NonSub Change Request - SARHM COVID - September 2020

To: Jordan Cohen

Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA)

Office of Management and Budget (OMB)

From: Aleta Meyer and Caryn Blitz

Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation (OPRE)

Administration for Children and Families (ACF)

Date: September 23, 2020

Subject: Non-Substantive Change Request – Self-regulation Training Approaches and Resources to Improve Staff Capacity for Implementing Healthy Marriage Programs for Youth (SARHM) (OMB #0970-0531)

This memo requests approval of non-substantive changes to materials for the Self-regulation Training Approaches and Resources to Improve Staff Capacity for Implementing Healthy Marriage Programs for Youth (SARHM) project (OMB #0970-0531) that will allow us to proceed safely with data collection during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Background

OPRE received OMB approval for this information collection under the Formative Generic for Program Support (OMB #0970-0531) on February 18, 2020. Approval was granted for focus groups with program participants at up to three Healthy Marriage and Relationship Education (HMRE) programs, funded by the Office of Family Assistance (OFA) within ACF, to understand how youth view, understand, and experience self-regulation as a construct, how they describe the processes involved in self-regulation, and how they view the role of adults in supporting their self-regulation enactment.

Overview of Requested Changes

In response to the pandemic, HMRE programs have modified their service delivery strategy from in-person to virtual. These shifts in service delivery mechanism necessitate changes from planned in-person data collection to virtual data collection. As such, we are requesting to shift the mode of data collection from in-person focus groups to individual telephone interviews. We have modified Supporting Statements A, B, and Instrument 1; removed Instrument 2; and updated the burden estimate to reflect this change. For details on the changes to data collection protocols, instruments, and attachments, please see Table 1.

Time Sensitivities

ACF requests approval as soon as possible in order to begin scheduled data collection in early October 2020.

Updated Materials

The following revised materials are included with this submission:

• Supporting Statements A and B

• Instrument 1

Table 1. Proposed Changes to Data Collection Procedures

Removal of former Instrument 2 (worksheet)

The previously approved SARHM data collection procedures included a worksheet (Instrument 2) that would have been distributed to youth to help them organize their thinking during the focus group. This worksheet would have been collected at the end of the focus group. In response to COVID-19, SARHM is requesting a shift in data collection mode from in-person focus groups to individual telephone interviews. Since we are no longer conducting focus groups, we have removed this instrument.

Modification to note-taking procedures

The previously approved SARHM data collection procedures included a facilitator taking notes on chart paper or a white board and asking focus group participants to react to the words used to describe self-regulation behaviors. In response to COVID-19, SARHM has made modifications to our note taking procedures for individual telephone interviews. The note taker will take notes during the interview and check the notes against an audio recording of the interview, provided that the interview participant gives permission for the study team to record the interview.

Modifications to Instrument 1

The previously approved SARHM data collection procedures included in-person focus groups. In response to COVID-19, SARHM has made modifications to our data collection approach to include one-on-one telephone interviews, using a version of the focus group protocol tailored for an interview format. Because the individual telephone interviews are 60 minutes instead of 90 minutes (the time initially planned for focus groups), we removed some questions from the protocol. Additionally, a few edits were made to the interview protocol to more clearly reflect the full scope of self-regulation (for example, feeling pressure and resisting temptation when wanting to spend time with good friends [added ‘when wanting to spend time with good friends’]; sticking to a long-term plan for reaching goals that are connected to each other [changed ‘long-term goal’ to ‘long-term plan for reaching goals that are connected to each other’]).

Changes in burden

The previously approved burden estimate for the SARHM data collection included up to six 90-minute focus groups with up to 10 youth each (60 youth total). In response to COVID-19, we are no longer conducting focus groups and instead anticipate conducting up to 25 60-minute individual telephone interviews. Our total sample will include up to 25 youth. As such, the burden estimate for the SARHM data collection will decrease.

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