2016-08018. Proposed Information Collection Activity; Comment Request

Title: National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being-Third Cohort (NSCAW III): Agency Recruitment.

OMB No.: 0970-0202.

Description: The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) intends to collect data on a third cohort of children and families for the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being (NSCAW). NSCAW is the only source of nationally representative, longitudinal, firsthand information about the functioning and well-being, service needs, and service utilization of children and families who come to the attention of the child welfare system. The first two cohorts of NSCAW were collected beginning in 1999 and 2008 and studied children who had been the subject of investigation by Child Protective Services. Children were sampled from child welfare agencies nationwide. The proposed data collection plan for the third cohort of NSCAW includes two phases: Phase 1 includes child welfare agency recruitment and collection of files for sampling children, and Phase 2 includes baseline data collection and an 18-month follow-up data collection. The current data collection plan calls for selecting a new cohort of 4,565 children and families and repeating similar data collection procedures as the previous two cohorts. This Notice is specific to Phase 1. The overall goal is to recruit child welfare agencies in 83 primary sampling units nationwide. Child welfare agencies will be selected with probability proportional to size, based on the current distributions in the child welfare system. Child welfare agency recruitment will include: mail, email, phone calls, and site visits with child welfare agency administrators.

Respondents: Child welfare agency administrators and other personnel. Data collection will take place over a 2-year period.

Annual Burden Estimates

Instrument	Total number of respondents	Annual number of respondents (rounded)	Number of responses per respondent	Average burden hours per response	Annual burden hours
Information package for agency administrators	83	42	1	.25	11
Initial visit or call with agency staff	83	42	1	1	42
Visit or call with agency staff explaining the sample file process	83	42	1	2	84
Agency staff monthly sample file generation and transmission	83	42	15	1	630

Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 767.

In compliance with the requirements of Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Administration for Children and Families is soliciting public comment on the specific aspects of the information collection described above.

Copies of the proposed collection of information can be obtained and comments may be forwarded 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. Email address: [e-mail]. All requests should be identified by the title of the information collection.

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.

Robert Sargis,

ACF Certifying Officer.