then a follow-up topical paper questionnaire to collect detailed 
information for only one of the children in the household. The second 
mode tested in the pretest was a self-administered internet/Web 
instrument. In this mode of data collection, the respondent was mailed 
an advance letter and then a letter inviting them to go to the Internet 
data collection portal for the Census Bureau and complete both the 
screener and topical sections through a single Web interview 
instrument. In the pretest, we observed a good Web response rate of 
over 70%. There are significant cost savings for Web data collection 
over paper data collection, and based on the pretest results, the 
decision was made to move to a data collection plan where Web is the 
primary data collection mode (Web push), and is followed by a mailing 
of paper screener and topical interviews (mail) for non-responding 
households. This ``Web push + mail'' data collection plan will be 
applied to the full sample, with alternative treatment paths to move 
either more quickly or more slowly to paper follow-up. The Web push + 
mail treatment is structured so that all households will first have the 
chance to complete the NSCH online, and only non-respondents or those 
who call in to request a hard copy will be mailed a paper 
questionnaire. Initially, all sampled households will receive a letter 
inviting them to complete the Web-based survey instrument.
    The second data collection strategy being tested is one where non-
respondents will receive follow-up mailings strategically organized to 
target households who are more likely to have Web access (High-Web 
Group), and separately, those households who are less likely to have 
Web access (Low-

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Web Group). The High-Web Group will have additional attempts made to 
collect data using the online questionnaire before transitioning to 
paper follow-up, while the Low-Web Group will be mailed paper 
questionnaires after only the second Web invitation letter, in an 
attempt to acknowledge technological differences in respondent 
households, and expedite the collection of data from the full sample.
    Third, we will test different branding preferences for the survey 
materials. The initial mailing will utilize standard U.S. Census Bureau 
formats and be signed by the Director of the Census Bureau. During the 
first follow-up mailing, we will test the efficacy of mail materials 
that use letterhead/logos from the U.S. Census Bureau and from the 
Health Resources Services Administration's Maternal and Child Health 
Bureau (HRSA MCHB). Before the third or fourth follow-up mailings, we 
plan to determine which branding was more effective and should be used 
in the future.
    Finally, for respondents who experience technical problems with the 
Web instrument, have questions about the survey, or need other forms of 
assistance, the 2016 NSCH will have a telephone questionnaire 
assistance (TQA) line available. TQA staff will not only be able to 
answer respondent questions and concerns, but they will also have the 
ability to collect survey responses over the phone if the respondent 
calls in and would like to have interviewer assistance in completing 
the interview.
    Regardless of collection mode, the survey design for the 2016 NSCH 
focuses on first collecting information about the children in the 
household and basic special health care needs, and then selecting a 
child from the household for follow-up to collect additional detailed 
topical information. We estimate that of the original 416,000 selected 
households, our target response rate of 70 percent will yield 
approximately 292,000 responses to the screener. We then estimate that 
40 percent of households from the first phase of the screener will 
receive a topical questionnaire, and 70 percent of these households 
will complete the topical questionnaire, resulting in approximately 
82,000 completed topical interviews. A household could be selected for 
one of three age-based topical surveys: 0 to 5 year old children, 6 to 
11 year old children, or 12 to 17 year old children.
    Census staff have developed a plan to select a production sample of 
approximately 416,000 households (addresses) from a Master Address File 
(MAF) based sampling frame, with split panels to test mode of 
administration (i.e., High-Web and Low-Web), contact material branding, 
and the use of cash incentives (i.e., treatments using $0, $2, or $5). 
From the pretest, we can expect a best-case overall response rate for 
the first-year production survey to be about 70 percent for the 
screener, and then 70 percent for the topical questionnaire.
    The goal of the first-year production survey is to provide HRSA 
MCHB with the necessary data to produce national and state-based 
estimates on the health and well-being of children, their families, and 
their communities as well as estimates of the prevalence and impact of 
children with special health care needs.

II. Method of Collection

Web Push + Mail Treatment Groups

    The production 2016 NSCH plan for a Web Push + Mail data collection 
design includes all 416,000 households receiving an initial invite with 
instructions on how to complete an English or Spanish language 
screening questionnaire via the Web. Those households who decide to 
complete the Web-based survey will be taken through the screening 
questionnaire to determine if they screen into one of the three topical 
instruments. If a household lists at least one child who is 0 to 17 
years old in the screener, they will be directed into a topical 
questionnaire immediately after the last screener question. The Web 
Push + Mail production sample of 416,000 is broken out into three 
incentive groups: 104,000 household receiving no incentive, 104,000 
households receiving a $2 incentive, and 208,000 households receiving a 
$5 incentive. No additional incentives are planned for subsequent 
follow-up reminders or paper questionnaire mailings Web Push + Mail 
treatment groups will not receive any additional incentives.

Follow-Up Reminder Design and Branding Evaluation

    The NSCH historically was conducted in a partnership between the 
Health Services Resources Administration's Maternal and Child Health 
Bureau and the National Center for Health Statistics. As such, the 
survey information was sent to respondents under letterhead from the 
Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Disease 
Control and Prevention, with the Director of NCSH signing the letters 
to the respondent.
    In the 2016 NSCH, we will test alternative branding to the standard 
contact utilized for Census Bureau surveys, which includes Census 
Bureau letterhead and the Census Director's signature. The first 
follow-up mailing, sent to non-responding households approximately 
three-weeks after their initial invitation to respond to the survey by 
Web, will be split into two groups. The first group will be sent a 
reminder to participate with their Web login and password under 
standard Census Bureau letterhead. The second group will be sent their 
reminder under a HRSA MCHB letterhead. The differential success of 
these reminder treatments will be evaluated during data collection and 
the program plans to responsively tailor future non-response follow-up 
correspondence. These results will also inform the design of contact 
strategies for future administrations of the NSCH.

Non-Response Follow-Up for the High-Web Group and Low-Web Group

    Households that do not respond to the initial request or first 
follow-up request to complete the Web-based survey will then fall into 
one of two non-response follow-up groups: The High-Web group or Low-Web 
group. The High-Web group will receive three additional Web survey 
invitation letters requesting their participation in the survey prior 
to receiving their first paper screener questionnaire in the fourth 
follow-up mailing. The Low-Web Group will receive only one additional 
Web survey invitation letter prior to receiving their first paper 
screener questionnaire in the second follow-up mailing. Once a 
household receives a paper screener questionnaire, they will then have 
the option to either complete the Web-based survey or complete the 
mailed paper screener. If the household chooses to complete the mailed 
paper questionnaire, then they would then be considered part of the 
Mailout/Mailback Paper-and-Pencil Interviewing (PAPI) Treatment Group 
and would receive a paper topical questionnaire if there is at least 
one eligible child who is 0 to 17 years old listed on the screener. 
Non-response follow-up for the topical questionnaire will include three 
more mailings, each including the paper topical questionnaire.

III. Data

    OMB Control Number: 0607-XXXX.
    Form Number(s): NSCH-P-S1 (English Screener),
    NSCH-P-T1 (English Topical for 0- to 5-year-old children),
    NSCH-P-T2 (English Topical for 6- to 11-year-old children),
    NSCH-P-T3 (English Topical for 12- to 17-year-old children),
    NSCH-PS-S1 (Spanish Screener),

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    NSCH-PS-T1 (Spanish Topical for 0- to 5-year-old children),
    NSCH-PS-T2 (Spanish Topical for 6- to 11-year-old children), and
    NSCH-PS-T3 (Spanish Topical for 12- to 17-year-old children).
    Type of Review: Regular submission.
    Affected Public: Parents, researchers, policymakers, and family 
advocates.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 292,000 for the Screener and 
82,000 for the Topical.
    Estimated Time per Response: 5 minutes per screener response and 30 
minutes per topical response.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 65,333 hours.
    Estimated Total Annual Cost to Public: $2,333,333 ($7,000,000 over 
3 years--not an even annual distribution).
    Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.
    Legal Authority: Census Authority: 13 U.S.C. Section 8(b), HRSA 
MCHB Authority: 42 U.S.C., Chapter 7, Title V (Social Security Act).
    Confidentiality: The data collected under this agreement are 
confidential under 13 U.S.C. Section 9. All access to Title 13 data 
from this survey is restricted to those holding Census Bureau Special 
Sworn Status pursuant to 13 U.S.C. Section 23(c).

IV. Request for Comments

    Comments are invited 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 
(including hours and cost) of the proposed collection of information; 
(c) ways to enhance 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.
    Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized 
and/or included in the request for OMB approval of this information 
collection; they also will become a matter of public record.

    Dated: November 24, 2015.
Glenna Mickelson,
Management Analyst, Office of the Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 2015-30287 Filed 11-27-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-07-P