[Federal Register: April 24, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 78)]
[Notices]
[Page 21028-21029]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr24ap06-65]
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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Administration for Children and Families
Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request
Title: Follow-Up Study of Issues Affecting the Duration of Child
Care Subsidy Use.
OMB No.: New Collection.
Description: Child care subsidies provide an important benefit to
low-income working families, offering them increased access to forms of
child care that would otherwise be beyond their means. However, recent
research suggests that, for many families, this benefit may be short-
lived or unstable. There are many possible explanations for these
patterns, and the explanations may be different for different types of
families. Recognizing that information about the reasons for short
subsidy duration would be helpful to States, the Child Care Bureau has
funded Abt Associates Inc. to conduct a two-State investigative study
on the duration and use of child care subsidies. This study will, in
the short term, provide States with information to shape or modify
their child care subsidy procedures. In addition, the study will
generate hypotheses that could be systematically tested in later
research.
The study will examine the use of child care subsidies by 840
families in Illinois and 840 in Oregon. In each State, the sample will
be a representative sample of current Temporary Assistance for Needy
Families (TANF) families and non-TANF families--all of whom apply and
are approved for subsidies and who use them for at least one month.
Families will be contacted by telephone approximately nine months after
they began using subsidies and will be asked to participate in the
study. If they agree, a 45-minute telephone interview will ensue
immediately or will be scheduled. It is expected that, after the nine
months, over half of the families will no longer be using subsidies.
Patterns of subsidy use prior to and during the study period will be
tracked through State administrative data.
The parent telephone interview will include questions about
parents' employment, subsidy status and experience, child care usage,
and changes in household composition over the nine-month period.
Although the analyses will rely heavily on identification of trigger
events, the survey will include questions about other less tangible
considerations that may have influenced the duration of parents subsidy
use. Telephone interviews will be conducted using Computer-Assisted-
Telephone Interviewing (CATI). Responses are voluntary and
confidential.
The study will also analyze State administrative data on all
families who are approved for subsidies during the recruitment period
for the study. This will allow researchers to assess the
generalizability of the sub-sample of families who are recruited for
the in-depth telephone interview; this sub-sample consists of
approximately 840 families in each State.
No existing data sources can provide all the information needed to
complete the Follow-Up Study of Issues Affecting the Duration of Child
Care Subsidy Use. These data will help the Child Care Bureau and States
to better understand reasons for short child care subsidy duration.
Respondents: The sample includes 840 families in Illinois and 840
in Oregon.
[[Page 21029]]
Annual Burden Estimates
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Number of Average
Instrument Number of responses per burden hours Total burden
respondents respondent per response hours
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Illinois parent survey.......................... 840 1 .75 630
Oregon parent survey............................ 840 1 .75 630
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Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 1,260
Additional 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. All requests should be identified by the title of the
information collection. E-mail address: infocollection@acf.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, Attn: Desk
Officer for ACF. E-mail address: Katherine_T._Astrich@omb.eop.gov.
Dated: April 17, 2006.
Robert Sargis,
Reports Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. 06-3822 Filed 4-21-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4184-01-M