Supporting Statement A_ORR-3 and ORR-4 Report Forms_September 2023_fnl

Unaccompanied Refugee Minors Program:

ORR-3 Placement Report and

ORR-4 Outcomes Report

OMB Information Collection Request

0970 - 0034

Supporting Statement Part A - Justification

Type of Request: Revision

September 2023

Submitted By:

Office of Refugee Resettlement

Administration for Children and Families

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

1. Circumstances Making the Collection of Information Necessary

The Refugee Act of 1980, 8 U.S.C. 1522, amended the Immigration and Nationality Act to create a domestic refugee resettlement program that provides assistance and services to refugees resettling in the United States. With the enactment of this legislation, the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) issued a series of regulations at 45 CFR Part 400 to establish comprehensive requirements for a State-administered refugee resettlement program including child welfare services to unaccompanied refugee minors (URMs). Originally, the program provided services for refugee youth arriving from overseas unaccompanied by a parent or adult relative. Over the years Congress passed laws making other special populations already in the United States eligible for the URM program.

The URM program currently operates in 14 states and the District of Columbia and provides the same range of child welfare benefits and services available to other foster children in those states and the District as well as services required by ORR regulation. URM benefits and services are provided in accordance with State Title IV-B and IV-E child and family service plans, Federal and State regulations, and ORR policy guidance. Participants in the URM program are placed with licensed providers by the state or local government agencies based on the provider’s licensed capacity and the minor’s specific needs.

The Director of ORR is required by the Refugee Act of 1980 to prepare and maintain a list of unaccompanied children who have entered the United States; the names and last known residence of their parents (if living) at the time of arrival; and the children's location, status, and progress. Additionally, the Act requires ORR to submit a report to the Congress each year which summarizes the location and status of unaccompanied refugee children admitted to the United States. ORR regulations at 45 CFR 400.120 describe the specific URM program reporting requirements prescribed by the Director, and these requirements are implemented through the ORR-3 and ORR-4 Reports.

This information collection request is for a revision. Specifically, we request to extend approval for the ORR-3 and ORR-4 Report Forms with very minimal changes to the report forms; ORR proposes minor revisions to the form instructions to improve clarity in certain sections and provide additional guidance for providers on how to assess youth functioning.

2. Purpose and Use of the Information Collection

The information on the ORR‑3 and ORR‑4 Report Forms enables ORR to meet its statutory obligation to maintain a national, central registry of all unaccompanied refugee minors which could thereby assist parents and other relatives in locating their child relatives anywhere in the United States for purposes of family reunification. Additionally, ORR reports annually to Congress the location and status of unaccompanied refugee children and youth served by the URM Program. ORR also uses information collected from the ORR-3 to verify a minor’s ongoing eligibility for the URM program, to track placements, changes in a child’s immigration status, and legal responsibility establishment. Information gathered through the ORR-4 contributes to ORR’s tracking of client progress over time in education attainment, personal functioning, family reunification activities, and transition to adulthood services and outcomes. Both the ORR-3 and ORR-4 allow for effective program monitoring.

3. Use of Improved Information Technology and Burden Reduction

Currently, the ORR-3 and ORR-4 Report Forms are completed by URM provider agencies and submitted by State grantees via a web-based data collection system, known as the Refugee Arrivals Data System (RADS). The use of this technology has helped:

• Simplify information collection for providers and the review process by states;

• Standardize data entry and increase reporting accuracy;

• Allow information to reach ORR in a timely manner;

• Enable ORR to centrally manage the data collection process;

• Improve ORR’s ability to analyze data along several parameters to assess program performance and client outcomes; and

• Enhance quality control.

4. Efforts to Identify Duplication and Use of Similar Information

The ORR-3 and ORR-4 Report Forms are unique to ORR and there is no duplicative data collection on URM youth, except for the transition to adulthood services and outcomes on the ORR-4 Report Form. The Children’s Bureau’s National Youth in Transition Database (NYTD) collects services and outcome data on current and former domestic foster care youth. While approximately 40% of URMs are in public custody of the state or county, a majority (60%) are in private agency custody and therefore, would not be included in NYTD. Also, NYTD only captures data on a sample of foster youth every other year, so few URM youth would be included in the reporting sample. Therefore, ORR made the decision in 2010 to incorporate ORR-4 baseline and follow-up reports to perform the following two functions: (1) track the independent living services (i.e. transition to adulthood services) provided to youth, and (2) develop outcome measures to mirror the NYTD outcome data collection. In 2021, ORR proposed to remove the ORR-4 baseline report for youth who enter the URM program at 17 years of age, as it was determined unnecessary.

5. Impact on Small Businesses or Other Small Entities

Not applicable.

6. Consequences of Collecting the Information Less Frequently

Current regulations at 45 CFR 400.120 outline the reporting requirements.

The State must submit the ORR‑3 Report Form within:

• 30 days of the date of a minor’s placement in the state. This report serves to notify ORR that proper legal arrangements have been made for the minor, that the minor is in care, and that financial claims for the minor’s care will commence.

• 60 days of the date of a change in the minor's placement or legal responsibility of any kind for the minor is established or transferred. This information enables ORR to fulfill its statutory obligation to maintain a record of the minor's location for family reunification purposes, if applicable.

• 60 days of the date of case closure due to emancipation or reunification with a parent or other adult with custody. This information serves to notify ORR that financial support for the case will terminate.

The state must submit the ORR‑4 Report Form for each youth annually, beginning approximately 12 months from the date of the initial placement report.

To require either of these reports less frequently would both undermine their purpose and violate legislative and regulatory requirements.

7. Special Circumstances Relating to the Guidelines of 5 CFR 1320.5

No special circumstances are involved. This information collection is consistent with all OMB guidelines specified in 5 CFR 1320.5. The URM database is a part of the RADS and is a Privacy Act System of Records.

8. Comments in Response to the Federal Register Notice and Efforts to Consult Outside the Agency

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 July 24, 2023, Volume 88, Number 140, pages 47508-47509, and provided a sixty-day period for public comment. During the notice and comment period, ORR received four applicable comments from one URM state agency staff, which are noted below.

Comment 1: States other than Massachusetts must leave Section V, 2.a. of the ORR-3 report form blank or the report will be denied/rejected. The commenter requested that this be changed from radio boxes to check boxes so that providers can correct an accidental mark; or add an ‘N/A’ to the radio boxes.

Response 1: ORR added an “N/A” option to 2.a. in Section V of the ORR-3 report form for states other than Massachusetts and updated the instructions noting the “N/A” option.

Comment 2: The commenter indicated it would be helpful to have clearer instructions on how to complete Section III, 1. of the ORR-4 report form for a youth who has graduated in the past 12 months.

Response 2: ORR added clarifying language to the ORR-4 instructions on how to report education information for a youth who completed high school in the past year.

Comment 3: The commenter indicated it would be helpful to clarify that in Section IV, 2.c. of the ORR-4 report form, ORR is asking about decisions to not reunify a youth with a relative in the U.S. who has been assessed for reunification. Also, the commenter recommended clearer instructions on how to complete this section if the youth does not have any relatives in the U.S. or if no U.S. relatives were assessed as permanency resources in the past 12 months.

Response 3: ORR added clarifying language to the ORR-4 instructions on how to report reunification activities.

Comment 4: The commenter noted that in Section VI of the ORR-4 report form, youth may answer incorrectly as to what services they have received or are receiving, whether intentionally or due to misunderstanding. The commenter questioned, in general, why the outcomes section was based on youth self-report and not case manager’s knowledge.

Response 4: The ORR-4 report form was designed to mirror questions asked of former foster youth for the National Youth in Transition Database, in which youth are expected to self-report outcome information. ORR added additional language and tips to the ORR-4 instructions on how to collect outcome data from youth.

9. Explanation of Any Payment or Gift to Respondents

Not applicable.

10. Assurance of Confidentiality Provided to Respondents

The RADS, which now includes the URM database, is a Privacy Act System of Records. The Privacy Act System of Records Notice was initially published in the SSA Privacy Act: Notices of Systems of Records in 1985 (No. 09-60-0216). A System of Records Notice for RADS under 09-80-0325 was published on July 18, 2016, and a modification to 09-80-0325 was published on February 8, 2022.

11. Justification for Sensitive Questions

Not applicable.

12. Estimates of Annualized Burden Hours and Costs

The total annual estimated burden for all respondent types – State Agencies, URM Provider Agencies, and URM Youth Participants is 4,137 hours per year. The following tables provide details for each respondent type.

State Agencies

Information Collection Title	Total Number of Respondents	Total Number of Responses Per Respondent	Average Burden Hours Per Response	Total Burden Hours	Annual Burden Hours	Average Hourly Wage*	Total Annual Cost
ORR-3 URM Placement Report	15	432	0.25	1,620	540	$42.66	$23,036
ORR-4 URM Outcomes Report	15	282	0.50	2,115	705	$42.66	$30,075
Estimated Annual Burden Total:					1,245	Estimated Annual Cost Total:	$53,111

*The cost to respondents from State Agencies was calculated using the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) job code for Social and Human Services Assistants [21-1093] and wage data for state government workers from May 2022, which is $21.33 per hour. To account for fringe benefits and overhead the rate was multiplied by two which is $42.66. https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes211093.htm

URM Provider Agencies

Information Collection Title	Total Number of Respondents	Total Number of Responses Per Respondent	Average Burden Hours Per Response	Total Burden Hours	Annual Burden Hours	Average Hourly Wage*	Total Annual Cost
ORR-3 URM Placement Report	24	270	0.50	3,240	1,080	$38.58	$41,666
ORR-4 URM Outcomes Report	24	162	1.0	3,888	1,296	$38.58	$50,000
Estimated Annual Burden Total:					2,376	Estimated Annual Cost Total:	$91,666

*The cost to respondents from URM Provider Agencies was calculated using the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) job code for Social and Human Services Assistants [21-1093] and mean wage data for individual and family services from May 2022, which is $19.29 per hour. To account for fringe benefits and overhead the rate was multiplied by two which is $38.58. https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes211093.htm

URM Youth

Information Collection Title	Total Number of Respondents	Total Number of Responses Per Respondent	Average Burden Hours Per Response	Total Burden Hours	Annual Burden Hours	Average Hourly Wage*	Total Annual Cost
ORR-4 URM Outcomes Report	1,032	3	0.50	1,548	516	$7.25	$3,741
Estimated Annual Burden Total:					516	Estimated Annual Cost Total:	$3,741

*The cost to respondents for URM youth was calculated using the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) federal minimal wage from May 2022, which is $7.25 per hour based on the Fair Labor Standards Act. https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/minimum-wage/state

13. Estimates of Other Total Annual Cost Burden to Respondents and Record Keepers

There is no other cost burden associated with this information collection other than the above-mentioned estimated burden and cost in section 12.

14. Annualized Cost to the Federal Government

One contractor staff reviews and approves the collected information; the contractor is comparable to the GS-12 level in the Federal government. The 2023 General Schedule (GS) Locality Pay Table annual rate for a GS-12 in Washington, DC is $94,199. Therefore, the estimate of annualized cost to the Federal Government to review and approve the collected information is $94,199.

https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/salaries-wages/salary-tables/pdf/2023/DCB.pdf

15. Explanation for Program Changes or Adjustments

There are no changes to the report forms or to burden estimates. The proposed revisions to the report instructions are based upon comments received from State agency staff, URM provider agencies, and ORR’s analysis of reporting trends. States and providers were seeking additional guidance on how to assess youth functioning.

16. Plans for Tabulation and Publication and Project Time Schedule

ORR staff review the collected information per the required report submission due dates. Annually ORR reconciles the data to report the location and status of unaccompanied refugee children and youth served by the URM Program in its Annual Report to Congress.

17. Reason(s) Display of OMB Expiration Date is Inappropriate

Not applicable; expiration date will be displayed.

18. Exceptions to Certification for Paperwork Reduction Act Submissions

No exceptions are necessary for this information collection.