NonSub Change Memo - Programming Updates SYTFC Survey

To: Jordan Cohen

Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA)

Office of Management and Budget (OMB)

From: Mary Mueggenborg and Christine Fortunato

Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation (OPRE)

Administration for Children and Families (ACF)

Date: March 24, 2021

Subject: NonSubstantive Change Request –Survey of Youth Transitioning from Foster Care (OMB #0970-0546)

This memo requests approval of nonsubstantive changes to the instrument in the approved information collection, Survey of Youth Transitioning from Foster Care (OMB #0970-0546).

Background

OMB approval was received on 4/23/20 to conduct the Survey of Youth Transitioning from Foster Care (SYTFC). The SYTFC is a descriptive study designed to help OPRE and Children’s Bureau identify the prevalence of human trafficking among youth transitioning from foster care; the risk and protective factors associated with increased or decreased risk of trafficking victimization, respectively; and the context surrounding victimization among youth in foster care. Data from this survey of youth aged 18 and 19 years who were in foster care during their 17th year (i.e., when they were 17 years old) will be combined with child welfare administrative data to gain a better understanding of the intersections among youth characteristics, child welfare placements and services, and human trafficking victimization. On 12/10/20, OMB approved a nonsubstantive change to the SYTFC information collection that added a remote survey administration option. The SYTFC is approved for administration in multiple survey modes (e.g., telephone, web, in-person). Programming and testing of the multi-mode survey resulted in the need for minor modifications to improve the quality of survey administration.

Overview of Requested Changes

We are requesting changes to Instrument 1: Survey of Youth Transitioning from Foster Care -SYTFC. These changes do not affect burden estimates or meaningfully alter the survey content for the respondent. Changes include the following:

• Corrected skip patterns, item numbers, and typos.

• Deleted duplicative items.

• Added instructions to clarify items that allow for more than one response.

• Added clarifying text and reworded items to increase ease of administration and respondent comprehension.

• Modified item wording to match administration mode (e.g., my/your; me/you).

• Modified response options to increase specificity (e.g., “another reason” versus “other”).

• Modified Likert scale response options to be consistent across adjacent items.

Time Sensitivities

Data collection is scheduled to begin in April 2021 to allow time for the survey data to be collected and analyzed prior to the study end date of March 2022.