Proposed Information Collection Activity; Behavioral Interventions To Advance Self-Sufficiency-Next Generation (BIAS-NG) (Office of Management and Budget #0970-0502)

AGENCY:

Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation; Administration for Children and Families; U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

ACTION:

Request for public comments.

SUMMARY:

The Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation (OPRE) in the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) requests Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval to modify and extend the approval of the ACF Behavioral Interventions to Advance Self-Sufficiency-Next Generation (BIAS-NG) Project Overarching Generic (OMB #: 0970-0502; Expiration date: 8/31/2025.) Under this overarching clearance, ACF collects data as part of rapid cycle testing and evaluation, to inform the design of interventions informed by behavioral science and to better understand the mechanisms and effects of such interventions.

Interventions have been and will continue to be developed in the program area domains of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), child welfare, and Early Head Start/Head Start (EHS/HS). This revision would also allow for collection of data in the child care program area, and would extend the approval of the overarching generic. These interventions are intended to improve outcomes for participants in these programs.

DATES:

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

ADDRESSES:

You can obtain copies of the proposed collection of information and submit comments by emailing OPREinfocollection@acf.hhs.gov. Identify all requests by the title of the information collection.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Description: OPRE is conducting the BIAS-NG project, which uses behavioral insights to design and test interventions intended to improve the efficiency, operations, and efficacy of human services programs. The BIAS-NG project is applying and testing behavioral insights to ACF programs including TANF, child welfare, and EHS/HS, and intends to expand these efforts to child care. This notice is a request for comments on ACF's proposal to revise and extend a previously approved collection, which included data collection to design and test interventions in the TANF, child welfare, and EHS/HS domains. Under the approved pilot generic clearance, OPRE has already conducted work with seven sites to conduct seven tests, and is planning to continue to work with at least one additional site, conducting one or more tests of behavioral interventions for a total of nine tests of behavioral interventions. All approved information collection activities can be found here: https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAICList?ref_nbr=202206-0970-002.

In addition to extending approval, this approval would also allow OPRE to conduct tests in the newly added program area of child care. The design and testing of BIAS-NG interventions is rapid and, to the extent possible, iterative. Each specific intervention is designed in consultation with agency leaders and launched as quickly as possible. To maximize the likelihood that the intervention produces measurable, significant, and positive effects on outcomes of interest, rapid cycle evaluation techniques will be employed in which proximate outcomes will be measured to allow the research team to more quickly iterate and adjust the intervention design, informing subsequent tests. Due to the rapid and iterative nature of this work, OPRE sought and received approval for an overarching generic clearance to conduct this research. Following standard OMB requirements for generic clearances, once instruments subject to PRA are tailored to a specific site and the site's intervention, OPRE submits an individual generic information collection request under this umbrella clearance. Each request includes the individual instrument(s), a justification specific to the individual information collection, a description of the proposed intervention, and any supplementary documents. Each specific information collection includes up to two submissions—one submission for the formative stage research and another submission for any further data collection requiring burden during the testing phase. The type of information to be collected and the uses of the information is described in the supporting statements, found here: https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAViewDocument?ref_nbr=202206-0970-002.

Respondents: (1) Program Administrators, (2) Program Staff, and (3) Program Clients.

Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 2,014.

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: 42 U.S.C. 1310.