[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 65 (Wednesday, April 3, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23019-23020]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-06982]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Administration for Children and Families


Proposed Information Collection Activity; 2024 National Survey of 
Early Care and Education Longitudinal Follow-Ups (Office of Management 
and Budget #: 0970-0391)

AGENCY: Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation, Administration 
for Children and Families, 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 to be conducted September 2024 through May 2025 as 
a follow-up of the 2024 National Survey of Early Care and Education 
(NSECE). The objectives of the 2024 NSECE Longitudinal Follow-ups are 
to build on the design and implementation of the 2024 NSECE to collect 
urgently needed information on the following two topics relevant to 
early care and education (ECE) policy: (1) how households learn about 
and make use of financial assistance in seeking and selecting ECE, with 
additional focus on paid individual care arrangements; and (2) patterns 
of retention and attrition among individuals in the center-based ECE 
workforce.

DATES: Comments due within 60 days of publication. In compliance with 
the requirements 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: The 2024 NSECE Longitudinal Follow-ups will consist of 
two nationally representative surveys:
    1. a survey of households (1) with incomes under 300 percent of the 
federal poverty level (FPL) and with at least one resident child under 
the age of 9 years and/or (2) who had used paid care by an individual 
in the spring of 2024 (2024 NSECE Household Follow-up)
    2. a survey of individuals who were employed in early 2024 in 
center-based ECE programs working directly with children in classrooms 
serving children age 5 years and under, not yet in kindergarten (2024 
NSECE Workforce Follow-up).
    Participants will be drawn from respondents to the 2024 NSECE 
Household and Workforce surveys.
    The 2024 NSECE Longitudinal Follow-up data collection efforts will 
provide urgently needed information that will expand the potential of 
the 2024 NSECE data to describe: (1) households' search for and use of 
financial assistance for ECE (including assistance for paid individual 
care arrangements); and (2) employment experiences of individuals who 
have recently worked in center-based ECE classrooms. The household 
follow-up in Fall 2024 will re-interview households participating in 
the 2024 NSECE who (1) report using paid individual ECE or (2) report 
incomes below 300 percent of the FPL and have at least one resident 
child under age 9 years. The workforce follow-up in early 2025 will re-
interview individuals who participated in the 2024 NSECE workforce 
survey (i.e., served as center-based classroom-assigned instructional 
staff between January and July 2024). Both follow-up surveys are 
designed to collect in-depth information that was not feasible to 
collect in the 2024 NSECE and which can be uniquely collected through 
re-interviews of selected 2024 NSECE participants. The household 
follow-up will include information about households' awareness of and 
experience with publicly funded ECE programs, how households selected 
ECE arrangements for Fall 2024, and who provided paid individual care 
to the households' children in early 2024. The workforce follow-up will 
include information about the experiences of ECE instructional staff 
over time, where workers who leave ECE employers or the ECE sector go 
and why they leave, and workers' experiences in various ECE settings 
throughout their ECE careers. Accurate data on families with young 
children and the experiences of ECE workers are essential to assess the 
current landscape of ECE, and to provide insights to advance ECE policy 
and initiatives. The household follow-up will be fielded using multi-
mode survey methodologies in Fall 2024, and the workforce follow-up 
will be fielded using multi-mode survey methodologies in the first half 
of 2025. Both follow-ups will enhance the value of the 2024 NSECE by 
expanding the potential utility of those data to describe household and 
worker experiences over time and to address additional information 
needs.
    Respondents: 1. Households participating in the 2024 NSECE and 
either a. reporting a paid individual ECE arrangement in the 2024 
NSECE, or b. having at least one resident child under age 9 and who 
reported incomes under the 300 percent Federal poverty level in the 
2024 NSECE. 2. Individuals who participated in the 2024 NSECE survey of 
center-based classroom-assigned instructional staff (workforce).

[[Page 23020]]



                                             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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2024 NSECE Household Follow-up Questionnaire....           3,750               1             .36           1,350
2024 NSECE Workforce Follow-up Questionnaire               5,550               1             .33           1,832
 (Classroom Staff)..............................
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    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 3,182.
    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: Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990, as 
amended by the CCDBG Act of 2014 (Pub. L. 113-186). Social Security 
Act, section 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 C. Jones,
ACF/OPRE Certifying Officer.
[FR Doc. 2024-06982 Filed 4-2-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4184-23-P