THE SUPPORTING STATEMENT
Specific Instructions
A. Justification. Requests for approval shall:
1. Circumstances Making the collection of Information Necessary
The Children’s Bureau (CB) is a component of the Administration
on Children, Youth and Families (ACYF) of the Department of
Health and Human Services. The Children’s Bureau has
responsibility for the administration of the Children’s Justice
Act (CJA) authorized by the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment
Act (CAPTA), as amended (P.L. 108-36, 06/25/03). The CJA
program is located in Section 107, 42 U.S.C. 5106c under Grants
to States for Programs Relating to the Investigation and
Prosecution of Child Abuse and Neglect Cases.
The CJA is designed to assist States in improving the systems
handling child abuse and neglect cases. Children’s Bureau staff
execute all the tasks involved in administering and monitoring
the Children’s Justice Act program.
42 U.S. 5106c Sec. 107 (b) (4) of CAPTA requires States to
“submit annually an application to the Secretary….”
42 U.S.C. 5106c Sec. 107 (B) (5) of CAPTA requires States to
“submit annually to the Secretary a report on the manner in which
assistance received under this program was expended throughout
the State,…”
2. Purpose and Use of the Information Collection
The Children’s Bureau uses the applications to annually determine
the eligibility of the States for CJA grants. The reports are
used by CB and the States as a mechanism for monitoring the
expenditure of funds and in evaluating and measuring State
achievements in addressing the reform of systems handling child
abuse and neglect cases. The reports are also used by CB for the
development of reliable comprehensive information and data from
Statewide and national perspectives upon which policy and program
decisions may be based, research, service and demonstration
priorities established, and information and recommendations
provided to the Congress. A compilation of information and data
is available to State and local governments for use in developing
their legislative, program and policy decisions, and determining
their training and technical assistance needs; to researchers and
practitioners to assist them in keeping abreast of best
practices, current trends and emerging issues; and to the general
public.
3. Use of Improved Information Technology and Burden Reduction
To reduce the report burden on respondents, the Children's Bureau encourages States to submit the reports and applications electronically (via email) to the Federal Project Officer. The Children's Bureau also encourages State to submit their periodic financial reporting forms electronically, via the ACF On-Line Data Collection (OLDC) system.
4. Efforts to Identify Duplication and Use of Similar Information
Information collected from CJA program applications is unique to CJA programs and is not available from other sources.
Program performance reports provide information regarding the status or results of specific projects or activities supported with grant funds. This information is not available from other sources.
5. Impact on Small Businesses or Other Small Entities
There is no impact on small businesses or other small entities. The information collection involves only State agencies.
6. Consequences of Collecting the Information Less Frequently
Grants are awarded annually and therefore grant applications are required annually.
The application contains program goals and time lines and defines the purpose of CJA funded projects. The following year’s application contains the performance report that serves as a mechanism to monitor a State’s progress and accomplishments. CAPTA Sec. 107 (b) (4) and (5) require annual applications and performance reports.
7. Special Circumstances Relating to the Guidelines of 5 CFR 1320.5
The proposed information collection will be conducted in a manner consistent with the guidelines in 5 CFR 1320.5. There are no special requirements or special circumstances governing the manner in which information will be collected.
8. Comments in Response to the Federal Register Notice and Efforts to Consult Outside the Agency
The 60 day notice solicting comment on the information appeared in the Federal Register on November 6, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 214)Pages 62652-62653. The second, the 30 day notice soliciting comments on the information collection appeared in the Federal Register on March 13, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 50) Page 13545. No comments were received in response to this notice.
Consultation with representatives from whom information is to be obtained occurs annually at federally-sponsored grantees meetings.
9. Explanation of Any Payment or Gift to Respondents
States responding with applications and program performance reports receive no payments or other remuneration.
10. Assurance of Confidentiality Provided to Respondents
There is no confidential information contained in the application or program performance reports submitted by State grantees.
11. Justification for Sensitive Questions
There are no questions of a sensitive nature involved in the preparation or content of the applications or program performance reports.
12. Estimates of Annualized Burden Hours and Costs
The estimated number of respondents to the annual CJA program announcement and program performance reports is 52 (the 50 States, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico). The frequency of response is once annually. Requiring approximately 60 hours per respondent, for a total annual response burden of 3120 hours. This estimate was obtained through conversations with respondents who have provided this information in the past.
Annual Burden Estimates
Application & Annual Report:
Number of Respondents: 52
Number of Responses per respondent: 1
Average Burden Hours per response: 60
Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 3,120
The collection of information for the application and performance report involve estimated costs to the respondents as follows: 60 hours x $55/hours (estimated salary, expenses, operating costs, etc.) = $3,300 per respondent.
13. Estimates of Other Total Annual Cost Burden to Respondents and Record Keepers
There are no direct monetary costs to respondents other than their time to compile applications and program performance reports. No start up costs are associated with the programs.
14. Annualized Cost to the Federal Government
The estimate of the Federal burden is based on the staff time necessary to receive and review application and reports. Four hours per application and report x 52 applications = 208 hours. Two hundred and eight hours x $55.00 /hour (estimated salary, expenses, operating costs, etc.) = $11,440.
15. Explanation of Program Changes or Adjustments
This submission reflects the same estimated burden to respondents as the previous submission. The single report submission (to accompany the application) lightens the information collection burden on the States while providing sufficient information to monitor the projects.
The only adjustment made was the estimated cost of grantee and Federal Time. The adjustment was made from $50.00/hour to $55.00 since the last submission 3 years ago.
16. Plans for Tabulation and Publication and Project Time Schedule
This item is not applicable to this information collection.
17. Reason(s) Display of OMB Expiration Date is Inappropriate
This item is not applicable to this information collection.
18. Exceptions to Certification for Paperwork Reduction Act Submission
This item is not applicable to this information collection.
| File Type | application/msword |
| Author | ACF |
| File Modified | 2008-06-02 |
| File Created | 2008-04-14 |