[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 114 (Wednesday, June 12, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 49878-49879]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-12875]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Administration for Children and Families


Proposed Information Collection Activity; Office of Community 
Services Affordable Housing and Supportive Services Demonstration Data 
Collection (Office of Management and Budget #: 0970-0628)

AGENCY: Office of Community Services, Administration for Children and 
Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

ACTION: Request for public comments.

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SUMMARY: The Office of Community Services (OCS), Administration for 
Children and Families (ACF), U.S. Department of Health and Human 
Services, is requesting an extension of approval for a recently 
approved information collection: OCS Affordable Housing and Supportive 
Services Demonstration (Office of Management and Budget (OMB) #: 0970-
0628; Expiration Date: September 30, 2024). This information collection 
was originally approved for 6 months as an emergency approval. In 
addition to extending the approval, OCS seeks to update the burden 
estimates to accommodate an anticipated increase in the number of grant 
recipients, as well as to collect additional responses to several of 
the instruments. OCS also seeks to make updates to approved forms.

DATES: Comments due August 12, 2024. 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: OCS is seeking to continue collecting the 
information requested from grant recipients under Office of Management 
and Budget #: 0970-0628. In order to determine best practices in the 
implementation of supportive services in the affordable housing context 
and describe how supportive services help residents to improve well-
being and economic mobility, OCS will engage in the following 
activities:
     Conducting interviews with program directors and 
caseworkers to understand program implementation.
     Conducting focus groups with residents to understand their 
needs and how the services funded by this grant impacted their lives.
     Administering a self-sufficiency matrix to residents 
receiving intensive services to understand the impact of the program on 
various domains of well-being.
     Conducting a questionnaire with residents to see if they 
were able to access more services due to the funding.
     Collecting information from program officers about the 
number and types of services/events provided, aggregate demographics of 
residents served, partner organizations and referrals, and how the 
housing community was impacted by the grant funding.
     Collecting narrative reports from program officers about 
the progress of implementation of the program.
    This request is to extend the approved collection period to 3 
years, which will permit OCS to complete the collection with current 
grant recipients as well as future grant recipients. With an extended 
timeline, OCS will request additional responses for several approved 
instruments to observe activities over the course of the full project 
period for grant recipients. The self-sufficiency matrix and service 
receipt questionnaires will be administered every 6 months during the 
project period. The semi-annual report mandatory and optional forms 
will be required every 6 months, with a final cumulative report. The 
quarterly narrative PPR will be requested every quarter of the project 
period.
    OCS has developed substantially revised semi-annual report forms 
for the mandatory and optional reports to broaden the measures of 
service delivery and outcomes to better accommodate the universe of 
potential services offered by future cohorts of grant recipients. The 
new mandatory form combines the direct services and referrals tabs of 
the original form into a single tab where grant recipients will report 
the number of individuals receiving services through AHSSD funding and 
through the organization's other funding sources, alongside the 
information reported about referrals. The new optional form broadens 
the list of outcome measures that grant recipients can choose to report 
for the individuals they serve. In consideration of the overall 
reporting burden for grant recipients, the revised forms continue to 
draw upon the service and outcome categories that grant recipients 
already use to report their CSBG-related activities (OMB# 0970-0492). 
Additionally, the revised forms request

[[Page 49879]]

cumulative counts across the grant period, negating the need for a 
separate final report.
    Current grant recipients will be able to choose between using the 
current forms and the revised forms through the completion of their 
current project. New grant recipients will be required to use the 
revised forms.
    Respondents: There will be three types of respondents to the 
proposed instruments. First, the direct beneficiaries, the clients 
receiving supportive services, will participate in the service receipt 
questionnaire, self-sufficiency matrix, and focus groups, and they will 
also provide information about their characteristics, needs, and 
outcomes for the grant recipients' semi-annual reporting. Second, the 
program directors and social services staff will respond to interview 
instruments tailored to their roles. Grant recipients will also be 
asked to complete quarterly PPRs and semi-annual reports to describe 
their service delivery activities, and outcomes.

Annual Burden Estimates

    Burden estimates show the total number of responses per respondent 
over the next 3 years. The current grant recipients (9 total) will be 
able to choose between using the current forms and the revised forms 
through the completion of their current project. New grant recipients 
(9 new recipients estimated) will be required to use the revised forms.

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                                                  Total      Total number   Average burden    Total      Annual
                  Instrument                    number of    of responses      hours per      burden     burden
                                               respondents  per respondent     response       hours      hours
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Interviews with program directors............           18               1             1.5         27          9
Interviews with caseworkers..................           36               1               1         36         12
Focus groups with residents..................           50               1             1.5         75         25
Self-sufficiency matrix......................        1,000               3             1.5      4,500      1,500
Service receipt questionnaire................        1,000               3             .25        750        250
Semi-Annual Report Mandatory--original form..            9               4               2         72         24
Semi-Annual Report Mandatory--revised form...            9               3               3         81         27
Semi-Annual Report Optional--original form...            6               4               2         48         16
Semi-Annual Report Optional--revised form....            6               3               2         36         12
PPR Narrative Report.........................           18               6               2        216         72
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    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 1,947.
    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: Section 1110, Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. 1310.

Mary C. Jones,
ACF/OPRE Certifying Officer.
[FR Doc. 2024-12875 Filed 6-11-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4184-24-P