[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 232 (Tuesday, December 5, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 84340-84341]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-26582]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Health Resources and Services Administration


Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection: 
Public Comment Request; Information Collection Request Title: Assessing 
Strategies To Promote Children's Engagement and Active Participation in 
Virtual Home Visits

AGENCY: Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), Department 
of Health and Human Services.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In compliance with the requirement for opportunity for public 
comment on proposed data collection projects of the Paperwork Reduction 
Act of 1995, HRSA announces plans to submit an Information Collection 
Request (ICR), described below, to the Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB). Prior to submitting the ICR to OMB, HRSA seeks comments from the 
public regarding the burden estimate, below, or any other aspect of the 
ICR.

DATES: Comments on this ICR should be received no later than February 
5, 2024.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments to [email protected] or mail the HRSA 
Information Collection Clearance Officer, Room 14N39, 5600 Fishers 
Lane, Rockville, Maryland 20857.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request more information on the 
proposed project or to obtain a copy of the data collection plans and 
draft instruments, email [email protected] or call Joella Roland, the 
HRSA Information Collection Clearance Officer, at (301) 443-3983.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: When submitting comments or requesting 
information, please include the ICR title for reference.
    Information Collection Request Title: Assessing Strategies to 
Promote Children's Engagement and Active Participation in Virtual Home 
Visits OMB No. 0915-xxxx [New].
    Abstract: The Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting 
(MIECHV) Program, authorized by Social Security Act, title V, section 
511 (42 U.S.C. 711) and administered by HRSA in partnership with the 
Administration for Children and Families, supports voluntary, evidence-
based home visiting services during pregnancy and for parents with 
young children up to kindergarten entry. States, Tribal entities, and 
certain nonprofit organizations are eligible to receive funding from 
the MIECHV Program and have the flexibility to tailor the program to 
serve the specific needs of their communities. Funding recipients may 
subaward grant funds to local implementing agencies to provide home 
visiting services to eligible families in at-risk communities.
    This information collection is part of the Assessing and Describing 
Practice Transitions Among Evidence-Based Home Visiting Programs in 
Response to the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency Study, which aims to 
identify and study practices implemented in response to the COVID-19 
public health emergency that support evidence-based practice and have 
the potential to enhance home visiting programming. One of the 
practices the study identified is strategies home visitors use to 
engage children and promote their active engagement during virtual 
visits. The purpose of this information collection is to better 
understand, through rapid cycle learning, how MIECHV-funded home 
visiting programs can implement virtual strategies improve child 
engagement and how home visitors can apply these strategies during in-
person service delivery.
    Information will be collected in four phases designed to (1) 
identify virtual child engagement strategies (co-definition phase); (2) 
pilot test and identify refinements to improve the implementation of 
strategies (installation phase); (3) iteratively test the strategies 
with refinements to their implementation (refinement phase); and (4) 
assess the potential of these child engagement strategies to improve 
service delivery and promote family engagement and family satisfaction 
with home visiting programs in both virtual and in-person settings 
(summary phase). Data collection activities include focus groups, 
online questionnaires, and review of documents and administrative data.
    Need and Proposed Use of the Information: With the end of the 
COVID-19 public health emergency, most MIECHV-funded home visiting 
programs have transitioned back to some level of in-person service 
delivery. However, many continue to offer occasional virtual home 
visits if warranted and appropriate, such as during inclement weather 
or due to family and staff health concerns. Understanding the virtual 
strategies that home visitors used or are using to address the 
challenges of engaging children during virtual home visits, how these 
strategies can be implemented, how these strategies and learned lessons 
can be applied to in-person settings, and how children and families 
respond to these strategies will be valuable to the field. HRSA intends 
to use collected information to share evidence-informed resources and 
strategies that MIECHV awardees can use to optimize children's 
engagement and active participation and strengthen their home visiting 
services.
    Likely Respondents: Respondents include (1) families who receive 
home visiting services and (2) MIECHV-funded home visiting program 
staff, which may include program directors, managers, supervisors, and 
home visitors.
    Burden Statement: Burden in this context means the time expended by 
persons to generate, maintain, retain, disclose, or provide the 
information requested. This includes the time needed to review 
instructions; to develop, acquire, install, and utilize technology and 
systems for the purpose of collecting, validating, and verifying 
information, processing and maintaining information, and disclosing and 
providing information; to train personnel and to be able to respond to 
a collection of information; to search data sources; to complete and 
review the collection of information; and to transmit or otherwise 
disclose the information. The total annual burden hours estimated for 
this ICR are summarized in the table below.

[[Page 84341]]



                                     Total Estimated Annualized Burden Hours
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                                                     Number of                    Average burden
            Form name                Number of     responses per       Total       per response    Total burden
                                    respondents     respondent       responses      (in hours)         hours
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Program Eligibility Protocol....              16               1              16            1.00            16.0
Program Staff Focus Group                     24               1              24            1.50            36.0
 Protocol 1 (Co-definition
 Phase).........................
Program Staff Focus Group                     24               1              24            1.50            36.0
 Protocol 2 (Co-definition
 Phase).........................
Program Staff Focus Group                     24               3              72            1.00            72.0
 Protocol (Installation &
 Refinement Phases).............
Program Staff Focus Group                     24               1              24            1.00            24.0
 Protocol (Summary Phase).......
Family Focus Group Protocol (Co-              48               1              48            1.00            48.0
 definition & Summary Phases)...
Home Visitor Questionnaire                    40               9             360            0.17            61.2
 (Installation & Refinement
 Phases)........................
Family Post-Visit Questionnaire               48               6             288            0.08            23.0
 (Refinement Phase).............
Focus Group Participant                      120               1             120            0.08             9.6
 Characteristics Form (All
 Phases)........................
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    Total.......................             368  ..............             976  ..............           325.8
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    HRSA specifically requests comments on (1) the necessity and 
utility of the proposed information collection for the proper 
performance of the agency's functions, (2) the accuracy of the 
estimated burden, (3) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity 
of the information to be collected, and (4) the use of automated 
collection techniques or other forms of information technology to 
minimize the information collection burden.

Maria G. Button,
Director, Executive Secretariat.
[FR Doc. 2023-26582 Filed 12-4-23; 8:45 am]
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