[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 162 (Tuesday, August 23, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51677-51678]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-18154]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Administration for Children and Families


Proposed Information Collection Activity; The Role of Licensing 
in Early Care and Education (New Collection)

AGENCY: Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation, Administration 
for Children and Families, Department of Health and Human Services.

ACTION: Request for Public Comments.

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SUMMARY: The Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation (OPRE), 
Administration for Children and Families (ACF), is proposing to collect 
information for The Role of Licensing in Early Care and Education 
(TRLECE) project. This data collection aims to examine the child care 
and early education (CCEE) licensing system through surveys of child 
care licensing administrators, front-line child care licensing staff, 
and child care providers.

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: You can obtain copies of the proposed collection of 
information and submit comments by emailing 
[email protected]. All requests should be identified by 
the title of the information collection.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Description: The TRLECE project is proposing a new information 
collection to deepen the field's understanding of the CCEE licensing 
system. Information will be collected from child care licensing 
administrators, front-line child care licensing staff, and child care 
providers. This information collection will include three national 
surveys:
    1. A one-time nationwide survey of the child care licensing 
administrator in each state, territory, and the District of Columbia 
(N=56) regarding the licensing system, as well as administrators' 
characteristics, experiences, and perceptions of the licensing system. 
Child care licensing administrators oversee critical systems that 
regulate child care settings for young children.
    2. A one-time nationwide survey of front-line child care licensing 
staff from each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia about 
their characteristics, experiences, responsibilities, and perceptions 
of the CCEE licensing system. By front-line child care licensing staff 
we mean individuals who routinely conduct licensing inspections of 
child care programs. They may have other responsibilities as well, as 
long as one of their jobs is to routinely conduct inspections.
    3. A one-time nationwide survey of licensed child care providers 
from each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia about their 
perceptions of and experiences with the CCEE licensing system. For the 
purposes of this study, licensed providers are defined as program 
owners/directors who oversee the day-to-day operations in a licensed 
center, as well as owners/operators of licensed family child care (FCC) 
programs (including group and family child care homes).
    Respondents: We will invite all child care licensing administrators 
in each state/territory and the District of Columbia, and all front-
line child care licensing staff in each state and the District of 
Columbia to participate in a comprehensive one-time web-based or 
telephone survey. For the survey of providers, the goal for the final 
sample will be a nationally representative sample of 2,000 licensed 
providers from all 50 states and the District of Columbia, (1,000 
randomly selected licensed child care centers and 1,000 randomly 
selected family child care homes).

[[Page 51678]]



                                             Annual Burden Estimates
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                                                                     Number of
                                                     Number of     responses per      Average
                                                    respondents     respondent      burden per     Total/annual
                   Instrument                       (total over     (total over    response  (in    burden  (in
                                                      request         request         hours)          hours)
                                                      period)         period)
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Child care licensing administrator survey.......              56               1            0.33              19
Front-line child care licensing staff survey....            1650               1             0.5             825
Child care provider survey......................            2000               1             0.5            1000
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    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 1844.
    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. 9858.

Mary B. Jones,
ACF/OPRE Certifying Officer.
[FR Doc. 2022-18154 Filed 8-22-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4184-23-P