[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 52 (Friday, March 19, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14928-14929]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-05774]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Administration for Children and Families


Proposed Information Collection Activity; Evaluation of Project 
Connect (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) at the U.S. 
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is proposing a new 
information collection to assess the implementation of Project Connect, 
a comprehensive home visitation intervention that provides home-based 
services and treatment to child welfare-involved, substance-affected 
families with children and adolescents ages 0 to 17.

DATES: Comments due within 60 days of publication. In compliance with 
the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, ACF is 
soliciting public comment on the specific aspects of the information 
collection described above.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the proposed collection of information can be 
obtained and comments may be forwarded 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 proposed information 
collection activity will assess the implementation of Project Connect, 
a comprehensive home visitation intervention that provides home-based 
services and treatment to child welfare-involved, substance-affected 
families with children and adolescents ages 0 to 17. The program aims 
to strengthen, and address the complex needs of, substance-affected 
families by providing intensive, long-term services that address issues 
of unhealthy parental substance use and help parents recover while 
keeping children safe. It focuses on maintaining children safely in 
their homes (preventing admission to care) or facilitating 
reunification when children have been placed in out-of-home care.
    The implementation study will support a planned effectiveness 
evaluation that will rely on administrative data to examine the impact 
of the program on child welfare outcomes. These information collection 
activities will take place over the course of five site visits to the 
program and child welfare agency that are participating in the study. 
Information collection activities include interviews with program and 
child welfare agency administrators, focus groups with program and 
child welfare agency staff, interviews and focus groups with 
participants, interviews with other program stakeholders, and 
observations of program staff meetings, program delivery, and judicial 
hearings. Site visits will also include direct observations of staff 
delivery of the program, program staff meetings, and relevant judicial 
hearings/activities for program families.
    This evaluation is part of a larger project to help ACF build the 
evidence base in child welfare through rigorous evaluation of programs, 
practices, and policies. The activities and products from this project 
will contribute to evidence building in child welfare and help to 
determine the effectiveness of a substance use program on child welfare 
outcomes.
    Respondents: Semi-structured interviews will be completed with 
agency and program administrators, parents who are participating in the 
program, parents receiving services as usual, and other program 
stakeholders. Focus groups will be conducted with agency and program 
staff and parents who are participating in the program and parents 
receiving services as usual.

[[Page 14929]]



                                             Annual Burden Estimates
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                                                    Number of
                                  Number of       responses per       Average
         Instrument              respondents       respondent       burden per     Total burden    Annual burden
                                 (total over       (total over     response  (in    (in hours)      (in hours)
                               request period)   request period)      hours)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Interview Guide for                         14                 1               1              14               5
 Administrators (Project
 Connect, Child Welfare
 Agency, and Child Welfare
 Central Referral Unit).....
Focus Group Guide for Staff                 24                 1            1.50              36              12
 (Project Connect and Child
 Welfare Agency Staff)......
Interview Guide for Other                   12                 1               1              12               4
 Stakeholders (Behavioral
 Health and Judicial
 Stakeholders)..............
Interview Guide for Families                16                 1               1              16               5
Focus Group Guide for                       24                 1             1.5              36              12
 Families...................
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 38.
    Comments: The Department specifically requests comments 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 of the proposed collection of 
information; (c) 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.
    Consideration will be given to comments and suggestions submitted 
within 60 days of this publication.

    Authority: 42 U.S.C. 676.

Mary B. Jones,
ACF/OPRE Certifying Officer.
[FR Doc. 2021-05774 Filed 3-18-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4184-25-P