Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; Comment Request-Evaluation of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Employment and Training (E&T) Pilots, 28931-28936 [2015-12205]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
• Food and Nutrition Service

[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 97 (Wednesday, May 20, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28931-28936]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-12205]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Food and Nutrition Service


Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; 
Comment Request--Evaluation of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance 
Program (SNAP) Employment and Training (E&T) Pilots

AGENCY: Food and Nutrition Service (FNS), USDA.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this 
notice invites the public and other public agencies to comment on this 
proposed information collection. This is a new collection for the 
purpose of evaluating the Fiscal Year 2015 Pilot Projects to Reduce 
Dependency and Increase Work Requirements and Work Effort Under the 
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

DATES: Written comments must be received on or before July 20, 2015.

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 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: Wesley R. Dean, 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 Wesley R. Dean at 703-305-2576 or via email to 
wesley.dean@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 Wesley R. 
Dean, Office of Policy Support, Food and Nutrition Service, USDA, 3101 
Park Center Drive, Room 1014, Alexandria, VA 22302.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Title: Evaluation of SNAP E&T Pilots.
    OMB Number: 0584-NEW.
    Expiration Date: Not Yet Determined.
    Type of Request: New Collection.
    Abstract: The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is a 
critical work support for low-income people and families. SNAP benefits 
help eligible low-income families put food on the table in times of 
need. It also supports critical and needed skills and job training so 
that recipients can obtain good jobs that lead to self-sufficiency. 
SNAP's long-standing mission of helping unemployed and underemployed 
people is challenging. To help them and their families achieve self-
sufficiency, strategies are needed to

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impart the skills employers want, and to help address other barriers to 
employment. Some participants need assistance developing a resume and 
accessing job leads, others need education and training, and still 
others need help overcoming barriers that prevent them from working 
steadily. The SNAP Employment and Training (E&T) program provides 
assistance to unemployed and underemployed clients in the form of job 
search, job skills training, education (basic, post-secondary, 
vocational), work experience or training and workfare, but limited 
information exists on what is most effective in connecting these 
participants to gainful employment.
    The Agriculture Act of 2014 (Pub. L. 113-79, Section 4022), 
otherwise known as the 2014 Farm Bill authorized grants for up to 10 
pilot sites to develop and rigorously test innovative SNAP E&T 
strategies for engaging more SNAP work registrants in unsubsidized 
employment, increasing participants' earnings and reducing reliance on 
public assistance. The pilots' significant funding can expand the reach 
of employment and training services and enable States to experiment 
with promising strategies to increase engagement and promote 
employment. An evaluation of the pilot sites will be critical in 
helping Congress and FNS identify strategies that effectively assist 
SNAP participants to succeed in the labor market and become self-
sufficient.
    The 10 States receiving grants to fund pilot projects are 
California, Delaware, Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, Illinois, Mississippi, 
Vermont, Virginia and Washington State. The evaluation will collect 
data from all 10 pilot sites in 2015-2016 (baseline), 2016-2017 (12-
month follow-up) and 2018-2019 (36-month follow-up). The data collected 
for this evaluation will be used for implementation, impact, 
participant and cost-benefit analyses for each pilot site. Research 
objectives include: (1) Documenting the context and operations of each 
pilot, identify lessons learned, and to help interpret and understand 
impacts within each pilot and across pilots, (2) identifying the 
impacts on employment, earnings, and reliance on public assistance and 
food security and other outcomes, to determine what works, and what 
works for whom, (3) examine the characteristics of service paths of 
pilot participants and the control group to assess whether the mere 
presence of the pilots and their offer of services or participation 
requirements influence whether people apply for SNAP (entry effects), 
and (4) estimate the total and component costs of each pilot and 
provide an estimate of the return to each dollar invested in the pilot 
services. Primary outcomes will be employment, earnings, and 
participation in public assistance programs, which will be measured 
through state administrative records, a baseline survey administered 
during enrollment into the study, and through follow-up telephone 
surveys conducted at approximately 12 months and 36 months. Impacts on 
secondary outcomes, such as food security, health status, and self-
esteem, will be measured through the follow-up telephone surveys as 
well. The end products (interim and final reports) will provide 
scientifically valid evidence of the pilot project impacts.
    Affected Public: Members of the public affected by the data 
collection include individuals and households; State and local 
governments; and Businesses from the Private sector (for-profit and 
not-for-profit). Respondent types identified include (1) individuals 
and households eligible for SNAP E&T participation; (2) directors and 
managers from State and local government agencies supporting the SNAP 
E&T programs; (3) staff from State and local government agencies 
providing direct services to SNAP E&T participants; (4) directors and 
managers from private sector for-profit businesses providing SNAP E&T 
services; and (5) directors and managers from private sector not-for-
profit agencies providing SNAP E&T services.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: The total estimated number of 
respondents is 50,758. This includes 50,018 individuals, 280 State and 
local government directors/managers and staff, and 460 private sector 
for-profit business and not-for-profit agency directors/managers. Of 
the 50,000 individuals completing a baseline survey when applying for 
services, FNS will contact 25,000 out of which 18,240 individuals in 
the treatment and comparison groups will complete a 12-month follow-up 
telephone survey (6,760 will be non-responders). Of 18,240 respondents 
to the 12-month follow-up, 11,090 will complete a 36-month follow-up 
telephone survey (7,150 non-respondents). Among the individuals 
contacted for the telephone surveys, 120 may also be contacted for a 
focus group, 67 for an in-depth interview, and 27 for a case study on 
topics of special interest to FNS. Of the individuals contacted for the 
focus groups, in-depth interviews, and case studies, 214 participants 
will participate and 86 will decline and be considered nonrespondents. 
18 individuals will be contacted separately to pretest surveys, 
interviews, and focus groups. 170 State and local government agency 
directors/managers will be contacted for in-person interviews. 150 of 
those will be interviewed two additional times; 10 of the directors/
managers will provide case study data and 10 will provide cost data. A 
separate group of 100 directors/managers will be sampled to participate 
in a time use survey, and 10 data director/managers will be contacted 
for administrative data. 200 Private sector not-for-profit and for-
profit agency directors/managers and staff will be contacted for cost/
benefit interviews. These individuals will also be contacted for in-
person interviews, and the directors and managers for the case study 
will be recruited from this group.
    160 individuals will be contacted for a time-use survey. This 
sample will also be used to recruit staff to participate in the case 
study. 100 staff members responsible for data management will also be 
contacted for the provision of administrative data.
    Estimated Frequency of Responses per Respondent: Average of 1 
response for individuals per instrument or activity and 1.59 for all 
activities, 4.36 responses for State and local government 
representatives for all contacts, and 21.07 responses for private 
sector representatives for all contacts. The number of contacts per 
activity range from 1 to 20 across all participants.
    Estimated Total Annual Responses: 106,159.
    Estimated Time per Response: About 0.35 hours (21.6 minutes). The 
estimated time of response varies from 0.08 to 8 hours depending on the 
respondent group and data collection activity, as shown in the table 
below.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: The total annual 
burden is 32,260 hours.

BILLING CODE 3410-30-P

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    Dated: May 12, 2015.
Audrey Rowe,
Administrator. Food and Nutrition Service.
[FR Doc. 2015-12205 Filed 5-19-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-30-C