[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 108 (Tuesday, June 8, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Page 30463]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-11934]



[[Page 30463]]

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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Administration for Children and Families


Submission for OMB Review; Evaluation of Project Connect (New 
Collection)

AGENCY: Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation; Administration 
for Children and Families; HHS.

ACTION: Request for public comment.

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SUMMARY: The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) at the U.S. 
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is proposing a new 
information collection to assess the implementation of Project Connect, 
a comprehensive home visitation intervention that provides home-based 
services and treatment to child welfare-involved, substance-affected 
families with children and adolescents ages 0 to 17.

DATES: Comments due within 30 days of publication. OMB must make a 
decision about 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.

ADDRESSES: Written comments and recommendations for the proposed 
information collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of 
this notice to www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. Find this particular 
information collection by selecting ``Currently under 30-day Review--
Open for Public Comments'' or by using the search function.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Description: The proposed information collection activity will 
assess the implementation of Project Connect, a comprehensive home 
visitation intervention that provides home-based services and treatment 
to child welfare-involved, substance-affected families with children 
and adolescents ages 0 to 17. The program aims to strengthen and 
address the complex needs of substance-affected families by providing 
intensive, long-term services that address issues of unhealthy parental 
substance use and provide help for parents recover while keeping 
children safe. It focuses on maintaining children safely in their homes 
and preventing admission to care, or facilitating reunification when 
children have been placed in out-of-home care.
    The implementation study will support a planned effectiveness 
evaluation that will rely on administrative data to examine the impact 
of the program on child welfare outcomes. These information collection 
activities will take place over the course of five site visits to the 
program and child welfare agency that are participating in the study. 
Information collection activities include interviews with program and 
child welfare agency administrators, focus groups with program and 
child welfare agency staff, interviews and focus groups with 
participants, interviews with other program stakeholders, and 
observations of program staff meetings, program delivery, and judicial 
hearings. Site visits will also include direct observations of staff 
delivery of the program, program staff meetings, and relevant judicial 
hearings/activities for program families.
    This evaluation is part of a larger project to help ACF build the 
evidence base in child welfare through rigorous evaluation of programs, 
practices, and policies. The activities and products from this project 
will contribute to evidence building in child welfare and help to 
determine the effectiveness of a substance use program on child welfare 
outcomes.
    Respondents: Semi-structured interviews will be completed with 
agency and program administrators, parents who are participating in the 
program, parents receiving services as usual, and other program 
stakeholders. Focus groups will be conducted with agency and program 
staff and parents who are participating in the program and parents 
receiving services as usual.

                                                                 Annual Burden Estimates
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                                                                                         Number of
                                                                        Number of      responses per   Avg. burden per
                             Instrument                                respondents       respondent      response (in     Total burden    Annual burden
                                                                       (total over      (total over         hours)         (in hours)       (in hours)
                                                                     request period)  request period)
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Interview Guide for Administrators (Project Connect, Child Welfare                14                1                1               14                5
 Agency, and Child Welfare Central Referral Unit)..................
Focus Group Guide for Staff (Project Connect and Child Welfare                    24                1             1.50               36               12
 Agency Staff).....................................................
Interview Guide for Other Stakeholders (Behavioral Health and                     12                1                1               12                4
 Judicial Stakeholders)............................................
Interview Guide for Families.......................................               16                1                1               16                5
Focus Group Guide for Families.....................................               24                1              1.5               36               12
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    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 38.

    Authority: 42 U.S.C. 676.

Mary B. Jones,
ACF/OPRE Certifying Officer.
[FR Doc. 2021-11934 Filed 6-7-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4184-25-P