Supporting Statement A

Health Resources and Services Administration

SUPPORTING STATEMENT

MCH Nutrition Training Needs Assessment

A. Justification

1. Circumstances of Information Collection

The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) currently has approval under the generic clearance, Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Control No. 0915-0212, to conduct customer satisfaction surveys and focus groups. This collection of information helps fulfill the requirements of:

1. Executive Order 12862, “Setting Customer Service Standards,” which directs Agencies to continually reform their management practices and operations to provide service to the public that matches or exceeds the best service available in the private sector.

This is a request for OMB approval of a qualitative voluntary customer satisfaction survey under HRSA’s generic clearance. HRSA’s Division of Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Workforce Development will obtain feedback from state Title V MCH public health nutrition professionals to determine workforce challenges, needs, and interests in order to inform future programming.

The survey will be conducted through the Public Health Nutrition Workforce and Integration of Nutrition in State Title V Programs contract, which provides technical assistance and training in MCH public health nutrition. Recipients of this focused technical assistance and training represent a variety of nutrition-related positions and topical areas based on the particular needs, priorities, and structures of each state and jurisdiction.

Executive Order 12862 directs agencies that "provide significant services directly to the public" to "survey customers to determine the kind and quality of services they want and their level of satisfaction with existing services". The objective of surveying the state Title V MCH public health nutrition professionals is to identify technical assistance priorities and assess workforce needs in order for HRSA to provide customized support to the currently practicing MCH public health nutrition workforce.

2. Purpose and Use of the Information

The Public Health Nutrition Workforce and Integration of Nutrition in State Title V Programs contract is tasked with providing technical assistance and training to MCHB Title V Block Grant grantees on food and nutrition policy, programs, and services with a focus on bolstering the public health nutrition workforce. As part of these responsibilities, the contractor is charged with conducting a training needs assessment of state Title V MCH public health nutrition professionals.

The primary use for information gathered through the survey is to identify technical assistance priorities and assess workforce needs for state Title V MCH public health nutritionists in order to better support them in integrating nutrition in state Title V MCH programs. HRSA and the contractor will only use the information gathered for internal purposes to get a better understanding of existing workforce needs.

Survey respondents will include 65 state Title V MCH public health nutrition professionals. (This number is derived from the 250 who will receive the survey and an estimated 25% response rate.) The surveys will include questions regarding the technical assistance priorities and status of the current workforce and will elicit responses regarding pressing needs and other topics of interest not previously identified. Copies of the survey instruments are attached.

3. Use of Improved Information Technology

The survey will be conducted electronically to reduce burden.

4. Efforts to Avoid Duplication

The survey contains questions specific to state Title V MCH public health nutritionists. The most recent survey of the public health nutrition workforce was completed in 2006-07 with funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The survey responses are outdated, and no other survey is planned or funded to assess the public health nutrition workforce and its technical assistance needs.

5. Involvement of Small Entities

No small businesses will be involved in this study.

6. Consequences if Information Collected Less Frequently

This survey is an important tool in ensuring that state public health nutritionists receive the technical assistance they need to optimally integrate nutrition in state Title V MCH programs. State Title V MCH public health nutrition professionals will be asked to participate twice during the five-year contract, in 2020 and 2022. It is important that they respond with this frequency in order to ensure that the resources and services provided by the public health nutrition workforce contractor are relevant and timely.

7. Consistency With the Guidelines in 5 CFR 1320.5(d)(2)

These surveys will be implemented in a manner fully consistent with 5 CFR 1320.5(d)(2).

8. Consultation Outside the Agency

In accordance with 5 CFR 1320.8(d), on November 13, 2017, a 60 day notice was published in the Federal Register for HRSA’s generic clearance, OMB Control No. 0915-0212 (Vol. 82, No. 217, pp.52308-09). No public comments were received.

The surveys for this activity were developed by the public health nutrition workforce contractor with close collaboration of Division of MCH Workforce Development staff.

9. Remuneration of Respondents

Not Applicable.

10. Assurance of Confidentiality

The survey will not collect personally identifiable information from respondents. Participation is fully voluntary. Respondents will be assured that neither their participation/non-participation nor any responses to items will have any effect on their participation in HRSA programs.

11. Questions of a Sensitive Nature

The survey does not contain questions of a sensitive nature.

12. Estimates of Annualized Hour Burden

Respondents

Survey respondents will include an estimated 65 state Title V MCH public health nutrition professionals. (This number is derived from the 250 who will receive the survey and the estimated 25% who will reply to this voluntary response survey.)

Annual burden estimates

The annual hour burden is .25 hours. The time estimate was based on conducting a trial run of reading through the questions and potential answers.

Type of Collection	Estimated Number of Respondents	Responses per Respondent	Total Responses	Hours per Respondent	Total Burden Hours	Wage Rate	Total Hour Cost
State MCH Public Health Nutrition Professionals	65	1	65	0.25	16.25	$30	$487.50

Planned frequency of information collection

This survey will be conducted two times during the five-year contract period (2020 and 2022).

13. Estimates of Annualized Cost Burden to Respondents

The only associated cost to respondents is their time to provide the requested information.

14. Estimates of Annualized Cost to the Government

The survey will be administered by the Public Health Nutrition Workforce contractor. The estimated cost is $4,000.

15. Change in Burden

Not Applicable. This is a new activity under HRSA’s generic clearance and will be included in the total burden currently approved by OMB under OMB Control No. 0915-0212.

16. Plans for Analysis and Timetable of Key Activities

Data will be collected within 45 days of OMB approval, estimated July 2020. Analysis and reporting will occur in August-September 2020.

Survey findings will be analyzed to identify the most pressing technical assistance needs across state MCH public health nutrition professionals. The contractor and/or MCHB will plan technical assistance activities based on the results. Survey results will not be disseminated outside of those affiliated with the development and implementation of the survey.

17. Exemption for Display of Expiration Date

No exemption is being requested.

18. Certifications

This information collection activity will comply with the requirements in 5 CFR 1320.9.

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