[Federal Register: August 26, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 166)]
[
Notices]
[Page 50333]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr26au08-72]
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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Administration for Children and Families
Proposed Information Collection Activity; Comment Request
Proposed Projects
Title: Regional Partnership Grant (RPG) Program Data Collection.
OMB No.: New Collection.
Description: On September 30, 2007, the Administration for Children
and Families (ACF), Children's Bureau, awarded multi-year grants to 53
regional partnership grantees (RPG5) to improve the safety, permanency
and well-being of children affected by methamphetamine or other
substance abuse who have been removed or are at-risk of removal from
their homes. The Child and Family Services Improvement Act of 2006, the
authorizing legislation for the RPG program, required that a set of
performance indicators be established to periodically assess the
grantees' progress on achieving outcomes. The legislation mandated that
these performance indicators be developed through a consultative
process involving ACS, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
Administration (SAMHSA), and representatives of the State or Tribal
agencies who are members of the regional partnerships.
The final set of RPG performance indicators was approved by ACS and
disseminated to the funded grantees in January 2008. It includes a
total of 23 indicators across four outcome domains: Child/youth (9
indicators), adult (7 indicators), family/relationship (5 indicators),
and regional partnership/service capacity (2 indicators). It also
includes a core set of child and adult demographic elements that will
provide important context needed to properly analyze, explain and
understand the outcomes. No other national data collection measures
these critical child, adult, family, and RPG outcomes specifically for
these children and families. The data also will have significant
implications for policy and program development for child well-being
programs nationwide.
To minimize reporting burden, many of the data elements are already
being collected by counties and States in order to report Federally
mandated data for the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting
System (AFCARS), the Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS) and the National
Outcome Measures (NOMs); in addition, all States voluntarily submit
data for the Federal National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System
(NCANDS). Therefore, most child welfare data elements included in the
RPG performance measures can be found in a State's automated case
management system, which is often a Federally funded Statewide
Automated Child Welfare Information System (SACWIS). If the State
elects to implement a SACWIS, the system is expected to be a
comprehensive automated case management tool that meets the needs of
all staff involved in foster care and adoption case management. A
SACWIS is required to support reporting of data to AFCARS semi-
annually, and annually to NCANDS. AFCARS reports information on all
children in foster care, while NCANDS reports information on State
child maltreatment reports. TEDS admission and discharge data are
collected by State substance abuse agencies according to their own
information systems for monitoring substance abuse treatment admissions
and transmitted monthly or quarterly to the SAMHSA contractor.
As a result of prior Federal government reporting requirements,
States are already collecting several data elements needed by the RPGs.
The RPGs can download information from these existing systems to obtain
data to monitor their program outcomes, thereby reducing the amount of
primary data collection needed.
Beginning in year two, grantees will submit a data file with their
required indicator data, according to their final set of indicators,
every six months.
Respondents: RPG Grantees.
Annual Burden Estimates
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Number of Average burden
Instrument Number of responses per hours per Total burden
respondents respondent response hours
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
State, local, or Tribal Government.............. 31 2 175.50 10,881
Private Sector.................................. 22 2 175.50 7,722
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Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 18,603.
In compliance with the requirements of Section 506(c)(2)(A) of the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Administration for Children and
Families is soliciting public comment on the specific aspects of the
information collection described above. Copies of the proposed
collection of information can be obtained and comments may be forwarded
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: infocollection@acf.hhs.gov. All requests should be identified
by the title of the information collection.
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.
Dated: August 18, 2008.
Janean Chambers,
Reports Clearance, Officer.
[FR Doc. E8-19562 Filed 8-25-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4184-01-P