SUPPORTING
STATEMENT
Justification
DNA samples are collected from juveniles and the resulting profiles are entered into CODIS (Combined DNA Index System), in accordance with state and federal law. Little is known about the number of juveniles affected, their characteristics, or the issues surrounding the collection and analysis of the samples, and the sharing of the resulting DNA profiles. Having information on the processes used and the degree of success for each process is important for informing public policy at the state and federal level.
The information will be used by the Urban Institute and the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) to assess the place of juveniles within the CODIS system and document how juvenile DNA samples are collected, stored, and used. The data may also be used by policymakers to inform new legislation or regulation pertaining to Juvenile DNA.
We will conduct phone interviews with lab personnel to gather information on policies and procedures. This method will allow us to ask questions and probe for clarification, reducing the time required for follow-up. The summary descriptive data portion of our collection will be submitted by email to the lab director or CODIS administrator, as determined by the preceding telephone interview. As CODIS is itself an electronic tracking system, we hope that all pertinent information will also be stored in electronic form by the crime labs. Respondents will be directed to submit data electronically if possible, and otherwise told to save data to a CD and send it to use through the mail. None of the data requested will contain identifiable information, but rather summary descriptive statistics on the composition of CODIS in regard to juveniles.
We have conducted an extensive review of existing literature, and have found that information regarding state procedures and legislation is outdated and there has been little or no data collected on the number of juveniles in the CODIS system. We have spoken with representatives at the FBI – the federal Agency with statutory responsibility for the CODIS system - who confirmed that information on juveniles in CODIS has not been previously collected and cannot be accessed centrally at the national level from the FBI database.
The information will be collected from state crime labs, none of which fit the definition of small businesses or entities. This collection will have no impact on small businesses or entities.
This is a one-time collection, so the collection cannot be done less frequently. If this data is not collected, there will be no comprehensive compilations of policies and procedures for juvenile DNA collection. This lack could have two main consequences. First, policymakers will not have easy access to policies and procedures used in other jurisdictions, nor will they have concrete figures to inform their decisions on juveniles. Second, by collecting the data in a standardized format between states, our method will reduce confusion and additional data requests that stem from a piecemeal approach.
Respondents are requested to respond only once to a telephone interview and a data survey. For the telephone interview, respondents are not required to submit any supplemental materials. Information shared in the interview will be descriptive of state policy, not sensitive or confidential. Respondents will be told that their names will not be reported, but the information they share on their states will be reported. For the data survey, respondents are requested to submit summary data on juveniles in their SDIS within 30 days of receiving our request. Respondents will be explicitly instructed to send no sensitive or individual level data. The summary data will not be confidential. Responses to both the interview and data survey are voluntary, thus any individual agency unable to produce the requested information within the requested time frame is not obligated to do so.
A 60-day notice has been prepared for publication in the Federal Register, and is attached. Additionally, a copy of the 30-day notice, ready for publication, is attached.
No payments or gifts will be provided to the respondents.
Respondents will be informed at the beginning of each interview that their names will be confidential but that descriptive interview results will be reported by state. The identities of the stakeholders will be known to project staff, and will be stored in a database that will store the interview responses. At the beginning of each stakeholder interview, UI staff will also ask the respondent to refrain from citing any specific case by name when answering questions and illustrating points. All staff working on this project at the Urban Institute have signed a pledge of confidentiality.
These procedures have been approved by the Institutional Review Board (IRB), as established in Title 45, Part 46 of the Code of Federal Regulations. The Institute’s policy entitled Research Involving Human Subjects acknowledges the Institute’s ethical responsibilities in the performance of research involving human subjects and requires that all such research be subject to this policy and the Code of Federal Regulations. Federal regulations (46 CFR 46) require informed consent when data are collected from individuals, such as during research meetings and interviews. In addition, the Department of Justice, including NIJ, has adopted regulations protecting privacy under research it supports (28 CFR 22).
Neither the data survey nor the telephone interviews ask any questions of a sensitive nature.
Estimated Annual Reporting Burden
Number of Respondents: 70 including a lab director for the interview component and an appropriate data contact for each of the 35 states that collect juvenile DNA
Number of Response per Respondent: 1, each respondent will only be asked to provide us with information once
Total Annual Responses: 70, this is a single occurrence information collection
Hours per Response: 2 hours, Interviews and the data survey are expected to take approximately 1.5 hours and .5 hours to review request and format and transmit results.
Total Annual Reporting Burden: 140 hours (35 hours for Lab Director interviews, 105 hours for summary data collection)
There are no capital or start-up costs associated with information collections under this clearance.
There are no expected costs to the Federal government.
This information collection is a new collection, thus there are no program changes or adjustments at this point.
We will disseminate the information collected in several ways to encourage the use of the project results by multiple audiences. The data collected will be presented in a final report presented to the NIJ. At the conclusion of the project, we will prepare a practitioner- oriented research brief, presenting the key findings and implications of the research. This research brief will be written in clear, concise, and accessible language, highlighting key findings are recommendations for practitioner audiences. In addition, we will present findings to ASCLD members and attendees at NIJ’s annual research conference. As the information collected will be summary statistics, we will not be using complex analytical techniques.
The timeline of the project is as follows:
Start: October 2008
Begin data collection: October 2009
Complete data collection: January 2010
Analysis completed: June 2010
Presentation at NIJ Research Conference: June 2010
Publication: September 2010
End: September 2010
The Urban Institute is not seeking approval to not display the expiration date for OMB approval.
The information collection has no exceptions to the Certification for Paperwork Reduction Act Submissions.
Collections of Information Employing Statistical Methods.
This project will not be using statistical methods; it will be collecting and reporting descriptive information on state policies and procedures.
| File Type | application/msword |
| File Title | website%20supporting%20statement.wpd |
| Author | admined |
| Last Modified By | Scarbora |
| File Modified | 2009-06-11 |
| File Created | 2009-02-03 |