2021-09052. Proposed Information Collection Activity; Assessing the Implementation and Cost of High-Quality Early Care and Education: Field Test, OMB 0970-0499

AGENCY:

Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families, HHS.

ACTION:

Request for public comment.

SUMMARY:

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) seeks approval to collect new information to use in testing measures of the implementation and costs of high-quality early care and education as part of the project, Assessing the Implementation and Cost of High-Quality Early Care and Education (ECE-ICHQ). The study received approval for a field test to validate and improve the psychometric properties of these measures in November 2019. This request is to add a measure to the approved field test to help further assess the associations between measures of implementation, cost, and quality.

DATES:

Comments due within 60 days of publication. In compliance with the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, ACF is soliciting public comment on the specific aspects of the information collection described above.

ADDRESSES:

Copies of the proposed collection of information can be obtained, and comments may be forwarded by emailing [e-mail]. Alternatively, copies can also be obtained by writing to the Administration for Children and Families, Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation, 330 C Street SW, Washington, DC 20201, Attn: OPRE Reports Clearance Officer. All requests, emailed or written, should be identified by the title of the information collection.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Description: ACF seeks approval to collect new information to use in testing measures of the implementation and costs of high-quality early care and education as part of the ECE-ICHQ project. The project's goal is to create a technically sound and feasible instrument that will provide consistent, systematic measures of the implementation and costs of education and care in center-based settings that serve children from birth to age 5. The resulting measures will inform research, policy, and practice by improving understanding of variations in what centers do to support quality, their associated costs, and how resources for ECE may be better aligned with expectations for quality. The study received approval for a field test to validate and improve the psychometric properties of these measures in November 2019. For all previously approved materials for this study, see https://www.reginfo.gov/​public/​do/​PRAOMBHistory?​ombControlNumber=​0970-0499. This request is to add a measure to the approved field test to help further assess the associations between measures of implementation, cost, and quality. The field test and this additional measure will include only remote data collection.

Respondents: Teachers and aids.

Annual Burden Estimates

Instrument	Number of respondents (total over request period)	Number of responses per respondent (total over request period)	Avg. burden per response (in hours)	Total/annual burden (in hours)
Teaching staff survey	1,120	1	.50	560

Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 560.

Comments: The Department specifically requests comments on (a) whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the information shall have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of information; (c) the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on respondents, including through the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology. Consideration will be given to comments and suggestions submitted within 60 days of this publication.

Authority: § 658O(a)(5) as amended by the CCDBG Act of 2014 § 9

Mary B. Jones,

ACF/OPRE Certifying Officer.