Proposed Information Collection Activity; Regional Partnership Grants National Cross-Site Evaluation and Evaluation Technical Assistance (OMB #0970-0527), 70844-70845 [2021-26913]
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70844
Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 236 / Monday, December 13, 2021 / Notices
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND
HUMAN SERVICES
Administration for Children and
Families
Proposed Information Collection
Activity; Regional Partnership Grants
National Cross-Site Evaluation and
Evaluation Technical Assistance (OMB
#0970–0527)
Children’s Bureau,
Administration for Children and
Families, HHS.
ACTION: Request for public comment.
AGENCY:
The Children’s Bureau (CB),
Administration for Children and
Families (ACF), U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services (HHS), is
requesting an extension with minor
changes to the approved information
collection: Regional Partnership Grants
National Cross-Site Evaluation and
Evaluation Technical Assistance (OMB
#0970–0527). The proposed information
collection will be used in a national
cross-site evaluation of the fifth and
sixth cohorts of CB’s Regional
Partnership Grants (RPG). The cross-site
evaluation will use surveys, interviews,
progress reports, and data on participant
enrollment, services, and outcomes.
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: Copies of the proposed
collection of information can be
obtained and comments may be
forwarded by emailing infocollection@
acf.hhs.gov. Alternatively, copies can
also be obtained by writing to the
Administration for Children and
Families, Office of Planning, Research,
and Evaluation (OPRE), 330 C Street
SW, Washington, DC 20201, Attn: ACF
Reports Clearance Officer. All requests,
emailed or written, should be identified
by the title of the information collection.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Description: The Child and Family
Services Improvement Act of 2006 (Pub.
L. 109–288) amended section 437 of the
Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 629g(f))
and authorized CB to fund discretionary
grants to improve safety, well-being, and
permanency outcomes for children at
risk of or in out-of-home placement
because of their caregiver’s substance
misuse. In response, HHS launched a
khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES
SUMMARY:
VerDate Sep<11>2014
16:50 Dec 10, 2021
Jkt 256001
competitive grants program called
‘‘Targeted Grants to Increase the WellBeing of, and to Improve the
Permanency Outcomes for, Children
Affected by Methamphetamine and
Other Substance Abuse,’’ which is also
known as the RPG program.
Reauthorized in 2011 and again most
recently by the Bipartisan Budget Act of
2018 (Pub. L. 115–123) in 2018, these
grants are designed to support
partnerships between child welfare
agencies, substance use disorder
treatment organizations, and other
social services systems, and thereby
improve the well-being, permanency,
and safety outcomes of children and
families. Under four prior rounds of
RPG, CB has issued 91 grants to
organizations such as child welfare or
substance use treatment providers or
family court systems to develop
interagency collaborations and
integration of programs, activities, and
services designed to increase well-being,
improve permanency, and enhance the
safety of children who are in an out-ofhome placement or at risk of being
placed in out-of-home care as a result of
a parent’s or caretaker’s substance
misuse. In 2018 CB awarded 10 grants
in a fifth cohort (RPG5) and 9 additional
grants in a sixth cohort (RPG6) in 2019.
The current information collection
request (ICR) is for data collection
activities associated with the 18
grantees in the fifth and sixth cohorts.
The first three cohorts were included in
previous ICRs (OMB Control Numbers
0970–0353 and 0970–0444), and the
fourth cohort was covered in the
previous 3-year clearance under this ICR
(OMB #0970–0527).
The RPG cross-site evaluation will
extend our understanding of the types of
programs and services grantees
provided to participants, how grantees
leveraged their partnerships to
coordinate services for children and
families, how grantees plan to sustain
their programs after their grants end,
and the outcomes for children and
families enrolled in RPG programs.
First, the cross-site evaluation will
assess the coordination of partners’
service systems (e.g., shared participant
data, joint staff training) to better
understand how partners’ collaborative
efforts affected the services offered to
families (partnerships analysis). The
cross-site evaluation will also focus on
the partnership between the child
welfare and substance use treatment
agencies to add to the research base
about how these agencies can
PO 00000
Frm 00031
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
collaborate to address the needs of
children and families affected by
substance misuse. Second, the
evaluation will describe the
characteristics of participants served by
RPG programs, the types of services
provided to families, the dosage of each
type of service received by families, and
the level of participant engagement with
the services provided (enrollment and
services analysis). Third, the evaluation
will describe supports within the
partnership that can help improve and
sustain RPG services, such as
continuous use of data for service
improvement, identification of a lead
organization, and policies, resources,
and funding sources that will be needed
after grant funding ends. Finally, the
evaluation will assess the outcomes of
children and adults served through the
RPG program, such as child behavioral
problems, adult depressive symptoms,
or adult substance use and treatment
(outcomes and impacts analysis).
The evaluation is being undertaken by
CB and its contractor Mathematica and
its subcontractor, WRMA Inc. The
evaluator is required to advise CB on the
instruments grantees use to collect data
from program participants for required
local evaluations. Grantees will secure
approval from their local institutional
review boards for collecting these data.
This ICR requests a renewal of
clearance for the OMB package #0970–
0527, which was originally approved in
May 2019, for obtaining participant data
from grantees that they collect for their
local evaluations and for directly
collecting additional data from grantees
and their partners and providers for the
cross-site evaluation. This ICR requests
an extension to allow more time for the
information collection and includes a
revision to add the sustainability survey
as a new data collection activity.
Specifically, this ICR requests clearance
for the following data collection
activities: (1) Site visits with grantees,
(2) a web-based survey about grantee
partnerships, (3) a web-based survey
about sustainability planning, (4)
semiannual progress reports, (5)
enrollment and services data provided
by grantees, and (6) outcomes and
impacts data provided by grantees.
Respondents: Respondents include
grantee staff or contractors (such as local
evaluators) and partner staff. Specific
types of respondents and the expected
number per data collection effort are
noted in the burden table below.
E:\FR\FM\13DEN1.SGM
13DEN1
70845
Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 236 / Monday, December 13, 2021 / Notices
ANNUAL BURDEN ESTIMATES
Total number
of respondents
Data collection activity
Number of
responses per
respondent
(each year)
Average
burden hours
per response
(in hours)
Total annual
burden hours
Site Visit and Key Informant Data Collection
Program director individual interview ...............................................................
Program manager/supervisor individual interviews .........................................
Frontline staff interviews ..................................................................................
Partner representative interviews ....................................................................
Partner survey .................................................................................................
Sustainability survey ........................................................................................
8
8
16
24
40
126
0.33
0.33
0.33
0.33
0.33
0.42
2
1
1
1
0.42
0.33
5
3
5
8
6
18
18
54
54
18
108
2
33
33
10
1,560
16.5
0.25
0.0167
0.01672
0.033
594
446
30
3
5,560
18
18
1
2
41
144
738
5,184
18
18
16
100
2
100
.625
25
.625
1,125
900
1,000
........................
........................
........................
15,625
Enrollment, client and service data
Semi-annual progress reports .........................................................................
Case enrollment data ......................................................................................
Case closure ....................................................................................................
Case closure—prenatal ...................................................................................
Service log entries ...........................................................................................
Outcome and impact data
Administrative Data:
Obtain access to administrative data .......................................................
Report administrative data .......................................................................
Standardized instruments:
Enter data into local database .................................................................
Review records and submit ......................................................................
Data entry for comparison study sites (16 grantees) ...............................
khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES
Estimated Total Burden Hours ..........................................................
Estimated Total Annual Burden
Hours: 15,625.
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: The Child and Family
Services Improvement Act of 2006 (Pub.
L. 109–288) created the competitive
RPG program. The September 30, 2011,
passage of the Child and Family
Services Improvement and Innovation
Act (Pub. L. 112–34) extended funding
for the RPG program from federal fiscal
year (FFY) 2012 to FFY 2016. In 2018,
the president signed the Bipartisan
Budget Act of 2018 (Pub. L. 115–123)
into law reauthorizing the RPG program
VerDate Sep<11>2014
16:50 Dec 10, 2021
Jkt 256001
through FFY 2021 and added a focus on
opioid abuse.
Mary B. Jones,
ACF/OPRE Certifying Officer.
[FR Doc. 2021–26913 Filed 12–10–21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4184–29–P
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND
HUMAN SERVICES
Administration for Children and
Families
Proposed Information Collection
Activity; Administration for Native
Americans Annual Data Report (ADR)
(OMB #0970–0475)
Administration for Native
Americans, Administration for Children
and Families, HHS.
ACTION: Request for public comment.
AGENCY:
The Administration for
Children and Families’ (ACF)
Administration for Native Americans
(ANA) is requesting a 2-year extension
to the following information collection:
Annual Data Report (ADR) (OMB
#0970–0475; expiration date: 2/28/
2022). There are no changes requested
to the form.
DATES: Comments due within 60 days of
publication. In compliance with the
SUMMARY:
PO 00000
Frm 00032
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
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
infocollection@acf.hhs.gov. Identify all
requests by the title of the information
collection.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Description: ANA collects the
information in the ADR on an annual
basis to monitor the performance of
grantees and better gauge grantee
progress. The majority of grantees
submit this information through the Ongoing Progress Report (OMB #0970–
0452), but there is a subset of about 80
grantees who still use the ADR and will
continue to use the ADR through the
end of their grants.
The ADR information collection is
conducted in accordance with sec. 811
[42 U.S.C. 2992] of the Native American
Programs Act and will allow ANA to
report quantifiable results across all
program areas. It also provides grantees
with parameters for reporting their
progress and helps ANA better monitor
and determine the effectiveness of their
projects.
Respondents: Tribal Government,
Native non-profit organizations, and
E:\FR\FM\13DEN1.SGM
13DEN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 236 (Monday, December 13, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 70844-70845]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-26913]
[[Page 70844]]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Administration for Children and Families
Proposed Information Collection Activity; Regional Partnership
Grants National Cross-Site Evaluation and Evaluation Technical
Assistance (OMB #0970-0527)
AGENCY: Children's Bureau, Administration for Children and Families,
HHS.
ACTION: Request for public comment.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Children's Bureau (CB), Administration for Children and
Families (ACF), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), is
requesting an extension with minor changes to the approved information
collection: Regional Partnership Grants National Cross-Site Evaluation
and Evaluation Technical Assistance (OMB #0970-0527). The proposed
information collection will be used in a national cross-site evaluation
of the fifth and sixth cohorts of CB's Regional Partnership Grants
(RPG). The cross-site evaluation will use surveys, interviews, progress
reports, and data on participant enrollment, services, and outcomes.
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: Copies of the proposed collection of information can be
obtained and comments may be forwarded by emailing
[email protected]. Alternatively, copies can also be obtained
by writing to the Administration for Children and Families, Office of
Planning, Research, and Evaluation (OPRE), 330 C Street SW, Washington,
DC 20201, Attn: ACF Reports Clearance Officer. All requests, emailed or
written, should be identified by the title of the information
collection.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Description: The Child and Family Services Improvement Act of 2006
(Pub. L. 109-288) amended section 437 of the Social Security Act (42
U.S.C. 629g(f)) and authorized CB to fund discretionary grants to
improve safety, well-being, and permanency outcomes for children at
risk of or in out-of-home placement because of their caregiver's
substance misuse. In response, HHS launched a competitive grants
program called ``Targeted Grants to Increase the Well-Being of, and to
Improve the Permanency Outcomes for, Children Affected by
Methamphetamine and Other Substance Abuse,'' which is also known as the
RPG program. Reauthorized in 2011 and again most recently by the
Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 (Pub. L. 115-123) in 2018, these grants
are designed to support partnerships between child welfare agencies,
substance use disorder treatment organizations, and other social
services systems, and thereby improve the well-being, permanency, and
safety outcomes of children and families. Under four prior rounds of
RPG, CB has issued 91 grants to organizations such as child welfare or
substance use treatment providers or family court systems to develop
interagency collaborations and integration of programs, activities, and
services designed to increase well-being, improve permanency, and
enhance the safety of children who are in an out-of-home placement or
at risk of being placed in out-of-home care as a result of a parent's
or caretaker's substance misuse. In 2018 CB awarded 10 grants in a
fifth cohort (RPG5) and 9 additional grants in a sixth cohort (RPG6) in
2019. The current information collection request (ICR) is for data
collection activities associated with the 18 grantees in the fifth and
sixth cohorts. The first three cohorts were included in previous ICRs
(OMB Control Numbers 0970-0353 and 0970-0444), and the fourth cohort
was covered in the previous 3-year clearance under this ICR (OMB #0970-
0527).
The RPG cross-site evaluation will extend our understanding of the
types of programs and services grantees provided to participants, how
grantees leveraged their partnerships to coordinate services for
children and families, how grantees plan to sustain their programs
after their grants end, and the outcomes for children and families
enrolled in RPG programs. First, the cross-site evaluation will assess
the coordination of partners' service systems (e.g., shared participant
data, joint staff training) to better understand how partners'
collaborative efforts affected the services offered to families
(partnerships analysis). The cross-site evaluation will also focus on
the partnership between the child welfare and substance use treatment
agencies to add to the research base about how these agencies can
collaborate to address the needs of children and families affected by
substance misuse. Second, the evaluation will describe the
characteristics of participants served by RPG programs, the types of
services provided to families, the dosage of each type of service
received by families, and the level of participant engagement with the
services provided (enrollment and services analysis). Third, the
evaluation will describe supports within the partnership that can help
improve and sustain RPG services, such as continuous use of data for
service improvement, identification of a lead organization, and
policies, resources, and funding sources that will be needed after
grant funding ends. Finally, the evaluation will assess the outcomes of
children and adults served through the RPG program, such as child
behavioral problems, adult depressive symptoms, or adult substance use
and treatment (outcomes and impacts analysis).
The evaluation is being undertaken by CB and its contractor
Mathematica and its subcontractor, WRMA Inc. The evaluator is required
to advise CB on the instruments grantees use to collect data from
program participants for required local evaluations. Grantees will
secure approval from their local institutional review boards for
collecting these data.
This ICR requests a renewal of clearance for the OMB package #0970-
0527, which was originally approved in May 2019, for obtaining
participant data from grantees that they collect for their local
evaluations and for directly collecting additional data from grantees
and their partners and providers for the cross-site evaluation. This
ICR requests an extension to allow more time for the information
collection and includes a revision to add the sustainability survey as
a new data collection activity. Specifically, this ICR requests
clearance for the following data collection activities: (1) Site visits
with grantees, (2) a web-based survey about grantee partnerships, (3) a
web-based survey about sustainability planning, (4) semiannual progress
reports, (5) enrollment and services data provided by grantees, and (6)
outcomes and impacts data provided by grantees.
Respondents: Respondents include grantee staff or contractors (such
as local evaluators) and partner staff. Specific types of respondents
and the expected number per data collection effort are noted in the
burden table below.
[[Page 70845]]
Annual Burden Estimates
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Number of Average burden
Total number responses per hours per Total annual
Data collection activity of respondents respondent response (in burden hours
(each year) hours)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Site Visit and Key Informant Data Collection
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Program director individual interview........... 8 0.33 2 5
Program manager/supervisor individual interviews 8 0.33 1 3
Frontline staff interviews...................... 16 0.33 1 5
Partner representative interviews............... 24 0.33 1 8
Partner survey.................................. 40 0.33 0.42 6
Sustainability survey........................... 126 0.42 0.33 18
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Enrollment, client and service data
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Semi-annual progress reports.................... 18 2 16.5 594
Case enrollment data............................ 54 33 0.25 446
Case closure.................................... 54 33 0.0167 30
Case closure--prenatal.......................... 18 10 0.01672 3
Service log entries............................. 108 1,560 0.033 5,560
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Outcome and impact data
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Administrative Data:
Obtain access to administrative data........ 18 1 41 738
Report administrative data.................. 18 2 144 5,184
Standardized instruments:
Enter data into local database.............. 18 100 .625 1,125
Review records and submit................... 18 2 25 900
Data entry for comparison study sites (16 16 100 .625 1,000
grantees)..................................
---------------------------------------------------------------
Estimated Total Burden Hours............ .............. .............. .............. 15,625
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 15,625.
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: The Child and Family Services Improvement Act of 2006
(Pub. L. 109-288) created the competitive RPG program. The September
30, 2011, passage of the Child and Family Services Improvement and
Innovation Act (Pub. L. 112-34) extended funding for the RPG program
from federal fiscal year (FFY) 2012 to FFY 2016. In 2018, the president
signed the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 (Pub. L. 115-123) into law
reauthorizing the RPG program through FFY 2021 and added a focus on
opioid abuse.
Mary B. Jones,
ACF/OPRE Certifying Officer.
[FR Doc. 2021-26913 Filed 12-10-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4184-29-P
