[Federal Register: August 25, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 165)]
[Notices]
[Page 50023-50024]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr25au08-55]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Administration for Children and Families
Agency Recordkeeping/Reporting Requirements Under Emergency
Review by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
Title: Regional Partnership Grant (RPG) Program Data Collection.
OMB No.: New Collection.
Description:
On September 30, 2007, the Administration for Children and Families
(ACE), Children's Bureau awarded multi-year grants to 53 regional
partnerships grantees (RPGs) 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 home.
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
[[Page 50024]]
to periodically assess the grantees' progress on achieving certain
outcomes. The legislation mandated that these performance indicators be
developed through a consultative process involving ACE, 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 ACF 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.
The purpose of this request is to obtain OMB approval to collect
this legislatively required performance and outcome data from the RPGs.
To minimize grantee data collection and 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)
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.
In short, 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 State child welfare and substance abuse treatment data systems
to obtain data to monitor their RPG 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
Information collection Number of responses per burden hours Total burden
respondents respondent per response hours
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Private Sector.................................. 22 2 175.5 7,722
State, Local, or Tribal Governments............. 31 2 175.5 10,881
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 18,603
Additional Information: ACE is requesting that OMB grant a 90 day
approval for this information collection under procedures for emergency
processing by September 30, 2008. A copy of this information
collection, with applicable supporting documentation, may be obtained
by calling the Administration for Children and Families, Reports
Clearance Officer, Robert Sargis at (202) 690-7275.
Comments and questions about the information collection described
above should be directed to the Office of Information and Regulatory
Affairs, Attn: OMB Desk Officer for ACE, Office of Management and
Budget, Paperwork Reduction Project, 725 17th Street, NW., Washington,
DC 20503, (202) 395-7316.
Dated: August 18, 2008.
Robert Sargis,
Reports Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. E8-19443 Filed 8-22-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4184-01-M