[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 183 (Thursday, September 22, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 57901-57902]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-20571]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Administration for Children and Families


Submission for OMB Review; Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Human 
Services Analysis Execution Project (New Collection)

AGENCY: Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation, Administration 
for Children and Families, HHS.

ACTION: Request for public comments.

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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 to collect 
data to explore how one state's changes to Temporary Assistance for 
Needy Families (TANF) policies and services in response to the COVID-19 
pandemic were experienced by different racial and ethnic groups in that 
state. The goal is to obtain an in-depth understanding of how TANF 
participants of different racial and ethnic backgrounds experienced 
these policy and programmatic changes by comparing those experiences 
within one state, and to assess whether those changes may have helped 
to ameliorate challenges around program and benefit access for 
different populations or potentially created new challenges.

DATES: Comments due within 30 days of publication. OMB must make a 
decision about 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 57902]]


ADDRESSES: Written comments and recommendations for the proposed 
information collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of 
this notice to www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. Find this particular 
information collection by selecting ``Currently under 30-day Review--
Open for Public Comments'' or by using the search function. You can 
also obtain copies of the proposed collection of information by 
emailing [email protected]. Identify all requests by the 
title of the information collection.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Description: The Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Human Services 
Analysis Execution project is proposing to collect information for a 
qualitative study to explore how families of different ethnic and 
racial backgrounds have experienced changes that one state made to TANF 
policies and services in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. We will 
explore policies such as job-search and other participation 
requirements, virtual resources and services, and the provision of 
tablet computers to TANF participants.
    We will collect information at the state level and from three 
purposively selected sites in one state, selected to represent the 
racial and ethnic diversity within the state. The state-level data 
collection will include (1) TANF program administrators and (2) 
representatives from the program partnering with the state in the 
provision of tablet computers to TANF program participants. Information 
collection at each of the three sites will include semi-structured 
interviews or focus groups with: (1) TANF program administrators, 
frontline staff, and participants; and (2) community partner 
organizations that serve TANF-eligible families and individuals served 
by those organizations. Site visits will be conducted in-person or 
virtually, depending on the state of the COVID-19 pandemic at the time 
of the site visits.
    This study is part of a larger project to help ACF identify racial 
and ethnic disparities in related to the delivery of human services.
    This study is intended to present an internally-valid description 
of how different racial and ethnic groups experience TANF policies, 
practices, and service delivery in one state at selected sites, not to 
promote statistical generalization to other sites or service 
populations.
    Respondents: (1) State and regional TANF agency administrators, (2) 
TANF frontline staff at the site-level, (3) staff at community agencies 
that serve TANF-eligible families, (4) staff from the computer tablet 
program and from program partner organizations, (5) TANF participants, 
(6) tablet program participants, and (7) individuals who are eligible 
for TANF but not enrolled.

                                             Annual Burden Estimates
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                                                     Number of
                                     Number of     responses per      Average
                                    respondents     respondent      burden per     Total burden    Annual burden
           Instrument               (total over     (total over    response  (in    (in hours)      (in hours)
                                      request         request         hours)
                                      period)         period)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Instrument A: State and Regional               8               1               1               8               4
 TANF Administrators Guide
 (Interviews)...................
Instrument B: Local Frontline                 10               1               1              10               5
 Staff Guide (Interviews).......
Instrument B: Local Frontline                 10               1             1.5              15               8
 Staff Guide (Focus Groups).....
Instrument C: Community-Based                  6               1               1               6               3
 Organizations Guide
 (Interviews)...................
Instrument D: Tablet Providers                 6               1               1               6               3
 and Program Partners Guide
 (Interviews)...................
Instrument E: TANF Participants               40               1               1              40              20
 Guide (Interviews).............
Instrument E: TANF Participants               20               1             1.5              30              15
 Guide (Focus Groups)...........
Instrument F: Tablet Program                  10               1             1.5              15               8
 Participants Guide (Focus
 Groups)........................
Instrument G: Individuals                     15               1               1              15               8
 Eligible but Not Receiving TANF
 Guide (Interviews).............
Instrument G: Individuals                     15               1             1.5              23              12
 Eligible but Not Receiving TANF
 Guide (Focus Groups)...........
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    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 86.
    Authority: Section 413 of the Social Security Act, as amended by 
the FY 2017 Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2017 (Pub. L. 115-31).

Mary B. Jones,
ACF/OPRE Certifying Officer.
[FR Doc. 2022-20571 Filed 9-21-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4184-09-P