Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment Request; National Survey of Children's Health

AGENCY:

U.S. Census Bureau, Commerce.

ACTION:

Notice of information collection, request for comment.

SUMMARY:

The Department of Commerce, in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to comment on proposed, and continuing information collections, which helps us assess the impact of our information collection requirements and minimize the public's reporting burden. The purpose of this notice is to allow for 60 days of public comment on the proposed revision of the National Survey of Children's Health, prior to the submission of the information collection request (ICR) to OMB for approval.

DATES:

To ensure consideration, comments regarding this proposed information collection must be received on or before January 11, 2021.

ADDRESSES:

Interested persons are invited to submit written comments by email to ADDP.NSCH.List@census.gov. Please reference National Survey of Children's Health in the subject line of your comments. You may also submit comments, identified by Docket Number USBC-2020-0027, to the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. All comments received are part of the public record. No comments will be posted to http://www.regulations.gov for public viewing until after the comment period has closed. Comments will generally be posted without change. All Personally Identifiable Information (for example, name and address) voluntarily submitted by the commenter may be publicly accessible. Do not submit Confidential Business Information or otherwise sensitive or protected information. You may submit attachments to electronic comments in Microsoft Word, Excel, or Adobe PDF file formats.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Requests for additional information or specific questions related to collection activities should be directed to Carolyn Pickering, Survey Director, by way of phone (301-763-3873) or email (Carolyn.M.Pickering@census.gov).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

Sponsored primarily by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Health Resources Services Administration's Maternal and Child Health Bureau (HRSA MCHB), the National Survey of Children's Health (NSCH) is designed to produce data on the physical and emotional health of children under 18 years of age who live in the United States. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the United States Department of Health and Human Services' Center for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities (CDC-NCBDDD) sponsor supplemental content on the NSCH. Additionally, the upcoming cycle of the NSCH would like to feature four returning state-based oversamples and four new oversamples that are either age-based, state-based, or region-based. The age-based oversample would be funded by the United States Department of Health and Human Services' Center for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (CDC-NCCDPHP). The state- or region-based oversamples would be sponsored by Children's Health Care of Atlanta, the State of Colorado, the State of Nebraska, the Ohio Department of Health, the Oregon Center for Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs, the Southeast Louisiana Area Health Education Center, and the State of Wisconsin.

The NSCH collects information on factors related to the well-being of children, including access to health care, in-home medical care, family interactions, parental health, school and after-school experiences, and neighborhood characteristics. The goal of the 2021 NSCH is to provide HRSA MCHB, the supplemental sponsoring agencies, states, regions, and other data users with the necessary data to support the production of national estimates yearly and state- or region-based estimates with pooled samples on the health and well-being of children, their families, and their communities as well as estimates of the prevalence and impact of children with special health care needs.

NSCH is seeking clearance to make the following changes:

• Increased sample size—The base NSCH sample plus the proposed oversamples may reach up to 300,000 addresses for the 2021 NSCH, compared with 240,000 in 2020. The increased sample will allow individual states and agencies to produce statistically sound child health estimates in a fewer number of pooled years than if the sample were to remain the same annually, thereby resulting in more timely age-, state- and region-based health estimates of children.
• Unconditional incentive distribution percentage—We plan to continue monitoring the effectiveness of the unconditional monetary incentive, but request an increase to the percent of addresses receiving a $5 incentive in the initial screener mailing. Response rates for the unconditional monetary incentive groups showed a statistically significant difference over the control group that did not receive an unconditional monetary incentive. A larger increase in response was noted for the households mailed a $5 compared with the $2 incentive; however, both treatment groups have proven effective at reducing nonresponse bias by encouraging response. For both the 2018 NSCH and 2019 NSCH, the initial screener incentive splits were 45% received $2; 45% received $5; and 10% did not receive an incentive. In the 2020 NSCH, the share of addresses receiving the $5 incentive was increased to 60%, with 30% receiving the $2 incentive; again, 10% did not receive an incentive. The proposal for 2021 NSCH is to remove the $2 incentive group, so 90% receive $5 and 10% would not receive an incentive with the initial mailing. The incentive assignment to each sampled address would still be random as was done in prior cycles and approved by OMB.
• Alternative invitation letter wording—A random selection of addresses will receive an initial invitation letter than uses the traditional letter design but slightly modified wording that may encourage internet response. This test is conditional on ongoing results from the current NSCH 2020 redesigned envelope and letter test.
• Revised questionnaire content—The NSCH questionnaires with newly proposed and revised content from the sponsors at HRSA MCHB and CDC-NCCDPHP are currently undergoing two rounds of cognitive testing. This testing request was submitted under the generic clearance package and approved by OMB. Based on the results, a final set of proposed new and modified content will be included in the full OMB ICR for the 2021 NSCH.

• Oversamples —In order to inform various priorities that are otherwise not supported by the NSCH, some stakeholders have shown interest in sponsoring an oversample of particular populations as part of the annual NSCH administration. Currently, there are six states, one region, and one federal partner contributing to an oversample as part of the 2021 NSCH. Four states (Colorado, Nebraska, Oregon and Wisconsin) were initially oversampled in 2020, and are continuing with the option as part of the 2021 NSCH. Two states (Louisiana and Ohio) and the Atlanta, GA Metro Area will be oversampled for the first time in 2021. Finally, CDC-NCCDPHP is supporting an oversample of households with young children.

Besides the proposed changes listed above, the 2021 NSCH will proceed with the current design outlined in the previous OMB ICR package. We will continue to make modifications to data collection strategies based on modeled information about paper or internet response preference. Results from prior survey cycles will continue to be used to inform the decisions made regarding future cycles of the NSCH.

From prior cycles of the NSCH, using American Association for Public Opinion Research definitions of response, we can expect for the 2021 NSCH an overall screener completion rate to be about 46.3% and an overall topical completion rate to be about 36.0%. This is different from the overall response rate, which we expect to be about 41.4%.

II. Method of Collection

The 2021 NSCH plan for the web push data collection design includes approximately 70% of the production addresses receiving an initial invite with instructions on how to complete an English or Spanish-language screener questionnaire via the web. Households that decide to complete the web-based survey will be taken through the screener questionnaire to determine if they are eligible for one of three topical instruments. Households that list at least one child who is 0 to 17 years old in the screener are directed into a topical questionnaire immediately after the last screener question. If a household in the web push treatment group decides to complete the paper screener, the household may have a chance to receive an additional topical questionnaire incentive. This group will receive two web survey invitation letters requesting their participation in the survey prior to receiving up to two additional paper screener questionnaires in the second and third follow-up mailings.

The 2021 NSCH plan for the mixed-mode data collection design includes up to 30% of the production addresses receiving a paper screener questionnaire in either the initial or the first nonresponse follow-up and instructions on how to complete an English or Spanish language screener questionnaire via the web. Households that decide to complete the web-based survey will follow the same screener and topical selection path as the web push. Households that choose to complete the paper screener questionnaire rather than completing the survey on the internet and that have eligible children will be mailed a paper topical questionnaire upon receipt of their completed paper screener at the Census Bureau's National Processing Center. If a household in the mixed-mode group chooses to complete the paper screener instead of completing the web-based screener via the internet, then the household may receive an additional topical questionnaire incentive. This group will receive both a web survey invitation letter along with a mailed paper screener questionnaire with either the initial invitation or the first follow-up and each additional nonresponse follow-up mailing.

III. Data

OMB Control Number: 0607-0990.

Form Number(s): NSCH-S1 (English Screener), NSCH-T1 (English Topical for 0- to 5-year-old children), NSCH-T2 (English Topical for 6- to 11-year-old children), NSCH-T3 (English Topical for 12- to 17-year-old children), NSCH-S-S1 (Spanish Screener), NSCH-S-T1 (Spanish Topical for 0- to 5-year-old children), NSCH-S-T2 (Spanish Topical for 6- to 11-year-old children), and NSCH-S-T3 (Spanish Topical for 12- to 17-year-old children).

Type of Review: Regular submission, Request for a Revision of a Currently Approved Collection.

Affected Public: Parents, researchers, policymakers, and family advocates.

Estimated Number of Respondents: 114,818.

Estimated Time per Response: 5 minutes per screener response and 35-36 minutes per topical response, which in total is approximately 40-41 minutes for households with eligible children.

Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 39,400.

Estimated Total Annual Cost to Public: $0 (This is not the cost of respondents' time, but the indirect costs respondents may incur for such things as purchases of specialized software or hardware needed to report, or expenditures for accounting or records maintenance services required specifically by the collection.)

Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.

Legal Authority: Title 13 U.S.C. Section 8(b); 42 U.S.C. 701; 1769d(a)(4)(B); and 42 U.S.C. 241.

IV. Request for Comments

We are soliciting public comments to permit the Department/Bureau to: (a) Evaluate whether the proposed information collection is necessary for the proper functions of the Department, including whether the information will have practical utility; (b) Evaluate the accuracy of our estimate of the time and cost burden for this proposed collection, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used; (c) Evaluate ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (d) Minimize the reporting burden on those who are to respond, including the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology.

Comments that you submit in response to this notice are a matter of public record. We will include, or summarize, each comment in our request to OMB to approve this ICR. Before including your address, phone number, email address, or other personal identifying information in your comment, you should be aware that your entire comment—including your personal identifying information—may be made publicly available at any time. While you may ask us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so.