[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 8 (Monday, January 13, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 1822-1823]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-00318]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

[Docket No. FR-7016-N-05]


60-Day Notice of Proposed Information Collection: Family 
Unification Program/Family Self-Sufficiency Demonstration Evaluation

AGENCY: Office of the Assistant Secretary for Policy Development and 
Research, HUD.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is 
seeking approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for the 
information collection described below. In accordance with the 
Paperwork Reduction Act, HUD is requesting comment from all interested 
parties on the proposed collection of information. The purpose of this 
notice is to allow for 60 days of public comment.

DATES: Comments Due Date: March 13, 2020.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments regarding 
this proposal. Comments should refer to the proposal by name and/or OMB 
Control Number and should be sent to: Anna P. Guido, Reports Management 
Officer, QDAM, Department of Housing and Urban Development, 451 7th 
Street SW, Room 4176, Washington, DC 20410-5000; telephone 202-402-5534 
(this is not a toll-free number) or email at [email protected] for a 
copy of the proposed forms or other available information. Persons with 
hearing or speech impairments may access this number through TTY by 
calling the toll-free Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Anna P. Guido, Reports Management 
Officer, QDAM, Department of Housing and Urban Development, 451 7th 
Street SW, Washington, DC 20410; email Anna P. Guido at 
[email protected] or telephone 202-402-5535. This is not a toll-free 
number. Persons with hearing or speech impairments may access this 
number through TTY by calling the toll-free Federal Relay Service at 
(800) 877-8339.
    Copies of available documents submitted to OMB may be obtained from 
Ms. Guido.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This notice informs the public that HUD is 
seeking approval from OMB for the information collection described in 
Section A.

A. Overview of Information Collection

    Title of Information Collection: Family Unification Program/Family 
Self Sufficiency Demonstration Evaluation.
    OMB Approval Number: Pending.
    Type of Request: New collection.
    Form Number: N/A.
    Description of the need for the information and proposed use: The 
Family Unification Program/Family Self-Sufficiency (FUP/FSS) 
Demonstration, authorized in HUD's FY 2015 appropriations, was designed 
to test whether combining FUP and FSS for eligible youth would result 
in beneficial outcomes. The demonstration program was first announced 
in January 2016, and a total of 51 PHAs are participating in the 
demonstration as of 2019. As a part of the demonstration, the time 
limit on rental assistance was extended to match the maximum allowable 
five-year FSS contract (at the start of the demonstration, this was an 
increase from 18 months, although FUP-Youth vouchers were extended to 
36 months shortly after the time the demonstration was announced). No 
funds or additional FUP vouchers were allocated for the demonstration, 
although certain regulatory requirements were relaxed for participating 
Public Housing Agencies (PHAs), with the aim of better aligning the 
existing programs into the new approach. As a result, all participating 
PHAs already had FUP allocations. Participating PHAs can choose to 
modify their FSS programs to better meet the needs of youth 
participants. The most recent FUP awards (FY17 and FY18) require 
partnership with a local Continuum of Care (CoC), which can increase 
referrals of eligible youth through coordinated entry.
    The main goal of the FUP/FSS Demonstration Evaluation is to assess 
whether the combination of FUP and FSS, along with the extension of 
time limits, has been an effective approach to improving housing 
stability and self-sufficiency outcomes for youth aging out of foster 
care. Related to this is whether participation in the demonstration has 
provided an avenue for closer and more productive partnerships between 
PHAs, Public Child Welfare Agencies (PCWAs), and other youth-focused 
organizations involved. This includes capturing information about how 
PHAs and their PCWA partners have worked together to implement the 
demonstration program and the challenges and lessons learned from their 
experience to date.
    Initial take-up rates for the demonstration, as well as non-
demonstration FUP-Youth voucher issuances, have both generally been 
low. Given these low take-up rates, an additional baseline goal will be 
to assess the extent to which the FUP/FSS Demonstration is being 
actively implemented across the 51 participating PHAs and why some 
sites that applied

[[Page 1823]]

to the demonstration do not appear to be implementing the program or 
issuing many FUP-Youth vouchers. To this end, while many of the core 
evaluation questions are focused on implementation questions and 
challenges, the study will also necessarily explore why some 
demonstration sites do not appear to be fully engaged with the program. 
Finally, a goal of the evaluation is to measure short-term outcomes for 
participating youth and determine any emerging common attributes among 
them.
    This notice announces HUD's intent to collect information through 
the following methods: (1) Study investigators (from Urban Institute) 
will administer an agency-level web-based survey to all PHAs and PCWAs 
participating in the demonstration. (2) Investigators will conduct one-
time telephone interviews with a sample of staff from 10 PHAs in the 
demonstration to gather more nuanced information than can be collected 
in the web-based surveys. (3) Investigators will also visit three FUP/
FSS demonstration sites to conduct interviews with PHA and PCWA 
administrators, front-line workers, community service providers, as 
well as interviews with youth participants. (4) To describe the 
characteristics of the participating PHAs and FUP/FSS participants and 
measure short-term outcomes, the study investigators will analyze HUD 
Public and Indian Housing Information Center (PIC) and Voucher 
Management System (VMS) administrative data.
    Respondents: Youth participants in the FUP/FSS demonstration and 
staff at the PHAs, PCWAs, CoCs, and other service providers.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: Web-based agency survey (PHAs)--
51; web-based agency survey (PCWAs)--51; PHA staff interviews--41; PCWA 
staff interviews--16; community service provider in-person interviews--
6; youth participant in-person interviews--18.
    Estimated Time per Response: Web-based agency survey (PHAs)--30 
minutes; web-based agency survey (PCWAs)--30 minutes; PHA staff 
interviews--60 minutes; PCWA staff interviews--60 minutes; community 
service provider in-person interviews--60 minutes; youth participant 
interviews--60 minutes.
    Frequency of Response: Web-based agency survey (PHA)--one time; 
web-based agency survey (PCWA)--one time; PHA staff interviews--one 
time; PCWA staff interview--one time; community service provider in-
person interviews--one time; youth participant interviews-- one time.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 132.
    Estimated Total Annual Cost: $3,995.70.
    Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.
    Legal Authority: The survey is conducted under Title 12, United 
States Code, Section 1701z and Section 3507 of the Paperwork Reduction 
Act of 1995, 44, U.S.C. 35, as amended.

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                                             Number of     Frequency of    Responses per    Burden hour    Annual burden    Hourly cost
         Information collection             respondents      response          annum       per response        hours       per response        Cost
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Web-based agency survey--PHA............              51               1              51             0.5            25.5      \1\ $34.46         $878.73
Web-based agency survey--PCWA...........              51               1              51             0.5            25.5       \1\ 34.46          878.73
PHA staff interviews....................              41               1              41               1              41       \1\ 34.46        1,412.86
PCWA staff interviews...................              16               1              16               1              16       \1\ 34.46          551.36
Community service partner in-person                    6               1               6               1               6       \2\ 23.92          143.52
 interviews.............................
Youth participant interviews............              18               1              18               1              18        \3\ 7.25          130.50
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    Total...............................  ..............  ..............             183  ..............             132  ..............        3,995.70
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B. Solicitation of Public Comment
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    \1\ ``Occupational Employment Statistics: Occupational 
Employment and Wages, May 2018--Social and Community Service 
Managers,'' Bureau of Labor Statistics, accessed December 6th, 2019, 
https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes119151.htm.
    \2\ ``Occupational Employment Statistics: Occupational 
Employment and Wages, May 2018--Child, Family and Social Workers,'' 
Bureau of Labor Statistics, accessed December 6th, 2019, https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes211021.htm.
    \3\ For youth interviews, we assume an hourly wage of $7.25, the 
federal minimum wage.
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    This notice is soliciting comments from members of the public and 
affected parties concerning the collection of information described in 
Section A on the following:
    (1) Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for 
the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including 
whether the information will have practical utility;
    (2) The accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the 
proposed collection of information;
    (3) Ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected; and
    (4) Ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on 
those who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate 
automated collection techniques or other forms of information 
technology, e.g., permitting electronic submission of responses.
    HUD encourages interested parties to submit comment in response to 
these questions.

C. Authority

    Section 3507 of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 44 U.S.C. 
Chapter 35.

    Dated: December 23, 2019.
 Seth D. Appleton,
 Assistant Secretary for Policy Development and Research.
[FR Doc. 2020-00318 Filed 1-10-20; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4210-67-P