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OMB Control No: 0960-0829	ICR Reference No: 202212-0960-001
Status: Active	Previous ICR Reference No:
Agency/Subagency: SSA	Agency Tracking No:
Title: Vocational Resource Facilitator Demonstration (VRFD)
Type of Information Collection: New collection (Request for a new OMB Control Number)	Common Form ICR: No
Type of Review Request: Regular
OIRA Conclusion Action: Approved without change	Conclusion Date: 05/04/2023
	Date Received in OIRA: 04/04/2023
Terms of Clearance:

	Inventory as of this Action	Requested	Previously Approved
Expiration Date	05/31/2026	36 Months From Approved
Responses	1,422	0	0
Time Burden (Hours)	1,686	0	0
Cost Burden (Dollars)	0	0	0

Abstract: The Social Security Administration (SSA) is undertaking the Vocational Resource Facilitator Demonstration (VRFD) under the Interventional Cooperative Agreement Program (ICAP). ICAP allows SSA to partner with various non-federal groups and organizations to advance interventional research connected to the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) programs. VRFD will test the VRF intervention, which helps newly injured spinal cord injury or disease (SCI) or brain injury (BI) patients pursue their employment goals. The VRFD will provide empirical evidence on the impact of the intervention on patients in several critical areas: (1) employment and earnings, (2) SSI and SSDI benefit receipt, and (3) satisfaction and well-being. A rigorous evaluation of VRFD is critical to help SSA and other interested parties assess promising options to improve employment-related outcomes and decrease benefit receipt. The VRFD evaluation uses a randomized control experimental design that includes one treatment group and one control group. Control group members will receive a referral for services to the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation Services (DVRS)—New Jersey’s state Vocational Rehabilitation agency. The treatment group will receive a referral to DVRS and employment services from a resource facilitator (RF). RFs are fully integrated members of clinical teams who engage with injured workers during inpatient rehabilitation about return to work. The central research questions include: • Was the intervention implemented as planned? • What are key considerations for scaling up or adopting the VRF model at other facilities? • What were the impacts of VRF on outcomes of interest? • Did treatment group members earn or work more than control group members? • Were treatment group members relatively less likely to apply to or receive SSI or SSDI benefits? • Did treatment group members experience greater satisfaction and well-being than control group members? • What were the benefits and costs of the demonstration across key groups? The proposed public survey data collections will support three components of the planned implementation, impact, and benefit-cost analyses. The data collection efforts will provide information that is not available in SSA program records about the characteristics and outcomes of VRFD participants in the treatment and control groups. Respondents are newly injured SCI and BI patients, who will provide written consent before agreeing to participate in the study and be randomly assigned to one of the study groups.

Authorizing Statute(s): None

Citations for New Statutory Requirements: None

Associated Rulemaking Information
RIN:	Stage of Rulemaking:	Federal Register Citation:	Date:
	Not associated with rulemaking

Federal Register Notices & Comments
60-day Notice:	Federal Register Citation:	Citation Date:
	87 FR 80574	12/31/2022
30-day Notice:	Federal Register Citation:	Citation Date:
	88 FR 19340	03/31/2023
Did the Agency receive public comments on this ICR? No

Number of Information Collection (IC) in this ICR: 5

IC Title	Form No.	Form Name
12-month Follow-up Survey
Baseline Survey
Informed Consent
Onsite Audit of sample of case files
Staff Interviews with Site Staff

ICR Summary of Burden

	Total Approved	Change Due to Agency Discretion
Annual Number of Responses	1,422	1,422
Annual Time Burden (Hours)	1,686	1,686
Annual Cost Burden (Dollars)	0	0

Burden increases because of Program Change due to Agency Discretion: Yes

Burden Increase Due to: Miscellaneous Actions

Burden decreases because of Program Change due to Agency Discretion: No

Burden Reduction Due to:

Short Statement: This is a new data collection that increases the public reporting burden. See #12 above for the burden figures. Note: The total burden reflected in ROCIS is 1,686, while the burden cited in #12 of the Supporting Statement is 364. This discrepancy is because the ROCIS burden reflects the following components: teleservice waiting time + learning costs. In contrast, the chart in #12 of the Supporting Statement reflects actual burden.

Annual Cost to Federal Government: $1,146,500

Does this IC contain surveys, censuses, or employ statistical methods? No

Does this ICR request any personally identifiable information (see OMB Circular No. A-130 for an explanation of this term)? Please consult with your agency's privacy program when making this determination. No

Does this ICR include a form that requires a Privacy Act Statement (see 5 U.S.C. §552a(e)(3))? Please consult with your agency's privacy program when making this determination. No

Is this ICR related to the Affordable Care Act [Pub. L. 111-148 & 111-152]? No

Is this ICR related to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, [Pub. L. 111-203]? No

Is this ICR related to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA)? No

Is this ICR related to the Pandemic Response? No

Agency Contact: Faye Lipsky 410 965-8783 faye.lipsky@ssa.gov

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