Proposed Information Collection Activity; 2024 National Survey of Early Care and Education Longitudinal Follow-Ups (Office of Management and Budget #: 0970-0391)
| Published date | 03 April 2024 |
| Record Number | 2024-06982 |
| Citation | 89 FR 23019 |
| Court | Children And Families Administration |
| Section | Notices |
Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 65 (Wednesday, April 3, 2024)
[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 65 (Wednesday, April 3, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23019-23020]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-06982]
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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Administration for Children and Families
Proposed Information Collection Activity; 2024 National Survey of
Early Care and Education Longitudinal Follow-Ups (Office of Management
and Budget #: 0970-0391)
AGENCY: Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation, Administration
for Children and Families, Department of Health and Human Services.
ACTION: Request for public comments.
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SUMMARY: The Administration for Children and Families (ACF), U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), is proposing a data
collection activity to be conducted September 2024 through May 2025 as
a follow-up of the 2024 National Survey of Early Care and Education
(NSECE). The objectives of the 2024 NSECE Longitudinal Follow-ups are
to build on the design and implementation of the 2024 NSECE to collect
urgently needed information on the following two topics relevant to
early care and education (ECE) policy: (1) how households learn about
and make use of financial assistance in seeking and selecting ECE, with
additional focus on paid individual care arrangements; and (2) patterns
of retention and attrition among individuals in the center-based ECE
workforce.
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: You can obtain copies of the proposed collection of
information and submit comments by emailing
[email protected]. Identify all requests by the title of
the information collection.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Description: The 2024 NSECE Longitudinal Follow-ups will consist of
two nationally representative surveys:
1. a survey of households (1) with incomes under 300 percent of the
federal poverty level (FPL) and with at least one resident child under
the age of 9 years and/or (2) who had used paid care by an individual
in the spring of 2024 (2024 NSECE Household Follow-up)
2. a survey of individuals who were employed in early 2024 in
center-based ECE programs working directly with children in classrooms
serving children age 5 years and under, not yet in kindergarten (2024
NSECE Workforce Follow-up).
Participants will be drawn from respondents to the 2024 NSECE
Household and Workforce surveys.
The 2024 NSECE Longitudinal Follow-up data collection efforts will
provide urgently needed information that will expand the potential of
the 2024 NSECE data to describe: (1) households' search for and use of
financial assistance for ECE (including assistance for paid individual
care arrangements); and (2) employment experiences of individuals who
have recently worked in center-based ECE classrooms. The household
follow-up in Fall 2024 will re-interview households participating in
the 2024 NSECE who (1) report using paid individual ECE or (2) report
incomes below 300 percent of the FPL and have at least one resident
child under age 9 years. The workforce follow-up in early 2025 will re-
interview individuals who participated in the 2024 NSECE workforce
survey (i.e., served as center-based classroom-assigned instructional
staff between January and July 2024). Both follow-up surveys are
designed to collect in-depth information that was not feasible to
collect in the 2024 NSECE and which can be uniquely collected through
re-interviews of selected 2024 NSECE participants. The household
follow-up will include information about households' awareness of and
experience with publicly funded ECE programs, how households selected
ECE arrangements for Fall 2024, and who provided paid individual care
to the households' children in early 2024. The workforce follow-up will
include information about the experiences of ECE instructional staff
over time, where workers who leave ECE employers or the ECE sector go
and why they leave, and workers' experiences in various ECE settings
throughout their ECE careers. Accurate data on families with young
children and the experiences of ECE workers are essential to assess the
current landscape of ECE, and to provide insights to advance ECE policy
and initiatives. The household follow-up will be fielded using multi-
mode survey methodologies in Fall 2024, and the workforce follow-up
will be fielded using multi-mode survey methodologies in the first half
of 2025. Both follow-ups will enhance the value of the 2024 NSECE by
expanding the potential utility of those data to describe household and
worker experiences over time and to address additional information
needs.
Respondents: 1. Households participating in the 2024 NSECE and
either a. reporting a paid individual ECE arrangement in the 2024
NSECE, or b. having at least one resident child under age 9 and who
reported incomes under the 300 percent Federal poverty level in the
2024 NSECE. 2. Individuals who participated in the 2024 NSECE survey of
center-based classroom-assigned instructional staff (workforce).
[[Page 23020]]
Annual Burden Estimates
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Number of
Number of responses per
respondents respondent Avg. burden Total/annual
Instrument (total over (total over per response burden (in
request request (in hours) hours)
period) period)
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2024 NSECE Household Follow-up Questionnaire.... 3,750 1 .36 1,350
2024 NSECE Workforce Follow-up Questionnaire 5,550 1 .33 1,832
(Classroom Staff)..............................
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Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 3,182.
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: Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990, as
amended by the CCDBG Act of 2014 (Pub. L. 113-186). Social Security
Act, section 418 as extended by the Continuing Appropriations Act of
2017 and the TANF Extension Act of 2019. Section 3507 of the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995, 44 U.S.C. chapter 35.
Mary C. Jones,
ACF/OPRE Certifying Officer.
[FR Doc. 2024-06982 Filed 4-2-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4184-23-P
