0704-DAFR_SSA Field Research 8.22.2023

Supporting Statement A for Paperwork Reduction Act Generic Information Collection Submission for

Independent Analysis and Recommendations on Domestic Abuse in the Armed Forces: Field Research – 0704-DAFR

1. JUSTIFICATION

1. Need for the Information Collection

A comprehensive, independent analysis on the military-specific risk factors for domestic abuse (DA) and the best approaches across the coordinated community response system to mitigate those factors has never been conducted and is necessary to inform sustainable solutions to decrease incidents and prevent violence before it occurs. This project is required by the FY21 NDAA, Section 549C, and will support a) the programmatic needs of the sponsoring office—the Family Advocacy Program within the Military Community Advocacy Directorate in Military Community and Family Policy, b) Congressional requirements per Section 549C of the FY21 National Defense Authorization Act, c) the current administration’s priority to address gender-based violence, and d) implementation of some recommendations contained in the U.S. Government Accountability Office Report 21-289 (May 2021).

The overall project is wide ranging, from an epidemiological analysis to predict stages of military service where risk is highest for domestic violence, to an analysis of age-appropriate and positively focused prevention training for school-aged children, to assessing whether prevention would be enhanced by raising the disposition authority for domestic violence offenses. The work is separated by phase and task (see table below).

• This application is for the field research (Tasks 2b, 3b, 4b, and 5b) and legal reviews (task 6) and additional field research related to domestic abuse in the military.

• Phase 1 has been completed; we are currently working in Phase 2 of the project; and Phase 3 has not yet begun.

• Tasks 2, 3, 4, and 5 follow the same methodological plan, but for different topics (i.e., an expert panel followed by field research with military stakeholders).

• Literature reviews are included in Tasks 2, 3, and 4, but not included in the table, because they do not involve collections from human subjects.

Complete Plan for Independent Analysis of Military Domestic Abuse

Phase	Task	ICR
1	Task 1a. Develop a Survey of Service Members and Spouses To identify risk factors for and the effects of military domestic violence (including incidents where no one accessed military services) DoD will work with RAND NDRI to develop a sampling plan, research design, and survey instrument for a stand-alone, confidential survey of military service members and spouses.	NA
2	Task 1b. Field and Analyze the Survey of Service Members and Spouses To identify risk factors for and the effects of military domestic violence, RAND NDRI will field and analyze the planned survey of military service members and spouses.	Survey on the Strengths and Challenges of Military Relationships (OMB Control Number 0704-0651)
1	Task 2a. Expert Recommendations on Prevention and Outreach To develop recommendations for the use and dissemination of military domestic violence prevention resources and best practices for targeting prevention resources to high-risk individuals, DoD worked with RAND NDRI to host an expert panel, analyze their inputs, and summarize their recommendations.	Independent Analysis and Recommendations on Domestic Abuse in the Armed Forces: Expert Panel(s) Approved under Fast Track Generic Clearance (0704-0553). Subsequent expert panels were deemed ineligible for Fast Track and therefore, are currently going through the normal PRA process
2	Task 3a. Expert Recommendations on School-Based, Age-Appropriate Healthy Relationship Programs To develop recommendations for school-based healthy relationship programs, DoD will work with RAND NDRI to host an expert panel, analyze their inputs, and summarize their recommendations.	Independent Analysis and Recommendations on Domestic Abuse in the Armed Forces: Expert Panels (OMB Control Number 0704-0652)
2	Task 4a. Expert Recommendations on Improving Access to Resources for Domestic Abuse Victims To develop recommendations to improve access to resources for domestic abuse victims, DoD will work with RAND NDRI to host an expert panel, analyze their inputs, and summarize their recommendations.	Independent Analysis and Recommendations on Domestic Abuse in the Armed Forces: Expert Panels (OMB Control Number 0704-0652)
3	Task 5a. Expert Recommendations on Training and Assigning Prevention-Related Responsibilities to the Workforce To develop recommendations DoD will work with RAND NDRI to host an expert panel, analyze their inputs, and summarize their recommendations.	Independent Analysis and Recommendations on Domestic Abuse in the Armed Forces: Expert Panels (OMB Control Number 0704-0652)
2	Task 2b. Field Research to Summarize Current Prevention and Outreach DoD will work with RAND NDRI to conduct stakeholder interviews with key stakeholders such as domestic abuse survivors, domestic abuse support providers, commanders, and FAP staff on prevention and outreach.	This application: 0704-DAFR Independent Analysis and Recommendations on Domestic Abuse in the Armed Forces: Field Research
3	Task 3b. Field Research to Summarize Current Healthy Relationship Programs in DoDEA and Community Schools DoD will work with RAND NDRI to conduct stakeholder interviews with key stakeholders such as school administrators, teachers, and counselors, and military school liaisons to document current approaches to school-based, healthy relationship training.	This application: 0704-DAFR Independent Analysis and Recommendations on Domestic Abuse in the Armed Forces: Field Research
3	Task 4b. Field Research to Summarize Victim Access to Services including Barriers and Facilitators to Access DoD will work with RAND NDRI to conduct stakeholder interviews with key stakeholders such as FAP leaders and providers, affiliated medical and behavioral health providers, domestic abuse advocates, security forces, and military leaders to document current approaches to facilitating access to services.	This application: 0704-DAFR Independent Analysis and Recommendations on Domestic Abuse in the Armed Forces: Field Research
3	Task 5b. Field Research on Training and Assigning Prevention-Related Responsibilities to the Workforce DoD will work with RAND NDRI to conduct stakeholder interviews with key stakeholders such as FAP leaders and providers, military prevention specialists, affiliated medical and behavioral health providers, domestic abuse advocates, and military leaders to document current approaches to preparing the domestic abuse workforce for prevention-related responsibilities.	This application: 0704-DAFR Independent Analysis and Recommendations on Domestic Abuse in the Armed Forces: Field Research
3	Task 6. Legal Reviews and Expert Panels DoD will work with RAND NDRI to include policy and legal reviews on domestic abuse expedited transfers, reporting legal actions to the National Crime Information Center, military protective orders, and disposition authority for domestic violence cases.	This application: 0704-DAFR Independent Analysis and Recommendations on Domestic Abuse in the Armed Forces: Field Research

Research Questions

Below we provide examples of the research questions field research will answer. It is not exhaustive of all research questions on military domestic abuse.

1. What domestic abuse prevention and outreach strategies are currently offered at military installations? What are the facilitators and barriers to implementing the recommendations for domestic abuse prevention and outreach?

2. What school-based, healthy relationship training and education programs are currently implemented in DoDEA and community schools? What are the facilitators and barriers to implementing the recommendations?

3. What strategies are used by military installations to facilitate domestic abuse victims’ access to resources? What are the facilitators and barriers to implementing the recommendations?

4. How does DoD and the services currently train the domestic abuse prevention workforce and assign responsibilities between workforce members (e.g., military leaders, medical providers, FAP providers)? What are the facilitators and barriers to implementing the recommendations?

5. What current guidance is available to direct domestic abuse expedited transfers, reporting legal actions to the National Crime Information Center, military protective orders, and disposition authority for domestic violence cases?

2. Use of the Information

Procedures

DoD will only submit a collection for approval under this generic clearance if it meets the following conditions:

• Information gathered will be used internally and may be made publicly available outside of DoD;

• Participation in the information collection by members of the DoD is voluntary or part of broader data collection efforts;

• Personally identifiable information (PII) may be collected if there is a specific and clearly state purpose, however, all information is reported in aggregate.

If these conditions are not met, DoD will submit an information collection request to OMB for approval through the normal Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) process (including the 60- and 30-Day PRA notices).

To obtain approval for a collection that meets the conditions of this generic clearance, standardized data collection instruments will be submitted to OMB along with supporting documentation.

For all topics, the first step of our research is to convene an expert panel that reviews recommendations for best practices in the area (e.g., school-based training or workforce guidance) and then produces a final set of strategies that the military should consider implementing. This includes results of previously approved studies conducted under OMB control numbers 0704-0553, “Fast Track Generic Clearance for the Collection of Qualitative Feedback on Agency Service Delivery”, 0704-0651, “Survey on the Strengths and Challenges of Military Relationships”, and 0704-0652, “Independent Analysis and Recommendations on Domestic Abuse (DA) in the Armed Forces: Expert Panel(s).” The experts include academic and government scholars and military experts. This is a “top-down” approach in which recognized authorities outline the best approaches available (sometimes assuming ideal conditions under which to implement them).

The next step of our research, outlined in this proposal, is to gather “bottom-up” perspectives from the individuals who implement the domestic abuse strategies that are currently in place. The people who do this important “on the ground” work will assist to identify which of the expert-generated recommendations have already been implemented and which recommendations have not. Moreover, for those expert recommendations that are not yet in place, the people who are on the ground can tell us why not, and provide the most reliable information about the barriers that have historically and/or currently prevented an approach. They will also have insight into what resources or changes would need to occur before the recommendation would be feasible and acceptable within the current system. Questions A-E describe the specific topics for which a bottom-up approach can provide the answers.

Finally, the lessons we learn from the top-down expert recommendations and the insight gleaned from bottom-up expertise will be combined to produce an overarching gap analysis report. This report will document which expert-recommended approaches have already been successfully implemented (and for which the military or service can serve as a case study for other organizations that would like to take a similar approach). For recommendations that have not been implemented, the report will note the gap, but more importantly, provide the reasons for the gap and a roadmap of the resources, policies, and procedures that would need to be addressed before any practitioner, installation, or service is required to implement the recommendation. The goal is to convert the insights from the top-down and bottom-up inputs into pragmatic and actionable suggestions.

To answer research questions A-E we will conduct field-based research, interviewing key stakeholders recruited from selected military installations. These interview respondents will provide information about current policies and practices being implemented within the military, relevant to the research questions.

These interview respondents will differ from the expert panel respondents recruited for other components of the study (see Section 1). Specifically, whereas the expert panel respondents were asked to make recommendations for best practices, the interview respondents will be asked to provide information about what is currently being done to prevent domestic violence in the military independent from what might be recommended by experts, as well as what helps or hinders them in implementing prevention programs.

The field research will rely heavily on gathering perspectives from those working at various military installations. RAND will select 8-12 installations from which we will recruit interviewees. Installations will be selected based on level of Domestic Abuse risk (high, medium, low) determined using average age of servicemembers at the installation as a proxy for DA risk. Specifically, age is negatively correlated with DA perpetration risk (i.e., older age is related to lower risk)¹. Installations with an average age in the lowest, middle, and highest tercile will be “high,” “medium,” and “low” risk, respectively. RAND will begin installation selection using these groupings, with the number of installations per service proportionate to the size of the service branches. For example, there will be more Army than Marine Corps installations because the Army is larger. RAND will work with the services to ensure that the selected installations are not already overburdened with other tasks.

Once the installations are selected, RAND will work with the sponsor and with the point of contact at each installation to identify and recruit key stakeholders (see Respondents, below). RAND will then contact each potential participant to schedule a convenient day and time for the interview. We will conduct semi-structured, 60-minute interviews with each participant. Participants will provide verbal informed consent at the start of each interview.

Response Rate

To maximize response rates, we will personalize interview invitations, include Zoom.gov platform troubleshooting information in the invitations, send reminder and thank you emails, have contact information available for any technical issues, and invite participants to contact the project team if they have any questions or concerns about the interview. Additionally, the participants do not need to use a government device or network to access Zoom.gov, and they may participate at a date and time convenient to them. We will examine the observed characteristics of respondents and nonrespondents to consider and report the possible implications of any notable differences.

Respondents

Potential interviewees will be invited to participate. We plan to include:

1. U.S. military program or service providers/practitioners including FAP staff members and allied health professionals. (Research Questions A-E)

2. U.S. military commanders or senior noncommissioned officers with recent experience managing a domestic abuse case or cases. (Research Questions A-E)

3. DoDEA and community school administrators, teachers, and counselors. (Research Question D)

The RAND research team will email stakeholders to invite them to participate in an interview. The email will include informed consent information including any relevant information around permission to record. Those who choose to volunteer will be provided the full, detailed informed consent again verbally at the time of the interview. They will be asked explicitly whether they agree to participate in the interview and have an opportunity to ask questions before the interview begins.

Data Collection Instrument

The types of collections that this generic clearance covers include, but are not limited to the following:

• Interviews

• Focus groups

• Secondary data analysis

Examples of interview domains for research question A include:

• Relevant roles and responsibilities as they relate to domestic abuse prevention

• Relevant roles and responsibilities as they relate to domestic abuse outreach

• Strategies being implemented (or planned) at installations to prevent domestic abuse among service members and their spouses or partners before it occurs

• Strategies being implemented (or planned) at installations that can help the military with outreach and communication to reach individuals who might have risk factors for domestic abuse

• Strategies the military can or should use to measure or evaluate how well its domestic abuse prevention activities are working

• Strategies the military can or should use to measure or evaluate how well its domestic abuse outreach and communication activities are working

• Challenges, facilitators, and other considerations for implementation of domestic abuse prevention at each installation

• Challenges, facilitators, and other considerations for implementation of domestic abuse outreach at each installation

The protocols used for the other research questions will be very similar in breadth and scope but will be revised to reflect the specific topics.

Data Collection Procedure

Interview scheduling will take place over phone or email. RAND researchers will send the interviewee a calendar invitation for the specified time and include a link, call-in number (for interviewees without internet access or who prefer phone) and instructions for joining the interview.

Interviews will be conducted by a trained research team member and a notetaker. All interviews will take place virtually, for example using Zoom.gov. This enables us to minimize participant burden by scheduling the interviews for a time that is convenient to them. Interviews will be recorded (with participant consent) in order to ensure accuracy. The notetaker will also be present to take notes during the interviews so that there is a backup source for notes in case the participant prefers not to be recorded or if there is a problem with the recording.

The interviews will be approximately 60 minutes in length. Recordings will be destroyed within 1 day of ensuring that the transcriptions and/or notes are complete and accurate.

Recruitment

Potential interviewees will be sent an initial email invitation, followed by up to two reminder emails to any individuals who do not respond. Interviewees who request phone contact may be contacted by phone instead. Phone conversations would use the text of the email recruitment as a template script for introducing the study.

Analyses

Once the interview is completed, we will de-identify any notes and upload them (MS Word document) to the internal, encrypted and password protected RAND MS Teams page to which only the study team has access. If the interview was recorded, the recording will be destroyed within 1 day of ensuring the notes are complete and accurate.

Interview responses will be analyzed using qualitative data analysis to extract key themes.

Outcomes

For each research question (A-E), results from the field research will be used to update the draft recommendations developed via expert panel and literature reviews. Given that this is a Congressional request, separate reports for each research question will be publicly released and will be used to guide military leaders and decision makers as they develop policies and procedures to prevent and respond to domestic abuse in the military.

3. Use of Information Technology

A notetaker will document interview responses on a computer during each interview and interviews will be recorded. Interviews will be conducted virtually using Zoom.gov. RAND has a pay for use agreement with Zoom.gov and MS Teams.

4. Non-duplication

The information obtained through this collection is unique and is not already available for use or adaptation from another cleared source.

5. Burden on Small Businesses

This information collection does not impose a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small businesses or entities.

6. Less Frequent Collection

Interviews for each topic area will be conducted one time only. Without input from the individuals who implement, lead, and interact with the Service’s current domestic abuse prevention system, response system, and criminal justice system, we risk putting forward expert recommendations that are poorly suited to the current system’s resources, limitations, and goals. Integrating the expertise of installation-level providers and leaders with the guidance from of policy, academic, and HQ-experts will ensure that the final recommendations for each topic area are both forward-thinking and practical.

7. Paperwork Reduction Act Guidelines

This collection of information does not require collection to be conducted in a manner inconsistent with the guidelines delineated in 5 CFR 1320.5(d)(2).

8. Consultation and Public Comments

Part A: PUBLIC NOTICE

A 60-Day Federal Register Notice (FRN) for the collection published on Wednesday, March 22, 2023. The 60-Day FRN citation is 88 FR 17199.

No comments were received during the 60-Day Comment Period.

A 30-Day Federal Register Notice for the collection published on Wednesday, August 16,2023. The 30-Day FRN citation is 88 FRN 55670.

Part B: CONSULTATION

No additional consultation apart from soliciting public comments through the Federal Register was conducted for this submission.

9. Gifts or Payment

No payments or gifts are being offered to respondents as an incentive to participate in the collection.

10. Confidentiality

A Privacy Act Statement is not required for this collection because we are not requesting individuals to furnish personal information for a system of records.

A System of Record Notice (SORN) is not required for this collection because records are not retrievable by PII.

A Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) is not required for this collection because DoD is not collecting PII electronically.

Maintain for 5 years in accordance with OSD 1807 0202.

11. Sensitive Questions

In this generic approval, sensitive topics may include the full spectrum of prohibited behaviors in the Uniform Code of Military Justice, including safe storage of lethal means (e.g., firearms, medications, household poisons), risk and protective factors for self-directed harm and prohibited abuse or harm, and disclosure of incidents of self-directed harm and prohibited abusive or harmful acts.

12. Respondent Burden and its Labor Costs

Part A: ESTIMATION OF RESPONDENT BURDEN

1. Collection Instrument

Independent Analysis and Recommendations on Domestic Abuse in the Armed Forces: Field Research

1. Number of Respondents: 560

2. Number of Responses Per Respondent: 1

3. Number of Total Annual Responses: 560

4. Response Time: 1 hour

5. Respondent Burden Hours: 560 hours

Part B: LABOR COST OF RESPONDENT BURDEN

1. Collection Instrument(s)

Independent Analysis and Recommendations on Domestic Abuse in the Armed Forces: Field Research

1. Number of Total Annual Responses: 560

2. Response Time: 560 hours

3. Respondent Hourly Wage: $47.33

4. Labor Burden per Response: $47.33

5. Total Labor Burden: $26,505

2. Overall Labor Burden

   1. Total Number of Annual Responses: 560

   2. Total Labor Burden: $26,505

The Respondent hourly wage was determined by using U.S. Bureau of Labor information on median usual weekly earnings in 2020 for individuals with a professional degree ($1,893), available as of May 11, 2022 at: https://www.bls.gov/careeroutlook/2021/data-on-display/education-pays.htm

13. Respondent Costs Other Than Burden Hour Costs

There are no annualized costs to respondents other than the labor burden costs addressed in Section 12 of this document to complete this collection.

14. Cost to the Federal Government

Part A: LABOR COST TO THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT

1. Collection Instrument(s)

Independent Analysis and Recommendations on Domestic Abuse in the Armed Forces: Expert Panels

1. Number of Total Annual Responses: 560

2. Processing Time per Response: 1.5 minutes

3. Hourly Wage of Worker(s) Processing Responses: $38.92

4. Cost to Process Each Response: $.973

5. Total Cost to Process Responses: $545

2. Overall Labor Burden to the Federal Government

   1. Total Number of Annual Responses: 560

   2. Total Labor Burden: $545

Part B: OPERATIONAL AND MAINTENANCE COSTS

1. Cost Categories

   1. Equipment: $0

   2. Printing: $0

   3. Postage: $0

   4. Software Purchases: $0

   5. Licensing Costs: $0

   6. Other: $2,226,060 - (Contract No. HQ0034-21-D-0006, Phase 2 which includes Tasks 1b, 3a, 4a, and 2b)

2. Total Operational and Maintenance Cost: $2,226,060

Part C: TOTAL COST TO THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT

Phase 2

1. Total Labor Cost to the Federal Government: $117

2. Total Operational and Maintenance Costs: $2,226,060

3. Total Cost to the Federal Government: $2,226,177

Phase 3

1. Total Labor Cost to the Federal Government: $428

2. Total Operational and Maintenance Costs: TBD

3. Total Cost to the Federal Government: TBD

15. Reasons for Change in Burden

This is a new collection with a new associated burden.

16. Publication of Results

The dataset will not be released beyond the research team but aggregated results and deidentified illustrative quotes will be disseminated through published reports. Prior to public release, the reports will follow Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDC) requirements for quality assurance review, sponsor review, and Defense Office of Prepublication and Security Review. The results will be published because this is a Congressionally mandated study.

We anticipate the field research on current approaches to domestic abuse prevention and outreach (research question A) will begin in late June/early July 2023, with field research occurring in fall and winter of 2023-2024. The sponsor will receive internal interim briefings in the spring of 2024, and draft reports in July 2024. Data collection for research questions B-E will begin approximately one year after the start date for research question A and will follow roughly the same timeline.

The reports’ publication dates depend on the timeline to complete all necessary quality review processes and receive DoD security clearance for the reports’ release. We expect the report titles to reflect the signed project description and information collection topic.

17. Non-Display of OMB Expiration Date

We are not seeking approval to omit the display of the expiration date of the OMB approval on the collection instrument.

18. Exceptions to “Certification for Paperwork Reduction Submissions”

We are not requesting any exemptions to the provisions stated in 5 CFR 1320.9.

1 Capaldi, D. M., Knoble, N. B., Shortt, J. W., & Kim, H. K. (2012). A systematic review of risk factors for intimate partner violence. Partner abuse, 3(2), 231-280.

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