5. Compliance Standards & Penalties For Noncompliance

5.1. If a State decided not to participate in National Youth in Transition Database (NYTD), would the maximum penalty be 5 percent?

Yes. The maximum penalty for a State not participating in NYTD, or otherwise being out of compliance with NYTD requirements, is 2.5 percent of the State's Chafee Foster Care Independence Program (CFCIP) for each report period of noncompliance, which would total five percent annually of the CFCIP funds allocated or reallocated to the State (45 CFR 1356.86). We encourage States to participate in NYTD so the data can be used by States to inform practices that may result in better outcomes for youth who age out of foster care.

From: NYTD Webinar Briefing - April 10, 2008

5.2. How did the Administration for Children and Families arrive at the participation rate standards of 80 percent of youth in foster care and 60 percent of youth discharged from foster care?

In developing the proposed rule, we carefully considered the available research on this population (See above), what we believed was a reasonable expectation for States that still have responsibility for the youth's care and placement, and our necessity for ample information to meet the statutory mandate. We believe that the 80 percent participation rate of youth in foster care and 60 percent of youth discharged from foster care is an appropriate standard. While the process of collecting outcomes data from youth no longer in the State's foster care will be challenging, we are seeking a standard that will provide us with a level of confidence in the outcome information that is reported to us. After considering the research on response rates and reviewing the Office of Management and Budget's guidance on surveys (See various publications at http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/inforeg/statpolicy.html#pr), we do not believe that a rate lower than 60 percent would serve our purposes.

From: 2008 NYTD Technical Assistance Meeting - July 23-25, 2008

5.3. Could you please provide the citations for the research papers consulted in determining acceptable outcomes survey participation rates in the Final Rule?

A number of studies documented response rates for similar outcomes surveys and assessments of youth at various ages using a variety of methods. These include:

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families. (2007). Multi-site evaluation of foster youth programs: Evaluation of the Life Skills Training Program. Washington, D.C.

Courtney, M.E., Dworsky, A., Cusick, G.R., Keller, T., Havlicek, J., Perez, A., Terao, S. & Bost, N. (2007). Midwest evaluation of the adult functioning of former foster youth: Outcomes at age 21. Chicago, IL: Chapin Hall Center for Children at the University of Chicago.

Pecora, P. J., Kessler, R. C., Williams, J., O'Brien, K., Downs, A. C., English, D., White, J., Hiripi, E., White, C. R., Wiggins, T. & Holmes, K. E. (2007). Improving family foster care: Findings from the Northwest Foster Care Alumni Study. Seattle, WA: Casey Family Programs. Available at http://www.casey.org.

Courtney, M.E., Dworsky, A., Cusick, G.R., Keller, T., Havlicek, J., Perez, A., Terao, S. & Bost, N. (2005). Midwest evaluation of the adult functioning of former foster youth: Outcomes at age 19. Chapin Hall Working Paper. Chicago, IL: Chapin Hall Center for Children at the University of Chicago.

Courtney, M.E., Piliavin, I., Grogan-Kaylor, A. & Nesmith, A. (2001). Foster youth transitions to adulthood: A longitudinal view of youth leaving care. Child Welfare, 80(6), 685-717.

From: 2008 NYTD Technical Assistance Meeting - July 23-25, 2008

5.4. Is the minimum participation rate standard applied discretely to each of the two reporting periods?

Yes, the outcomes participation rate standards for youth in the follow-up population will be applied to each six-month reporting period. (45 CFR 1356.86(b)(2)(iii)(iv))

From: 2008 NYTD Technical Assistance Meeting - July 23-25, 2008

5.5. Will a youth's refusal to participate (or parent's refusal to allow participation) in the outcomes survey effort be considered as missing data and therefore counted as an error on data elements 35-41 and 45-58?

No. We define missing data as any element that has a blank response, when a blank response is not a valid response option as described in the data element descriptions in section 1356.83(g). If a youth declines to participate in the outcomes survey (or a youth's parent declines participation in outcomes data collection as a member of the baseline population), then the State should report "youth declined" or "parent declined" as appropriate for data element 34 and leave the outcome survey data elements (37-58) blank. In this case, "blank" is a valid response option for data elements 37-58.

From: 2008 NYTD Technical Assistance Meeting - July 23-25, 2008

5.6. For the follow-up populations, the number of youth that are incapacitated, incarcerated, and deceased is excluded from the participation rate standard. What about the number of youth who decline to participate, who run away, who are missing, and who are unable to be located or invited?

If a youth who participated in the survey as a member of the baseline population subsequently refuses to participate in the follow-up surveys, then they would still be included in the calculation of participation rate to determine the State's compliance with this data standard. Youth who participated in the outcomes survey as members of the baseline population who have since run away, are missing, or who are unable to be located or invited are also included in the calculation of participation rate.

From: 2008 NYTD Technical Assistance Meeting - July 23-25, 2008

5.7. In an electronic survey, a State could code the internal consistency checks, however, in a paper survey it is likely there will be instances where a youth would mistakenly answer "no" for data element 52 (children) and "yes" for data element 53 (marriage at child's birth). How would States handle this situation?

This is a matter at a State's discretion. States should evaluate carefully their survey methods for the potential for response errors as a result of using a particular methodology. We anticipate providing technical assistance to States in devising effective methods of administering the youth outcomes survey.

From: 2008 NYTD Technical Assistance Meeting - July 23-25, 2008

5.8. What is the participation rate standard a State must meet for youth in the baseline population taking the youth outcome survey?

The outcomes participation rate standard (45 CFR 1356.85(b)(3)) and associated penalty for noncompliance (45 CFR 1356.86(b)(2)) applies only to the follow-up population. There is no outcomes participation rate standard or penalty for noncompliance with such a standard for the baseline population. However, the data collection requirements found at 45 CFR 1356.82(a)(2)(i) and (ii) specify that States must collect outcomes information on each youth in foster care who turns age 17 in Federal fiscal year (FFY) 2011 and in every third fiscal year thereafter (e.g., FFY 2014, FFY 2017, etc.). Further, these data must be collected within 45 days following the youth's 17th birthday, but not before that birthday.

From: 2009 NYTD Technical Assistance Meeting - June 25-26, 2009

5.9. The NYTD file requires that States gather outcome survey information on the baseline population within 45 days following the youth's 17th birthday. What is the penalty for data gathered on these youth after 45 days? Should States still submit outcomes data gathered from youth in the baseline population after 45 days from their 17th birthdays?

States are required to collect outcomes data from youth in the baseline population within 45 days of the youth's 17th birthday. A State that fails to collect outcomes data from a baseline youth within this timeframe would not meet the data collection requirements specified in the NYTD regulation at 45 CFR 1356.82(a)(2)(i). Regarding the first question, the NYTD regulation specifies a data compliance standard at 45 CFR 1356.85(b)(1), which requires certain data elements, including data element 35, to be 90 percent error-free. A State that is unable to collect outcomes data on a youth in the baseline population within 45 days of the youth's 17th birthday would constitute an error for data element 35. A State that submits a data file containing information on data element 35 that is not 90 percent error-free may incur a penalty as described at 45 CFR 1356.86(b)(2). (See 45 CFR 1356.82(a)(2)(i) and 45 CFR 1356.85(b)(1))
Regarding the second question, States are encouraged to submit outcomes data collected from youth in the baseline population after the 45-day timeframe following the youth's 17th birthday provided that 1) the youth is still in foster care, 2) the youth is still age 17, and 3) the data is collected in time to be transmitted to the Administration for Children and Families with a State's data file submission that corresponds with the report period that immediately follows the end of a Fiscal Year in which baseline data is scheduled to be collected. In the event that a State is unable to collect outcomes data from a baseline youth, a State is still to report the reason it was unable to collect this information in data element 34 (outcomes reporting status).

From: 2009 NYTD Technical Assistance Meeting - June 25-26, 2009

5.10. My State will opt to extend title IV-E foster care assistance to youth up to age 21 as provided by the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008 (Public Law 110-351). If such youth are in the State's follow-up population, what is the required level of participation of such youth for my State to be in compliance with 45 CFR 1356.85(b)(3)?

As specified in Program Instruction ACYF-CB-PI-10-11 (available at http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/resource/pi1011), a State agency that exercises the option to extend title IV-E foster care assistance to youth age 18 or older must consider youth receiving a title IV-E foster care maintenance payment as in foster care for the purposes of NYTD reporting (45 CFR 1356.81). Consequently, in this scenario, such a State must include youth age 18 and older when reporting outcomes information on at least 80 percent of youth in the follow-up population who are in foster care on the date of outcomes data collection (45 CFR 1356.85(b)(3)(i)).

From: 2010 NYTD Technical Assistance Meeting - July 21-23, 2010

5.11. My State failed the NYTD error-free data standard for several elements due to internally inconsistent survey responses collected and reported as part of the 2011A regular data file. How do I address such errors in my 2011A corrected data file? In particular, if my State attempts to resolve the internally inconsistent responses, should we also update the date of outcomes data collection (element 35) in the youth's record?

To address internally inconsistent errors in survey responses in a corrected file, the State is to follow-up directly with the baseline population youth to resolve these inconsistencies. To achieve this goal and to preserve the integrity of NYTD survey data, States may not alter the youth's responses without consulting with the youth or presume that the youth's response to one question is "correct" and the youth's response to a proceeding question is "incorrect". Because the State is addressing errors in the context of a corrected file for elements that initially failed the error-free data standard, there is no need to update the date of outcomes data collection (element 35) provided that element 35 accurately reflects the last date outcomes data were collected during the reporting period that corresponded with the regular data file submission (e.g., the 2011A regular data file, in this example).

From: 2011 NYTD TA Meeting - August 3-5, 2011

5.12. My State failed the NYTD error-free data standard for element 35 (date of outcomes data collection) as part of the 2011A regular data file. How do I address errors in my data file stemming from the State's failure to survey a baseline population youth within 45 days of the youth's 17th birthday?

To address such errors after late collected outcomes data have been reported as part of a regular data file submission, a State should first examine all dates of birth (element 4) and dates of outcome data collection (element 35) to determine if any such information is incorrect. For example, we are aware that some States reported a date for element 35 that reflects when the survey information was entered into the child welfare information system rather than when the survey information was last collected from the youth. By correcting this date, the State may find that it indeed met the 45-day data collection requirement for such a baseline population youth.; Similarly, a date of birthday that was entered incorrectly may also lead to inadvertent data errors for element 35. States that have actually failed to survey a baseline population youth in a timely manner cannot correct the error for element 35 as part of a corrected data file submission as the opportunity to survey a youth in a timely manner has passed. It is also not appropriate to remove records with such errors reported in the 2011A regular file from the 2011A corrected data file submission.

From: 2011 NYTD TA Meeting - August 3-5, 2011

5.13. How do I address errors in my State's data file stemming from our failure to determine a youth's reporting population(s) appropriately? For example, my State's 2011A regular data file contained errors related to Internal Consistency Check #3 because we left elements 14 and 36 blank in the record of a baseline population youth who was to be surveyed during the 2011A report period but who had not been surveyed by the end of that report period.

To address such errors, we encourage States to follow the guidance we issued in Q&A #2.60. In that Q&A, we explained that for a State that is reporting on a baseline youth who turned age 17 more than 45 days from the end of a reporting period but who was not surveyed during that report period, the State should indicate the reason outcomes data were not collected (a valid response for element 34 - outcomes reporting status) in the report period in which the youth turned age 17 and indicate the foster care status of the youth (element 36) in the corresponding data file submission (e.g., the 2011A data submission from the example provided in the question) at minimum. Consequently, the State should report elements 34 and 36 as explained above for such youth in the 2011A corrected file.

If the State collects outcomes data from this baseline youth in the report period immediately following the report period in which the youth turned age 17 (e.g., the 2011B report period from the example provided in the question), the State should report these data in the corresponding regular data file submission by indicating the appropriate valid responses for elements 34-58.

From: 2011 NYTD TA Meeting - August 3-5, 2011

5.14. If a State is found out of compliance with one or both of the outcomes participation rate standards at 45 CFR 1356.85(b)(3), how can the State address this area of non-compliance through the submission of a corrected data file?

As we previously explained in NYTD Q&A #1.35, States are permitted and encouraged to continue efforts to locate and collect outcomes information from youth in the follow-up population who could not be engaged in the NYTD survey during the report period in which the youth turned age 19 or 21. For the purposes of corrective action, a State may continue attempting to administer the survey to such youth who did not participate in the survey for any reason other than "youth declined", "parent declined" or "death" (e.g., a youth whose outcomes reporting status (element 34) was "incapacitated", "incarcerated", "runaway/missing", or "unable to locate or invite" or any other such youth who the State was unable to make contact with for the purposes of outcomes data collection). As the NYTD survey is voluntary for youth, the State must respect the decision of a young person who has declined to participate in outcomes data collection at age 19 or 21 and not attempt to re-administer the survey to that youth. For follow-up population youth who are surveyed during the subsequent reporting period, the State is to include in the corrected file submission all applicable data elements specified 45 CFR 1356.83, including the date on which the survey was ultimately administered (element 35).

From: 2011 NYTD TA Meeting - August 3-5, 2011

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