Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; Comment Request-Performance Standards and Reporting for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Modernization Initiatives, 48709-48710 [E9-23123]
Download as PDF
<![CDATA[
48709
Notices
Federal Register
Vol. 74, No. 184
Thursday, September 24, 2009
This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER
contains documents other than rules or
proposed rules that are applicable to the
public. Notices of hearings and investigations,
committee meetings, agency decisions and
rulings, delegations of authority, filing of
petitions and applications and agency
statements of organization and functions are
examples of documents appearing in this
section.
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Food and Nutrition Service
Agency Information Collection
Activities: Proposed Collection;
Comment Request—Performance
Standards and Reporting for
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance
Program Modernization Initiatives
srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with NOTICES
AGENCY: Food and Nutrition Service
(FNS), USDA.
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 collection is a new collection for
Performance Standards and Reporting
for the Supplemental Nutrition
Assistance Program (SNAP)
Modernization Initiatives.
DATES: Written comments must be
received on or before November 23,
2009.
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 has 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 the use of
appropriate automated, electronic,
mechanical, or other technological
collection techniques or other forms of
information technology.
Comments may be sent to: Steven
Carlson, Director, Office of Research and
Analysis, U.S. Department of
Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service,
VerDate Nov<24>2008
16:27 Sep 23, 2009
Jkt 217001
3101 Park Center Drive, Alexandria, VA
22302. Comments may also be
submitted via fax to the attention of
Steven Carlson at 703–305–2576 or via
e-mail to Steve.Carlson@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 1014,
Alexandria, Virginia 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 Steven Carlson at
703–305–2017.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Title: Performance Standards and
Reporting for Supplemental Nutrition
Assistance Program Modernization
Initiatives.
OMB No.: Not yet assigned.
Expiration Date: Not yet determined.
Type of Request: New collection.
Abstract: The profile of SNAP
participants has changed to include an
increasing number of working families,
resulting in efforts by many States to
modernize SNAP to improve access
among eligible households and increase
operational efficiency, while
maintaining payment accuracy. In
addition, there is a trend for government
services to adopt business procedures
that promise better service and more
efficiency. Finally, reduced resources
and budget constraints are leading many
States to look for approaches that reduce
administrative costs while maintaining
or improving client services.
Modernization adjusts the traditional
SNAP administration procedures, and it
introduces new avenues of access to
benefits. Section 4116 of the Food,
Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008
(Pub. L. 110–234) amended Section 11
of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008,
7 USC 2020, to include a provision for
FNS to develop standards for
identifying major operational changes
and for States to provide any
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
information required by the USDA.
While developing such standards is not
the focus of this data collection effort,
the legislation indicates a high federal
priority placed on understanding and
measuring efforts to modernize SNAP
service delivery.
Modernization creates the
opportunity for increased efficiency and
improved service delivery, but it also
poses potential threats to smooth
operations. Although States report some
required measures of SNAP access,
accuracy, and efficiency to FNS,
individual States may supplement the
measures and standards with their own
efforts to maximize internal
accountability and efficiency. FNS has
not set performance requirements for
most modernization initiatives; hence,
the Agency has requisitioned this study
in order to better understand how States
are assessing performance of their
modernization initiatives.
To assess the existing modernization
activities underway in each State, FNS
plans to study SNAP performance
measurement in all 50 States and the
District of Columbia. Data collection
will include a survey, telephone and inperson interviews, and administrative
records collection from State and local
SNAP offices, and SNAP community
business and not-for-profit partners.
Affected Public: State, Local or Tribal
Government; Businesses or other forprofits; Not-for-profit institutions.
Respondent groups identified include:
(1) State and local SNAP offices; (2)
SNAP community business and not-forprofit partners.
Estimated Number of Respondents:
The total estimated number of
respondents is 913. This includes: 178
State and District of Columbia SNAP
office staff, 400 county and local SNAP
office staff, and 335 SNAP partners at
local community organizations and
businesses.
Estimated Number of Responses per
Respondent: The estimated number of
responses per respondent is one to four,
depending on the respondent.
Thirty State and District of Columbia
SNAP office staff will participate in all
four responses for this study, including
the survey, the telephone and in-person
interviews, and the records collection.
From the State and District of Columbia
SNAP offices, 98 staff members will
participate in everything except the inperson interviews. Twenty staff
E:\FR\FM\24SEN1.SGM
24SEN1
48710
Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 184 / Thursday, September 24, 2009 / Notices
members will participate in the survey
and records collection, and 25 staff will
only participate in in-person interviews
on site.
Similarly, 40 county and local SNAP
office staff will be asked to complete all
four components of the study. Two
people at each site, minus the 40 who
will complete all four study components
(for a total of 260 respondents) will
participate in the survey, the telephone
interview, and the records collection,
but will not receive the in-person
interviews. A total of approximately 50
county and local SNAP office staff will
participate in in-person interviews only.
Twenty staff from SNAP partners will
also be asked to respond to a phone
interview, to participate in in-person
interviews, and to provide available
data records from the past 12 months.
For SNAP partners, 163 staff members
will be invited to participate in a
telephone interview, and those
participants will also be asked to
conduct the records collection. Another
30 SNAP partners will participate in inperson interviews, but not in the other
study components..
Estimated Time per Response: The
estimated time of response varies from
10 minutes (0.167 hours) to 4 hours,
depending on the respondent and type
of instrument, as shown in the table
below.
Estimated Total Annual Burden on
Respondents: 3184.48 hours.
ANNUAL BURDEN ESTIMATE
Estimated
number of
respondents a
Response category
Estimated average number
of hours per
response b
Estimated total
hours
State and District of Columbia SNAP Office Staff
Survey ..........................................................................................................................................
Telephone Interview ....................................................................................................................
In-person Interview ......................................................................................................................
Records Collection .......................................................................................................................
153
128
55
153
1.37
1.54
1.55
1.35
209.90
197.11
85.17
206.49
Total ......................................................................................................................................
498
........................
698.67
Survey ..........................................................................................................................................
Telephone Interview ....................................................................................................................
In-person Interview ......................................................................................................................
Records Collection .......................................................................................................................
350
300
90
300
1.80
1.55
0.63
2.02
630.06
465.03
56.67
607.01
Total ......................................................................................................................................
1,040
........................
1,758.77
Telephone Interview ....................................................................................................................
In-person Interview ......................................................................................................................
Records Collection .......................................................................................................................
264
30
244
0.77
1.04
2.02
201.99
31.34
493.17
Total ......................................................................................................................................
538
........................
727.04
Grand Total ...................................................................................................................
2,076
........................
3,184.48
Local and County SNAP Officials
SNAP Partners
a For
this collection, the estimated number of respondents and total annual responses are the same, as all data collection will occur within the
span of one year. While respondents will be invited to submit no more than one response in each response category (responses annually per respondent is equal to one for each category), individual respondents may be involved in more than one aspect of this collection (so, some respondents may participate in both the survey and the in-person interview).
b This average includes time burden incurred by nonresponders for reviewing the invitation to participate in the collection and informational materials as well as time that responders spend submitting information under each category.
Dated: September 16, 2009.
Julia Paradis,
Administrator, Food and Nutrition Service.
[FR Doc. E9–23123 Filed 9–23–09; 8:45 am]
srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with NOTICES
BILLING CODE 3410–30–P
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Food and Nutrition Service
Agency Information Collection
Activities: Proposed Collection;
Comment Request—Forms FNS–806–
A, Claim for Reimbursement (National
School Lunch and School Breakfast
Programs), and FNS–806–B, Claim for
Reimbursement (Special Milk Program
for Children)
AGENCY:
Food and Nutrition Service,
USDA.
ACTION:
VerDate Nov<24>2008
17:40 Sep 23, 2009
Jkt 217001
PO 00000
Notice.
Frm 00002
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
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 information collections. The
Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) uses
the Claims for Reimbursement, FNS–
806–A and FNS–806–B, to collect data
to determine the amount of
reimbursement school food authorities
participating in the National School
Lunch Program (NSLP), OMB Number
0584–0006 Expiration May 31, 2012,
School Breakfast Program (SBP), OMB
Number 0584–0012 Expiration May 31,
2012, and Special Milk Program for
E:\FR\FM\24SEN1.SGM
24SEN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 184 (Thursday, September 24, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 48709-48710]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-23123]
========================================================================
Notices
Federal Register
________________________________________________________________________
This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains documents other than rules
or proposed rules that are applicable to the public. Notices of hearings
and investigations, committee meetings, agency decisions and rulings,
delegations of authority, filing of petitions and applications and agency
statements of organization and functions are examples of documents
appearing in this section.
========================================================================
Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 184 / Thursday, September 24, 2009 /
Notices
[[Page 48709]]
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Food and Nutrition Service
Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection;
Comment Request--Performance Standards and Reporting for Supplemental
Nutrition Assistance Program Modernization Initiatives
AGENCY: Food and Nutrition Service (FNS), USDA.
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 collection is a new
collection for Performance Standards and Reporting for the Supplemental
Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Modernization Initiatives.
DATES: Written comments must be received on or before November 23,
2009.
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 has 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 the use of appropriate automated, electronic,
mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms
of information technology.
Comments may be sent to: Steven Carlson, Director, Office of
Research and Analysis, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and
Nutrition Service, 3101 Park Center Drive, Alexandria, VA 22302.
Comments may also be submitted via fax to the attention of Steven
Carlson at 703-305-2576 or via e-mail to Steve.Carlson@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 1014, Alexandria, Virginia 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 Steven
Carlson at 703-305-2017.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Title: Performance Standards and Reporting for Supplemental
Nutrition Assistance Program Modernization Initiatives.
OMB No.: Not yet assigned.
Expiration Date: Not yet determined.
Type of Request: New collection.
Abstract: The profile of SNAP participants has changed to include
an increasing number of working families, resulting in efforts by many
States to modernize SNAP to improve access among eligible households
and increase operational efficiency, while maintaining payment
accuracy. In addition, there is a trend for government services to
adopt business procedures that promise better service and more
efficiency. Finally, reduced resources and budget constraints are
leading many States to look for approaches that reduce administrative
costs while maintaining or improving client services.
Modernization adjusts the traditional SNAP administration
procedures, and it introduces new avenues of access to benefits.
Section 4116 of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (Pub. L.
110-234) amended Section 11 of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008, 7
USC 2020, to include a provision for FNS to develop standards for
identifying major operational changes and for States to provide any
information required by the USDA. While developing such standards is
not the focus of this data collection effort, the legislation indicates
a high federal priority placed on understanding and measuring efforts
to modernize SNAP service delivery.
Modernization creates the opportunity for increased efficiency and
improved service delivery, but it also poses potential threats to
smooth operations. Although States report some required measures of
SNAP access, accuracy, and efficiency to FNS, individual States may
supplement the measures and standards with their own efforts to
maximize internal accountability and efficiency. FNS has not set
performance requirements for most modernization initiatives; hence, the
Agency has requisitioned this study in order to better understand how
States are assessing performance of their modernization initiatives.
To assess the existing modernization activities underway in each
State, FNS plans to study SNAP performance measurement in all 50 States
and the District of Columbia. Data collection will include a survey,
telephone and in-person interviews, and administrative records
collection from State and local SNAP offices, and SNAP community
business and not-for-profit partners.
Affected Public: State, Local or Tribal Government; Businesses or
other for-profits; Not-for-profit institutions. Respondent groups
identified include: (1) State and local SNAP offices; (2) SNAP
community business and not-for-profit partners.
Estimated Number of Respondents: The total estimated number of
respondents is 913. This includes: 178 State and District of Columbia
SNAP office staff, 400 county and local SNAP office staff, and 335 SNAP
partners at local community organizations and businesses.
Estimated Number of Responses per Respondent: The estimated number
of responses per respondent is one to four, depending on the
respondent.
Thirty State and District of Columbia SNAP office staff will
participate in all four responses for this study, including the survey,
the telephone and in-person interviews, and the records collection.
From the State and District of Columbia SNAP offices, 98 staff members
will participate in everything except the in-person interviews. Twenty
staff
[[Page 48710]]
members will participate in the survey and records collection, and 25
staff will only participate in in-person interviews on site.
Similarly, 40 county and local SNAP office staff will be asked to
complete all four components of the study. Two people at each site,
minus the 40 who will complete all four study components (for a total
of 260 respondents) will participate in the survey, the telephone
interview, and the records collection, but will not receive the in-
person interviews. A total of approximately 50 county and local SNAP
office staff will participate in in-person interviews only.
Twenty staff from SNAP partners will also be asked to respond to a
phone interview, to participate in in-person interviews, and to provide
available data records from the past 12 months. For SNAP partners, 163
staff members will be invited to participate in a telephone interview,
and those participants will also be asked to conduct the records
collection. Another 30 SNAP partners will participate in in-person
interviews, but not in the other study components..
Estimated Time per Response: The estimated time of response varies
from 10 minutes (0.167 hours) to 4 hours, depending on the respondent
and type of instrument, as shown in the table below.
Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: 3184.48 hours.
Annual Burden Estimate
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Estimated Estimated
number of average number Estimated
Response category respondents of hours per total hours
\a\ response \b\
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
State and District of Columbia SNAP Office Staff
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Survey......................................................... 153 1.37 209.90
Telephone Interview............................................ 128 1.54 197.11
In-person Interview............................................ 55 1.55 85.17
Records Collection............................................. 153 1.35 206.49
-----------------------------------------------
Total...................................................... 498 .............. 698.67
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Local and County SNAP Officials
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Survey......................................................... 350 1.80 630.06
Telephone Interview............................................ 300 1.55 465.03
In-person Interview............................................ 90 0.63 56.67
Records Collection............................................. 300 2.02 607.01
-----------------------------------------------
Total...................................................... 1,040 .............. 1,758.77
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SNAP Partners
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Telephone Interview............................................ 264 0.77 201.99
In-person Interview............................................ 30 1.04 31.34
Records Collection............................................. 244 2.02 493.17
-----------------------------------------------
Total...................................................... 538 .............. 727.04
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Grand Total............................................ 2,076 .............. 3,184.48
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\a\ For this collection, the estimated number of respondents and total annual responses are the same, as all
data collection will occur within the span of one year. While respondents will be invited to submit no more
than one response in each response category (responses annually per respondent is equal to one for each
category), individual respondents may be involved in more than one aspect of this collection (so, some
respondents may participate in both the survey and the in-person interview).
\b\ This average includes time burden incurred by nonresponders for reviewing the invitation to participate in
the collection and informational materials as well as time that responders spend submitting information under
each category.
Dated: September 16, 2009.
Julia Paradis,
Administrator, Food and Nutrition Service.
[FR Doc. E9-23123 Filed 9-23-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-30-P
