by Meghan Maury
Due This Week: American Community Survey (ACS) and Puerto Rico Community Survey (PRCS). The ACS and PRCS — sometimes called the “crown jewels” of the federal statistical system — collect social, economic, housing and demographic data from over 3.5 million households per year. In the previous listing, Census indicated that it would update the race and ethnicity questions on the ACS to comply with the revised SPD15 standards, but in this listing they indicate that they are not moving forward with that change. Comment today — deadline for comments is June 13.
Every time the government makes a change to a survey or a form — or introduces a new survey or form — you have the right to weigh in on that decision. The Take Action! newsletter highlights surveys or forms the government is changing, renewing, or introducing. Click the links to tell the government what you think about the changes they are making.
Note: The Take Action tab of dataindex.us provides information about even more surveys, forms, evaluations, and records notices than are listed in your weekly newsletter.
Health
National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN). The NHSN is the nation's most widely used healthcare-associated infection tracking system; it provides facilities, states, regions, and the nation with data needed to identify problem areas, measure progress of prevention efforts, and ultimately eliminate healthcare-associated infections. CDC is making a number of changes to the collection tool, including revising collection of sex data to accept only male and female responses and removing the requirement to collect information on preferred language and need for an interpreter.
Comments due July 13.National Youth Tobacco Survey. This survey collects data on youth use of e-cigarettes, cigarettes, cigars, smokeless tobacco (chewing tobacco, snuff, dip), hookahs, pipes, snus, nicotine pouches, other oral nicotine products, bidis, heated tobacco products, and roll-your-own cigarettes; knowledge and attitudes; media and advertising; access to tobacco products and enforcement of restrictions on access; secondhand smoke and e-cigarette aerosol exposure, and cessation. The survey is being revised to remove questions about gender identity and to update brand names.
Comments due July 6.Application for the Reviewer Contact Information Form. This form collects information from and about people who will be acting as reviewers for SAMHSA grants. SAMHSA is revising the form to remove gender identity information, remove response options on LGBTQ and "minority" populations from a question about areas of expertise, and to update the form to align with new SPD15 race/ethnicity guidance.
Comments due July 10.Health Related Behaviors Survey. The HRBS is the largest population-based health survey of service members and gives service members an opportunity to answer questions about their health, health behaviors, and well-being. It's unclear from the listing whether DOD is making any changes to the survey at this time.
Comments due July 6.
Housing and Homelessness
Resident Opportunities and Self-Sufficiency (ROSS) Program. These forms are used to evaluate the capacity and eligibility of applicants to the ROSS program. Through this listing, HUD is formalizing an earlier removal of several sections of the form, including requests for narrative information about how applicants are working for racial equity, to comply with AFFH, and to market their services to underserved communities.
Comments due July 10.Projects for Assistance in Transition From Homelessness (PATH) Program Annual Report. The PATH Program Annual Report summarizes how states and local homelessness services providers use PATH funds and whether those uses align with the requirements of the Public Health Services Act - which requires providers not to discriminate on the basis of race, sex, national origin, or other protected characteristics. SAMHSA is revising the reporting requirement to remove reporting on gender identity (despite the fact that 40% of young people experiencing homelessness identify as LGBTQ) and to update reporting on services for Hispanic and Latino people.
Comments due June 30.
Discrimination
Individual Complaint of Employment Discrimination Form. This form is used to file formal equal employment opportunity (EEO) discrimination complaints against DOT and, in turn, for DOT to process the complaints. The listing indicates that the form is being revised, but no supplemental materials are available describing the changes being made. Historically, this form has allowed respondents to indicate discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, as well as race, disability, and other protected characteristics. Similar forms have been revised to remove the ability to report sexual orientation and/or gender identity-based discrimination.
Comments due June 29.
Disaster Response
Community Services Block Grant Disaster Supplemental Annual Report. This collection gathers data on disaster program performance, including the amount of funds used for administrative costs and on the direct delivery of local services, as well as information on the number of and characteristics of clients served. This listing formalizes changes made last year to remove information about gender and equity from the form.
Comments due July 13.
Criminal Justice
Annual Surveys of Probation and Parole. These surveys collect annual year-end counts and yearly movements of community corrections populations; characteristics of the community supervision population, such as gender, racial composition, ethnicity, conviction status, offense, and supervision status. The listing indicates that BJS is not making any changes to the surveys at this time.
Comments due June 16.