Supporting Statement A - OMB - 0970 - 0576 - June 2025

Evaluation of the Center for Legal and Judicial Innovation and Advancement (CLJIA) (previously Evaluation of the Capacity Building Collaborative)

OMB Information Collection Request

0970 - 0576

Supporting Statement Part A - Justification

June 2025

Type of Request: Revision

Submitted By:

Children’s Bureau

Administration on Children, Youth and Families

Administration for Children and Families

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

1. Circumstances Making the Collection of Information Necessary

This request is for a revision to the Information Collection Request (ICR) under Office of Management and Budget (OMB) #: 0970 – 0576. This information collection was originally related to a larger project, the Evaluation of the Child Welfare Capacity Building Collaborative, by the Children’s Bureau (CB) in the Administration on Children, Youth and Families (ACYF), Administration for Children and Families (ACF), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The original request and approval included thirty-five instruments. Most of that effort was concluded.

This request seeks to extend the approval period for just three of the originally approved instruments to allow CB to continue to administer data collection instruments and procedures for the Academies and Workshops that are provided by the grant/technical assistance (TA) provider to court improvement programs (CIP) and the legal and judicial community. The Center for Legal and Judicial Innovation and Advancement (CLJIA) is the current provider, continuing to provide these services, which were previously provided by the Capacity Building Center for Courts (CBCC).

The data collection is necessary to provide ongoing evaluation of the Academies and Workshops to inform continuous quality improvement (CQI) for these ongoing services. The three instruments have not changed except that the name of the grant/technical assistance provider was changed from CBCC to CLJIA. Additionally, burden estimates were updated to reflect the estimated number of new service recipients.

CLJIA is currently planning new services and evaluation plans and related information collections that are subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) will be submitted through a separate OMB ICR when ready.

Legislative Background and Purpose

Agencies that receive formula funding through the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA), and titles IV-B and IV-E of the Social Security Act are eligible for TA from CB to support implementation of these programs, compliance with federal requirements, and improvement of outcomes. The proposed information collection is necessary to perform routine evaluation of quality and effectiveness and to inform future planning and decision making about the provision and improvement of TA services authorized under multiple sections of CAPTA and titles IV-B and IV-E of the Social Security Act. This information collection also complies with the statutory requirement for training projects authorized by Section 5106 of CAPTA to be evaluated for their effectiveness. Appendix 1 provides a copy of the relevant sections of CAPTA as Amended by P.L. 115-424 (Victims of Child Abuse Act Reauthorization Act of 2018) and the CAPTA Reauthorization Act of 2010.

CIPs, served by the CLJIA, receive funding authorized by Section 438 of the Social Security Act, as amended by Public Law (P.L.) 118-258, Section 104 of title I of the Supporting America’s Children and Families Act

P.L. was signed into law on January 4, 2025

CLJIA funding is authorized by several statutes, including Child Abuse and Neglect Discretionary Activities - Title I, Section 105(b)(5) of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (42 U.S.C. 5106(b)(5)) and Adoption Opportunities - Title II, Section 203(b)(4) of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment and Adoption Reform Act of 1978 (42 U.S.C. 5113(b)(4)).

2. Purpose and Use of the Information Collection

Data collected through this proposed extended information collection will be used by CLJIA and CB for CQI to improve the development and delivery of CJLIA services, specifically the Academies and Workshops. Information is and will continue to be used to assess the quality, satisfaction with services, and impact on their intended outcomes, including increased knowledge and skills. Evaluation findings will help to inform future decision making about service delivery and resource allocation. Findings from previous Academies and Workshops were shared in internal presentations and evaluation briefs and submitted to CB in semi-annual reports and the Internal Evaluation of the National Child Welfare Capacity Building Center for Courts: Final Report (September 2024) to inform CQI. Data collection includes online and paper-based surveys and assessments administered to participants in Academies and Workshops, as described in Table A1.

The information collected is meant to contribute to the body of knowledge on ACF programs. It 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.

Table A-1. Instrument Description and Administration Details

Instrument	Respondent, Content, Purpose of Collection	Mode and Frequency
CQI Workshop Feedback Survey	Respondents: Child welfare and court professionals Content: Questions about satisfaction with the workshop and understanding of the topics covered Purpose: To assess the usefulness of the workshop, participant satisfaction, and perceived knowledge gain, to help CJLIA make adjustments to improve future workshops	Mode: Paper survey or online survey (for a Virtual Academy) Frequency: Once at the end of a CQI workshop Duration: 4 min
Academy Feedback Survey	Respondents: Child welfare and court professionals Content: Questions about participant satisfaction with the Academy and whether participant experienced gains in knowledge Purpose: To assess participant satisfaction with and perceived knowledge gain from the CLJIA Judicial and Attorney Academies, to inform improvement of future Academies	Mode: Paper survey or online survey (for a Virtual Academy) Frequency: Once at the end of the Academy training Duration: 4 min
Pre/Post Academy Learning Assessment	Respondents: Child welfare and court professionals Content: Questions that assess knowledge of legal and judicial issues Purpose: To gauge Academy participants’ knowledge and then provide exposure to material tailored to that knowledge	Mode: Online module Frequency: Once at the end of the Academy training Duration: 13 min

3. Use of Improved Information Technology and Burden Reduction

When appropriate, information technology will be used to capture information and reduce burden relative to alternative methods of data collection. Administration of most surveys and assessments will be web-based, creating efficiencies for survey administrators, allowing flexibility and convenience for recipients, and ideally resulting in a user-friendly experience for respondents. Academy and Workshop respondents will receive an email notification inviting them to complete the appropriate survey instrument or assessment module by accessing a weblink. Respondents will be invited to participate in a survey immediately following the conclusion of a Workshop or Academy by placing the link in the chat (virtual) or providing a QR code (in person). Most targeted respondents are expected to be able to access the web-based surveys and assessments, usually on a computer or on a tablet or phone if preferred. For in person meetings there will be the option to complete paper surveys instead. Most survey questions include closed-ended response items that can be completed quickly, allowing descriptive and comparative analyses, supplemented with the option to complete several open-ended items, with an average completion time within 4 minutes. Pre/post assessment modules are completed online, as part of instructional design, with an average completion time of 13 minutes.

4. Efforts to Identify Duplication and Use of Similar Information

The proposed instruments are intended to uniformly collect data that will allow for the evaluation of CJLIA Academies and Workshops and related outcomes, and do not duplicate other information collection. The instruments are designed to be brief, minimizing burden to respondents.

5. Impact on Small Businesses or Other Small Entities

No small businesses will be involved with this information collection.

6. Consequences of Collecting the Information Less Frequently

To improve CJLIA services to CIPs and the legal and judicial community, CB and CLJIA need timely data on the services delivered, including the quality of services and outcomes (knowledge gain on assessments and perceptions of increased knowledge, skills and peer connections on surveys). Less frequent data collection would inhibit the timely use of the information by CB and providers to improve service coordination and service quality and to potentially make decisions about service delivery.

7. Special Circumstances Relating to the Guidelines of 5 CFR 1320.5

There are no special circumstances relating to the guidelines.

8. Comments in Response to the Federal Register Notice and Efforts to Consult Outside the Agency

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 this information collection activity. This notice was published on December 30, 2024 (89 FR 106490) and provided a sixty-day period for public comment. During the notice and comment period, no substantive comments were received.

9. Explanation of Any Payment or Gift to Respondents

No payments or gifts to respondents are proposed for this information collection request.

10. Assurance of Confidentiality Provided to Respondents

Personally Identifiable Information

Only the Pre/Post Academy Assessment will collect any personally identifiable information (PII), and that is limited to the jurisdiction and email address of the respondent. This information is collected as part of the instructional module, allowing responses to pre- and post-tests to be linked and providing the respondent with access to their scores and instructional material for each item. Jurisdiction data is only collected via the name of the event (and not collected for regional events) and will be used in analyses to explore variations in findings.

All PII collected by the CLJIA evaluation team will be kept private and secure. Only the evaluation team and module administrator will have access to identifiers such as email address for purpose of the assessment. Evaluators will download and de-identify the pre/post data, replacing email addresses with numeric identifiers, and store the data in password protected, secure data systems to ensure privacy. De-identified data will be analyzed, and identifiers will not be used in any evaluation reporting.

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

Westat, CLJIA’s evaluation contractor, ensures that all its employees who perform work under this contract/subcontract, are trained on data privacy issues and comply with the above requirements. All evaluation data are either anonymous or de-identified (removing email addresses). Data will be stored on Westat’s password protected secure network and access to the data will be restricted to only those team members working with the data.

11. Justification for Sensitive Questions

No questions of a sensitive nature are included in these data collections.

12. Estimates of Annualized Burden Hours and Costs

Estimated Burden Hours

Table A-2 includes the estimates of response burden by instrument for the future Workshop and Academy evaluations. Annual burden estimates are based on the total estimated number of participants at the proposed number of Academies and Workshops over the next five years of the grant period. (An extension request will be submitted to allow for the full data collection time period.) This was then divided by five to provide an annual burden estimate, as shown in the table. We anticipate reaching a larger audience than in prior years, which is reflected in the estimated number of respondents. Estimates of the average burden per response were based on prior completion times.

Estimated Cost to Respondents

The cost information was calculated using the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ (BLS) most current data available from May 2024 for the mean hourly wage for labor category “Lawyers, and Judicial Law Clerks” ($86.92). Labor category and wage information was obtained from the following website: May 2024 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates. The wage rate was multiplied by two to account for fringe benefits $173.84).

Table A-2 Estimates of Annualized Burden Hours and Costs

Information Collection Title	Total Number of Respondents	Total Number of Responses Per Respondent	Average Burden Hours Per Response	Total Burden Hours	Annual Burden Hours	Average Hourly Wage	Total Annual Cost
Workshop Feedback Survey	480	1	0.067	32	6.4	$173.84	$1,112.58
Academy Feedback Survey	1050	1	0.067	70	14	$173.84	$2,433.76
Pre/Post Academy Assessment	1050	2	0.22	455	91	$173.84	$15,819.44
Estimated Annual Burden and Cost Totals:					111.4		$19,365.78

13. Estimates of Other Total Annual Cost Burden to Respondents and Record Keepers

There are no additional costs to respondents.

14. Annualized Cost to the Federal Government

The estimated costs for the data collection for the evaluation of the Workshops and Academies are noted in table A-3. The estimates include the loaded costs and fees of study; data collection; analysis; and report writing and dissemination. The estimates also include other direct costs associated with these activities, such as costs for survey administration software and quantitative software packages (e.g., SAS). The annual cost to the federal government for this collection is estimated to be $25,009.60 for the evaluation of the Workshops and Academies.

Table A-3. Estimated Costs to the Federal Government

Cost Category	Estimated Costs
Data Collection	$ 15,619.00
Analysis	$ 62,477.00
Publications/Dissemination	$ 31,328.00
Annual costs	$ 25,009.60

15. Explanation for Program Changes or Adjustments

This proposed extension of OMB ICR #0970 – 0576 will allow for the continued administration of three data collection instruments to inform continuous quality improvement as CLJIA continues to make the Workshops and Academies available to more CIPs, judges and attorneys. There are no changes to the three data collection instruments and procedures.¹ The new burden estimates cover burden for the additional CIPs, judges and attorneys to be served by the CLJIA Academies and Workshops in future years.

16. Plans for Tabulation and Publication and Project Time Schedule

The specified evaluation of Workshops and Academies will be implemented over the next five years. This includes ongoing data collection following each Academy or Workshop, which will begin again immediately after OMB approval and continue throughout the OMB approval window (an extension ICR will be submitted to OMB to cover the final years of data collection). Descriptive analysis and reporting will continue throughout the period following each Workshop or Academy. Findings from information collections will be summarized and tabulated in a series of internal presentations to team members within a month of the service to inform continuous quality improvement. We will also develop an internal data dashboard to provide the team with more efficient access to aggregated findings within and across Workshops/Academies. Findings will also be shared in semi-annual and final reports to CB. There is currently no plan to make the data collected available on the agency’s website or data.gov or in restricted-access public environments as the data are being used to guide internal decision making and are not anticipated to be of benefit to the public.

17. Reason(s) Display of OMB Expiration Date is Inappropriate

Not applicable.

18. Exceptions to Certification for Paperwork Reduction Act Submissions

No exceptions are necessary for this information collection.

Attachments

• Appendix 1 – Relevant Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) Sections

• Appendix 2 – Recruitment and Reminder Language

• Instrument 1 – Workshop Feedback Survey

• Instrument 2 – Academy Feedback Survey

• Instrument 3 – Academy Pre/Post Assessment

1 The Workshop Feedback Surveys are customized for each workshop to assess knowledge gain around the specific learning objectives for each workshop, although those do not vary greatly, as already approved under OMB ICR #0970 – 0576.