0080 FRG and FR NSCR Memo

Advancing independence and inclusion of older adults and people with disabilities

To:

Dan Cline
Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs
OMB Desk Officer for ACL

From:

Tomakie Washington
Administration for Community Living
PRA Portfolio Manager

Date:

April 1, 2024

Subject:

Non-Substantive Change Request ACL Generic Clearance for the Collection of
Qualitative Research and Assessment

The Administration for Community Living (ACL), Office of Performance and Evaluation requests
to add a Generic IC to the ACL Generic Clearance for the Collection of Qualitative Research and
Assessment Data OMB Control Number 0985-0080.
Background
Attached for your review is a non-substantive change request to add five instruments to the
ACL Generic Clearance for the Collection of Qualitative Research and Assessment Data under
OMB Control Number 0985-0080. This generic information collection type is for the purpose of
conducting qualitative research to gain a better understanding of emerging issues related to
ACL’s grantees, service providers, and programs; develop future intramural and extramural
research projects; and to ensure HHS and ACL leadership, programs, and staff can obtain timely
and relevant data and information. This collection of information is necessary to enable ACL to
receive feedback in an efficient, timely manner, in accordance with our mission to maximize the
independence, well-being, and health of older adults, people with disabilities, and their families
and caregivers. Qualitative research, evaluation, and assessment are the main objectives of the
activities included in this IC. The goal of developing these activities is to identify emerging issues
and research gaps to ensure the successful implementation of ACL programs.
ACL, in support of the broader effort coordinated by the Office of Management & Budget
(OMB) to assess customer life experiences, intends to conduct qualitative research to identify
areas for improvement to the Approaching Retirement project. This project includes two key
elements: Approaching Retirement Federal Resource Guide (FRG) and a supporting Federal
Forum on Serving Older Adults (“Federal Forum”).

On December 13th, 2021, President Biden signed E.O. 14058, Transforming Federal Customer
Experience and Service Delivery to Rebuild Trust in Government, which charges members of the
President’s Management Council (PMC) to form interagency teams, coordinated by OMB, to
designate and assess cross-agency customer life experiences, work to develop measurable
improvements for such customer life experiences that involve multiple agencies, develop
prospective plans to rigorously test what works, and share lessons learned across the Federal
Government.
The FRG developed by the OMB-led interagency team is intended to help older adults,
particularly those with lower incomes or who continue to work into older age to cover their
expenses, understand and navigate the interconnections between retirement benefits options,
their financial situations, and their health outlooks. ACL has been designated as the agency with
primary responsibility for piloting and evaluating the FRG prototype. As such, ACL has initiated a
pilot program with community-based organizations (CBOs) who provide counseling and
outreach to older people in their communities.
In addition, ACL will host four Federal Forum meetings over the next year to bring together staff
from CBOs to learn from federal agencies about a broad range of topics that matter to lowincome older adults and those that serve them including: finances, taxes, food, healthcare,
housing, transportation, working, and more. The workshops will be facilitated jointly by federal
benefit experts from agencies such as the Social Security Administration (SSA), Centers for
Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD),
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and more. ACL will also evaluate the
effectiveness of these sessions.
The data collection associated with this pilot program aims to collect feedback from both CBO
staff as well as older people receiving counseling (clients). Specifically, ACL will collect data on
the impact of the FRG on clients’ decisions, the effectiveness of the FRG, the efficiencies gained
using the FRG, the impact of the FRG on counselee sentiment and staff morale, as well as
feedback on the “look and feel” and content of the FRG. The data collection will employ the
following qualitative research methods:
•
Focus Groups: Focus groups will be held with CBO staff before and after each pilot
period. The focus groups will be conducted virtually.
•
Client Questionnaire: Questionnaires will be provided to clients following their
interaction with the FRG to collect their feedback on the Guide.
•
Observations: CBO staff will observe each other’s counseling sessions using an
observation checklist.
•
Client Interviews: The questionnaire to clients will ask if they are willing to make
themselves available for a follow-up interview. These interviews will be conducted
virtually with those who volunteer.
The findings of the qualitative research will be made available on performance.gov in
accordance with the other products and documentation resulting from the interagency
Approaching Retirement effort. All limitations on the collected data will be disclosed in the
posted report. The information gathered through this data collection will not influence any
public policy decisions.