[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 86 (Thursday, May 4, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28556-28557]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-09455]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Administration for Children and Families


Submission for OMB Review; 2024 National Survey of Early Care and 
Education (OMB #: 0970-0391)

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

ACTION: Request for public comments.

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SUMMARY: The Administration for Children and Families (ACF), U.S. 
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), is proposing a data 
collection activity as part of the 2024 National Survey of Early Care 
and Education (NSECE) to be conducted October 2023 through July 2024. 
The objective of the 2024 NSECE is to document the nation's use and 
availability of early care and education (ECE) services, building on 
the information collected in 2012 and 2019 to describe the ECE 
landscape in the U.S. The 2024 NSECE will collect information on 
families with children under age 13 years, on ECE providers that serve 
families with children from birth to 13 years in the U.S., and on the 
workforce providing these services.

DATES: Comments due within 30 days of publication. The Office of 
Management and Budget (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.

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 2024 NSECE will consist of four coordinated 
nationally-representative surveys:
    1. a survey of households with at least one resident child under 
the age of 13 (Household Interview),

[[Page 28557]]

    2. a survey of individuals providing care for children under the 
age of 13 in a residential setting (Home-based Provider Interview) 
including individuals appearing on state and national lists of ECE 
providers (listed) and individuals not appearing on such lists 
(unlisted),
    3. a survey of center-based ECE providers offering care for 
children age 5 years and under, not yet in kindergarten, in a non-
residential setting (Center-based Provider Interview), and
    4. a survey conducted with individuals employed in center-based ECE 
programs working directly with children in classrooms serving children 
age 5 years and under, not yet in kindergarten (Workforce Interview).
    The household, home-based provider, and center-based provider 
surveys will require a screener to determine eligibility for the 
specific survey.
    The 2024 NSECE data collection efforts will provide urgently needed 
information about the use and supply of ECE available to families 
across all income levels, including providers serving low-income 
families of various racial, ethnic, language, and cultural backgrounds, 
in diverse geographic areas. The household data will include 
characteristics of households with children under age 13, such as 
parental employment status and schedules, preferences and choices of 
non-parental care, and other key factors that affect their need for and 
access to ECE. The provider data will include home-based or center-
based ECE providers (e.g., private, non-profit, Head Start-funded, 
state or local Pre-K, or based in public schools) that do or do not 
participate in the child care subsidy program, and are or are not 
regulated, registered, or otherwise appear in state or national lists. 
Accurate data on families with young children and the availability and 
characteristics of ECE providers are essential to assess the current 
and changing landscape of ECE since the 2019 NSECE data collection, and 
to provide insights to advance policy and initiatives in the ECE field. 
The two previous rounds of NSECE, collected in 2012 and 2019, produced 
critical data about providers of ECE services, the ECE workforce, and 
families' needs and use of child care throughout the U.S. that remain 
unmatched by other data sources available.
    Respondents: Households with resident children under age 13, home-
based ECE providers serving children under age 13 (listed and 
unlisted), center-based ECE providers serving children age 5 and under 
(not yet in kindergarten), and classroom-assigned instructional staff 
(workforce) members working with children age 5 and under (not yet in 
kindergarten) in center-based ECE programs.

                                             Annual Burden Estimates
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                                                                     Number of
                                                     Number of     responses per
                                                    respondents     respondent      Avg. burden    Total/annual
                   Instrument                       (total over     (total over    per response     burden (in
                                                      request         request       (in hours)        hours)
                                                      period)         period)
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Household Screener (screening only).............          62,758               1              .1           6,276
Household Questionnaire (no screener)...........          10,000               1               1          10,000
Home-based Provider Screener (screening only,              2,064               1             .03              62
 listed home-based providers)...................
Home-based Provider Questionnaire including                4,360               1             .67           2,921
 screener (listed home-based providers).........
Home-based Provider Questionnaire, including               1,158               1             .33             382
 screener (unlisted home-based providers).......
Center-based Provider Screener (screening only).          10,050               1              .1           1,005
Center-based Provider Questionnaire, including             8,392               1             .75           6,294
 screener.......................................
Workforce (Classroom Staff) Questionnaire.......           7,418               1             .33           2,448
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    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 29,388.
    Authority: Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 as 
amended by the CCDBG Act of 2014 (Pub. L. 113-186). Social Security Act 
418 as extended by the Continuing Appropriations Act of 2017 and the 
TANF Extension Act of 2019. Section 3507 of the Paperwork Reduction Act 
of 1995, 44 U.S.C. chapter 35.

Mary B. Jones,
ACF/OPRE Certifying Officer.
[FR Doc. 2023-09455 Filed 5-3-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4184-23-P