SSB: SAVES Center Data Collection for Program Improvement

Alternative Supporting Statement for Information Collections Designed for

Research, Public Health Surveillance, and Program Evaluation Purposes

SAVES Center Data Collection for Program Improvement

Formative Data Collections for Program Support

0970 - 0531

Supporting Statement

Part B

August 2024

Submitted By:

Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation and Office of Child Support Services

Administration for Children and Families

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

4^th Floor, Mary E. Switzer Building

330 C Street, SW

Washington, D.C. 20201

Project Officers: Michael Hayes and Michelle Jadczak

Part B

B1. Objectives

Study Objectives

The Safe Access for Victims’ Economic Security (SAVES) Center is a five-year project funded by the Office of Child Support Services (OCSS) in the Administration for Children and Families to increase safe access to child support, parenting time, and establishment of parentage services for survivors of domestic violence. The requested data collection will involve extraction of administrative data from SAVES demonstration sites’ automated systems and administration of survey with program staff to better understand efforts to increase safe access for survivors in local child support programs in the 13 SAVES demonstration sites. Information will help OCSS to identify opportunities for program improvement and change and will inform the development of a qualitative study. We do not intend for this information to be used as the principal basis for public policy decisions; rather it is for program improvement.

The guiding questions for this study are:

• What are the sociodemographic and child support case characteristics of custodial parents (CPs) and noncustodial parents (NCPs) in child support cases where a family violence flag is applied versus CPs and NCPS in child support cases where a family violence flag is not applied at SAVES demonstration sites?

• What are the current policies and practices regarding domestic violence and safety in child support programs at the 12 state and one Tribal child support programs that have been selected to be SAVES demonstration sites?

• Do the SAVES demonstration sites’ teams view the SAVES Center as supporting their efforts to increase safe access to child support, parenting time, and establishment of parentage services for survivors of domestic violence?

• What training and technical assistance (T/TA) needs do the SAVES demonstration sites’ teams have for the SAVES Center?

Generalizability of Results

This study is intended to present an internally valid description of efforts to increase safe access to child support, parenting time, and establishment of parentage services for survivors in local child support systems in chosen sites, not to promote statistical generalization to other sites or service populations.

Appropriateness of Study Design and Methods for Planned Uses

The administrative data extract (Instrument 1) is an appropriate way to collect de-identified administrative data on sociodemographic and child support case characteristics of custodial parents and noncustodial parents as SAVES demonstration sites maintain automated child support systems.

A survey (Instrument 2) is an appropriate way to collect information on current policies and practices regarding domestic violence and safety in child support programs from the SAVES demonstration sites as they are voluntary, private, and SAVES demonstration staff have knowledge of current policies and practices.

Surveys are also appropriate ways to collect information on T/TA (Instruments 3-4) as they provide an opportunity for voluntary and private input from SAVES demonstration site teams on whether the SAVES Center is supporting SAVES demonstration sites and how the SAVES Center might improve the T/TA that it provides.

Written products associated with the study will reiterate that this data collection is not intended to be representative and should not be used to assess participant outcomes.

As noted in Supporting Statement A, this information is not intended to be used as the principal basis for public policy decisions and is not expected to meet the threshold of influential or highly influential scientific information.  

B2. Methods and Design

Target Population

The target population is local child support programs at the 13 SAVES demonstration sites. The SAVES Center research team will use each instrument to obtain information on the 13 SAVES demonstration sites. Because participants will be purposively selected, they will not be representative of the population of child support programs.

Respondent Recruitment

Respondents will be recruited from the 13 SAVES demonstration sites. The project director at each demonstration site will provide the SAVES Center with the contact information for that site’s data analyst (to facilitate collecting data from Instrument 1: Child Support Administrative Data Extract) and child support program staff (to facilitate collecting data from Instrument 2: Child Support Policies and Practices Survey). The demonstration site team (comprised of child support program staff and project partners) will complete the surveys associated with Instrument 3: SAVES Center Grantee Meeting T/TA Feedback Survey and Instrument 4: SAVES Center Learning Community Call T/TA Feedback Survey.

B3. Design of Data Collection Instruments

Development of Data Collection Instruments

The data collection instruments were developed by the SAVES Center research team with feedback from the SAVES Center leadership team, OCSS, and the demonstration sites. When developing Instrument 1: Child Support Administrative Data Extract, SAVES Center research team had informal individual discussions with demonstration sites on their capacity to extract administrative data from their child support system.

B4. Collection of Data and Quality Control

The SAVES Center research team will be collecting all the data electronically.

	Recruitment Protocol	Mode of Data Collection	Quality Control Measures
Instrument 1: Child Support Administrative Data Extract	Data analysts at SAVES demonstration sites	Secure electronic data transfer	Follow-up with SAVES demonstration site as needed
Instrument 2: Child Support Policies and Practices Survey	Child support program staff at SAVES demonstration sites	Online (ex. Qualtrics)	Follow-up with SAVES demonstration site as needed
Instrument 3: SAVES Center Grantee Meeting T/TA Feedback Survey	SAVES demonstration site teams	Online (ex. Qualtrics)	Follow-up with SAVES demonstration site as needed
Instrument 4: SAVES Center Learning Community Call T/TA Feedback Survey	SAVES demonstration site teams	Online (ex. Qualtrics)	Follow-up with SAVES demonstration site as needed

B5. Response Rates and Potential Nonresponse Bias

Response Rates

The data collection instruments are not designed to produce statistically generalizable findings and participation is wholly at the respondent’s discretion. Response rates will not be calculated or reported.

NonResponse

As participants will not be randomly sampled and findings are not intended to be representative, non-response bias will not be calculated.

B6. Production of Estimates and Projections

The estimates produced will not be generalizable and will be used for program management, program improvement, and to inform the development of a qualitative study.

B7. Data Handling and Analysis

Data Handling

Missing data will be coded as such and not included in the data analysis.

Data Analysis

For Instrument 1: Child Support Administrative Data Extract, the SAVES Center research team will conduct both descriptive and more advanced statistical analyses of the data extracts.

For Instrument 2: Child Support Policies and Practices Survey, the SAVES Center research team will thematically code the responses.

For Instrument 3: SAVES Center Grantee Meeting T/TA Feedback Survey and Instrument 4: SAVES Center Learning Community Call T/TA Feedback Survey, the SAVES Center research team will conduct descriptive analyses of the responses.

Data Use

The data will be used for program improvement for the SAVES Center and the local child support programs in the 13 SAVES demonstration sites. The SAVES Center will develop a brief (or briefs) summarizing the findings to share with the SAVES demonstration sites and to share publicly (with a note that these findings are not meant to be generalizable). The information will also inform the development of a qualitative study which will be submitted for review and approval in the future.

B8. Contact Persons

Michael Hayes: michael.hayes@acf.hhs.gov

Michelle Jadczak: michelle.jadczak@acf.hhs.gov

Rachel Wildfeuer: rwildfeuer@centerforpolicyresearch.org

Attachments

• Instrument 1: Child Support Administrative Data Extract

• Instrument 2: Child Support Policies and Practices Survey 

• Instrument 3: SAVES Center Grantee Meeting T/TA Feedback Survey 

• Instrument 4: SAVES Center Learning Community Call T/TA Feedback Survey  

• Appendix A: Data Sharing Agreement Template 

6