[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 67 (Monday, April 8, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13930-13931]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-06898]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Administration for Children and Families


Submission for OMB Review; Building Evidence on Employment 
Strategies for Low-Income Families (BEES) (New Collection)

AGENCY: Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation; Administration 
for Children and Families; HHS.

ACTION: Request for public comment.

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SUMMARY: The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) is 
proposing a data collection activity as part of the Building Evidence 
on Employment Strategies for Low-Income Families (BEES). The purpose of 
BEES is to evaluate the effectiveness of a broad range of innovative 
programs designed to boost employment and earnings among low-income 
Americans. Within this general focus area, ACF has a particular 
interest in programs that serve adults whose employment prospects have 
been affected by substance use disorder (SUD), opioid use disorder 
(OUD), mental health conditions, and justice involvement. ACF expects 
that a subset of programs to be evaluated will serve these specific 
target populations. To meet these objectives, this study will include 
impact and implementation evaluations for up to 21 sites, as well as 
descriptive work focused on other sites that have a focus on clients 
with opioid use and other substance abuse disorders. When possible, a 
randomized control trial research design will be used for the impact 
evaluations. The purpose of the current submission is to request 
approval for data collection needed for the BEES study.

DATES: Comments due within 30 days of publication. 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.

ADDRESSES: 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.
    Copies of the proposed collection may be obtained by emailing 
[email protected]. Alternatively, copies can also 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, emailed or written, should be identified by the title of the 
information collection.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Description: The BEES impact studies call for multiple data 
collection points with study participants. Data will be collected from 
study participants through the following methods: (1) Baseline 
information form completed by study participants at study entry, (2) 
study participants will also be asked to periodically update their 
contact information, (3) interview administered to participants in non-
behavioral health sites 6 months after study entry to learn

[[Page 13931]]

about program participation, (4) interview administered to participants 
in behavioral health sites approximately 12 months after study entry to 
learn about employment and related outcomes, (5) individual interviews 
with up to 6 participants in each site and their case managers. These 
data will be used to assess the extent to which the programs being 
evaluated improve participants' employment, earnings, income, 
behavioral health, and well-being. They will also be used to assess the 
extent to which individuals in the study receive employment services.
    The research team will also collect data from researchers, policy 
experts, state and local administrators, and program staff to identify 
potential sites. These data will be collected primarily by telephonic 
staff interviews using discussion guides.
    For the implementation studies, the research team will collect data 
from program staff to assess program implementation. Information will 
be collected in consistent ways across sites and, to the extent 
feasible, will use the same measures and data collection procedures. 
Data collected from program staff during the study will include the 
following: (1) Site visit data including staff interviews, (2) 
interviews with case managers as part of the participant case studies 
mentioned above, and (3) program staff surveys. These data will be used 
to measure program implementation and fidelity, factors affecting 
service delivery, program staff characteristics, and staff time 
allocation. All impact study sites will include an implementation 
study. In addition, there will be several descriptive studies of other 
sites that use some of the implementation instruments to better 
understand programs serving clients with opioid use and other substance 
abuse disorders.
    Future information collection requests and related Federal Register 
Notices will describe future data collection efforts for this project.
    Respondents: The respondents in this study will include 18,600 
participants enrolled in the study, 888 program staff, 10 national 
policy experts and researchers, and 55 state and local administrators.

                                             Annual Burden Estimates
                                               [3 year clearance]
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                                                                     Number of    Average burden
           Instrument              Total number    Annual number   responses per     hours per     Annual burden
                                  of respondents  of respondents    respondent       response          hours
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Baseline information form for             18,600           6,200               1            0.25           1,550
 participants...................
Contact update request form.....           5,520           1,840               1             0.1             184
6-month follow-up participant              1,680             560               1            0.25             140
 interview......................
12-month follow-up participant             3,840           1,280               1             0.5             640
 interview......................
Participant case study interview             126              42               1             1.5              63
 guide..........................
Discussion guide for national                 10               3               1               1               3
 policy experts and researchers.
Discussion guide for state and                55              18               1               2              36
 local administrators...........
Discussion guide for program                  72              24               1            2.75              66
 staff at potential sites.......
Program managers, staff, and                 270              90             1.5             1.5             203
 partner interview guide........
Program staff case study                     126              42               1               1              42
 interview guide................
Program staff survey............             420             140               1             0.5              70
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    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 2,997.

    Authority:  Section 413 of the Social Security Act, as amended 
by the FY 2017 Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2017 (Pub. L. 115-
31).

Mary B. Jones,
ACF/OPRE Certifying Officer.
[FR Doc. 2019-06898 Filed 4-5-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4184-09-P