Notice2022-19555
Proposed Information Collection Activity; Procedural Justice-Informed Alternatives to Contempt Demonstration (Office of Management and Budget #0970-0505)
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
September 12, 2022
Issuing agencies
Health and Human Services DepartmentChildren and Families Administration
Abstract
The Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE), Administration for Children and Families (ACF), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), is proposing to add additional data collection activities as part of the rigorous evaluation of the Procedural Justice-Informed Alternatives to Contempt (PJAC) Demonstration. The proposed revision to conduct additional data collection is part of a research supplement that builds on the PJAC study to understand the role of bias in child support program enforcement actions.
Full Text
<html>
<head>
<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 175 (Monday, September 12, 2022)</title>
</head>
<body><pre>
[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 175 (Monday, September 12, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55821-55822]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-19555]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Administration for Children and Families
Proposed Information Collection Activity; Procedural Justice-
Informed Alternatives to Contempt Demonstration (Office of Management
and Budget #0970-0505)
AGENCY: Office of Child Support Enforcement, Administration for
Children and Families, Department of Health and Human Services.
ACTION: Request for public comments.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE), Administration
for Children and Families (ACF), U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services (HHS), is proposing to add additional data collection
activities as part of the rigorous evaluation of the Procedural
Justice-Informed Alternatives to Contempt (PJAC) Demonstration. The
proposed revision to conduct additional data collection is part of a
research supplement that builds on the PJAC study to understand the
role of bias in child support program enforcement actions.
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 <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#2a43444c45494546464f495e4345446a4b494c04424259044d455c"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="d1b8bfb7beb2bebdbdb4b2a5b8bebf91b0b2b7ffb9b9a2ffb6bea7">[email protected]</span></a>.
Identify all
[[Page 55822]]
requests by the title of the information collection.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Description: OCSE is proposing to conduct additional data
collection activities as part of the PJAC Demonstration. In September
2016, OCSE issued grants to five state child support agencies to
provide alternative approaches to the contempt process with the goal of
increasing noncustodial parents' compliance with child support orders
by building trust and confidence in the child support agency and its
processes. OCSE also awarded a grant to support a rigorous evaluation
of PJAC. The PJAC Demonstration is designed to help grantees and OCSE
to learn whether incorporating principles of procedural justice into
child support business practices increases reliable child support
payments, reduces arrears, minimizes the need for continued enforcement
actions and sanctions, and reduces the use of contempt proceedings.
The PJAC demonstration will yield information about the efficacy of
applying procedural justice principles via a set of alternative
services to the current use of a civil contempt process to address
nonpayment of child support. As a part of the evaluation, PJAC will
build evidence about disparity and bias in the child support system,
with a focus on the use of enforcement actions used to coerce child
support payments. The research will measure the extent to which bias is
embedded within child support policies and practices. The information
gathered may help inform future policy decisions to better understand
and reduce disparities within the child support program.
The research will document disparities and differences in treatment
by race and ethnicity, gender, and income within the child support
system in up to three states participating in the PJAC demonstration.
Key elements of the study include a quantitative analysis of
disparities in the initiation of a child support case, setting of order
amounts, order modifications, and use of punitive enforcement actions,
including civil contempt; semi-structured interviews with staff from
child support agencies and selected partner organizations; and separate
semi-structured interviews with study participants to learn about their
experiences with and perceptions of bias in the child support process,
specifically in the use of enforcement actions.
OCSE is proposing a to conduct additional data collection
activities as part of the PJAC Demonstration, which include the
following: a topic guide for interviews about experiences of bias with
noncustodial parents and a topic guide for interviews about experiences
of bias with child support staff and partners.
Data collection activities that were previously approved by OMB,
following public comment, are the staff data entry on participant
baseline information, study Management Information Systems (MIS) to
track receipt of services, staff and community partner interview topic
guide, the noncustodial parent participant interview protocol, the
staff survey, the staff time study, and the custodial parent interview
protocol. These instruments are currently in use and this request will
extend approval to continue data collection. Supporting materials,
including burden estimates related to approved instruments, are
available at <a href="https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAICList?ref_nbr=202202-0970-013">https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAICList?ref_nbr=202202-0970-013</a>. The following burden table includes
information for the proposed new interviews.
Respondents: Respondents for the new data collection instruments
include study participants and child support program staff and partners
at three of the six PJAC demonstration sites.
Annual Burden Estimates
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total number Average burden
Instrument Total number of responses hours per Total burden Annual burden
of respondents per respondent response hours hours
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Topic list for bias interviews 90 1 1.5 135 45
with staff and partners........
Topic guide for bias interviews 90 1 1 90 30
with noncustodial parents......
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 75.
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. 1315)
Mary B. Jones,
ACF/OPRE Certifying Officer.
[FR Doc. 2022-19555 Filed 9-9-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4184-41-P
</pre><script data-cfasync="false" src="/cdn-cgi/scripts/5c5dd728/cloudflare-static/email-decode.min.js"></script></body>
</html>Indexed from Federal Register on September 12, 2022.
This is legal information, not legal advice. Laws vary by jurisdiction and change frequently. Always verify current law with official sources and consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for advice on your specific situation.