[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 62 (Friday, March 30, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13758-13759]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-06446]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Administration for Children and Families


Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

    Title: Formative Data Collections for ACF Research and Program 
Support.
    OMB No.: 0970-0356.
    Description: The Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation 
(OPRE), in the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) at the 
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) intends to request 
approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to renew a 
generic clearance to conduct a variety of formative data collections 
with more than nine respondents. The data collections will inform 
future research and program support but will not be highly systematic 
nor intended to be statistically representative.
    ACF programs promote the economic and social well-being of 
families, children, individuals and communities. OPRE studies ACF 
programs, and the populations they serve, through rigorous research and 
evaluation projects. These include evaluations of existing programs, 
evaluations of innovative approaches to helping low income children and 
families, research syntheses and descriptive and exploratory studies. 
OPRE's research serves to provide further understanding of current 
programs and service populations, explore options for program 
improvement, and assess alternative policy and program designs. OPRE 
anticipates undertaking a variety of new research projects related to 
welfare, employment and self-sufficiency, Head Start, child care, 
healthy marriage and responsible fatherhood, family and youth services, 
home visiting, child welfare, and other areas of interest to ACF. Many 
ACF program offices find a need to learn more about funded program 
services to inform internal decision-making and to provide adequate 
support. Some program offices conduct their own research and evaluation 
projects.
    Under this generic clearance, ACF would engage in a variety of 
formative data collections with researchers, practitioners, TA 
providers, service providers and program participants throughout the 
field to fulfill the following goals: (1) Inform the development of ACF 
research, (2) maintain a research agenda that is rigorous and relevant, 
(3) ensure that research products are as current and responsive to 
audience needs as possible and (4) inform the provision of technical 
assistance. ACF envisions using a variety of techniques including semi-
structured discussions, focus groups, and telephone or in-person 
interviews, in order to reach these goals.
    Following standard OMB requirements, OPRE will submit a change 
request for each individual data collection activity under this generic 
clearance. Each request will include the individual instrument(s), a 
justification specific to the individual information collection, and 
any supplementary documents. OMB should review requests within 10 days 
of submission.
    Under this generic IC information will not be collected with the 
primary purpose of publication, but findings are meant to inform ACF 
activities and may be incorporated into documents or presentations that 
are made public. The following are some examples of ways in which we 
may disseminate information resulting from these data collections: 
Research design documents or reports; research or technical assistance 
plans; background materials for technical workgroups; concept maps, 
process maps, or conceptual frameworks; contextualization of research 
findings from a follow-up data collection that has full PRA approval; 
informational reports to stakeholders such as funders, grantees, local 
implementing agencies, and/or TA providers. In presenting findings, we 
will describe the study methods and limitations with regard to 
generalizability and as a basis for policy.
    Respondents: Key stakeholder groups involved in ACF projects and 
programs, state or local government officials, service providers, 
participants in ACF programs or similar comparison groups; experts in 
fields pertaining to ACF research and programs, or others involved in 
conducting ACF research or evaluation projects.

                                             Annual Burden Estimates
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                                                     Estimated       Estimated
                                                   total  number     number of        Average        Estimated
                 Instrument type                        of         responses per   burden hours    total burden
                                                    respondents     respondent     per response        hours
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Semi-Structured Discussions, Focus Groups.......           2,000               1               2           4,000
Interviews......................................           1,000               1               1           1,000

[[Page 13759]]

 
Questionnaires/Surveys..........................             750               1              .5             375
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    Total Estimated Burden Hours: 5,375.
    Additional Information: Copies of the proposed collection may be 
obtained by writing to the Administration for Children and Families, 
Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation, 330 C Street SW, 
Washington, DC 20201, Attn: OPRE 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, Email: 
[email protected], Attn: Desk Officer for the Administration 
for Children and Families.

Mary Jones,
ACF/OPRE Certifying Officer.
[FR Doc. 2018-06446 Filed 3-29-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4184-79-P