SSA - Formative for ACF Prog Supp GenIC - Repatriates Prog Feedback

Feedback on U.S. Repatriation Program Implementation and Services

Formative Data Collections for Program Support

0970 – 0531

Supporting Statement

Part A - Justification

March 2022

Submitted By:

Office of Human Services Emergency Preparedness and Response

Administration for Children and Families

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

4^th Floor, Mary E. Switzer Building

330 C Street, SW

Washington, D.C. 20201

A1. Necessity for the Data Collection

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) seeks approval for collecting feedback from stakeholders (state coordinators, local services providers, and repatriates) to better understand and improve the U.S. Repatriation Program implementation and delivery of services.

This proposed information collection meets the following goals of ACF’s generic clearance for formative data collections for program support (0970-0531):

• Delivery of targeted assistance and workflows related to program implementation or the development or refinement of program and grantee processes, and communication with stakeholders.

• Planning for provision of programmatic training or technical assistance (T/TA).

Background

The Office of Human Services Emergency Preparedness and Response (OHSEPR) has launched an effort to identify areas of improvement and support for the U.S. Repatriation Program (Program) operations. The Program has federal, state, and local stakeholders, in additional to the customer (repatriates). This information collection will allow for the engagement of the state/local stakeholders and the repatriates to facilitate improvement in Program implementation.

Legal or Administrative Requirements that Necessitate the Collection

There are no legal or administrative requirements that necessitate the collection. ACF is undertaking the collection at the discretion of the agency.

A2. Purpose of Survey and Data Collection Procedures

Overview of Purpose and Use

The purpose of the proposed information collection is to inform OHSEPR’s support of the program. Specifically, feedback from the stakeholders (states/local service providers) will be used to identify improvements to workflows, trainings, and technical assistance. Feedback from the repatriates will be used to improve Program outreach, materials, and implementation.

Processes for Information Collection

The collection for the routine repatriation state coordinators will be conducted via learning sessions with three focus groups, each approximately 90 minutes long (30-35 attendees at each focus group). Participants will be engaged using various functions, including polling, chat box, and annotation. In addition, conversation with participants will be facilitated through discussion questions. All responses will be anonymous and will not be attributable to a specific individual. Categorial responses will be aggregated.

The collection for the emergency repatriation state coordinators will be conducted via learning sessions with three focus groups, each approximately 90 minutes long (30-35 attendees at each focus group). Participants will be engaged using various functions, including polling, chat box, and annotation. In addition, conversation with participants will be facilitated through discussion questions. All responses will be anonymous and will not be attributable to a specific individual. Categorial responses will be aggregated.

The collection for the local service providers will be conducted via two learning sessions through focus groups, approximately 60 minutes long (approximately 15 attendees each). Participants will be engaged using various functions, including polling, chat box, and annotation. In addition, conversation with participants will be facilitated through discussion questions. All responses will be anonymous and will not be attributable to a specific individual. Categorial responses will be aggregated.

The collection for the repatriates will be completed through an electronic survey. The survey will consist of 16 questions, 10 of which are open-ended. Information collected using this tool is stored securely. Respondents will be sent a link to the survey and provided information about deadline for completion and contact information for resources to reach out to if they have any questions or to request assistance with completing the survey.

A3. Improved Information Technology to Reduce Burden

State Stakeholders and Local Service Providers: The learning sessions will be conducted in small groups via Zoom.

Survey for repatriates: Respondents will be sent a link to the survey to complete the survey electronically.

A4. Efforts to Identify Duplication

This information we are seeking to gain through this collection does not currently exist.

A5. Involvement of Small Organizations

For the local service providers, we are limiting this engagement to one 60-minute focus group via Zoom during business hours.

A6. Consequences of Less Frequent Data Collection

This is a one-time data collection.

A7. Special Circumstances

There are no special circumstances for the proposed data collection efforts.

A8. Federal Register Notice and Consultation

Federal Register Notice and Comments

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13) and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) regulations at 5 CFR Part 1320 (60 FR 44978, August 29, 1995), ACF published a notice in the Federal Register announcing the agency’s intention to request an OMB review of the overarching generic clearance for formative information collection. This notice was published on November 3, 2020, Volume 85, Number 213, page 69627, and provided a sixty-day period for public comment. During the notice and comment period, no substantive comments were received.

Consultation with Outside Experts

No consultations have taken place with experts outside of the project team.

A9. Tokens of Appreciation for Respondents

No tokens of appreciation for respondents are proposed for this information collection.

A10. Privacy of Respondents

Information collected will be kept private to the extent permitted by law. Respondents will be informed of all planned uses of data, that their participation is voluntary, and that their information will be kept private to the extent permitted by law.

A11. Sensitive Questions

There are no sensitive questions in this data collection.

A12. Estimation of Information Collection Burden

Burden Estimates

The annual burden for each of the four groups is as follows:

• We expect to conduct three focus groups that will average about 1.5 hours in length with a total of 106 routine repatriation state coordinators.

• We expect to conduct three focus groups that will average about 1.5 hours in length with a total of 106 emergency repatriation state coordinators.

• We expect to conduct two focus groups that will average about one hour in length with a total of 30 local service providers.

• We expect to survey up to 686 repatriates. The survey will take about 30 minutes to complete.

Cost Estimates

The cost to respondents was calculated using the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) job code for Social Workers, Other [21-1029] and wage data from May 2020, which is $31.22 per hour. To account for fringe benefits and overhead the rate was multiplied by two which is $62.44.

Some repatriates are employed, and many are unemployed. They may not receive fringe benefits. Therefore, their wage is calculated as the average minimum wage among states in 2021 ($9.58).

Instrument	Total Number of Respondents	Total Number of Responses Per Respondent	Average Burden Hours Per Response	Total Burden Hours	Average Hourly Wage	Total Annual Cost
Focus Group: State Coordinators – Routine	106	1	1.5	159	$62.44	$9,927.96
Focus Group: State Coordinators - Emergency	106	1	1.5	159	$62.44	$9,927.96
Focus Group: Local Service Providers	30	1	1	30	$62.44	$1,873.20
Survey: Repatriates	686	1	0.5	343	$9.58	$3,285.94
Total Burden:				691	Total Annual Cost:	$25,015.06

A13. Cost Burden to Respondents or Record Keepers

There are no additional costs to respondents.

A14. Estimate of Cost to the Federal Government

The total cost for the data collection activities under this current request will be $21,629.40.

This estimate is developed based on a $60/hourly rate for five contractors for 60 hours of work each ($18,000), in addition to four federal employees, estimated at GS-14, Step 1 ($60.49/hour), for 15 hours of work each ($3,629.40).

A15. Change in Burden

This is for an individual information collection under the umbrella formative generic clearance for program support (0970-0531).

A16. Plan and Time Schedule for Information Collection, Tabulation and Publication

The information collection will occur following OMB approval over about two months. The information will be compiled and shared among the project team and federal staff. The results will not be published.

A17. Reasons Not to Display OMB Expiration Date

All instruments will display the expiration date for OMB approval.

A18. Exceptions to Certification for Paperwork Reduction Act Submissions

No exceptions are necessary for this information collection.

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