Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service Notice of Intent To Revise a Currently Approved Information Collection, 24765-24766 [05-9345]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
• Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service

[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 90 (Wednesday, May 11, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 24765-24766]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-9345]


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Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 90 / Wednesday, May 11, 2005 / 
Notices

[[Page 24765]]



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE


Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service 
Notice of Intent To Revise a Currently Approved Information Collection

AGENCY: Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service, 
USDA.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
regulations (5 CFR 1320) that implement the Paperwork Reduction Act of 
1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35), this notice announces the Cooperative 
State Research, Education, and Extension Service's (CSREES) intention 
to request approval for the revision of a currently approved 
information collection for the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education 
Program (EFNEP).

DATES: Written comments on this notice must be received by July 11, 
2005 to be assured of consideration. Comments received after that date 
will be considered to the extent practicable.

ADDRESSES: Written comments concerning this notice and requests for 
copies of the information collection may be submitted by any of the 
following methods to Jason Hitchcock, eGovernment Program Leader, 
Information Systems and Technology Management; Mail: CSREES, USDA, STOP 
2216, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20250-2216; Hand 
Delivery/Courier: 800 9th Street, SW., Waterfront Centre, Washington, 
DC 20024; Fax: 202-720-0857; or E-mail: jhitchcock&csrees.usda.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information and to request 
a copy of the information collection, call or write Jason Hitchcock, E-
Government Leader, (202) 720-4343.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Title: 0524-0044.
    OMB Number: 0524-0044.
    Expiration Date of Current Approval: September 30, 2005.
    Type of Request: Intent to seek approval for the revision of a 
currently approved information collection for three years.
    Abstract: The USDA's CSREES Expanded Food and Nutrition Education 
Program (EFNEP) is a unique program that began in 1969 and is designed 
to reach limited resource audiences, especially youth and families with 
young children. Extension professionals train and supervise 
paraprofessionals and volunteers who teach food and nutrition 
information and skills to limited resources families and youth. EFNEP 
operates in all 50 states and in American Samoa, Guam, Micronesia, 
Northern Marianas, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
    The objectives of EFNEP are to assist limited resource families and 
youth in acquiring the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and changed 
behaviors necessary for nutritionally sound diets, and to contribute to 
their personal development and the improvement of the total family diet 
and nutritional well-being.
    Since program inception, states have annually reported demographic 
and dietary behavior change of their EFNEP audience to the Federal 
Cooperative Extension Service EFNEP National Program Leader at CSREES. 
Through 1992, the reports were submitted on OMB approved forms, ES 255 
and ES 256. The data gathered using these forms were of limited 
usefulness at the State and local level, and data quality was 
questionable.
    The Evaluation/Reporting System (E/RS) was developed to capture the 
impacts of EFNEP. The purpose of this collection is to gauge if the 
federal assistance provided is having an impact on the target audience 
and enable CSREES staff to make programmatic improvements in its 
delivery of federal assistance. The data collected through E/RS also 
provides information for management purposes, provides diagnostic 
assessments of participant needs, and exports summary data for State 
and National assessment of the program's impact. The specifications for 
this system were developed by a committee of representatives from 
across the United States. E/RS is a database that stores information in 
the form of records about the program participants, their family 
structure and their dietary practices. The system is structured to 
collect data about adult participants, youth and youth group members, 
staff assignments, and hours worked. The E/RS consists of separate 
software sub-systems for the county, State, and Federal levels. Each 
county-level system accumulates data about individuals. This data is 
exported electronically to the State-level system. At the State level, 
participating university staff import the data and create State reports 
that are exported electronically to the Federal-level system. At the 
Federal level, the State compiled data lacks any personal information 
that may identify any of the participants. National reports are then 
created and made available to the public.
    Revisions to the currently approved collection include complying 
with Federal regulations and standards for maintaining, collecting and 
presenting data on race and ethnicity. The system has also added an 
improved youth evaluation component. The dietary analysis component has 
been expanded to provide more foods and nutrients, and the system 
provides more output options. This provides expanded flexibility for 
State and local reports.
    The evaluation processes of EFNEP remain consistent with the 
requirements of Congressional legislation and OMB. The Government 
Performance and Results Act (GPRA) of 1993 (Pub. L. 103-62), the 
Federal Activities Inventory Reform Act (FAIR) (Pub. L. 105-207), and 
the Agricultural, Research, Extension and Education Reform Act (AREERA) 
of 1998 (Pub. L. 105-185), together with OMB requirements, support the 
reporting requirements requested in this information collection. One of 
the five Presidential Management Agenda initiatives, Budget and 
Performance Integration, builds on GPRA and earlier efforts to identify 
program goals and performance measures, and link them to the budget 
process. The FAIR act requires the development and implementation of a 
system to monitor and evaluate agricultural research and extension 
activities in order to measure the impact and effectiveness of 
research, extension, and education programs. AREERA requires a 
performance

[[Page 24766]]

evaluation to be conducted to determine whether federally funded 
agricultural research, extension, and education programs result in 
public goods that have national or multistate significance.
    Estimate of Burden: Each year the state offices aggregate local 
electronic data into the State report, and transmit it electronically 
to CSREES. This requirement constitutes the federal burden CSREES 
imposes on the States and is the only burden measured and accounted for 
in this estimate. CSREES estimates that it takes one State or Territory 
12 minutes to aggregate the local level information and export the 
summary information to CSREES. There are a total of 56 responses 
annually, thus constituting a total annual estimated burden of 11.2 
hours for this information collection. The burden is small relative to 
the amount of information collected, because CSREES collects this 
information electronically and leverages information that State and 
local programs are currently collecting for the evaluation of their own 
activities.
    Comments: 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 will 
have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the Agency's estimate of 
the burden of the proposed collection of information; (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 through the use of 
appropriate automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological 
collection techniques or other forms of information technology.

    Done in Washington, DC, this 3rd day of May, 2005.
Joseph J. Jen,
Under Secretary, Research, Education, and Economics.
[FR Doc. 05-9345 Filed 5-10-05; 8:45 am]
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