Alternative Supporting Statement for Information Collections Designed for
Research, Public Health Surveillance, and Program Evaluation Purposes
Preliminary Activities to Support Future Data Collection for the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being (NSCAW)
Formative Data Collections for ACF Research
0970 – 0356
Supporting Statement
Part A
JULY 2022
Submitted By:
Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation
Administration for Children and Families
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
4th Floor, Mary E. Switzer Building
330 C Street, SW
Washington, D.C. 20201
Project Officers:
Christine Fortunato and Laura Hoard
Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation
Part A
Executive Summary
Type of Request: This Information Collection Request is for a generic information collection under the umbrella generic, Formative Data Collections for ACF Research (0970-0356).
Description of Request:
The Preliminary Activities to Support Future Data Collection for the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well‐Being (NSCAW) will conduct semi-structured discussions with child welfare agency personnel to inform potential design options and data collection efforts. NSCAW is approved under OMB control number #0970-0202 (Expiration Date: 9/30/2023).
We do not intend for this information to be used as the principal basis for public policy decisions.
Time Sensitivity: In order to stay on schedule with the project timelines, we would like to begin expert consultations as soon as possible.
A1. Necessity for Collection
In 2021, the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) established the Preliminary Activities to Support Future Data Collection for the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well‐Being (NSCAW) project – hereafter referred to as Reimagining NSCAW – to carry out preliminary activities to guide future NSCAW data collections. These include (a) developing potential design option(s), (b) actively engaging with various collaborators and experts, (c) conducting preliminary or pilot data collections, and (d) disseminating findings from these efforts.
NSCAW relies upon Child Protective Services information submitted by state and county child welfare agencies for sampling and cohort building. Therefore, it’s important for the study team to gather input from state and county child welfare agency collaborators about the development of design options and preliminary or pilot data collections intended to inform future NSCAW efforts.
There are no requirements that necessitate the data collection. ACF is undertaking the collection at the discretion of the agency.
A2. Purpose
Purpose and Use
This proposed information collection meets the following goals of ACF’s generic clearance for formative data collections for research and evaluation (0970-0356):
inform the development of ACF research
maintain a research agenda that is rigorous and relevant
ensure that research products are as current as possible
Semi-structured discussions with child welfare agency personnel will inform the development of Reimagining NSCAW design options and preliminary or pilot data collections. Information collected will provide the NSCAW study team with a better understanding of the data being collected, maintained in, and shared by state and county agency systems. This effort will ensure that critical collaborators have input into the design and data collection considerations for future NSCAW efforts in the planning phase of the study when feasibility is of utmost importance. The information collected is meant for internal purposes and will not be shared directly, however it is expected to inform documents or presentations that are made public, such as a Design Options Report posted on the ACF Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation’s website.
The information collected is meant to contribute to the body of knowledge on ACF programs. The information collected as part of this OMB request is not intended to be used as the principal basis for a decision by a federal decision-maker, and is not expected to meet the threshold of influential or highly influential scientific information.
Guiding Questions
To what extent and how are child welfare agencies using standardized well-being data on the children and families in their care?
How might agency policies and practices with regard to screening in/opening cases, confidentiality statues, and data sharing practices impact design options for future NSCAW sampling and data collection efforts?
Study Design
Data Collection Activity |
Instrument(s) |
Respondent, Content, Purpose of Collection |
Mode and Duration |
Semi-structured discussions |
Instrument 1: Collaborator Discussion Guide
|
Respondents: up to 110 child welfare agency personnel with knowledge of and expertise in data systems and agency policies and practices
Content: Questions for collaborators about agency tracking of child/family well-being data and about agency perspectives on data sharing and feasibility of design sampling strategies.
Purpose: To inform the development of design options and data collections for a future NSCAW. |
Mode: in-person, virtual, or via phone
Duration: average of 1 hour |
Other Data Sources and Uses of Information
None.
A3. Use of Information Technology to Reduce Burden
All semi-structured discussions will take place in-person at the collaborator’s location, virtually, or by phone so that respondents do not have to travel to participate. Discussions will be recorded, with respondent permission.
A4. Use of Existing Data: Efforts to reduce duplication, minimize burden, and increase utility and government efficiency
The study team will obtain as much information as possible from publicly available sources to minimize burden on respondents.
A5. Impact on Small Businesses
Some collaborators may work in child welfare agencies in small counties. We will make every effort to schedule data collection at times that are convenient for respondents.
A6. Consequences of Less Frequent Collection
This is a one-time data collection.
A7. Now subsumed under 2(b) above and 10 (below)
A8. 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 two notices in the Federal Register announcing the agency’s intention to request an OMB review of the overarching generic clearance for formative information collection. This first notice was published on November 3, 2020, Volume 85, Number 213, page 69627, and provided a sixty-day period for public comment. The second notice published on January 11, 2021, Volume 86, Number 6, page 1978, and provided a thirty-day period for public comment. ACF did not receive any substantive comments.
The project team did not consult with experts outside of the study to develop the plans for this data collection.
A9. Tokens of Appreciation
This information collection will not utilize any tokens of appreciation.
A10. Privacy: Procedures to protect privacy of information, while maximizing data sharing
Personally Identifiable Information
No personal identifying information beyond name, professional affiliation (e.g., name of the state or county child welfare agency), and agency role will be sought. Participants will be told that only their name, affiliation, and agency role may be included in summary information provided to ACF. The purpose of collecting this information will be for potential follow-up with individuals if there are specific clarification that are needed and analysis purposes—e.g., to understand perspectives of individuals in different roles and to consider perspectives of agency staff working in different types of geographic locales (i.e., rural vs. urban).
Information will not be maintained in a paper or electronic system from which data are actually or directly retrieved by an individuals’ personal identifier.
Assurances of Privacy
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. As specified in the contract, the Contractor will comply with all Federal and Departmental regulations for private information.
Data Security and Monitoring
The study team will ensure that all staff, including staff of all subcontractors, who perform work under this contract are trained on data privacy issues and comply with the above requirements. The data collected through this information request will not be shared outside of the federal and contractor staff directly involved with the project. All RTI staff are required to participate in annual data security awareness training.
RTI complies with the E-Government Act of 2002, including Title III: Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA), which covers site security, security control documentation, access control, change management, incident response, and risk management. RTI is an ISO/IEC 27001:2013 certified provider whose Information Security Management System (ISMS) has received third-party accreditation from the International Standards Organization. Additionally, RTI has received an Authority to Operate under the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) SP 800-53r4 for FIPS LOW and FIPS MOD classifications assessed by an accredited FedRAMP Third Party Assessment Organizations (3PAO). In accordance with these frameworks, RTI has implemented continuous monitoring capabilities to ensure that all security controls are regularly monitored and reported on. These monitoring capabilities include but are not limited to regular vulnerability scanning, automated audit log monitoring, intrusion detection and prevention measures, data loss prevention measures, and periodic control auditing.
A11. Sensitive Information 1
This information collection does not request any sensitive information.
A12. Burden
Explanation of Burden Estimates
Up to 110 experts will be asked to participate in semi-structured discussions to inform Reimagining NSCAW design options and preliminary or pilot data collections. Participating in these sessions will take approximately 1 hour per respondent.
Estimated Annualized Cost to Respondents
The cost to collaborators is based on a national average hourly wage of $46.42 for Database Administrators (code 15-1242, May 2021 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates (bls.gov)).The total annual respondent burden for the data collection effort covered by this clearance request is 110 hours for a total annual respondent cost of $5,106.20.
Estimated time and cost burden to respondents, by respondent type
Instrument |
No. of Respondents (total over request period) |
No. of Responses per Respondent (total over request period) |
Avg. Burden per Response (in hours) |
Total/Annual Burden (in hours) |
Average Hourly Wage Rate |
Total Annual Respondent Cost |
Collaborator discussion guide (Instrument 1) |
110 |
1 |
1 hour |
110 |
$46.42 |
$5,106.20 |
A13. Costs
There are no additional costs to respondents.
A14. Estimated Annualized Costs to the Federal Government
Cost Category |
Estimated Costs |
Field Work |
$23,151.24 |
Total/Annual costs over the request period |
$23,151.24 |
A15. Reasons for changes in burden
This is for an individual information collection under the umbrella formative generic clearance for ACF research (0970-0356).
A16. Timeline
Our timeline is as follows, dependent on the timing of OMB approval:
Activity or Deliverable |
Timing |
Semi-structured collaborator discussions |
Upon OMB approval – Summer 2022 |
A17. Exceptions
No exceptions are necessary for this information collection.
Attachments
Instrument 1: Collaborator Discussion Guide
1 Examples of sensitive topics include (but not limited to): social security number; sex behavior and attitudes; illegal, anti-social, self-incriminating and demeaning behavior; critical appraisals of other individuals with whom respondents have close relationships, e.g., family, pupil-teacher, employee-supervisor; mental and psychological problems potentially embarrassing to respondents; religion and indicators of religion; community activities which indicate political affiliation and attitudes; legally recognized privileged and analogous relationships, such as those of lawyers, physicians and ministers; records describing how an individual exercises rights guaranteed by the First Amendment; receipt of economic assistance from the government (e.g., unemployment or WIC or SNAP); immigration/citizenship status.
| File Type | application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document |
| Author | Meaghan Glenn |
| File Modified | 0000-00-00 |
| File Created | 2023-10-29 |