Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; Comment Request-Evaluation of the Summer Electronic Benefits for Children Household-Based Demonstrations on Food Insecurity, 68317-68319 [2010-28039]

Download as PDF 68317 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 214 / Friday, November 5, 2010 / Notices of Research and Analysis, Food and Nutrition Service/USDA, 3101 Park Center Drive, Room 1004, Alexandria, VA 22302; Fax: 703–305–2576; E-mail: john.endahl@fns.usda.gov. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Title: Special Nutrition Program Operations Study. OMB Number: 0584–NEW. Expiration Date of Approval: Not yet determined. Type of Information Collection Request: New information collection. Abstract: The objective of the Special Nutrition Program Operations Study (SNPOS) is to collect timely data on policies, administrative, and operational issues on the Child Nutrition Programs. The ultimate goal is to analyze these data and provide input for new legislation on Child Nutrition Programs as well as to provide pertinent technical assistance and training to program implementation staff. The SNPOS will help the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) better understand and address current policy issues related to Special Nutrition Programs (SNP) operations. The policy Total ............................. Frequency of response Total annual responses Average burden hours per response Total annual burden estimate (hours) School Food Authority (SFA) Directors. State Agency Child Nutrition Directors. 1,500 1 1,500 1 1,500 56 1 56 1 56 ............................................. 1,556 ........................ 1,556 1 1,556 Respondents Dated: November 1, 2010. Julia Paradis, Administrator, Food and Nutrition Service. Evaluation of the Impact of the Summer Electronic Benefits for Children Household-Based Demonstrations on Food Insecurity. [FR Doc. 2010–28037 Filed 11–4–10; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3410–30–P DATES: DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE ADDRESSES: Written comments must be received on or before January 4, 2011. Food and Nutrition Service Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; Comment Request—Evaluation of the Summer Electronic Benefits for Children Household-Based Demonstrations on Food Insecurity Food and Nutrition Service (FNS), USDA. ACTION: Notice. mstockstill on DSKH9S0YB1PROD with NOTICES 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 collection is a new collection for the purpose of conducting The SUMMARY: VerDate Mar<15>2010 • Conducting a paper survey of all 56 State Agency CN Directors. Affected Public: State, Local and Tribal Governments. Type of Respondents: 1,500 SFA Directors and 56 State CN Program Directors. Estimated Total Number of Respondents: 1,556. Frequency of Response: Once annually. Estimated Annual Responses: 1,556. Estimate of Time per Respondent and Annual Burden: Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average sixty (60) minutes per Self Administered Survey for the SFA Directors and the State Agency Child Nutrition Directors (this includes 30 minutes for data gathering and 30 minutes to respond to the questionnaire). Respondents in the SNOPS include 1,500 School Food Service Directors and 56 State Child Nutrition Program Directors. The annual reporting burden is estimated at 1,556 hours (see table below). Estimated number of respondents Data collection activity Self Administered/Web/ Telephone Survey. Self Administered/Telephone Survey. and operational issues include, but are not limited to, the preparation of the program budget, development and implementation of program policy and regulations, and identification of areas for technical assistance and training. Specifically, this study will help FNS obtain: • General descriptive data on the Child Nutrition (CN) program characteristics to help FNS respond to questions about the nutrition programs in schools; • Data related to program administration for designing and revising program regulations, managing resources, and reporting requirements; and • Data related to program operations to help FNS develop and provide training and technical assistance for School Food Authorities (SFAs) and State Agencies responsible for administering the CN programs. The activities to be undertaken subject to this notice include: • Conducting a multi-modal (e.g. paper, Web, and telephone) survey of approximately 1,500 SFA Directors. 17:16 Nov 04, 2010 Jkt 223001 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. PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 Comments may be sent to: Steven Carlson, Director, Office of Research and Analysis, Food and Nutrition Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 3101 Park Center Drive, Room 1014, 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 Steven.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 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: E:\FR\FM\05NON1.SGM 05NON1 68318 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 214 / Friday, November 5, 2010 / Notices Title: Evaluation of the Impact of the Summer Electronic Benefits for Children Household-Based Demonstrations on Food Insecurity. Form Number: Not yet assigned. OMB Number: Not yet assigned. Expiration Date: Not yet assigned. Type of Request: New Collection of Information. Abstract: The Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2010 (Pub. L. 111–80), Section 749(g), directed that the Secretary of Agriculture shall carry out demonstration projects to develop and test methods of providing access to food for children in urban and rural areas during the summer months when schools are not in regular session to reduce or eliminate the food insecurity and hunger of children and to improve the nutritional status of children. The Summer Electronic Benefits for Children Household-Based Demonstrations will carry out the demonstration projects Congress directed USDA to perform in this section.1 In addition, the Act directed the Secretary of Agriculture to provide for an independent evaluation of the demonstration projects using rigorous methodologies. The Evaluation of the Impact of the Summer Electronic Benefits for Children Household-Based Demonstrations on Food Insecurity will carry out these provisions of the Act. The evaluation of these projects is intended to provide policymakers with clear, rigorous and timely findings to make decisions about potential changes to Federal summer feeding programs during the next Child Nutrition reauthorization cycle. Primarily, the evaluation of the Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer for Children (SEBTC) demonstrations will examine how the provision of summer food benefits to the households of children certified for free or reduced-price school meals impacts the prevalence of very low food security among children certified for free or reduced-price meals as well as their nutritional status. Nutritional status will be examined with relatively simple measures of food choices, nutritional behaviors and Body Mass Index (BMI). Other effects, such as perceptions of parents and changes in household food supply and food expenditures will also be considered. In addition to impact measures, the evaluation will document the process and challenges of implementing the SEBTC demonstrations and the costs of operating the demonstrations. The results will provide valuable information to States considering applying for additional demonstrations as well as if the demonstrations lead to policy changes. The evaluation will gather data from up to 5 demonstration areas in 2011. Each demonstration area will consist of contiguous school districts that, collectively, have 10,000 children certified for free or reducedprice school meals. The evaluation will gather data from up to 15 demonstration areas in 2012. The 2012 demonstration areas will also consist of contiguous school districts that, collectively, have 10,000 children certified for free or reduced-price meals. In the demonstration areas households with children certified for free or reducedprice school meals will be divided into treatment and control groups. Affected Public: Individuals/ Households; State, Local and Tribal Government; Business (for-profit). Respondent Type: Individual schoolaged children and their parents/ guardians in each demonstration area; Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) processors and retail grocery vendors who operate in the demonstration areas; agencies that administer either the National School Lunch and School Breakfast, WIC,2 or SNAP 3 programs in the States with a demonstration area; Type of instrument Individual/Households. mstockstill on DSKH9S0YB1PROD with NOTICES Respondent type Parent-Guardian interviews ...... 44,118 1 44,118 Parent-Guardian (non-response rate). Children .............. State Agency Official. interviews ...... 8,823 1 8,823 interviews ...... interviews ...... 44,118 400 1 3 44,118 1,200 1 USDA is also conducting demonstrations of enhancements to the existing Summer Food Service Program. Those demonstrations are not part of this Information Collection. VerDate Mar<15>2010 17:16 Nov 04, 2010 Jkt 223001 Frequency of response Estimated annual responses Type of respondent State, Local, ITO Number of respondents the agency that administers education programs in the States with a demonstration area; and, local school food authorities and schools in each demonstration area. Estimated Number of Respondents: The total estimated number of respondents is 98,565 (32,731 in 2011 and 65,834 in 2012). Over both years this includes: 22,059 treatment and 22,059 control parents/guardians; 8,823 attempted but incomplete parent/ guardian interviews; 22,059 treatment and 22,059 control students (1 per interviewed household); 400 State agency officials from about 35 State agencies, 400 officials from about 35 local school food authorities; 700 food retailers and 6 EBT processors. These sample sizes are large because the key outcome of interest—very low food security—is a relatively rare event; these sample sizes are needed in order to meet the Congressional requirement to detect statistically significant differences in very low food security between treatment and control households. Estimated Number of Responses per Respondent: there will be one interview per parent/guardian, one per student, 2 per food retailer, 2 per EBT processor, and 3 per State or local official. Estimated Total Annual Responses: 21,313. Estimated Time per Response: The estimated average response time is 61.2 minutes (1.02 hours). The estimated time of response varies from 15 to 180 minutes depending on respondent group, as shown in the table below, with an average estimated time of 6 minutes for non-responders to the participant survey. Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: The total estimated response time is 20,654.6 hours in 2011 and 43,284.2 in 2012. See the table below for estimated total annual burden for each type of respondent. 2 Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children. PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 Time per respondent 1 0.1002 0.25 3 Annual burden hours 44,118.00 884.06 11,029.50 3,600.00 3 Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (formerly the Food Stamp Program). E:\FR\FM\05NON1.SGM 05NON1 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 214 / Friday, November 5, 2010 / Notices Number of respondents Frequency of response Estimated annual responses Type of respondent Respondent type Type of instrument Time per respondent interviews ...... 400 3 1,200 3 Business ............. Local School Food Authority. Food Retailer ...... EBT Processors interviews ...... interviews ...... 700 6 2 2 1,400 12 0.5 1 Total Annual Cost to Respondents ........................ 98,565 ........................ 100,871 .......................... 68319 Annual burden hours 3,600.00 700.00 12.00 63,943.56 Note: Children are included in the parents non-response rate. Dated: November 1, 2010. Julia Paradis, Administrator, Food and Nutrition Service. [FR Doc. 2010–28039 Filed 11–4–10; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3410–30–P DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Forest Service Paulina Ranger District; Ochoco National Forest; Crook and Wheeler Counties, OR; Jackson Vegetation Management Project EIS Forest Service, USDA. Notice of Intent to prepare an environmental impact statement. AGENCY: ACTION: The USDA Forest Service is proposing to prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) on a proposed action to improve forest health and fuel conditions within the approximate 55,430-acre Jackson project area. The project area is located approximately 60 miles to the east of Prineville, Oregon and is bounded by Forest System Roads 2630, 12, and 42 to the north, east and south respectively, and by the western watershed divide between Crazy Creek (east) and Porter, Looney, and Stupid Creeks (west). The project area encompasses National Forest system lands and private lands within these watersheds. An analysis has been initiated that takes a landscape approach to managing the vegetation to meet objectives for fuels and fire behavior and to create a more resilient forest while addressing and considering other resources. Methods that would be used to reduce tree density and hazardous fuels are: non-commercial and commercial thinning, and prescribed burning. The alternatives will include the proposed action, no action, and, if necessary, additional alternatives that respond to issues generated through the scoping process. The agency will give notice of the full environmental analysis and decision-making process so that interested and affected public may mstockstill on DSKH9S0YB1PROD with NOTICES SUMMARY: VerDate Mar<15>2010 17:16 Nov 04, 2010 Jkt 223001 participate and contribute to the final decision. DATES: Comments concerning the scope of the analysis must be received by 30 days following the date that this notice appears in the Federal Register. ADDRESSES: Send written comments to Sandra Henning, District Ranger, Paulina Ranger District, Ochoco National Forest 3160 NE. 3rd Street, Prineville, OR 97754. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kathy Roche, Environmental Coordinator, Ochoco National Forest, Paulina Ranger District, 3160 N.E. 3rd Street, Prineville, OR 97754, phone (541) 416–6436. Responsible Official: The responsible official is Jeff Walter, Forest Supervisor, Ochoco National Forest, 3160 NE 3rd Street, Prineville, OR 97754. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Background. The Paulina Ranger District has demonstrated that there is a need for fuels and vegetation management activities in the project area by comparing the existing condition to the desired conditions described in the Ochoco National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan. The existing condition of the Deep watershed was evaluated in 2010 and documented in the Deep Watershed Analysis. Purpose and Need. This project is needed to maintain the project area in a healthy condition as described by the Ochoco National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan of 1989 as amended by the Revised Interim Management Direction Establishing Riparian, Ecosystem and Wildlife Standards for Timber Sales (Eastside Screens). The Watershed Analysis identified that there is a shortage of large trees, late and old structure forest; Stream temperatures are too high and there is a shortage of large woody debris and hardwood plant species within Riparian Habitat Conservation Areas; there is encroachment of western juniper into forest, grasslands and shrublands; there is an increasing presence of insects and diseases in PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 forest stands; aspen clones are declining in vigor and contain decadent overstory trees and few to no seedlings, there are varying amounts of conifers present and the aspen sprout/seedling component is unable to grow above the browse line; about 42% of the watershed is in Fire Regime Condition Class of 2 or 3 where fire has been absent for more than 15 years and there is an increasing amount of departure from the natural fire regime with areas where juniper and pine have encroached on shrub and grass communities from fire exclusion; stand density and forest fuels adjacent to arterial Forest roads do not provide conditions for safe ingress and egress for public and fire fighter access in the event of wildfire; the forest stands in the project area have the potential to provide wood products. This project is needed to maintain the vegetation within the project area in a condition as described by the Ochoco National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan of 1989 as amended by the Revised Interim Management Direction Establishing Riparian, Ecosystem and Wildlife Standards for Timber Sales (Eastside Screens). This project is needed to promote the development of large trees and old structure forest by reducing stand density; promote the development of large trees for eventual woody debris recruitment into streams by reducing conifer stand densities mechanically and by fire and promote the development of stream shading vegetation, such as willow by reducing conifers, mechanically and by fire, and increase willow and other hardwood vegetation by planting with Riparian Habitat Conservation Areas (RHCAs); reduce juniper encroachment into forest, shrub and grass communities by mechanical and fire treatments; restore and enhance aspen stands by reducing conifer competition and encroachment, fencing and planting; reduce the risk of bark beetles and impacts of mistletoe by reducing stand density and tree canopy layers through mechanical treatments; change stand structure and tree canopy E:\FR\FM\05NON1.SGM 05NON1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 214 (Friday, November 5, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 68317-68319]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-28039]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Food and Nutrition Service


Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; 
Comment Request--Evaluation of the Summer Electronic Benefits for 
Children Household-Based Demonstrations on Food Insecurity

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 the purpose of conducting The Evaluation of the Impact 
of the Summer Electronic Benefits for Children Household-Based 
Demonstrations on Food Insecurity.

DATES: Written comments must be received on or before January 4, 2011.

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: Steven Carlson, Director, Office of 
Research and Analysis, Food and Nutrition Service, U.S. Department of 
Agriculture, 3101 Park Center Drive, Room 1014, 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 Steven.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 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: 

[[Page 68318]]

    Title: Evaluation of the Impact of the Summer Electronic Benefits 
for Children Household-Based Demonstrations on Food Insecurity.
    Form Number: Not yet assigned.
    OMB Number: Not yet assigned.
    Expiration Date: Not yet assigned.
    Type of Request: New Collection of Information.
    Abstract: The Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug 
Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2010 (Pub. 
L. 111-80), Section 749(g), directed that the Secretary of Agriculture 
shall carry out demonstration projects to develop and test methods of 
providing access to food for children in urban and rural areas during 
the summer months when schools are not in regular session to reduce or 
eliminate the food insecurity and hunger of children and to improve the 
nutritional status of children. The Summer Electronic Benefits for 
Children Household-Based Demonstrations will carry out the 
demonstration projects Congress directed USDA to perform in this 
section.\1\ In addition, the Act directed the Secretary of Agriculture 
to provide for an independent evaluation of the demonstration projects 
using rigorous methodologies. The Evaluation of the Impact of the 
Summer Electronic Benefits for Children Household-Based Demonstrations 
on Food Insecurity will carry out these provisions of the Act.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ USDA is also conducting demonstrations of enhancements to 
the existing Summer Food Service Program. Those demonstrations are 
not part of this Information Collection.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The evaluation of these projects is intended to provide 
policymakers with clear, rigorous and timely findings to make decisions 
about potential changes to Federal summer feeding programs during the 
next Child Nutrition reauthorization cycle. Primarily, the evaluation 
of the Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer for Children (SEBTC) 
demonstrations will examine how the provision of summer food benefits 
to the households of children certified for free or reduced-price 
school meals impacts the prevalence of very low food security among 
children certified for free or reduced-price meals as well as their 
nutritional status. Nutritional status will be examined with relatively 
simple measures of food choices, nutritional behaviors and Body Mass 
Index (BMI). Other effects, such as perceptions of parents and changes 
in household food supply and food expenditures will also be considered. 
In addition to impact measures, the evaluation will document the 
process and challenges of implementing the SEBTC demonstrations and the 
costs of operating the demonstrations. The results will provide 
valuable information to States considering applying for additional 
demonstrations as well as if the demonstrations lead to policy changes. 
The evaluation will gather data from up to 5 demonstration areas in 
2011. Each demonstration area will consist of contiguous school 
districts that, collectively, have 10,000 children certified for free 
or reduced-price school meals. The evaluation will gather data from up 
to 15 demonstration areas in 2012. The 2012 demonstration areas will 
also consist of contiguous school districts that, collectively, have 
10,000 children certified for free or reduced-price meals. In the 
demonstration areas households with children certified for free or 
reduced-price school meals will be divided into treatment and control 
groups.
    Affected Public: Individuals/Households; State, Local and Tribal 
Government; Business (for-profit). Respondent Type: Individual school-
aged children and their parents/guardians in each demonstration area; 
Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) processors and retail grocery 
vendors who operate in the demonstration areas; agencies that 
administer either the National School Lunch and School Breakfast, 
WIC,\2\ or SNAP \3\ programs in the States with a demonstration area; 
the agency that administers education programs in the States with a 
demonstration area; and, local school food authorities and schools in 
each demonstration area.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \2\ Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, 
and Children.
    \3\ Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (formerly the Food 
Stamp Program).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Estimated Number of Respondents: The total estimated number of 
respondents is 98,565 (32,731 in 2011 and 65,834 in 2012). Over both 
years this includes: 22,059 treatment and 22,059 control parents/
guardians; 8,823 attempted but incomplete parent/guardian interviews; 
22,059 treatment and 22,059 control students (1 per interviewed 
household); 400 State agency officials from about 35 State agencies, 
400 officials from about 35 local school food authorities; 700 food 
retailers and 6 EBT processors. These sample sizes are large because 
the key outcome of interest--very low food security--is a relatively 
rare event; these sample sizes are needed in order to meet the 
Congressional requirement to detect statistically significant 
differences in very low food security between treatment and control 
households.
    Estimated Number of Responses per Respondent: there will be one 
interview per parent/guardian, one per student, 2 per food retailer, 2 
per EBT processor, and 3 per State or local official.
    Estimated Total Annual Responses: 21,313.
    Estimated Time per Response: The estimated average response time is 
61.2 minutes (1.02 hours). The estimated time of response varies from 
15 to 180 minutes depending on respondent group, as shown in the table 
below, with an average estimated time of 6 minutes for non-responders 
to the participant survey.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: The total estimated 
response time is 20,654.6 hours in 2011 and 43,284.2 in 2012. See the 
table below for estimated total annual burden for each type of 
respondent.

 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                           Estimated
       Type of respondent          Respondent type        Type of          Number of     Frequency of       annual         Time per       Annual burden
                                                         instrument       respondents      response        responses      respondent          hours
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Individual/Households..........  Parent-Guardian...  interviews.......          44,118               1          44,118          1              44,118.00
                                 Parent-Guardian     interviews.......           8,823               1           8,823          0.1002            884.06
                                  (non-response
                                  rate).
                                 Children..........  interviews.......          44,118               1          44,118          0.25           11,029.50
State, Local, ITO..............  State Agency        interviews.......             400               3           1,200          3               3,600.00
                                  Official.

[[Page 68319]]

 
                                 Local School Food   interviews.......             400               3           1,200          3               3,600.00
                                  Authority.
Business.......................  Food Retailer.....  interviews.......             700               2           1,400          0.5               700.00
                                 EBT Processors....  interviews.......               6               2              12          1                  12.00
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Total Annual Cost to Respondents..................................          98,565  ..............         100,871  ..............         63,943.56
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note: Children are included in the parents non-response rate.


    Dated: November 1, 2010.
Julia Paradis,
Administrator, Food and Nutrition Service.
[FR Doc. 2010-28039 Filed 11-4-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-30-P
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