TANF-RCA Supporting Statement_Part A_8-7-15

In this document, the Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation (OPRE) in the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) requests OMB clearance for data collection activities for a study aimed at understanding the intersection between Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and Refugee Cash Assistance (RCA) services (hereafter, TANF-RCA Study). The goal of this project is to help ACF better understand how the variety of systems that assist refugees collaborate to promote common goals of self-sufficiency and employment, and how refugees’ experiences might differ depending on the structure of the state and local program arrangements. The Administration for Children and Families at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) seeks OMB approval for six data collection instruments that will be used as part of the site selection process and field assessment:

Survey of State Refugee Coordinators and Wilson-Fish Program Coordinators
Site Visit Interview Guide for Public Agency Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Managers and Staff
Site Visit Interview Guide for Public Agency Refugee Cash Assistance Managers and Staff
Site Visit Interview Guide for Voluntary Agency Staff
Site Visit Interview Guide for Other Community-Based Organization Staff
Focus Group Guide for Service Recipients

The proposed data collection activities described in this justification will collect data about state policies and practices; how TANF, RCA, and associated services are provided; the respective roles of the various agencies and organizations in serving participants; how the agencies and organizations integrate services internally and/or collaborate with other organizations; refugee populations served; approaches to addressing the particular barriers refugees face; promising practices and strategies for assisting refugees; gaps in services; local labor market conditions; and experiences of refugees accessing services through these programs. This justification provides supporting statements for each of the eighteen points outlined in Part A of the OMB guidelines.

A.1.1 Study Background

The Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) within ACF administers a variety of social service programs intended to connect newly resettled refugees^¹ with critical resources, help them become economically self-sufficient, and integrate them into American society. One such program is the Refugee Cash Assistance (RCA) program, which provides both financial support and social services to newly resettled refugees. ORR collaborates with state partners (e.g., TANF programs, Mutual Assistance Associations, Voluntary Agencies [“Volags”]) and others to administer the RCA program; however, the content, mode of delivery, and rules surrounding these services vary significantly by state and locality.

Communities that resettle refugees have implemented different models to provide assistance and services to refugees. Many states operate a traditional state-administered program in which state agencies provide cash assistance, medical assistance, and social services, and Volag affiliates provide reception and placement services. In these states, refugees who have children and are income-eligible apply at the local public assistance agency for TANF and Medicaid benefits; refugees without children apply for RCA and Refugee Medical Assistance (RMA).

In response to concerns that the Volag resettlement agencies are in a better position than state public assistance agencies to provide benefits and services to refugees, the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) has allowed some experimentation in service delivery approaches. In particular, ORR has allowed some states to implement alternative approaches, including (1) Public/Private Partnerships (PPPs), (2) the Matching Grant program, and (3) the Wilson-Fish program.

These three programs generally rely on organizations outside of the state public assistance agencies to provide cash benefits and social services. These organizations are often the Volag affiliates that provide reception and placement services. The Wilson-Fish programs use private agencies to serve both TANF-eligible and non-TANF eligible refugees. The purposes of the Wilson-Fish programs are to increase refugee prospects for early employment and self-sufficiency; promote coordination among voluntary resettlement agencies and service providers; and ensure that refugee assistance programs exist in every state where refugees are resettled. The Wilson-Fish program emphasizes early employment and economic self-sufficiency by integrating cash assistance, case management, and employment services and by incorporating innovative strategies for the provision of cash assistance. The PPP states operate the RCA programs for non-TANF eligible refugees and the TANF program is available for TANF-eligible recipients. The Matching Grant program may serve both TANF-eligible and non-TANF eligible refugees.

However, there is little documented information on the extent to which local TANF offices, RCA programs, and other partners collaborate to promote common goals of self-sufficiency and employment, and how refugees’ experiences might differ depending on the structure of the state or local program. Currently available data provide limited insight into the characteristics of refugees accessing ORR services, the specific services that are offered and received, and the outcomes of these programs and services. The TANF-RCA study aims to better understand the population of refugees served by TANF and RCA, and the major differences in programmatic services associated with these two programs.

This descriptive study will address this knowledge gap by documenting the similarities and differences between cash assistance and associated social services offered under RCA and TANF across different selected jurisdictions. Specifically, the study will collect data to document: 1) what states are doing to help refugees attain employment and self-sufficiency; 2) if and how states are integrating RCA, TANF, and associated services to better meet the needs of refugees; and 3) what data are collected currently, or might be collected in the future, to better understand refugee resettlement services and suggest further areas for inquiry.

A.1.2 Legal or Administrative Requirements that Necessitate the Collection

There are no legal or administrative requirements that necessitate the collection. ACF is undertaking the collection at the discretion of the agency.

A.2 Purpose of Survey and Data Collection Procedures

A.2.1 Overview of Purpose and Approach

This exploratory study is designed to learn more about the current social service delivery systems serving refugees and will help to identify gaps in existing knowledge and data around these systems. The purpose of this information collection is to increase the field’s knowledge base of how newly resettled refugees in the United States receive RCA, TANF, and other means-tested benefits and services and how states and localities integrate the delivery of cash benefits and services in a purposeful way to best serve refugees.

This study includes two phases. In the first phase, the study documents the differences across all states that resettle refugees, including the administration of the refugee programs, the role of Volags, the role of Mutual Assistance Associations (MAAs) and other community-based organizations, and the types of services provided by ORR contractors. It also includes a short online survey of state refugee coordinators to capture information about the delivery of cash assistance and services to refugees in all states.

The second phase of the study involves a more in-depth examination of eight sites, documenting service provision, the challenges service providers face in assisting the refugees, the ways in which service providers and state agencies interact and share information, and the perspectives from the refugees. The research team will use the semi-structured interview guides included in this clearance package in visits to eight sites to interview managers and staff at organizations and agencies that implement or operate programs and services accessed by refugees. The research team will also use semi-structured discussion guides to conduct focus groups comprised of approximately nine refugees per site to collect information from program participants about the services they received, how they were delivered, their experiences attempting to achieve self-sufficiency within a rapid timeframe, and the challenges faced. The site visits will provide qualitative, nuanced information about how local sites deliver cash assistance and other services for refugees.

A.2.2 Research Questions

The study will address the following research questions:

What do we know about how different states and localities administer benefits and services for refugees through TANF, RCA, and other means-tested benefits? Under these programs, what services are currently offered and what do we know about the refugee populations they serve? What are the major differences among states in their approaches to these programs? Do certain approaches or services seem most promising in assisting refugees in achieving economic self-sufficiency and obtaining stable employment in the United States?

To what extent, and in what ways, are states integrating TANF, RCA, and associated services to better serve the diverse needs of the refugees? How are these programs being integrated, and what are the different state processes for administering these services to refugees? Does the integration of these services show promise for better serving refugee populations?

What data are currently collected by states, localities, and service providers regarding refugee services and their self-sufficiency outcomes? What other data that are not being collected might provide a more complete picture of refugee resettlement or might support future evaluation efforts?

A.2.3 Study Design

The TANF-RCA study will describe how newly resettled refugees in the United States receive RCA, TANF, and other means-tested benefits and services and how counties and states integrate the delivery of cash benefits and services in a purposeful way to best serve refugees. The study is comprised of three phases:

Documenting the differences across all states that resettle refugees. This phase includes documenting the administration of refugee programs and services provided. The research team will meet with relevant staff from the ACF Office of Family Assistance (OFA), the ACF Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), and the 10 ACF regional offices, to document ACF staff knowledge of state and local policies and practices, and data availability, among other topics. It includes reviewing state reports collected by ORR, admissions statistics collected by the Department of State’s Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM), and other sources of information.
Online Survey of State Refugee Coordinators. A short online survey of state refugee coordinators will systematically document the diversity of state policies and practices across the country, and will inform site selection.
Site visits to eight communities serving refugees. A more in-depth examination of eight sites will include documentation of services provision, challenges service providers face in assisting refugees, the ways in which service providers and state agencies interact and share information. Site visits to eight communities will include interviews with managers and front-line staff of local public assistance agencies, local resettlement agencies, and community based organizations. They will also include focus groups with program participants in each site.

The study design will result in a description of services targeting refugees. As this is an exploratory study, the study design does not center on a fully representative sample. However, through the survey and review of reports and statistics, it will include at least some information from all states with refugee programs, and the sites purposefully selected for visits will include programs with a variety of characteristics. This study’s documentation of the variation in service delivery found within a community and across states is an important first step in understanding the variation and identifying promising practices that may be evaluated more rigorously in a future study.

A.2.4 Universe of Data Collection Efforts

To address the research questions, the study will use a number of data collection instruments. Instruments in the current clearance request include the following:

Survey of State Refugee Coordinators and Wilson-Fish Program Coordinators (Appendix A)
Site Visit Interview Guide for Public Agency Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Managers and Staff (Appendix B)
Site Visit Interview Guide for Public Agency Refugee Cash Assistance Managers and Staff (Appendix C)
Site Visit Interview Guide for Voluntary Agency Staff (Appendix D)
Site Visit Interview Guide for Other Community-Based Organization Staff (Appendix E)
Focus Group Guide for Service Recipients (Appendix F)

These data are not available through any current source.

Other extant data will be used for the study. These include the following:

State plans collected by ORR, which will provide background information about services provided to refugees, including eligibility for services and coordination of services;
Admissions statistics collected by the Department of State’s Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM); and
ORR collected data, which includes enrollment data and data on refugee populations by state and county.

A.2.5 Data Collection Process

The online survey of state refugee coordinators will be administered as a web-based survey in winter of 2016 (Appendix A). In spring of 2016, site visits to eight sites will be conducted using semi-structured site visit interview guides (Appendices B-E). During these site visits, the research team will conduct focus groups with recipients of services for refugees using a semi-structured focus group guide (Appendix F).

A.2.6 Instrument Item-by-Item Justification

Exhibit A-1 describes the target respondents, content, and reason for inclusion for each new data collection activity submitted with this request.

Exhibit A-1 Item-by-Item Justification of Data Collection Instruments

Data Collection Instrument(s)	Respondents, Content, and Reason for Inclusion
ACTIVITY: Collection of Data on State Policies and Practices
Survey of State Refugee Coordinators and Wilson-Fish Program Coordinators (Appendix A)	Respondents: The State Refugee Coordinator/Wilson-Fish Program Coordinator in 49 of the 50 states as well as Washington, DC and San Diego, CA for a total of 51 respondents over the two-year period. (San Diego operates a Wilson-Fish program separate from the rest of California. Wyoming has no refugee program. ) Content: Respondents’ professional experience Challenges refugees face TANF Delivery Refugee Cash Assistance Delivery Service Coordination Promising Strategies Data Used for: Identification of sites for more in-depth study Special Topics Reports Final Report
ACTIVITY: Collection of Data from Organizations that Serve Refugees
Site Visit Interview Guide for Public Agency Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Managers and Staff (Appendix B)	Respondents: TANF Managers and Staff (estimated to total 40 over the two-year period) Content: Organization and respondent background Characteristics of refugee population served by agency Reception and placement services Provision of TANF Employment, education and training services Other refugee services Other general services Coordination/Integration Goals and Outcomes Local context Promising practices, successes, and challenges Data Used for: Special Topics Reports Final Report
Site Visit Interview Guide for Public Agency Refugee Cash Assistance Managers and Staff (Appendix C)	Respondents: RCA Managers and Staff (estimated to total 40 over the two-year period) Content: Organization and respondent background Characteristics of refugee population served by agency Reception and placement services Provision of RCA Employment, education and training services Other refugee services Other general services Coordination/Integration Goals and Outcomes Local context Promising practices, successes, and challenges Data Used for: Special Topics Reports Final Report
Site Visit Interview Guide for Voluntary Agency Staff (Appendix D)	Respondents: Volag Staff (estimated to total 40 over the two-year period) Content: Organization and respondent background Characteristics of refugee population in the community Characteristics of refugee population served by organization Reception and placement services Provision of cash assistance Employment, education and training services Other refugee services Other general services Coordination/Integration Goals and Outcomes Local context Promising practices, successes, and challenges Data Used for: Special Topics Reports Final Report
Site Visit Interview Guide for Other Community-Based Organization Staff (Appendix E)	Respondents: Other Community-Based Organization Staff (estimated to total 40 over the two-year period) Content: Organization and respondent background Characteristics of refugee population served by organization Reception and placement services Employment, education and training services Other refugee services Other general services Coordination/Integration Goals and Outcomes Local context Promising practices, successes, and challenges Data Used for: Special Topics Reports Final Report
ACTIVITY: Collection of Data from Recipients of Services for Refugees
Focus Group Guide for Service Recipients (Appendix F)	Respondents: Recipients of services for refugees at each of the eight sites (estimated to total 72 over the two-year period) Content: Demographic information Initial services Cash assistance Other services Job search experience Program coordination and integration Supports and barriers to employment Satisfaction with services Used for: Special Topics Reports Final Report

A.2.7 Who Will Use the Information

The primary beneficiaries of this planned data collection effort will be ACF, other federal agencies, program operators, state policy officials, other policy makers and researchers, and the refugee-serving community. ACF will use the information to document what states are doing to help refugees gain self-sufficiency; if and how states are integrating RCA, TANF, and associated services to better meet the needs of refugees; and what data are collected currently, or may be collected in the future, to better understand refugee resettlement services and suggest future areas for inquiry. These data will begin to answer ACF’s and other policy makers’ questions about how the variety of systems that assist refugees collaborate to promote common goals of self-sufficiency and employment, and how refugees’ experiences might differ depending on the structure of the state (or local) program arrangements.

Secondary beneficiaries of this data collection will be those in the public policy and social science research community who are interested in further understanding how refugees currently access cash assistance and other services, and how services for refugees may be strengthened.

A.3 Improved Information Technology to Reduce Burden

The survey of state refugee coordinators and Wilson-Fish program coordinators will be hosted on the Internet via a live secure web-link. This approach is particularly well suited to the needs of these surveys in that respondents can easily stop and start if they are interrupted, share the link with other respondents, and review and/or modify responses in previous sections. To reduce burden, the research team will use drop-down response categories so that respondents can quickly select answers from a list.

The information from site visits will be collected through semi-structured discussions that are not conducive to information technology, such as computerized interviewing. The research team will not record these discussions, but will take written notes. Audio recording of focus group discussions, with permission, will be used to facilitate interviewer-participant dialogue without extensive note-taking and laptop note-taking in small group discussions in order to increase accuracy of documentation of all points raised during the discussions.

A.4 Efforts to Identify Duplication

The TANF-RCA data collection efforts collect information that other sources do not currently provide. The research team will first review existing sources of information, including state plans collected by ORR and data collected by PRM and ORR, to compile pertinent information. The survey and site visits will not ask for this same information, but will ask selected sites to provide more detailed information.

A.5 Involvement of Small Organizations

The primary organizations involved in this study are agencies and community-based organizations that provide services to refugees. The research team will minimize burden for these entities, including those that could be considered to be small organizations, by requesting only the information required to achieve the study’s objectives, offering the opportunity for respondents to participate in on-site visits at a time that is convenient for them, and requiring no record-keeping or written responses. There should be no adverse impact for any organizations participating in the study.

A.6 Consequences of Less Frequent Data Collection

All data to be collected associated with this specific burden request are one-time in nature. Not collecting information as proposed would limit the government’s ability to identify and document valuable lessons about strategies to improve the provision of service that promote economic self-sufficiency and integration of resettled refugees in the U.S. and disseminate the information broadly.

A.7 Special Circumstances

There are no special circumstances for the proposed data collection efforts.

A.8 Federal Register Notice and Efforts to Consult Outside the Agency

A.8.1 Federal Register Notice and Comments

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13 and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) regulations at 5 CFR Part 1320 (60 FR 44978, August 29, 1995)), ACF published a notice in the Federal Register announcing the agency’s intention to request an OMB review of this information collection activity. This notice was published on Friday, February 27, 2015, Volume 80, Number 39, page 10695, and provided a 60-day period for public comment. A copy of this notice is included as Appendix G. The government did not receive any comments from the public.

A8.2 Consultation with Experts Outside of the Agency

Phone consultations were conducted with seven non-federal experts in the field, primarily individuals working for entities with expertise in refugee social services. They were asked to comment on the proposed study design, data collection instruments and to share information about how their organizations and programs have approached the issue of refugee social service delivery. The recommendations received from experts helped shape the final data collection instruments. The following outside experts contributed to the study design:

Outside Expert	Affiliation	Contact Information
Charles Shipman	Arizona State Refugee Coordinator	Community Services Administration P.O. Box 6123 – Site Code 086Z Phoenix, AZ 85005 cshipman@azdes.gov; 602-542-6611
Donna Magnuson	International Rescue Committee (Phoenix)	4425 West Olive Avenue, #400 Glendale, AZ 85302 Donna.magnuson@rescue.org; 602-433-2440
Mette Brogden	Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service	700 Light Street Baltimore, MD 21230 Mbrogden@lirs.org; 410-230-2700
Vince Kilduff	Maryland Family Investment Administration	311 West Saratoga Street Baltimore, MD 21201 Vince.kilduff@maryland.gov; 410-767-7187
Tom Medina	Retired Washington State Refugee Coordinator	3176 Carpenter Hills Loop SE Lacey, WA 98503 tmedina1949@gmail.com; 360-481-7037
Liz Schott	Center on Budget and Policy Priorities	820 First Street NE, Suite 510 Washington, DC 20002 schott@cbpp.org; 202-408-1080
Randy Capps	Migration Policy Institute	1400 16^th Street NW, Suite 300 Washington, DC 20036 rcapps@migrationpolicy.org; 202-266-1938

A.9 Incentives for Respondents

Focus group participants will receive a $30 gift card after participating in the focus group as a token of appreciation. These focus groups will be comprised of refugees currently receiving services.

Tokens of appreciation have been shown to be effective in increasing overall response rates in all modes of surveys,² and by extension in focus groups. A gift of appreciation is crucial to helping achieve an unbiased sample of refugees and to reach the target response rates. The provision of such a token of appreciation will help with the recruitment of respondents to encourage them to participate in the focus groups. Further, some focus group participants may incur direct costs for attending the focus groups. Thus, $30 is a reasonable token of appreciation for the inconvenience and cost associated with participation in the focus group during the data collection period.

A.10 Privacy of Respondents

The information collected under this data collection will be kept private to the fullest extent provided by law. Respondents will be informed of all planned uses of data, and that their information will be kept private to the extent permitted by the law. ACF recognizes that TANF and RCA recipients include vulnerable populations, and that programs must protect those populations from any risks of harm from the research and evaluation activities. Accordingly, the research team will obtain informed consent forms from all focus group participants. This informed consent will ensure that participants understand the nature of the research and evaluation activities being conducted. The Consent Forms for the focus group participants are included in Appendix F.

As a part of informed consent, grantees will provide the following rationale for data collection and privacy assurances to focus group participants. This information will be translated into the focus group’s native language:

We are conducting this research to learn about how states and localities provide services to newly arrived refugees. This research is funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
As part of this research, the discussion leader will ask you about your experience accessing services for refugees. During the discussion, you will provide only your first name. You can choose not to answer any of the questions. You may leave the focus group at any time.
We will take notes and audio record the focus group. Only members of the research team will hear the audio recording, which will be used to supplement our notes. Your name will be replaced with an alias in the transcript.
We will not share any information about you with anyone outside the research team. With any study, there is always a risk of a breach of privacy, meaning that other participants in the group may reveal what was discussed in the focus group, or people outside the research team will see the information you provide. However, the study has procedures to protect your privacy.

The interviews with TANF managers and staff, RCA managers and staff, Volag staff, and other community-based agency staff are purely voluntary. Interviewers will tell respondents that all of their responses during the interview will be kept private, their names will not appear in any written reports, and that responses to the questions are voluntary.

A.11 Sensitive Questions

The focus group discussion guide includes items addressing participants’ receipt of cash assistance, access of other services, such as employment assistance, adult education (including English as a Second Language courses), social adjustment/cultural orientation services, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and other food assistance, healthcare, job search experience and barriers to employment. Some respondents may consider these somewhat personal questions to be sensitive.

Including these items is necessary to understand participants’ experiences accessing TANF, RCA and associated services, and how services for refugees may be improved. Focus group staff will inform respondents that participation is voluntary and they may refuse to answer individual items. Study participants will also be reminded that their responses will be kept private, to encourage their candid responses.

A.12 Estimation of Information Collection Burden

A.12.1 Burden Hours

Exhibit A-2 presents the reporting burden on study participants completing the instruments included in this data collection request and their total cost. Because some of the data collection instruments will be in the field for longer than one year, burden is annualized and reflected across a two-year period. The estimated annual burden (based on a two-year study duration) is 187 hours. See below for estimated annual burden for each instrument.

A.12.2 Total Annual Cost

The annualized cost burden to respondents is based on the estimated burden hours and the assumed hourly wage rate for respondents. We estimated the average hourly wage for each respondent group based on information from the Bureau of Labor Statistics³ or the federal minimum wage. We calculated the average hourly rate⁴ for each respondent group using the following categories:

Focus group participant: the minimum hourly wage ($7.25) plus a 40 percent adjustment to account for benefits, or $10.15 per hour.
Community and Social Service Occupations (SOC 21-0000): wage rate of $21.78 plus a 40 percent adjustment for benefits, or $30.49.
Social and Community Service Manager Occupations (SOC 11-9151): wage rate of $32.56, plus a 40 percent adjustment for benefits, or $45.58.

When members of a respondent group come from multiple job categories, we took an average across the relevant categories, as noted. See the exhibit A-2 below for estimated annual cost burden for each type of instrument.

Exhibit A-2: Annual Information Collection Activities and Cost

Instrument	Total Number of Respondents	Annual number of respondents	Number of Responses Per Respondent	Average Burden Hours Per Response	Annual Burden Hours	Average Hourly Wage	Total Annual Cost
Survey of State Refugee Coordinators and Wilson-Fish Program Coordinators	51	26	1	.5	13	$45.58	$592.54
Site Visit Interview Guide for Public Agency Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Managers and Staff	40	20	1	1.5	30	$38.04⁵	$1,141.20
Site Visit Interview Guide for Public Agency Refugee Cash Assistance Managers and Staff	40	20	1	1.5	30	$38.04	$1,141.20
Site Visit Interview Guide for Voluntary Agency Staff	40	20	1	1.5	30	$30.49	$914.70
Site Visit Interview Guide for Other Community-Based Organization Staff	40	20	1	1.5	30	$30.49	$914.70
Focus Group Guide for Service Recipients	72	36	1	1.5	54	$10.15	$548.10
TOTAL Burden Hours					187		$5,252.44

A.13 Cost Burden to Respondents or Record Keepers

This data collection effort involves no recordkeeping or reporting costs for respondents other than those described in Exhibit A-2 above.

A.14 Estimate of Cost to the Federal Government

The total cost for these data collection activities will be $273,522. Annual costs to the Federal government will be $136,761 for the proposed data collection. This includes the costs of developing and pretesting data collection instruments and tools, administering the survey, and collecting site visit data.

A.15 Change in Burden

This is a new data collection.

A.16 Plan and Time Schedule for Information Collection, Tabulation and Publication

A.16.1 Analysis Plan

Survey data will be analyzed and used to systematically document the diversity of state policies and practices across the country, and to inform site selection. Data collected through interviews with managers and staff and focus groups with refugees will be used to create summaries of site visits. These summaries will inform the writing of the study’s final report. The final report will focus on types of arrangements for refugee services across the country and in local study sites; how cash assistance is provided in local study sites; how employability and social services are provided and how they are integrated with cash assistance programs; collaboration with other community organization; available data and data sharing; and promising practices.

A.16.2 Time Schedule and Publications

Exhibit A-3 presents an overview of the project schedule for information collection and publication. Pending OMB approval of proposed instruments, data collection will be completed by late spring of 2016. Findings from analysis of the information collected through on-site interviews and focus groups will be presented by the research contractor in a final research report, expected in late winter/early spring of 2017. This report will be publicly disseminated through OPRE and Abt Associates and its partner, MEF Associates.

Exhibit A-3: Overview of Project Data Collection Schedule

Data Collection or Publication Activity	Timing*
Survey of State Refugee Coordinators	Winter 2016
Site Visits	Late Winter/Spring 2016
Special Topics Reports	Fall 2016
Final Report	Late Winter/Early Spring 2017

*Exact timing is dependent on OMB approval of proposed information collection.

A.17 Reasons not to Display OMB Expiration Date

All instruments created for the TANF-RCA study will display the OMB approval number and the expiration date for OMB approval.

A.18 Exceptions to Certification for Paperwork Reduction Act Submissions

No exceptions are necessary for this information collection.

1 For the purposes of this study, the term refugee refers to all individuals who are eligible for services that refugees receive, including 1) refugees; 2) asylees; 3) Cuban/Haitian entrants; and 4) Special Immigrant Visa holders.

2 Singer, Eleanor (2002). “The Use of Incentives to Reduce Nonresponse in Household Surveys.’ In Survey Nonresponse, eds. Robert M. Groves, Dan A. Dillmon, John L. Eltinge, and Roderick J.A. Little, p. 163-77.

3 http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_nat.htm

4 Assuming 2080 FTE hours worked.

5 Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, National Compensation Survey, 2014: Combined average hourly wage of Community and Social Service Occupations and Social and Community Service Manager Occupations was used for the site visit interview guides for Public Agency TANF Managers and Staff, and Public Agency RCA Managers and Staff.

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