[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 65 (Wednesday, April 3, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23030-23031]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-06991]


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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: Home 
Visiting Assessment of Implementation Quality Study: Better Addressing 
Disparities Through Home Visiting

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

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, HRSA 
submitted an Information Collection Request (ICR) to the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval. Comments submitted 
during the first public review of this ICR will be provided to OMB. OMB 
will accept further comments from the public during the review and 
approval period. OMB may act on HRSA's ICR only after the 30-day 
comment period for this notice has closed.

DATES: Comments on this ICR should be received no later than May 3, 
2024.

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 Review--Open for 
Public Comments'' or by using the search function.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request a copy of the clearance 
requests submitted to OMB for review, email Joella Roland, the HRSA 
Information Collection Clearance Officer, at [email protected] or call 
(301) 443-3983.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Information Collection Request Title: Home Visiting Assessment of 
Implementation Quality Study: Better Addressing Disparities Through 
Home Visiting, OMB No. 0915-xxxx--NEW.
    Abstract: The Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting 
(MIECHV) program, authorized by

[[Page 23031]]

Social Security Act, Title V, Sec.  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 (LIAs) to provide home visiting services 
to eligible families in at-risk communities.
    HRSA aims to explore how families that experience disparities in 
outcomes targeted by the MIECHV program experience home visiting 
services. This study is an initial step in understanding those 
experiences and will provide a better understanding of how MIECHV-
funded home visiting programs currently address disparities and promote 
equity. Data collection activities include interviews, focus groups, 
online surveys, program observations, and review of documents and 
management information systems data.
    A 60-day notice was published in the Federal Register on December 
5, 2023, vol. 88, No. 84339; pp. 84341-42. HRSA received one response 
to the request for public comment from a home visiting model developer. 
The commentor expressed concerns about the estimated burden for focus 
groups and the request for information from programs and over surveying 
families, suggesting using previously collected data, and made 
suggestions for language changes including use of plain language, 
clarifying instructions, and providing questions in advance. In 
response to these comments, the burden hours were increased for focus 
groups, clarifying instructions were added to the LIA Leadership 
Interview Protocol and edits were made to plain language. The burden 
estimate was not increased for the information form for LIAs as it did 
not fall under the definition for public burden. The suggestion of 
using information already collected from families was not taken as 
there is not currently existing data of this nature. In addition, 
Family Focus Group Protocol and Family Case Study Focus Group Protocol 
have been combined to one form as the protocols were similar.
    Need and Proposed Use of the Information: HRSA is seeking 
additional information about families' experiences within home visiting 
and strategies the MIECHV program has used to address disparities in 
their work with families. This information collection is part of the 
Home Visiting Assessment of Implementation Quality Study, which will 
examine specific components of the Home Visiting Implementation Quality 
Conceptual Framework, to inform strategies for implementing high 
quality home visiting programs. HRSA intends to use this information to 
identify actionable strategies that MIECHV awardees and LIAs could take 
to remove potential obstacles to family enrollment in home visiting 
services and to help address health disparities.
    Likely Respondents: MIECHV awardees that are states, nonprofit 
organizations, and tribes; LIA staff (program directors, coordinators, 
supervisors, and home visitors); and families that experience greater 
disparities in maternal and newborn health (families participating in 
MIECHV-funded home visiting services).
    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.

                                   Total Estimated Annualized Burden Hours \1\
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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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Request for Information about                 56               1              56            0.25            14.0
 LIAs...........................
LIA and Family Nomination Form..              70               1              70            2.00           140.0
Family Online Survey............             210               1             210            0.33            69.3
Family Focus Group Protocol.....              64               1              64            1.00            64.0
Home Visitor Group Interview                  10               1              10            1.50            15.0
 Protocol.......................
LIA Leadership Interview                       6               1               6            1.50             9.0
 Protocol.......................
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    Total.......................             416  ..............             416  ..............           311.3
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\1\ There may be variation in the number of study participants (e.g., some programs may have fewer home
  visitors). The total burden hours presented here provide information assuming the maximum number of
  respondents in each community.


Maria G. Button,
Director, Executive Secretariat.
[FR Doc. 2024-06991 Filed 4-2-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4165-15-P