Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; Comment Request-Evaluation of the Direct Certification With Medicaid for Free and Reduced-Price (DCM-F/RP) Meals Demonstrations, 11526-11530 [2017-03569]
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<![CDATA[
11526
Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 36 / Friday, February 24, 2017 / Notices
Dated: February 8, 2017.
Jessica Shahin,
Acting Administrator, Food and Nutrition
Service.
[FR Doc. 2017–03570 Filed 2–23–17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410–30–C
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Food and Nutrition Service
Agency Information Collection
Activities: Proposed Collection;
Comment Request—Evaluation of the
Direct Certification With Medicaid for
Free and Reduced-Price (DCM–F/RP)
Meals Demonstrations
Food and Nutrition Service
(FNS), U.S. Department of Agriculture.
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:
In accordance with the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this
notice invites the general public and
other public agencies to comment on
this proposed information collection.
This is a new collection for the
Evaluation of the Direct Certification
with Medicaid for Free and ReducedPrice Meals (DCM–F/RP)
Demonstrations.
DATES: Written comments must be
received on or before April 25, 2017.
ADDRESSES: Comments are invited on:
(a) Whether the proposed collection of
information is necessary for the proper
performance of the functions of the
agency, including whether the
information shall have practical utility;
(b) the accuracy of the agency’s estimate
of the burden of the proposed collection
of information, including the validity of
the methodology and assumptions that
were used; (c) ways to enhance the
quality, utility, and clarity of the
information to be collected; and (d)
ways to minimize the burden of the
collection of information on those who
are to respond, including use of
appropriate automated, electronic,
mechanical, or other technological
collection techniques or other forms of
information technology.
Comments may be sent to: Conor
McGovern, Food and Nutrition Service,
U.S. Department of Agriculture, 3101
Park Center Drive, Room 1040,
Alexandria, VA 22302. Comments may
also be submitted via fax to the attention
of Conor McGovern at 703–305–2576 or
via email to conor.mcgovern@
fns.usda.gov. Comments will also be
accepted through the Federal
eRulemaking Portal. Go to https://
www.regulations.gov, and follow the
online instructions for submitting
comments electronically.
asabaliauskas on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
SUMMARY:
VerDate Sep<11>2014
17:20 Feb 23, 2017
Jkt 241001
All written comments will be open for
public inspection at the office of the
Food and Nutrition Service during
regular business hours (8:30 a.m. to 5
p.m., Monday through Friday) at 3101
Park Center Drive, Room 1040,
Alexandria, VA 22302.
All responses to this notice will be
summarized and included in the request
for Office of Management and Budget
approval. All comments will be a matter
of public record.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Requests for additional information or
copies of this information collection
should be directed to Conor McGovern
at 703–457–7740.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Title: Evaluation of the Direct
Certification with Medicaid for Free and
Reduced-Price Meals (DCM–F/RP)
Demonstrations.
Form Number: N/A.
OMB Number: Not Yet Assigned.
Expiration Date: Not Yet Determined.
Type of Request: New collection.
Abstract: Direct certification has
improved access to free school meals
while easing the burden on families and
district staff by reducing the use of
household applications and decreasing
the number of students subject to
verification for school meal benefit
eligibility. Direct certification also
improves program integrity because it is
less error-prone than certification by
application.
Recently, FNS has sought ways to
further expand direct certification,
including experimenting with allowing
direct certification based on data from
means-tested programs that do not
confer categorical eligibility. Prior DCM
demonstrations have authorized
selected States and districts to use
income information from Medicaid files
to determine students’ eligibility based
on their household income and directly
certify those students found to be
eligible for free meals. The new DCM–
F/RP demonstration expands the use of
direct certification using income
information from Medicaid files to
include eligibility for reduced-price
meals. The evaluation of the DCM–F/RP
demonstration will investigate the
processes, challenges, and outcomes of
using Medicaid data to directly certify
students.
The study will gather data from State,
School Food Authority,1 and State
1 Because nearly all schools in the National
School Lunch Program and School Breakfast
Program are parts of entities commonly known as
school districts, we use that term in the rest of this
document instead of School Food Authority to refer
to local entities that enter into agreements with
State agencies to operate the National School Lunch
Program and the School Breakfast Program.
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
Agency vendor staff, including (1) site
visits and follow-up interviews to
document DCM–F/RP processes, (2)
administrative records on certification
for school meal benefits and
participation in the school meal
programs, and (3) cost logs and
clarification interviews on the Statelevel administrative costs of DCM–F/RP.
Data will be collected for school year
(SY) 2017–2018.
FNS is also conducting research with
the State Child Nutrition and Medicaid
agency officials, school district directors
and school district food service staff to
develop, test, and improve the
evaluation data collection instruments
and methodologies. This pre-testing
burden was approved by the Office of
Management and Budget on December
19, 2016 under OMB # 0584–0606 FNS
Generic Clearance for Pre-Testing, Pilot,
and Field Test Studies.
Affected Public: State and Local
Government—Respondent groups
identified include (1) State Child
Nutrition Agency staff who administer
the National School Lunch Program and
School Breakfast Program from 15 State
agencies, (2) State Medicaid Agency
staff from 15 State agencies, (3) staff
from 3 other State Agencies that play
key roles in the direct certification
process, and (4) school district staff
from 32 districts.
Businesses—Respondent groups
identified include 2 State Child
Nutrition agency vendors and 2
Medicaid Agency vendors that play key
roles in the direct certification process.
Estimated Number of Respondents:
The total estimated number of unique
respondents for SY 2017–2018 is 197
(193 respondents and 4 nonrespondents). This count assumes 100
percent response from State Child
Nutrition Agency staff on site visits,
follow-up telephone interviews,
administrative records requests, and
cost data collection. For State Medicaid
Agency staff, it assumes 100 percent
response on site visits and 93 percent
response on the follow-up telephone
interviews and cost data collection. For
other State Agency staff, it assumes 100
percent response on site visits and cost
data collection. For school district staff,
it assumes 100 percent response on site
visits and 91 percent response on
follow-up telephone interviews. For
State Agency vendor staff, it assumes
100 percent response on site visit
interviews. State Child Nutrition
Agency, State Medicaid Agency, other
State Agency, and district staff are
expected to participate in multiple data
collection activities, but each individual
is counted only once in the total.
E:\FR\FM\24FEN1.SGM
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Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 36 / Friday, February 24, 2017 / Notices
asabaliauskas on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
A total of 45 State Child Nutrition
Agency staff (3 per State) will take part
in the on-site interviews, with 30 of
those respondents (2 per State) also
taking part in on-site observations. Of
the 45 State Child Nutrition Agency
respondents, 15 (one from each State)
will complete the follow-up telephone
interview, administrative records
request, and collection logs used to
track State cost data. A total of 45 State
Medicaid Agency staff (3 per State) will
also take part in the on-site interviews,
with 30 of those respondents (2 per
State) also taking part in the on-site
observations. Of the 45 State Medicaid
Agency respondents, 15 (one from each
State) will be asked to complete the
follow-up telephone interview and
collection logs used to track State cost
data (including 14 respondents and 1
non-responder). A total of 3 respondents
from other State Agencies (1 in each of
3 States) will take part in the on-site
interviews and complete the collection
logs used to track State cost data.
A total of 96 district respondents (3
per participating district) will take part
in the on-site interviews, with 64 (2 per
VerDate Sep<11>2014
17:20 Feb 23, 2017
Jkt 241001
district) of those respondents also taking
part in on-site observations. Of the 96
district respondents, 32 (one per
district) will be asked to complete the
follow-up telephone interview
(including 29 respondents and 3 nonresponders).
A total of 4 respondents from State
Agency vendors (1 for each of 2 State
Child Nutrition Agency vendors and 2
Medicaid Agency vendors) will take
part in the on-site interviews.
Estimated Number of Responses per
Respondent: The average estimated
annual number of responses per
respondent is 5.168 (5.217 for
respondents and 2.75 for nonrespondents). Site visits (including
interviews and observations—both
preceded by advance letters and
scheduling calls) with State- and
district-level staff will take place once
during the year, and follow-up
telephone interviews (preceded by
scheduling calls) with State- and
district-level staff will take place once
later in the year. Administrative records
data will be requested via email and
collected twice during the year. Cost
PO 00000
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Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
11527
data will also be requested via email
and collected through cost-tracking logs
and interviews with State-level
administrators four times during the
year.
Estimated Total Annual Responses:
We estimate that 1,007 total responses
will be gathered in SY 2017–2018
(including 1,003 responses from state
and local government entities and 4
from businesses) from 193 respondents
(189 state and local government entities
and 4 business entities). A further 11
responses from 4 non-responders (all
from state and local government
entities) are anticipated, for a total of
1,018 responses.
Estimated Time per Response: The
estimated time per response is 0.879
hours (approximately 53 minutes). The
estimated time of response varies from
2 minutes to 4 hours depending upon
respondent action, as shown in the table
below.
Estimated Total Annual Burden on
Respondents: The total estimated
annual burden is 894.675 hours, as
shown in the table below.
BILLING CODE 3410–30–P
E:\FR\FM\24FEN1.SGM
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Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 36 / Friday, February 24, 2017 / Notices
NA
15
15
15
0.084
1.260
1.260
Site Visit Scheduling
NA
15
15
15
0.500
7.500
7.500
(State
Government)
State Child
Nutrition
Agency Staff
On-Site Interview
NA
45
45
45
45
45
(State
Government)
State Child
Nutrition
Agency Staff
On-Site Observations
NA
30
30
30
0.500
15
15
(State
Government)
State Child
Nutrition
Agency Staff
Site Visit Follow-Up
Telephone Interview
Email
NA
15
15
15
0.030
0.450
0.450
(State
Government)
State Child
Nutrition
Agency Staff
Site Visit Follow-Up
Telephone Interview
NA
15
15
15
15
15
(State
Government)
State Child
Nutrition
Agency Staff
Administrative Records
Request Email
NA
15
15
30
0.900
0.900
(State
Government)
State Child
Nutrition
Agency Staff
Administrative Records
Request
NA
15
15
30
120
120
(State
Government)
State Child
Nutrition
Agency Staff
State Cost Data
Collection Email
NA
15
15
60
1.800
1.800
(State
Government)
State Child
Nutrition
Agency Staff
State Cost Data
Collection Tracking
Log
NA
15
15
60
180
180
(State
Government)
State Child
Nutrition
Agency Staff
State Cost Data
Collection Clarification
Call
NA
15
15
60
15
15
VerDate Sep<11>2014
17:20 Feb 23, 2017
Jkt 241001
PO 00000
Frm 00006
Fmt 4703
0.030
0.030
0.250
Sfmt 4725
E:\FR\FM\24FEN1.SGM
24FEN1
EN24FE17.000</GPH>
Site Visit Letter
(State
Government)
State Child
Nutrition
Agency Staff
asabaliauskas on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
(State
Government)
State Child
Nutrition
Agency Staff
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Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 36 / Friday, February 24, 2017 / Notices
state Medicaid Agency Responses
(State
Government)
State
Medicaid
Agency Staff
Site Visit Letter
NA
15
15
15
0.084
1.260
1.260
(State
Government)
State
Medicaid
Agency Staff
Site Visit Schedu lin
NA
15
15
15
0.500
7.500
7.500
(State
Government)
State
Medicaid
Agency Staff
On-Site Interview
NA
45
45
45
45
45
(State
Government)
State
Medicaid
Agency Staff
On-Site Observations
NA
30
30
30
0.500
15
15
(State
Government)
State
Medicaid
Agency Staff
Site Visit Follow-Up
Telephone Interview
Email
NA
15
14
14
0.030
0.420
0.030
0.030
0.450
(State
Government)
State
Medicaid
Agency Staff
Site Visit Follow-Up
Telephone Interview
NA
15
14
14
14
0.167
0.167
14.167
(State
Government)
State
Medicaid
Agency Staff
State Cost Data
Collection Email
NA
15
14
56
1.680
0.030
0.030
1.710
(State
Government)
State
Medicaid
Agency Staff
State Cost Data
Collection Tracking
Log
NA
15
14
56
168
0.167
0.167
168.167
(State
Government)
State
Medicaid
Agency Staff
State Cost Data
Collection Clarification
Call
NA
15
14
56
14
0.250
0.250
14.250
0.030
0.250
Other state Agency Responses
Other State
Agency Staff
(State
Government)
Other State
Agency Staff
VerDate Sep<11>2014
Site Visit Letter
NA
0.084
0.252
0.252
Site Visit Scheduling
Call
NA
0.500
1.500
1.500
17:20 Feb 23, 2017
Jkt 241001
PO 00000
Frm 00007
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4725
E:\FR\FM\24FEN1.SGM
24FEN1
EN24FE17.001</GPH>
asabaliauskas on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
(State
Government)
11530
Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 36 / Friday, February 24, 2017 / Notices
Government)
State Cost Data
Collection Email
NA
12
State Cost Data
Collection Tracking
Log
NA
12
State Cost Data
Collection Clarification
Call
NA
12
0.250
(Local
Government)
School District
Staff
Site Visit Letter
32
32
32
32
(Local
Government)
School District
Staff
Site Visit Scheduling
Call
32
32
32
32
(Local
Government)
School District
Staff
On-Site Interview
32
96
96
96
(Local
Government)
School District
Staff
On-Site Observations
32
64
64
64
(Local
Government)
School District
Staff
Site Visit Follow-Up
Telephone Interview
Email
32
32
29
29
(Local
Government)
School District
Staff
Site Visit Follow-Up
Telephone Interview
32
32
29
29
32
189
189
Other State
Agency Staff
(State
Government)
Other State
Agency Staff
(State
Government)
Other State
Agency Staff
5.307
0.360
36
36
0.084
2.688
2.688
0.500
16
16
96
96
0.500
32
32
0.030
0870
0.030
0.090
0.960
29
1,003
0.360
0.167
0.501
29.501
0.112
1.235
890.675
0.887
889.44
2.75
11
Dated: February 8, 2017.
Jessica Shahin,
Acting Administrator, Food and Nutrition
Service.
[FR Doc. 2017–03569 Filed 2–23–17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410–30–C
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17:20 Feb 23, 2017
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EN24FE17.002</GPH>
asabaliauskas on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
State/local Government Subtotal
0.030
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 36 (Friday, February 24, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11526-11530]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-03569]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Food and Nutrition Service
Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection;
Comment Request--Evaluation of the Direct Certification With Medicaid
for Free and Reduced-Price (DCM-F/RP) Meals Demonstrations
AGENCY: Food and Nutrition Service (FNS), U.S. Department of
Agriculture.
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this
notice invites the general public and other public agencies to comment
on this proposed information collection. This is a new collection for
the Evaluation of the Direct Certification with Medicaid for Free and
Reduced-Price Meals (DCM-F/RP) Demonstrations.
DATES: Written comments must be received on or before April 25, 2017.
ADDRESSES: Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed collection
of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions
of the agency, including whether the information shall have practical
utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the
proposed collection of information, including the validity of the
methodology and assumptions that were used; (c) ways to enhance the
quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and
(d) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on
those who are to respond, including use of appropriate automated,
electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or
other forms of information technology.
Comments may be sent to: Conor McGovern, Food and Nutrition
Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 3101 Park Center Drive, Room
1040, Alexandria, VA 22302. Comments may also be submitted via fax to
the attention of Conor McGovern at 703-305-2576 or via email to
conor.mcgovern@fns.usda.gov. Comments will also be accepted through the
Federal eRulemaking Portal. Go to https://www.regulations.gov, and
follow the online instructions for submitting comments electronically.
All written comments will be open for public inspection at the
office of the Food and Nutrition Service during regular business hours
(8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday) at 3101 Park Center Drive,
Room 1040, Alexandria, VA 22302.
All responses to this notice will be summarized and included in the
request for Office of Management and Budget approval. All comments will
be a matter of public record.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or
copies of this information collection should be directed to Conor
McGovern at 703-457-7740.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Title: Evaluation of the Direct Certification with Medicaid for
Free and Reduced-Price Meals (DCM-F/RP) Demonstrations.
Form Number: N/A.
OMB Number: Not Yet Assigned.
Expiration Date: Not Yet Determined.
Type of Request: New collection.
Abstract: Direct certification has improved access to free school
meals while easing the burden on families and district staff by
reducing the use of household applications and decreasing the number of
students subject to verification for school meal benefit eligibility.
Direct certification also improves program integrity because it is less
error-prone than certification by application.
Recently, FNS has sought ways to further expand direct
certification, including experimenting with allowing direct
certification based on data from means-tested programs that do not
confer categorical eligibility. Prior DCM demonstrations have
authorized selected States and districts to use income information from
Medicaid files to determine students' eligibility based on their
household income and directly certify those students found to be
eligible for free meals. The new DCM-F/RP demonstration expands the use
of direct certification using income information from Medicaid files to
include eligibility for reduced-price meals. The evaluation of the DCM-
F/RP demonstration will investigate the processes, challenges, and
outcomes of using Medicaid data to directly certify students.
The study will gather data from State, School Food Authority,\1\
and State Agency vendor staff, including (1) site visits and follow-up
interviews to document DCM-F/RP processes, (2) administrative records
on certification for school meal benefits and participation in the
school meal programs, and (3) cost logs and clarification interviews on
the State-level administrative costs of DCM-F/RP. Data will be
collected for school year (SY) 2017-2018.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Because nearly all schools in the National School Lunch
Program and School Breakfast Program are parts of entities commonly
known as school districts, we use that term in the rest of this
document instead of School Food Authority to refer to local entities
that enter into agreements with State agencies to operate the
National School Lunch Program and the School Breakfast Program.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
FNS is also conducting research with the State Child Nutrition and
Medicaid agency officials, school district directors and school
district food service staff to develop, test, and improve the
evaluation data collection instruments and methodologies. This pre-
testing burden was approved by the Office of Management and Budget on
December 19, 2016 under OMB # 0584-0606 FNS Generic Clearance for Pre-
Testing, Pilot, and Field Test Studies.
Affected Public: State and Local Government--Respondent groups
identified include (1) State Child Nutrition Agency staff who
administer the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast
Program from 15 State agencies, (2) State Medicaid Agency staff from 15
State agencies, (3) staff from 3 other State Agencies that play key
roles in the direct certification process, and (4) school district
staff from 32 districts.
Businesses--Respondent groups identified include 2 State Child
Nutrition agency vendors and 2 Medicaid Agency vendors that play key
roles in the direct certification process.
Estimated Number of Respondents: The total estimated number of
unique respondents for SY 2017-2018 is 197 (193 respondents and 4 non-
respondents). This count assumes 100 percent response from State Child
Nutrition Agency staff on site visits, follow-up telephone interviews,
administrative records requests, and cost data collection. For State
Medicaid Agency staff, it assumes 100 percent response on site visits
and 93 percent response on the follow-up telephone interviews and cost
data collection. For other State Agency staff, it assumes 100 percent
response on site visits and cost data collection. For school district
staff, it assumes 100 percent response on site visits and 91 percent
response on follow-up telephone interviews. For State Agency vendor
staff, it assumes 100 percent response on site visit interviews. State
Child Nutrition Agency, State Medicaid Agency, other State Agency, and
district staff are expected to participate in multiple data collection
activities, but each individual is counted only once in the total.
[[Page 11527]]
A total of 45 State Child Nutrition Agency staff (3 per State) will
take part in the on-site interviews, with 30 of those respondents (2
per State) also taking part in on-site observations. Of the 45 State
Child Nutrition Agency respondents, 15 (one from each State) will
complete the follow-up telephone interview, administrative records
request, and collection logs used to track State cost data. A total of
45 State Medicaid Agency staff (3 per State) will also take part in the
on-site interviews, with 30 of those respondents (2 per State) also
taking part in the on-site observations. Of the 45 State Medicaid
Agency respondents, 15 (one from each State) will be asked to complete
the follow-up telephone interview and collection logs used to track
State cost data (including 14 respondents and 1 non-responder). A total
of 3 respondents from other State Agencies (1 in each of 3 States) will
take part in the on-site interviews and complete the collection logs
used to track State cost data.
A total of 96 district respondents (3 per participating district)
will take part in the on-site interviews, with 64 (2 per district) of
those respondents also taking part in on-site observations. Of the 96
district respondents, 32 (one per district) will be asked to complete
the follow-up telephone interview (including 29 respondents and 3 non-
responders).
A total of 4 respondents from State Agency vendors (1 for each of 2
State Child Nutrition Agency vendors and 2 Medicaid Agency vendors)
will take part in the on-site interviews.
Estimated Number of Responses per Respondent: The average estimated
annual number of responses per respondent is 5.168 (5.217 for
respondents and 2.75 for non-respondents). Site visits (including
interviews and observations--both preceded by advance letters and
scheduling calls) with State- and district-level staff will take place
once during the year, and follow-up telephone interviews (preceded by
scheduling calls) with State- and district-level staff will take place
once later in the year. Administrative records data will be requested
via email and collected twice during the year. Cost data will also be
requested via email and collected through cost-tracking logs and
interviews with State-level administrators four times during the year.
Estimated Total Annual Responses: We estimate that 1,007 total
responses will be gathered in SY 2017-2018 (including 1,003 responses
from state and local government entities and 4 from businesses) from
193 respondents (189 state and local government entities and 4 business
entities). A further 11 responses from 4 non-responders (all from state
and local government entities) are anticipated, for a total of 1,018
responses.
Estimated Time per Response: The estimated time per response is
0.879 hours (approximately 53 minutes). The estimated time of response
varies from 2 minutes to 4 hours depending upon respondent action, as
shown in the table below.
Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: The total estimated
annual burden is 894.675 hours, as shown in the table below.
BILLING CODE 3410-30-P
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[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN24FE17.000
[[Page 11529]]
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN24FE17.001
[[Page 11530]]
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN24FE17.002
Dated: February 8, 2017.
Jessica Shahin,
Acting Administrator, Food and Nutrition Service.
[FR Doc. 2017-03569 Filed 2-23-17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-30-C
