[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 128 (Thursday, July 6, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 43144-43145]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-14211]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for OMB 
Review; Comment Request, National Database of Childcare Prices, 
Reinstatement With Change

AGENCY: Women's Bureau, Department of Labor.

ACTION: Notice of information collection; request for comment.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Labor (DOL), as part of its continuing 
effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, conducts a 
preclearance consultation program to provide the general public and 
federal agencies with an opportunity to comment on proposed and/or 
continuing collections of information in accordance with the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA95). This program helps to ensure that 
requested data can be provided in the desired format, reporting burden 
(time and financial resources) is minimized, collection instruments are 
clearly understood, and the impact of collection requirements on 
respondents is properly assessed. Currently, the Department of Labor is 
soliciting comments concerning the collection of data for the National 
Database of Childcare Prices. A copy of the proposed Information 
Collection Request (ICR) can be obtained by contacting the office 
listed below in the addressee section of this notice.

DATES: Written comments must be submitted to the office listed in the 
addressee section below on or before September 5, 2023.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by either one of the following 
methods:
    Email: [email protected]; Mail or Courier: U.S. Department of Labor, 
Women's Bureau, Room S-3002, 200 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 
20210. Instructions: Please submit one copy of your comments by only 
one method. All submissions received must include the agency name and 
OMB Control Number identified above for this information collection. 
Comments, including any personal information provided, become a matter 
of public record. They will also be summarized and/or included in the 
request for OMB approval of the information collection request.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For specific questions related to 
collection activities, contact Liana Christin Landivar by telephone at 
(202) 693-6713 or by email at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    I. Background: This proposed information collection seeks to update 
the National Database of Childcare Prices (NDCP). The NDCP is the most 
comprehensive federal source of childcare prices at the county level. 
The NDCP was first made available to the public in 2022 and it 
currently provides data for the years 2008 through 2018. The NDCP is 
based on data collected by each state in their childcare market rate 
surveys (MRS). State-administered MRS are conducted by state human 
services or workforce development offices (i.e., Lead Agencies) 
according to federal regulations to receive Child Care and Development 
Block Grants (CCDBG). MRS provide market prices of various types of 
child care (e.g., center-based, home-based) by age of children (e.g., 
infants, toddlers, preschoolers, school-age children) and by geography. 
MRS are used to establish reimbursement rates for childcare subsidies. 
MRS sample eligible centers and care providers in the priced market and 
obtain the full market price of care. MRS data are a rich source of 
local childcare price data. However, these data are not reported to the 
federal government and they are retained by the states. As a result, 
reporting metrics are not

[[Page 43145]]

standardized across states and some of the data is not accessible to 
the public.
    MRS are currently collected in three-year cycles. The most current 
MRS data collection cycle reflects the years 2019 through 2021. Some 
states may have applied for waivers and conducted data collection or 
reporting activities in 2022 due to disruptions caused by the COVID-19 
pandemic. This information collection would request MRS data for 
surveys conducted between 2019 and 2022 from all states and the 
District of Columbia. Data requested would have already been collected 
by each state to meet federal regulations; no new data collection 
obligation is created. The Department of Labor would reconcile measures 
for uniformity across the states and geography would be standardized at 
the county level to be able to combine these data for analysis with 
county characteristics that are publicly available from the American 
Community Survey. The resulting database (NDCP) would be evaluated to 
protect respondent confidentiality, implementing proper disclosure 
avoidance techniques in counties with small samples. The database would 
be made available to the public as a research tool to understand 
childcare prices at the county level and changes in childcare prices 
over time. Section 2 of Public Law 66-259 that established the Women's 
Bureau authorizes this information collection. See 29 U.S.C. 13.
    This information collection is subject to the PRA. A Federal agency 
generally cannot conduct or sponsor a collection of information, and 
the public is generally not required to respond to an information 
collection, unless it is approved by the OMB under the PRA and displays 
a currently valid OMB Control Number. In addition, notwithstanding any 
other provisions of law, no person shall generally be subject to 
penalty for failing to comply with a collection of information that 
does not display a valid Control Number. See 5 CFR 1320.5(a) and 
1320.6.
    II. Desired Focus of Comments: This Federal Register Notice 
provides the opportunity to comment on the proposed data collection. 
The Department of Labor is particularly interested in comments that do 
the following:
    [cir] Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is 
necessary for the proper performance functions of the agency, including 
whether the information will have practical utility;
    [cir] Evaluate the accuracy of the agency's burden estimate of the 
proposed information collection, including the validity of the 
methodology and assumptions;
    [cir] Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information 
to be collected; and
    [cir] Minimize the burden of the collection of information on those 
who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate automated, 
electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or 
other forms of information technology--for example, permitting 
electronic submissions of responses.
    III. Current Actions: At this time, the Department of Labor is 
requesting clearance to request market rate survey data collected by 
the states and the District of Columbia between 2019 and 2022 to update 
the National Database of Childcare Prices.
    Type of Review: Reinstatement with Change.
    OMB Control Number: 1290-0025.
    Affected Public: State, Local, and Tribal Governments.
    Comments submitted in response to this request will be summarized 
and/or included in the request for Office of Management and Budget 
approval of the information collection request; they will also become a 
matter of public record.

                                                              Estimated Annual Burden Hours
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                                                                                                                        Average  burden
                                                                        Number of        Number of      Total  number       time per        Estimated
                 Type of instrument (form/activity)                    respondents     responses per    of  responses       response       burden hours
                                                                                         respondent                         (hours)
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Collection of market rate survey reports and data files \1\........              51                1               51                2              102
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\1\ State government agencies (Lead Agencies) will submit electronic copies of market rate survey reports and data files they have available for the
  years 2019 through 2022.


Wendy Chun-Hoon,
Director, Women's Bureau, U.S. Department of Labor.
[FR Doc. 2023-14211 Filed 7-5-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-HD-P