[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 153 (Thursday, August 12, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44375-44376]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-17242]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Administration for Children and Families


Proposed Information Collection Activity; Head Start Evaluation 
of a Trauma-Informed Care Program (New Collection)

AGENCY: Office of Head Start, Administration for Children and Families, 
Health and Human Services (HHS).

ACTION: Request for public comment.

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SUMMARY: The Office of Head Start, Administration for Children and 
Families (ACF), is proposing to collect data for a new evaluation of a 
trauma-informed care program that will include a small randomized 
controlled trial across 10 sites within Head Start Region V. The goals 
of the project are to identify the implementation supports and methods 
needed to enable teachers to effectively implement Trauma-Informed Care 
in early care and education programs, and to evaluate its outcomes. 
Information collected will be used to inform ongoing training and 
technical assistance (TTA) work provided by the Head Start Centers, 
particularly decisions regarding allocation of TTA resources. More 
generally, results may inform OHS guidance around social-emotional 
programming.

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.

[[Page 44376]]


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 (OPRE), 330 C Street, SW, 
Washington, DC 20201, Attn: ACF Reports Clearance Officer. All 
requests, emailed or written, should be identified by the title of the 
information collection.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Description: The National Center on Health, Behavioral Health, and 
Safety, in partnership with Child Trends and the Center for Childhood 
Resilience at the Anne & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago 
(Lurie), will conduct information collection activities across 10 sites 
within Head Start Region V as part of a small randomized controlled 
trial of the Ready to Learn through Relationships (RLR) program, a 
trauma-informed Framework and Toolkit designed to promote resilience in 
young children. In this evaluation, sites will be matched on a number 
of factors that may be related to implementation and randomized to 
either a low- or high-intensity TTA condition. The low-intensity 
condition will receive 4 hours of training, a ``toolkit'' of activity-
based handouts, and access to virtual TA office hours. The high-
intensity condition will include 4 hours of additional training on use 
of the toolkit modules, 6 hours of implementation support, and monthly 
classroom coaching.
    Region V Head Start programs that choose to voluntarily participate 
in the RLR program will be asked to complete a number of implementation 
and outcomes measures and participate in other evaluation activities. 
Data collection will involve virtual semi-structured interviews and 
focus groups at the end of the evaluation period, web-based surveys 
(pre and post), a monthly web-based log of coaching activities 
completed, and repeated teacher reports of practices throughout the day 
on a mobile app during 5 weeks across the school year.
    The information to be collected focuses on teacher practices for 
supporting children's social-emotional development and on training and 
implementation factors that may enhance these practices, which is 
directly relevant to Head Start's mission. Information obtained will be 
shared with Regional TTA providers and site administrators to inform 
their ongoing and future TTA work. More specifically, results of the 
evaluation will identify the extent to which more intensive TTA with 
ongoing coaching and on-site expert consultation enhances teacher 
practice beyond a lower-intensity TTA approach. Additionally, data are 
expected to identify implementation factors that may enhance outcomes 
at both the level of the teacher and Head Start Centers.
    Respondents: All early childhood centers in Head Start Region V 
that meet inclusion criteria will be invited to submit application 
forms to participate in the evaluation, and approximately 10 centers 
will be selected. Within each center (or site), we anticipate there 
will be three classrooms of 3-5 year olds. Participants at each center 
will consist of 7 or 8 individuals (e.g., directors, mental health and 
behavior consultants, lead and assistant teachers, and coaches), for a 
total of 75 individuals across all centers or sites.

                                             Annual Burden Estimates
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                                                                   Total number   Average burden
                   Instrument                     Total number     of responses      hours per     Total/annual
                                                 of respondents   per respondent     response      burden hours
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Trauma-Informed System Change Instrument                     75                2            0.17              26
 (TISCI) Questionnaire (all site staff)........
Attitudes Related to Trauma-Informed Care                    75                2            0.25              38
 (ARTIC) Questionnaire (all site staff)........
Site Application Form (site administrators)....              20                1               1              20
Site Administrator Interview...................              10                1               1              10
Coach/Teacher Background Form..................              50                1            0.10               5
Coaching Logs..................................              20               14            0.25              70
Coach Satisfaction Survey......................              20                1            0.25               5
Coach Interview................................              20                1               1              20
Professional Self-Care Scale (PSCS)--teachers..              30                2            0.10               6
Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) Survey -               30              100            0.07             210
 teachers......................................
Teacher Satisfaction Survey....................              30                1            0.25               8
Teacher Focus Group............................              15                1               1              15
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    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 433.
    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: Head Start Act Sec. 648.

Mary B. Jones,
ACF/OPRE Certifying Officer.
[FR Doc. 2021-17242 Filed 8-11-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4184-40-P