Justification

Request for Approval under the “Generic Clearance for the Collection of Routine Customer Feedback” (OMB Control Number: 0970-0401)

TITLE OF INFORMATION COLLECTION:

National Responsible Fatherhood Clearinghouse (NRFC) Deliverable entitled “Examining the relationships between living in a violent environment and its impact on children and the method of parenting.”

PURPOSE:

The purpose of these focus groups (listed here as Fatherhood Conversations) is to examine the relationship of how living in a violent environment impact a father’s method of parenting, specifically for fathers whose children show signs of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Research indicates that children exposed to multiple forms of violence are at more risk of developing psychological symptoms. Most urban children, by the time they enter high school, have seen the use of weapons, guns or other acts of violence against people in their neighborhood, school or home.  In communities with high rates of violence, many families experience chronic stress and anxiety, particularly the children. Exposure to community violence is particularly prevalent in poor inner-city neighborhoods. Children in these neighborhoods are at increased risk of exposure to community violence as compared to children residing in less economically distressed suburban areas.

Aside from community violence, violence in the home has adverse impacts on children.¹ According to the UNICEF report “Behind Closed Doors”, infants and small children who are exposed to violence in the home experience, so much added emotional stress that it can harm the development of their brains and impair cognitive and sensory growth.   As they grow, these children may continue to show signs of behavioral, emotional, psychological and developmental challenges. Primary-school-aged children may have more trouble with schoolwork, demonstrate aggressive behavior and show poor concentration and focus.

To help advance the understanding among Fatherhood stakeholders of how fathers parent in communities with high rates of violence and its impact on the children, we propose conducting two Fatherhood Conversations with fathers living in communities with high rates of violence to gather information to answer the following key questions:

• How does community violence affect children and parenting among both custodial and non-custodial fathers?

• How does domestic violence affect children and parenting among custodial and non-custodial fathers?

Findings from these Fatherhood Conversations will help inform the following products:

• Webinar: The purpose of the Webinar is to share the findings from the fatherhood focus groups as well as engage in a discussion for policy and programmatic recommendations with respect and to provide guidance to responsible fatherhood practice and policy leaders. The target population for the Webinar includes fatherhood practitioners, researchers, and policy makers.

• Report: The purpose of the summary report is to produce a written document/resource that shares the findings from the fatherhood focus groups as well provide guidance to fatherhood program, research, and policy leaders with respect to providing services to low-income fathers and their children. The target population for the product includes fatherhood practitioners, researchers, and policy makers. Plans are to disseminate the summary document via e-mail

DESCRIPTION OF RESPONDENTS:

• Males between the ages of 16-45, who are fathers of children ages 0-16

• Types of fathers

  • Enrolled in the Center for Urban Families (CFUF) Responsible Fatherhood Project

  • Enrolled or completed counseling for domestic violence through the House of Ruth Violence agency

  • Full-time fathers

  • Non-custodial fathers

  • Low-income fathers

  • A mix of marital status

  • A mix of educational levels

  • A mix of races

  • A mix of ethnicities

  • English speaking

TYPE OF COLLECTION: (Check one)

[ ] Customer Comment Card/Complaint Form [ ] Customer Satisfaction Survey

[ ] Usability Testing (e.g., Website or Software [ ] Small Discussion Group

[X] Focus Group [ ] Other: ______________________

CERTIFICATION:

I certify the following to be true:

1. The collection is voluntary.

2. The collection is low-burden for respondents and low-cost for the Federal Government.

3. The collection is non-controversial and does not raise issues of concern to other federal agencies.

4. The results are not intended to be disseminated to the public.

5. Information gathered will not be used for the purpose of substantially informing influential policy decisions.

6. The collection is targeted to the solicitation of opinions from respondents who have experience with the program or may have experience with the program in the future.

Name:________________________________________________

To assist review, please provide answers to the following question:

Personally Identifiable Information:

1. Is personally identifiable information (PII) collected? [ ] Yes [X] No

2. If Yes, will any information that is collected be included in records that are subject to the Privacy Act of 1974? [ ] Yes [ ] No

3. If Yes, has an up-to-date System of Records Notice (SORN) been published? [ ] Yes [ ] No

Gifts or Payments:

Is an incentive (e.g., money or reimbursement of expenses, token of appreciation) provided to participants? [ ] Yes [X] No

BURDEN HOURS

Category of Respondent	No. of Respondents	Participation Time	Burden
Focus Group	20	120 minutes	40hrs

FEDERAL COST: The estimated annual cost to the Federal government is $25,000 +/-10%

If you are conducting a focus group, survey, or plan to employ statistical methods, please provide answers to the following questions:

The selection of your targeted respondents

1. Do you have a customer list or something similar that defines the universe of potential respondents and do you have a sampling plan for selecting from this universe? [ ] Yes [X] No

If the answer is yes, please provide a description of both below (or attach the sampling plan)? If the answer is no, please provide a description of how you plan to identify your potential group of respondents and how you will select them?

An open invitation will be extended to fathers enrolled in the CFUF fatherhood program and the House of Ruth counseling program. CFUF’s fatherhood program services low-income fathers who live in communities with violence while House of Ruth provides counseling services to low-income fathers who have been violent toward their partners.

CFUF and House of Ruth program staff will share information about the Fatherhood Conversations with fathers during their various workshops/sessions. The information will include the purpose of the conversation, location, date and time of the conversation. Program staff will emphasize to the fathers that participation in these conversations is strictly voluntary. Fathers will be given the opportunity to sign up for the Fatherhood Conversations.

Follow up phone calls will be made to confirm attendance and time of the Fatherhood Conversation.

Administration of the Instrument

1. How will you collect the information? (Check all that apply)

[ ] Web-based or other forms of Social Media

[ ] Telephone

[X] In-person

[ ] Mail

[ ] Other, Explain

Will interviewers or facilitators be used? [X] Yes [ ] No

1 Child witnesses to domestic violence: A meta-analytic review. Kitzmann, Katherine M.; Gaylord, Noni K.; Holt, Aimee R.; Kenny, Erin D. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, Vol 71(2), Apr 2003, 339-352.

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