Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection: Public Comment Request; Information Collection Request Title: The Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program Performance Measurement Information System

AGENCY:

Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), Department of Health and Human Services.

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

In compliance with the requirement for opportunity for public comment on proposed data collection projects of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, HRSA announces plans to submit an Information Collection Request (ICR), described below, to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Prior to submitting the ICR to OMB, HRSA seeks comments from the public regarding the burden estimate, below, or any other aspect of the ICR.

DATES:

Comments on this ICR should be received no later than June 3, 2024.

ADDRESSES:

Submit your comments to paperwork@hrsa.gov or mail the HRSA Information Collection Clearance Officer, Room 14N39, 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, Maryland 20857.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

To request more information on the proposed project or to obtain a copy of the data collection plans and draft instruments, email paperwork@hrsa.gov or call Joella Roland, the HRSA Information Collection Clearance Officer, at (301) 443-3983.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

When submitting comments or requesting information, please include the ICR title for reference.

Information Collection Request Title: The Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program Performance Measurement Information System, OMB No. 0906-0017, Revision.

Abstract: This request is for continued approval of the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) Program Performance Measurement Information System. The MIECHV Program is administered by the Maternal and Child Health Bureau within HRSA in partnership with the Administration for Children and Families and provides support to all 56 states and jurisdictions, as well as tribes and tribal organizations. Through a needs assessment, states, jurisdictions, tribes, and tribal organizations identify target populations and select the home visiting service delivery model(s) that best meet their needs. There is no proposed change to the previously approved information collection instruments. Over the next 3 years, as part of efforts to implement new statutory provisions enacted as part of reauthorization of the MIECHV program, HRSA intends to engage with MIECHV awardees, home visiting model developers, and federal partners to identify opportunities to reduce administrative burden related to performance reporting, to enhance performance measures to measure disparities, and to align performance measures with other programs administered by HRSA's Maternal and Child Health Bureau.

Need and Proposed Use of the Information: HRSA uses performance information to demonstrate program accountability and continuously monitor and provide oversight to MIECHV Program awardees. The information is also used to provide quality improvement guidance and technical assistance to awardees and help inform the development of early childhood systems at the national, state, and local level. HRSA is seeking to continue collecting information on demographic, service utilization, and select clinical indicators for participants enrolled in home visiting services and a set of standardized performance and outcome indicators that correspond with the statutorily identified benchmark areas. This information will be used to demonstrate awardees' compliance with statutory and programmatic requirements. It will also be used to monitor and provide continued oversight for awardee performance and to target technical assistance resources to awardees.

Likely Respondents: MIECHV Program awardees that are states, jurisdictions, and, where applicable, nonprofit organizations providing home visiting services within states.

Burden Statement: Burden in this context means the time expended by persons to generate, maintain, retain, disclose, or provide the information requested. This includes the time needed to review instructions; to develop, acquire, install, and utilize technology and systems for the purpose of collecting, validating, and verifying information, processing and maintaining information, and disclosing and providing information; to train personnel and to be able to respond to a collection of information; to search data sources; to complete and review the collection of information; and to transmit or otherwise disclose the information. The total annual burden hours estimated for this ICR are summarized in the table below.

HRSA specifically requests comments on (1) the necessity and utility of the proposed information collection for the proper performance of the agency's functions; (2) the accuracy of the estimated burden; (3) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (4) the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology to minimize the information collection burden.