NonSub Change Memo - Timing of Follow up and Mode of Interviews

To: Josh Brammer

Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA)

Office of Management and Budget (OMB)

From: Megan Reid and Tiffany McCormack

Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation (OPRE)

Administration for Children and Families (ACF)

Date: April 10, 2020

Subject: Nonsubstantive Change Request – Building Evidence on Employment Strategies for Low-Income Families (OMB #0970-0537)

This memo requests approval of nonsubstantive changes to the approved information collection, Building Evidence on Employment Strategies for Low-Income Families (OMB #0970-0537).

Background

The Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation (OPRE) has funded the Building Evidence on Employment Strategies (BEES) study. BEES will include separate studies of up to 21 programs (or “sites”) aimed at improving employment outcomes and economic security for low-income individuals and families. OMB initially approved data collection instruments for this project on November 8, 2019.

Due to the length of some interventions being tested and travel restrictions resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, the study team is requesting a couple changes to data collection processes, as described in Supporting Statement A and Supporting Statement B.

Overview of Requested Changes

The requested changes will not result in any changes in burden assumptions or to the content of any instruments. An overview of the requested changes is included below. Please see the updated Supporting Statement documents to see how these changes have been implemented.

1. Change to timing of the follow-up survey: The 12-month participant follow-up survey, discussed in Supporting Statement A and Supporting Statement B, may be fielded up to 18 months after study enrollment. To reflect this change, all mentions of this survey in Supporting Statement A and Supporting Statement B have been updated to “12- to 18-month survey.” Resulting changes in the data collection timeline have also been implemented in the supporting statements.

2. Change to the modality of the implementation study visits and interviews: Implementation site visits and interviews may be conducted virtually, if it is not possible to hold an in-person visit. This possibility has been added into both Supporting Statement A and Supporting Statement B, after each mention of the site visits and interviews.

Time Sensitivities

Approval for the requested changes is desired before April 20, 2020, which is when the research team hopes to begin virtual site visits and interviews.

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