OMB Qs to ED/ NIDRR

OMB Comments on 1820-NEW

Focus Group Input from Individuals with Disabilities

1. Please complete Part B of the requisite supporting statement. You need to indicate how you plan to select focus group participants, why the size of the focus groups is appropriate, etc.

2. (supp. st., p. 1) Please change the title of the supporting statement. It should match the title of the information collection that was submitted to ROCIS.

3. (supp. st., p. 2) Please identify the OMB number(s) under which the 2003 and 2005 focus groups were conducted.

4. (supp. st., p. 3) The response to question 2 suggests that the results of the focus group will be summarized in a report, which is shared with ICDR members, and also presented at one of the quarterly ICDR meetings. Are there any other planned uses of this information? Will the information be shared publicly?

5. (pp. 5 -6) Based on the fact that most respondents are either unemployed or employed part-time, why isn’t a lower level of incentive appropriate? It seems that a smaller incentive (e.g., $30) may be sufficient, especially since you are also reimbursing for transportation and childcare costs.

6. The questions in the focus group guide at the back of the package deal with use of AT devices and emergency contingencies. Are these the same questions that NIDRR plans to ask in all 12 focus groups this year? Also, Section II on Recruitment Strategy identifies some specific areas of the U.S. and topics of interest. Please tell us which six NIDRR will focus on this year, next year, and the following year.

7. This request if for three years approval. Will NIDRR ask the same questions from the same group identified in the recruitment strategy (section II) in all three years? Please explain how the administration of the focus groups will change each year.

8. Please explain why NIDRR believes it is necessary to include minors in the survey. Will there be a minimum age for participation? Also, please send us a copy of the parent consent form.

9. Please explain how the information collected in the screening form will help NIDRR determine who should/ should not be in the focus group. Why are you having the local coordinator conduct such a detailed survey? Why not collect this information from the person when they come in from the focus group?

10. Please include the $600 payment to the focus group facilitator as part of the incentive discussion in the supporting statement. Also, please explain how you determined that this level of incentive was appropriate.

11. The local coordinator script promises that information will be kept confidential. As we have discussed with ED on other surveys that promise confidentiality, the term “confidential” implies that you have legal authority. Please remove the word “confidential” from the supporting statement and the documents and replace with the alternate language OMB has approved for similar collections, where you are not promising full confidentiality, but privacy in accordance with applicable laws (FOIA, etc.) If you do not have a copy of this language, Katrina Ingalls in RIMS can give it to you.

12. On questions 10 of the screening form, please remove “some other race” from the options.