[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 182 (Thursday, September 19, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 49305-49306]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-20307]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Administration for Children and Families


Submission for OMB Review: Assessing Models of Coordinated 
Services for Low-Income Children and Their Families (AMCS) (New 
Collection)

AGENCY: Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation; ACF; HHS

ACTION: Request for public comment.

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SUMMARY: 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 
study, Assessing Models of Coordinated Services for Low-Income Children 
and Their Families (AMCS).

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.

[[Page 49306]]


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 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].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Description: Through AMCS, ACF seeks to learn more about how states 
and communities coordinate early care and education, family economic 
security, and/or other health and human services to most efficiently 
and effectively serve the needs of low-income children and their 
families. ACF aims to understand strategies used to support 
partnerships, including the federal barriers to agency collaboration. 
In support of achieving these goals, the study team will conduct site 
visits to six programs that offer coordinated services. The study team 
will gather information through interviews with program staff members, 
such as agency leaders or frontline staff, and focus groups with 
parents.
    Data collection activities will include up to six program site 
visits. Programs will be identified through a scan of publicly 
available information about programs, recommendations from 
stakeholders, and proposed telephone interviews (the information 
collection request for these interviews will be submitted under the 
generic clearance: Formative Data Collections for ACF Research, OMB 
#0970-0356)). Once potential programs are identified, agency leaders 
will be invited to participate in the site visit. Site visits will 
include semi-structured interviews with up to 30 total staff at each 
site. Staff invited will include lead program and partner staff to 
include agency leaders (including program directors, executive 
directors, or CEOs), directors of programs within the site, frontline 
staff (including service navigators or coordinators), and focus groups 
with 8-10 parents at each site. Semi-structured interviews with program 
and partner staff will obtain in-depth information about the goals and 
objectives of programs, the services provided, how the coordinated 
services are implemented, how staffing is managed, data use, and any 
facilitators and barriers to coordination. Focus groups with parents 
participating in the program will provide the opportunity to learn 
about how parents perceive the program, how it meets their needs, what 
benefits they gain from the program, and how they enroll, participate, 
and progress through the program.
    Respondents: Lead program and partner program staff members working 
in six programs across the United States that coordinate early care and 
education services with family economic security services and/or other 
health and human services, as well as parents receiving services from 
these programs. Staff respondents will be selected with the goal of 
having staff represent each level of the organization. Parents who have 
participated in the program for at least six months and who received 
early childhood services and at least one other program service will be 
invited to participate in focus groups.

                                             Annual Burden Estimates
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                                                   Total/annual      Number of        Average
                   Instrument                        number of     responses per   burden  hours   Annual burden
                                                    respondents     respondent     per  response       hours
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Master Interview Protocol.......................             180               1               2             360
Parent Focus-Group Protocol.....................              60               1               1              60
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    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 420.

    Authority: 42 U.S.C. 9858(a)(5).

Mary B. Jones,
ACF/OPRE Certifying Officer.
[FR Doc. 2019-20307 Filed 9-18-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4184-23-P