Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; Comment Request: Food Stamp Program Pre-Screening Tool Survey, 33971 [E8-13410]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
• Food and Nutrition Service

[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 116 (Monday, June 16, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Page 33971]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-13410]


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Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 116 / Monday, June 16, 2008 / 
Notices

[[Page 33971]]



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Food and Nutrition Service


Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; 
Comment Request: Food Stamp Program Pre-Screening Tool Survey

AGENCY: Food and Nutrition Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this 
notice invites the general public and other public agencies to comment 
on the proposed revision of this currently approved collection. The 
information collection involves the use of a Web-based pre-screening 
tool for the general public to use to determine potential eligibility 
for Food Stamp Program benefits.

DATES: Written comments must be submitted on or before August 15, 2008.

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 will 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 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 Patrick Waldron, Branch Chief, Program 
Development Division, Food Stamp Program, Food and Nutrition Service, 
U.S. Department of Agriculture, 3101 Park Center Drive, Room 810, 
Alexandria, VA 22302. Comments may also be submitted via fax to the 
attention of Patrick Waldron at 703-305-2486 or via e-mail to 
Patrick.Waldron@fns.usda.gov.
    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, 
Alexandria, Virginia 22302, Room 810.
    All responses to this notice will be summarized and included in the 
request for Office of Management and Budget approval of the information 
collection. All comments will become a matter of public record.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information 
should be directed to Patrick Waldron at (703) 305-2495.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Title: Food Stamp Program Pre-Screening Tool.
    OMB Number: 0584-0519.
    Expiration Date: August 31, 2008.
    Type of Request: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Abstract: In June 2003, the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) 
deployed an interactive Web-based food stamp pre-screening tool that 
can be utilized by the general public to determine potential Food Stamp 
Program eligibility. A previous notice was published in the Federal 
Register on May 31, 2005 at 70 FR 30922 (2005). The pre-screening tool 
helps the users determine their eligibility for food stamps. Once the 
user enters household size, income, expenses and resource information, 
the tool will calculate and provide the user with an estimated range of 
benefits that the household may be eligible to receive. Since food 
stamp eligibility and benefit amount may vary by location, FNS makes it 
clear that the tool is only an estimator, and the household will need 
to contact the local agency to determine actual eligibility and the 
appropriate benefit amount. Other data collected are:
     ID (Each entry is assigned a unique identifier);
     State: State or territory in which the user resides;
     Number of Children: Number of children in the household;
     Number of Elderly: Number of elderly members in the 
household;
     Migrant Workers: Is anyone in the household a seasonal or 
migrant farm worker;
     Homeless: Is the household homeless or living in a 
shelter;
     User Type: Who is using the tool;
     User Referral: How the user heard about the tool;
     Amount: If user was eligible to receive benefits and if so 
the estimated range of benefits.
    Although the tool also requests the name and age of the user, FNS 
does not retain this information or any other specific information like 
social security numbers, birthdays, etc. about the household itself in 
the tool. However, the system does request the following information 
during the initial process in which the user enters data:
     Whether the user is using the tool for personal reasons or 
on behalf of others; and
     If they are using it on behalf of others, the user will be 
asked to identify him/herself (e.g., relative of a person in need, 
advocacy organization, faith-based group, etc.) using a drop down menu.
    Once the user logs out of the system, none of the user-provided 
information is retained by FNS.
    The survey component of the tool was removed since the program 
analysis of this data is no longer necessary. Thus, the projected 
annual burden hours of 48,183 are reduced by 4,183.

Estimate of Burden

Pre-Screening Tool Component Burden

    Affected Public: Individuals and Households.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 264,000 per year.
    Number of Responses per Respondent: 1.
    Total Number of Annual Responses: 264,000.
    Estimated Time per Response: 10 minutes.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden: 44,000 hours.
    Estimated Total Pre-Screening Tool Annual Burden = 44,000.

    Dated: June 10, 2008.
Roberto Salazar,
Administrator, Food and Nutrition Service.
 [FR Doc. E8-13410 Filed 6-13-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-30-P