[Federal Register: January 21, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 13)]
[Notices]
[Page 2936-2937]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr21ja04-70]
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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Administration for Children and Families
Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request
Title: Migrant and Seasonal Head Start Research Design Development
Project.
OMB No.: New collection.
Description: The Head Start Bureau (Migrant Head Start Branch)
within the Administration for Children and Families of the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services is requesting comments on a
pilot study that will be used to guide the development of appropriate
and effective research designs for studying Migrant and Seasonal Head
Start (MSHS) programs. This study is being conducted under contract
with Westat, Inc. (with Aguirre International as its subcontractor)
(282-98-0015, Task Order 44) to collect information
that will guide the development of appropriate and effective research
designs that could be used in an eventual national evaluation of MSHS.
Such an evaluation would serve to bridge the evaluation gap between
MSHS and other Head Start programs. MSHS has been excluded from
previous Congressionally-mandated evaluations of Head Start due in
large part to the difficulty of applying standard research designs to
MSHS' highly transient population.
The Migrant and Seasonal Head Start Research Design Development
Project Pilot Study will involve visits to six sites (three in the Fall
and three in the Spring) where data collections will take place. Data
collections will include interviews with program administrators,
coordinators, teachers, parents, and other child care providers. There
will also be some use of observational measures of classrooms and brief
direct (one-to-one) assessments or parent and teacher reports for
children ages 0-5, the full age spectrum served by the MSHS program.
Data collection will take place during two time periods: Fall
[[Page 2937]]
(October-November) 2003 and Summer (June-August) 2004.
The pilot study data will not be used to evaluate program
performance or child outcomes, but to test the feasibility of different
evaluation designs that could be used during an eventual national
evaluation of MSHS programs. A primary issue to be tested is whether,
or under what conditions, it is possible to assess program factors and
child and family outcomes in different program sites among children and
families who routinely migrate through multiple sites in a relatively
unpredictable manner throughout a given growing season. Another issue
to test is whether standardized measures of children's competencies,
and parent/teacher reports of these competencies, are appropriate for
this largely Spanish-speaking sample, many of whom speak unique non-
Spanish/non-English languages, and whose cultural backgrounds are also
unique. This pilot study is also designed to determine how children and
families can be tracked across these multiple sites, and determine the
kinds and intensities of MSHS program services they obtain, including
such aspects as children's curriculum and care, parent services, and
coordination with community resources and services.
Respondents: Parents, Children, MSHS Teachers, MSHS Program Staff.
Annual Burden Estimates: Estimated Response Burden for Respondents
to the Migrant and Seasonal Head Start Research Design Development
Project.
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Number of Average
Instrument Number of responses per burden hours Total burden
respondents respondent per response hours
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MSHS Parent Interview I......................... 150 2 .25 75.00
MSHS Parent Interview II........................ 75 2 1.5 225.0
MSHS Teacher Interview I........................ 6 1 .50 3.0
MSHS Teacher Interview II....................... 6 19 .50 57.0
MSHS Child Assessment (3-5 years)............... 45 2 .50 45.0
MSHS Child Assessment (0-3 years)............... 12 2 .33 7.92
MSHS Program Staff Interviews................... 24 1 .50 12.0
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Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 424.92.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Copies of the proposed collection may be
obtained by writing to the Administration for Children and Families,
Office of Administration, Office of Information Services, 370 L'Enfant
Promenade, SW., Washington, DC 20447, Attn: ACF Reports Clearance
Officer. E-mail address: rsargis@cf.hhs.gov.
OMB Comment:
OMB is required to make a decision concerning the collection of
information between 30 and 60 days after publication of this document
in the Federal Register. Therefore, a comment is best assured of having
its full effect if OMB receives it within 30 days of publication.
Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information
collection should be sent directly to the following: Office of
Management and Budget, Paperwork Reduction Project, 725 17th Street,
NW., Washington, DC 20503, Attn: Desk Officer for ACF, E-mail address:
lauren_wittenberg@omb.eop.gov.
Dated: January 14, 2004.
Robert Sargis,
Reports Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. 04-1228 Filed 1-20-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4184-01-M