[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 93 (Monday, May 15, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 30979-30981]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-10278]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Administration for Children and Families


Proposed Information Collection Activity; Building and Sustaining 
the Child Care and Early Education Workforce (New Collection)

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

ACTION: Request for public comments.

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[[Page 30980]]

SUMMARY: The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) Office of 
Planning, Research, and Evaluation (OPRE) at the U.S. Department of 
Health and Human Services is proposing to collect information to 
examine a promising strategy to support the child care and early 
education (CCEE) workforce in Colorado as part of the Building and 
Sustaining the Child Care and Early Education Workforce (BASE) project. 
This project aims to build evidence about workforce development 
strategies designed to promote, retain, and advance the CCEE workforce 
by improving the economic well-being of CCEE workers.

DATES: Comments due within 60 days of publication. In compliance with 
the requirements of section 3506(c)(2)(A) 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]. Identify all requests by the title of 
the information collection.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Description: As part of the BASE project, OPRE is evaluating the 
implementation, impacts, and costs of two initiatives designed to 
improve the wages and economic well-being of the CCEE workforce in 
Colorado. Colorado Department of Early Childhood (CDEC) is implementing 
two initiatives to improve the compensation and economic well-being of 
the CCEE workforce: (1) eligible CCEE center-based settings are 
randomly selected through a lottery process, and (2) eligible home-
based CCEE settings receive additional funding and supports. OPRE 
proposes to collect survey, interview, and cost data to understand: (a) 
the implementation and costs of the initiatives, (b) the effects of the 
initiative for teachers in center-based CCEE settings, and (c) the 
experiences of directors and teachers in center-based CCEE settings and 
owners and caregivers in home-based CCEE settings with the initiatives. 
The study will include CCEE workers who are offered the initiatives and 
those who are not, as assigned through CDEC's lottery, and key 
informants who are involved in the design and implementation of CDEC's 
initiatives. The effectiveness of the initiative will be determined by 
differences between members of the intervention and control groups for 
hypothesized outcomes in center-based CCEE settings. The experiences of 
directors/owners, teachers, and caregivers in center-based and home-
based CCEE settings with the initiatives will be explored with 
qualitative and descriptive analyses. OPRE and Colorado are 
collaborating to evaluate the two initiatives. Colorado will collect 
baseline survey data and share it with OPRE. OPRE will collect follow-
up surveys and interviews. Study participants will complete follow-up 
surveys approximately 9 and 18 months after the initiatives begin to 
understand how strategies that aim to improve compensation might 
improve outcomes such as workforce recruitment, retention, and economic 
and psychological well-being, as well as to capture contextual 
information about CCEE settings' working conditions and job demands and 
supports. Interviews will be conducted approximately 6 to 9 months 
after the initiatives began with center-based teachers/home-based 
caregivers and center-based directors/home-based owners to capture 
their experiences with the initiatives, perceptions, attitudes, beliefs 
about the initiatives, and how these experiences may shape the 
viability and implementation of the initiatives. Interviews with key 
informants at state-level implementing agencies will collect 
qualitative data to understand contextual factors and the impetus 
behind the design and implementation of the initiatives. Finally, cost 
workbooks completed by center-based CCEE setting administrators will 
collect cost data to assess the costs associated with implementing the 
initiative. This information collection will support ACF and the CCEE 
field in understanding whether workforce support strategies that 
increase compensation affect the retention and well-being of the CCEE 
workforce. This information will help to inform Federal, State, and 
local initiatives to build and retain a qualified CCEE workforce.
    Respondents: CCEE center-based directors, administrators, teachers; 
CCEE home-based owners and caregivers; CCEE key informants.

                                             Annual Burden Estimates
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                                                          Number of
                                         Number of      responses per   Average burden     Total        Annual
             Instrument                 respondents       respondent     per response    burden (in   burden (in
                                        (total over      (total over      (in hours)       hours)       hours)
                                      request period)  request period)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Follow-up center director survey.               75                2            0.75          113           38
2. Follow-up lead and assistant                 1,000                2            0.75        1,500          500
 teacher survey.....................
3. Follow-up home-based owner and                  95                2            0.75          143           48
 caregiver survey...................
4. One-on-one center director                      15                1               1           15            5
 interview..........................
5. One-on-one lead and assistant                   25                1               1           25            8
 teacher interview..................
6. One-on-one home-based owner and                 25                2               1           38           13
 caregiver interview................
7. One-on-one key informant                         5                1               1            5            2
 interview..........................
8. Center-based setting costs                      16                1               5           80           27
 workbook...........................
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    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 641.
    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 section 640 [42 U.S.C. 9835] and 649 [42 
U.S.C. 9844]; appropriated by the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 
2022. Head Start Act as amended by the Improving Head

[[Page 30981]]

Start for School Readiness Act of 2007 (IHSSRA) (Public Law 110 134).

Mary B. Jones,
ACF/OPRE Certifying Officer.
[FR Doc. 2023-10278 Filed 5-12-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4184-22-P