Certificate of Confidentiality

6710B ROCKLEDGE DRIVE
Rm 2158
Bethesda, MD 20817

8/23/2017
Westat
Dr. Joseph Gasper
1600 Research Boulevard
Rockville, MD 20850
Dear Dr. Gasper,
Enclosed is the Confidentiality Certificate, protecting the identity of research subjects in your multi-site project
entitled “Evaluation of Strategies Used in the TechHire and Strengthening Working Families Initiative Grant
Programs; Innovation in Strategies to Prepare Individuals for Employment in H-1B Occupations and
Industries: Evaluation of Strategies used in TechHire and Strengthening Working Families Initiative Grant
Programs; TechHire Study or SWFI Study”.
Please note that the Certificate expires on 09/07/2021.
Please be sure that the consent form given to research participants accurately states the intended uses of
personally identifiable information and the confidentiality protections, including the protection provided by the
Certificate of Confidentiality with its limits and exceptions.
If you determine that the research project will not be completed by the expiration date, 09/07/2021, you must
submit a written request for an extension of the Certificate three (3) months prior to the expiration date. If you
make any changes to the protocol for this study, you should contact me regarding modification of this
Certificate. Any requests for modifications of this Certificate must include the reason for the request,
documentation of the most recent IRB approval, and the expected date for completion of the research project.
Please advise me of any situation in which the certificate is employed to resist disclosure of information in
legal proceedings. Should attorneys for the project wish to discuss the use of the certificate, they may contact
the Office of the NIH Legal Advisor, National Institutes of Health, at (301) 496-6043.

Correspondence should be sent to:

Dennis Twombly Ph.D.
6710B ROCKLEDGE DRIVE
Rm 2158
Bethesda, MD 20817

Sincerely,

Approved Date: 08/23/2017

Dennis Twombly Ph.D.
Deputy Director OEP
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child
Health and Human Development

CONFIDENTIALITY CERTIFICATE
CC-HD-17-082

issued to Westat
conducting research known as
"Evaluation of Strategies Used in the TechHire and Strengthening Working Families
Initiative Grant Programs; Innovation in Strategies to Prepare Individuals for Employment in
H-1B Occupations and Industries: Evaluation of Strategies used in TechHire and
Strengthening Working Families Initiative Grant Programs; TechHire Study or SWFI Study"
In accordance with the provisions of section 301(d) of the Public Health Service Act 42 U.S.C.
241(d), this Certificate is issued in response to the request of the Principal Investigator, Dr.
Joseph Gasper, to protect the privacy of research subjects by withholding their identities from all
persons not connected with this research. Dr. Joseph Gasper is primarily responsible for the
conduct of this research, which is funded by:
1. Other Federal agency:Department of Labor, Chief Evaluation Office
Under the authority vested in the Secretary of Health and Human Services by section 301(d), all
persons who:
1. are enrolled in, employed by, or associated with Westat and its contractors or cooperating
agencies, and
2. have in the course of their employment or association access to information that would
identify individuals, who are the subjects of the research, pertaining to the project known as
“Evaluation of Strategies Used in the TechHire and Strengthening Working Families
Initiative Grant Programs; Innovation in Strategies to Prepare Individuals for Employment in
H-1B Occupations and Industries: Evaluation of Strategies used in TechHire and
Strengthening Working Families Initiative Grant Programs; TechHire Study or SWFI Study”.
3. are hereby authorized to protect the privacy of the individuals, who are the subjects of that
research, by withholding their names and other identifying characteristics from all persons
not connected with the conduct of that research.
This project will evaluate strategies used in the TechHire and SWFI grant programs. These
programs seek to enhance the development of young people by providing education and job
training and support services to help low-income young people access middle- and high-skill
high growth jobs in H-1B industries. TechHire willl serve young people ages 17 to 29 and may
include special populations such as those with disabilities and criminal records. SWFI sites will
serve people similar in age but also young parents in need of child care. A total of up to 3,600
young people will be enrolled across all of the sites.
A Certificate of Confidentiality is needed because sensitive information will be collected during
the course of the study. The certificate will help researchers avoid involuntary disclosure that
could expose subjects or their families to adverse economic, legal, psychological and social
consequences.

- All project staff will be instructed in the privacy requirements of the data and will be required
to sign statements affirming their obligation to maintain privacy; - All RCT study participants
will be assigned a case ID. Any electronic documentation with participant identifying
information will be kept on a password protected network drive; - Only evaluation team
members who are authorized to work on the project access to client contact information,
completed survey instruments, and data files. - Data files that are delivered will contain no
personal identifiers for respondents; - All data will be transferred via a secure file transfer
protocol (FTP); - Analysis and publication of project findings for the participant survey will be
in terms of aggregated statistics only; and - When not in use, all completed hardcopy documents
will be stored in locked file cabinets or locked storage rooms. - Unless otherwise required, these
documents will be destroyed when no longer needed.
This research begins on 10/06/2016 , and is expected to end on 09/07/2021. As provided in
section 301 (d) of the Public Health Service Act 42 U.S.C. 241(d):
"Persons so authorized to protect the privacy of such individuals may not be compelled in
any Federal, State, or local civil, criminal, administrative, legislative, or other proceedings to
identify such individuals."
This Certificate does not protect you from being compelled to make disclosures that: (1) have
been consented to in writing by the research subject or the subject’s legally authorized
representative; (2) are required by the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 301 et
seq.) or regulations issued under that Act; or (3) have been requested from a research project
funded by NIH or DHHS by authorized representatives of those agencies for the purpose of audit
or program review.
This Certificate does not represent an endorsement of the research project by the Department of
Health and Human Services. This Certificate is now in effect and will expire on 09/07/2021. The
protection afforded by this Confidentiality Certificate is permanent with respect to any individual
who participates as a research subject (i.e., about whom the investigator maintains identifying
information) during the time the Certificate is in effect.

Sincerely,

Signed Date: 8/30/2017

Della Hann Ph.D.
Associate Director for Extramural Research
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health
and Human Development