2019-24797. Proposed Information Collection Activity; Tribal Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program Form 2: Grantee Performance Measures (OMB #0970-0500)

AGENCY:

Office of Child Care; Administration for Children and Families; HHS.

ACTION:

Request for public comment.

SUMMARY:

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) is requesting a 3-year extension of the ACF-Tribal Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (Tribal MIECHV) Program Form 2: Grantee Performance Measures (OMB #0970-0500; Expiration date 8/31/2020). There are no changes requested to the form.

DATES:

Comments due within 60 days of publication. 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.

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 (OPRE), 330 C Street SW, Washington, DC 20201, Attn: ACF Reports Clearance Officer. All requests, emailed or written, should be identified by the title of the information collection.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Description: The Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program (MIECHV) authorizes the Secretary of HHS (in Section 511(h)(2)(A)) to award grants to Indian tribes (or a consortium of Indian tribes), tribal organizations, or urban Indian organizations to conduct an early childhood home visiting program. The legislation set aside 3 percent of the total MIECHV program appropriation for grants to tribal entities. Tribal MIECHV grants, to the greatest extent practicable, are to be consistent with the requirements of the MIECHV grants to states and jurisdictions and include conducting a needs assessment and establishing quantifiable, measurable benchmarks.

The ACF, Office of Child Care, in collaboration with the Health Resources and Services Administration, Maternal and Child Health Bureau, awards grants for the Tribal MIECHV Program. The Tribal MIECHV grant awards support 5-year cooperative agreements to conduct community needs assessments; plan for and implement high-quality, culturally relevant, evidence-based home visiting programs in at-risk tribal communities; collect and report on performance measures; and participate in research and evaluation activities to build the knowledge base on home visiting among Native populations.

Specifically, the MIECHV legislation requires that State and Tribal MIECHV grantees collect performance data to measure improvements for eligible families in six specified areas (referred to as “benchmark areas”) that encompass the major goals for the program. These include:

1. Improved maternal and newborn health;

2. Prevention of child injuries, child abuse, neglect, or maltreatment, and reduction in emergency department visits;

3. Improvement in school readiness and achievement;

4. Reduction in crime or domestic violence;

5. Improvement in family economic self-sufficiency; and

6. Improvement in the coordination and referrals for other community resources and supports.

Tribal MIECHV grantees are required to propose a plan for meeting the benchmark requirements specified in the legislation and must report on improvement on constructs under each benchmark area. The Tribal Home Visiting (HV) Form 2 provides a template for Tribal MIECHV grantees to report data on their progress in improving performance under the six benchmark areas, as stipulated in the legislation.

ACF will continue to use Tribal HV Form 2 to:

• Track and improve the quality of benchmark measures data submitted by the Tribal grantees;
• Improve program monitoring and oversight;
• Improve rigorous data analyses that help to assess the effectiveness of the programs and enable ACF to better monitor projects; and
• Ensure adequate and timely reporting of program data to relevant federal agencies and stakeholders including Congress and members of the public.

Respondents: Tribal MIECHV Program Grantees.

Annual Burden Estimates

Instrument	Total number of respondents	Annual number of responses per respondent	Average burden hours per response	Annual burden hours
Tribal MIECHV Form 2	25	1	500	12,500

Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 12,500.

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: Public Law 115-123, Section 511(h)(2)(A) of Title V of the Social Security Act.

Mary B. Jones,

ACF/OPRE Certifying Officer.