Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; 2018 End-to-End Census Test-Peak Operations, 15486-15492 [2017-06171]

Agencies

• Census Bureau
• DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 59 (Wednesday, March 29, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15486-15492]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-06171]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

 Census Bureau


Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; 2018 End-to-End 
Census Test--Peak Operations

AGENCY: U.S. Census Bureau, Commerce.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce, as part of its continuing effort 
to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public 
and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on 
proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by the 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

DATES: To ensure consideration, written comments must be submitted on 
or before May 30, 2017.

ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments to Jennifer Jessup, Departmental 
Paperwork Clearance Officer, Department of Commerce, Room 6616, 14th 
and Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20230 (or via the Internet 
at PRAcomments@doc.gov).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or 
copies of the information collection instrument(s) and instructions 
should be directed to Robin A. Pennington, Census Bureau, HQ-2K281N, 
Washington, DC 20233; (301) 763-8132 (or via email at 
robin.a.pennington@census.gov).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Abstract

    During the years preceding the 2020 Census, the Census Bureau will 
pursue its commitment to reduce the costs of conducting a decennial 
census while maintaining our commitment to quality. In 2018, the Census 
Bureau will be performing the 2018 End-to-End Census Test. This last 
major test before the 2020 Census is designed to (1) test and validate 
2020 Census operations, procedures, systems, and field infrastructure 
to ensure proper integration and conformance with requirements, and (2) 
produce prototypes of geographic and data products.
    The 2018 End-to-End Census Test will encompass operations and 
systems related to (1) Address Canvassing; (2) Optimizing Self-
Response, including contact strategies, questionnaire content, and 
language support; (3) Update Enumerate, including technical and 
operational testing; (4) Nonresponse Followup, including technological 
and operational improvements; and (5)

[[Page 15487]]

Group Quarters, including technological and operational testing. The 
operations other than Address Canvassing are referred to collectively 
as Peak Operations, because they are the enumeration data collection 
operations of the census. These operations are the focus of this 
package.
    The Address Canvassing operation ((1) from the above), beginning in 
the summer of 2017, is the first operation in the 2018 End-to-End 
Census Test and was included in a separate Address Canvassing Operation 
package due to timing considerations.
    New approaches to the design of the 2020 Census are classified into 
four key innovation areas. These areas have been the subject of Census 
Bureau testing this decade to identify methodological improvements, 
technological advances, and possibilities for cost savings over 
repeating the design of the 2010 Census. One of these innovation areas 
is Optimizing Self-Response, which is focused on improving methods for 
increasing the number of people who take advantage of self-response 
options.

Optimizing Self-Response

    The 2018 End-to-End Census Test is designed to evaluate several 
strategies to optimize the rate at which the public self-responds to 
the census, which would reduce costs of the census by decreasing the 
workload for following up at nonresponding units. Previous Census 
Bureau tests have resulted in the design of contact strategies, two of 
which will be in use during this test for the purpose of gathering 
additional metrics and making comparisons on a number of indicators. 
Either or both of these strategies may be included in the design of the 
2020 Census, depending on a variety of factors.
    Internet First is the primary mail contact strategy proposed for 
the 2020 Census and has been used in Census Bureau research and testing 
efforts since 2012. (In prior tests, this strategy was called Internet 
Push.) This strategy includes the mailing of a letter inviting 
respondents to complete the questionnaire online, two follow-up 
reminders, and then if necessary, a mailed paper questionnaire.
    Internet Choice includes a paper questionnaire in the first 
mailing, along with an invitation to complete the questionnaire online, 
providing a choice of Internet or paper response from the beginning of 
the contact strategy.
    In addition, the 2018 End-to-End Census Test provides the Census 
Bureau with an opportunity to enhance the user experience, performance, 
and functionality of the Internet self-response instrument compared to 
prior Census Tests this decade. Improvements including expanded 
language capabilities will support the goal of optimizing self-response 
by providing an easy, quick, and safe experience for respondents, and 
ensure that the resulting response data and paradata provide required 
information to follow-up and data processing operations.
    The Census Bureau plans to study the following in the 2018 End-to-
End Census Test:
     Comparing the self-response rates between the Internet 
First and the Internet Choice panels.
     Comparing item-level response by panel and by mode, 
including in the Update Enumerate and Group Quarters enumeration 
operations, both of which will be fielded for the first time this 
decade.
     Measuring the effects of incorporating additional 
household contact strategies to encourage self-response, including 
letter and postcard reminders.

Nonresponse Followup

    The 2018 End-to-End Census Test will allow the Census Bureau to 
continue to refine, optimize, and assess the operational procedures and 
technical design of the Nonresponse Followup (NRFU) operation. The NRFU 
operation is a field operation for determining housing unit status 
(occupied, vacant, or delete) and for gathering the enumeration data at 
addresses for which no self-response was received. This test will build 
upon the results of previous field tests this decade where the NRFU 
operation has been conducted. In particular, NRFU is now a fully-
automated operation, whereas it was performed using paper materials in 
the 2010 Census. For this test, the Census Bureau will examine:
     Operational procedures.
    [cir] Testing continued refinements to the field data collection 
instrument for enumeration, particularly where previous testing has 
shown potential problems in our question branching or issues with the 
interview software user interface. The Census Bureau will critically 
assess navigation within the instrument via debriefing sessions for 
field enumerators after operations complete.
    [cir] Continuing refinement of our methods for enumerating multi-
unit structures, particularly identifying vacant households in multi-
units with a minimal number of contact attempts, thereby minimizing 
respondent burden.
    [cir] Continuing refinement of procedures for interviewing proxy 
respondents to gather information from hard-to-enumerate households.
    [cir] Continuing refinement of processes used to detect and deter 
falsification by field enumerators.
    [cir] Continuing evaluation of enumerator training procedures and 
materials, including both online training modules and classroom 
training.
    [cir] Integrating a Field Verification assignment into the NRFU 
workload. The Field Verification cases are intended to verify the 
existence and location of certain types of self-responses that were 
received without a preassigned census identification code, called a 
User ID.
    [cir] Integrating into NRFU the ability to designate an area for an 
earlier NRFU operation in order to enumerate college and university 
students living in off-campus housing before the end of the spring 
semester.
     Technical design.
    [cir] Continuing refinement of the management alerts to identify 
potentially problematic field behavior in real time.
    [cir] Continuing refinement of the optimization and routing 
algorithms used to make daily NRFU field assignments.
    [cir] Continuing work to integrate into the Census Bureau's 
enterprise data collection systems.

Update Enumerate (UE)

    The Update Enumerate (UE) operation as planned for the 2020 Census 
is significantly changed from the UE operation that was used in the 
2010 Census at about one percent of all addresses. At root, the UE 
methodology is designed for areas that require an enumeration 
methodology other than self-response followed by NRFU. The current 
design capitalizes on 2020 Census methodological improvements such as 
Internet Self-Response, automated field operations, and an approach to 
collect responses without a User ID that is greatly expanded in scale. 
The 2020 Census UE operation combines address listing methodologies 
with person enumeration methodologies. UE is conducted mostly in 
geographic areas that have one or more of the following 
characteristics:
     Do not have city-style addresses like 123 Main Street.
     Do not receive mail through city-style addresses.
     Receive mail at post office boxes rather than at their 
physical address.
     Have unique challenges associated with accessibility, such 
as dirt roads or seasonal access.
     Have recently been affected by natural disasters.
     Have high concentrations of seasonally vacant housing.

[[Page 15488]]

    The following objectives are being tested for Update Enumerate:
     Integrating listing and enumeration operations and 
systems.
     Evaluating the impact on cost and quality of the UE 
contact strategy on enumerator productivity and efficiency.
     Testing refinements to the field data collection 
instrument for enumeration, especially for atypical situations, such as 
movers.
     Testing field supervisor to enumerator ratios.

Group Quarters (GQ):

    The 2018 End-to-End Census Test will inform Census Bureau 
technological and operational planning and design for the enumeration 
of the population residing in Group Quarters (GQs). GQs are living 
quarters where people who are typically unrelated have group living 
arrangements and frequently are receiving some type of service. College 
dormitories and nursing homes are examples of GQs. To date, some small-
scale testing has been done to test electronic transmission of GQ's 
enumeration responses. The 2018 End-to-End Census Test expands on these 
results to allow the opportunity to evaluate procedures and 
technologies for conducting GQ enumeration operations. The set of 
operations planned for GQ enumeration is GQ Advance Contact, Service-
Based Enumeration, and, finally, GQ Enumeration. These operations have 
been used in previous censuses. The GQ Advance Contact is an operation 
where facility contact and planning data are collected, including the 
ability of the GQ facility to provide electronic records for the 
enumeration. Service-Based Enumeration has the objective of counting 
individuals who will not be enumerated at a living quarter but are 
receiving some type of service. The GQ Enumeration is the final stage 
of enumerating individuals residing at the GQ.
     Operational procedures.
    [cir] Testing updated procedures for handling newly discovered GQs 
during field operations.
    [cir] Continuing testing of the various GQ operations, process 
flows, estimated staffing levels, supporting processes, and workload 
estimates.
    [cir] Continuing refinement of procedures for linking paper 
questionnaire response records collected by multiple enumerators during 
enumeration at a single GQ.
    [cir] Continuing evaluation and refinement of the optimal 
enumerator to GQ ratios for multiple GQ types.
    [cir] Testing multiple modes of enumeration.
     Technical design.
    [cir] Testing the use of electronic methodologies to:
    [ssquf] Create the initial universe for the GQ Advance Contact.
    [ssquf] Conduct In-Office GQ Advance Contact.
    [ssquf] Update the GQ frame prior to GQ enumeration.
    [ssquf] Accept electronically transmitted response data in multiple 
formats.
    [cir] Integrating GQ operations with listing and enumeration 
operations and systems.

Content

    The Census Bureau recognizes that OMB is continuing to lead the 
discussion among federal agencies and other stakeholders on race/
ethnicity from the perspective of data collection and dissemination 
guidance and standards, and that the final determination has not been 
made on the format of the race/ethnicity question for the 2020 Census. 
If it is determined that the combined race/ethnicity question format 
may be used for the 2020 Census (versus the separate race and Hispanic 
Origin questions used for the 2010 Census), it will be crucial for the 
Census Bureau to ensure that critical operations are fully prepared to 
go into production for the 2020 Census using the combined question. 
Therefore, the 2018 End-to-End Census Test data collection operations 
will utilize the combined race/ethnicity question version (that 
includes a Middle Eastern or North African category) to further its 
analysis and understanding of mode differences for the race/ethnicity 
responses before deploying the 2020 Census questionnaire.
     Internet Self-Response: Continue testing the combined 
race/ethnicity question under the further enhancements of the Internet 
Self-Response instrument for the 2018 End-to-End Census Test in regards 
to user experience, performance, and functionality; ensure that the 
resulting response data and paradata meet the requirements of follow-up 
and data processing operations; and test expanded language capabilities 
on the instrument, as the introduction of additional language options 
contributes to additional paths to analyze the paradata and response 
data.
     Nonresponse Followup: Continue testing the combined race/
ethnicity question under the further enhancements of the field 
enumeration instrument; assess enumerators' experience with the field 
enumeration instrument and their navigation of the race/ethnicity 
question within the instrument. Input will be gathered during the post-
operation field enumerator debriefing sessions.
     Update Enumerate and Group Quarters: Examine the 2018 End-
to-End Census Test results by mode, including Update Enumerate and 
Group Quarters operations, which will be fielded for the first time 
this decade.

II. Method of Collection

Test Sites

    The 2018 End-to-End Census Test will take place in three sites 
within the continental United States: Pierce County, Washington; 
Providence County, Rhode Island; and the Bluefield-Beckley-Oak Hill, 
West Virginia area. These locations offer particular characteristics 
that support the Census Bureau's testing goals, including: various 
types of addresses (such as city-style, rural, and location 
description-only); population with varying demographics (such as age, 
race, and language spoken at home); variety of housing types (such as 
single-units, multi-units, vacant units, GQs, and mobile homes); varied 
levels of Internet access and usage; various time zones; and 
challenging environmental conditions (such as weather extremes, rough 
terrain).

Self-Response:

    The housing units in the areas selected for inclusion in the 2018 
End-to-End Census Test will be contacted by mail and invited to 
complete their questionnaire via the Internet. Optimizing Self-Response 
contact methods include follow-on letter and postcard reminders. The 
Census Bureau will also test strategies for delivering paper 
questionnaires to households that do not or cannot respond online, as 
measured by low Internet connectivity or low Internet usage rates.
    The Census Bureau will continue to test Non-ID Processing 
methodology as another strategy for Optimizing Self-Response. A User ID 
that links to a unique housing unit is on many of the mailed materials, 
but respondents can also submit a response without using the ID, 
particularly on the Internet or telephone. Non-ID Processing refers to 
address matching and geocoding for census responses that lack this 
preassigned census ID. This processing allows such responses to be 
linked up with the associated census enumeration data and can occur 
through automated or clerical procedures. Additionally, the 2018 End-
to-End Census Test will allow the Census Bureau to continue to develop 
the capability to conduct real-time Non-ID Processing, where a 
respondent is prompted interactively

[[Page 15489]]

(while they are still online filling out the form) for additional 
address and location information if the provided address cannot be 
matched through automation to an address with a User ID.
    This test will allow the Census Bureau to understand better the 
requirements related to scalability of planned systems and to determine 
metrics for each of the Non-ID Processing steps. If the address match 
is not resolved during the initial automated or real-time processing, 
Census Bureau staff will attempt manually to match or geocode the 
address. It is estimated that about two percent of the overall non-ID 
respondents will be contacted via telephone as part of the manual 
matching process. Non-ID Processing also includes an office-based 
address verification (OBAV) component. OBAV uses available geographic 
reference materials to verify the existence and location of an address. 
OBAV is performed in an effort to avoid the more costly fieldwork. 
However, any address that is worked in OBAV but cannot be verified in 
OBAV will be sent to Field Verification (discussed in more detail below 
as a suboperation of NRFU).
    Additionally, with the Re-collect component, a sample of self-
response cases are selected for re-contact, which may occur through 
centralized phone contract or in-field enumeration. Re-collect is 
intended to validate the information from a respondent, confirming the 
existence of the address and the people enumerated at that address. Re-
collect is also one aspect of fraud detection.

Content

    Decades of research on different race/ethnicity question designs 
have shown that individual identities can be impacted by societal 
changes, attitudes, and perceptions. The 2018 End-to-End Census Test 
design can help us understand whether respondent reporting of racial/
ethnic identities is impacted by the types of data that the Census 
Bureau is collecting (e.g., detailed race/ethnic responses and new 
categories), as well as whether or not respondent privacy concerns and 
expectations for data protection are addressed and the process is 
trusted by the general public.
    It will be crucial for the Census Bureau to ensure that critical 
operations are fully prepared to go into production for the 2020 Census 
using the combined question, if it is determined that the combined 
race/ethnicity question format may be used for the 2020 Census. The 
Census Bureau plans to deploy the combined race/ethnicity question 
version (that includes a Middle Eastern or North African category) 
during the 2018 End-to-End Census Test to further examine:
     Item nonresponse to the combined race and ethnicity 
question (with detailed checkboxes, with respect to the reporting of 
major race/ethnic categories (e.g., White, Black, Asian, etc.) that is 
similar to the question the Census Bureau used in the 2015 National 
Content Test and is based on results from the 2010 Census Race and 
Hispanic Origin Alternative Questionnaire Experiment (Compton, et al., 
2012).
    Research has found that, over time, there have been a growing 
number of people who do not identify with any of the race categories, 
and this means that an increasing number of respondents have been 
classified as ``Some Other Race.'' The combined question format with 
detailed checkboxes attempts to help improve the accuracy of these 
data.
     Levels of overall race/ethnicity reporting (e.g., White, 
Hispanic, Black, etc.), as well as detailed reporting levels for these 
groups (e.g., German, Mexican, Jamaican, etc.).
     Levels of overall race/ethnicity reporting within the new 
category Middle Eastern or North African (MENA), as well as levels of 
detailed MENA reporting for respondents of Middle Eastern and North 
African heritage.
     Match rates between individual racial/ethnic responses in 
the 2018 End-to-End Census Test and responses in previous census 
records (e.g., 2010 Census Hispanic origin/race data; ACS ancestry, 
race, Hispanic origin data). This exploration aims to focus on the 
comparison of race/ethnicity reporting in different social environments 
to understand what people have reported in the past compared to what 
they are reporting in the present. A growing number of people find the 
current race and ethnicity categories confusing.
    The 2018 End-to-End Census Test will be an important opportunity to 
experiment with different imputation procedures to ascertain which 
approach yields the best overall imputation results for missing data 
with a combined race/ethnicity question. The 2018 End-to-End Census 
Test will enable researchers to ascertain which records to utilize 
(e.g., Ancestry, Hispanic origin, Race), and in what hierarchy they 
should be used for imputation. With the expanded language options for 
the 2018 End-to-End Census Test, response data from detailed write-in 
fields (such as those on the combined race/ethnicity question) will 
also need to be output, processed, coded, edited, and tabulated, as 
well as translated if provided in non-English languages.
    Additionally, data products and dissemination is a critical 
objective of the 2018 End-to-End Census Test. The question format used 
in data collection and processing is also the source of the 
redistricting tabulation, and the Census Bureau must be prepared to 
meet the needs of the states as well as 2020 Census data users, if it 
is determined that the combined race/ethnicity question format will be 
used for the 2020 Census. The Census Bureau believes that the results 
of the 2018 End-to-End Census Test will help inform our growing body of 
knowledge regarding the combined race/ethnicity question and the 
collection of major group responses and detailed race/ethnicity 
responses.
    As previously stated, the Census Bureau recognizes that OMB is 
continuing to lead the discussion among federal agencies and other 
stakeholders on race/ethnicity from the perspective of data collection 
and dissemination guidance and standards, and that the final 
determination has not been made on the format of the race/ethnicity 
question for the 2020 Census. In the event that the 2020 Census does 
not proceed with the combined race/ethnicity question, the Census 
Bureau is prepared to make necessary adjustments to deploy the separate 
Race and Hispanic Origin questions by consulting the various versions 
of the separate Race and Hispanic Origin questions that were tested 
during the 2015 National Content Test. The Census Bureau will properly 
configure all downstream operations--such as response processing and 
data tabulation, imputation, analysis, and data dissemination--to 
ensure a successful deployment of the race/ethnicity question(s) 
regardless of the question format.

Language Services

    Individuals of Limited English Proficiency (LEP) require language 
assistance in order to complete their census questionnaires. The Census 
Bureau has identified the largest LEP populations in the United States 
using American Community Survey data and has established a program for 
providing non-English materials for census tests and the decennial 
census. For the 2018 End-to-End Census Test, Internet self-response and 
telephone assistance will be available in English, Spanish, Chinese, 
Vietnamese, Korean, Russian, Arabic, and Tagalog. Paper questionnaires, 
mailing materials, field data collection instruments and field

[[Page 15490]]

data collection materials will be available in English and Spanish.

Nonresponse Followup (NRFU)

    For all housing unit addresses included in the test universe, if no 
response is received by a specified date, the address will be included 
in the universe for the NRFU portion of the test. In NRFU, enumerators 
will attempt to follow up at addresses for which no self-response was 
received to determine their status and to collect their data for 
addresses determined to be occupied.
    To allow sufficient time for self-response, the NRFU operation 
begins in mid-May. However, some students who reside in off-campus 
housing units will have left the campus area by the time NRFU begins. 
Early NRFU is conducted starting in April in blocks near colleges and 
universities with a high percentage of off-campus housing to enumerate 
at these units while students are still in town.
    The Census Bureau will conduct NRFU with mobile devices. The 
devices will utilize a secure Census Bureau-provided enumeration 
application solution for conducting the NRFU field data collection.

Nonresponse Followup Reinterview (NRFU-RI)

    A sample of the cases enumerated via NRFU will be selected for 
reinterview (RI). This NRFU-RI operation is intended to help pinpoint 
possible cases of enumerator falsification. The Census Bureau will test 
centralized phone contacts of the NRFU-RI cases before sending them to 
an enumerator in the field, providing potential cost avoidance 
opportunities. Enumerators working NRFU-RI cases will use the same 
mobile devices and software as for the NRFU cases.

Field Verification (FV)

    Households that self-respond to the Census without a User ID with 
addresses that cannot be either matched to our address frame or 
verified in Non-ID Processing may be sent to a Field Verification 
operation, performed by NRFU enumerators. This suboperation is designed 
for verification that the housing unit exists, confirmation of the 
census block location for the address, and if possible, collection of 
Global Positioning System coordinates to facilitate accurate 
determination of the census block.

Update Enumerate (UE)

    Update Enumerate for the 2018 End-to-End Census Test will test the 
four planned components of the operation: Update Enumerate Production, 
Update Enumerate Listing Quality Control (QC), Update Enumerate 
Followup, and Update Enumerate Reinterview. In addition to the field 
operation, the Census Bureau will test mailing out an invitation 
package to those housing units with a mailable address to generate 
self-response before the operation begins. Mailable addresses will 
constitute only a small percentage of the addresses in these areas. If 
a household self-responds, the UE fieldworker (enumerator) will not 
need to enumerate that house while listing the geographic area. This is 
a cost savings to Update Enumerate since the enumerator will not have 
to spend time collecting these data.

Update Enumerate (UE) Production

    Enumerators will visit specific geographic areas to identify every 
place where people could live or stay, comparing what they see on the 
ground to the existing census address list. The enumerator will update 
the address list, either verify or correct the address and location 
information, and classify each living quarter (LQ) as a housing unit 
(HU) or group quarter (GQ). If the LQ is classified as a GQ, it will be 
designated for enumeration within the GQ operations.
    Enumerators will attempt to conduct an interview for each housing 
unit that has not yet self-responded. If someone answers the door, the 
enumerator will provide a Confidentiality Notice and ask questions to 
verify or update the address. The enumerator will then ask if there are 
any additional LQs in the structure or on the property. If there are 
additional LQs, the enumerators will collect/update that information. 
The enumerator will then interview the respondent for the household 
using the questionnaire on the mobile device.
    If no one is home at a housing unit that has not self-responded, 
the enumerator will leave a Notice of Visit inviting a respondent for 
each household to go online with a User ID to complete the 2018 End-to-
End Census Test. The Notice of Visit will also include the phone number 
for Census Questionnaire Assistance (CQA) if the respondent has any 
questions or would prefer to respond to the survey on the telephone. In 
the 2018 End-to-End Census Test, a paper questionnaire rather than a 
Notice of Visit will be left with a random set of addresses in order to 
test the impact on self-response rates. This operation has never been 
tested for the census before, and this data will help determine the 
best strategies to use in the 2020 Census.

Update Enumerate Listing QC

    A sample of addresses listed via UE production will be selected for 
UE Listing QC. The intention of this operation is to help us pinpoint 
possible cases of enumerator falsification or error in address listing. 
UE Listing QC will use the Census Bureau's listing software on mobile 
devices to recollect listing data to be used for a comparison.

Update Enumerate Followup

    The UE operation will have a UE Followup component for those 
households that were not enumerated on the first visit and have not yet 
self-responded. UE enumerators will conduct the operation using the 
NRFU enumeration application on a Census Bureau provided mobile device.

Update Enumerate Reinterview (UE RI)

    A sample of cases enumerated via UE production or UE Followup will 
be selected for reinterview. The intention of this operation is to help 
us pinpoint possible cases of enumerator falsification of enumeration 
data. The Census Bureau will test centralized phone contacts of the UE 
RI cases before sending them to an enumerator in the field, providing 
potential cost avoidance opportunities. Enumerators working UE RI cases 
will use the same mobile devices and software as for the UE and NRFU 
cases.

Group Quarters Advance Contact

    The GQ Advance Contact operation will contact Group Quarters prior 
to enumeration. In an in-office Advance Contact, GQs will be contacted 
to verify information such as: Preferred modes of enumeration, expected 
population on Census Day, and whether there are available electronic 
response data records the Census Bureau could use for the enumeration. 
Census Bureau staff at local Census offices will follow-up with GQs by 
phone, email, and in-person to obtain the necessary pre-enumeration 
information.

Group Quarters Service-Based Enumeration (SBE)

    Enumerators will conduct SBE at selected shelters, soup kitchens, 
and nonsheltered outdoor locations, providing an opportunity to test 
new response collection procedures on a larger scale than has been 
tested so far this decade.

Group Quarters Enumeration (GQE)

    GQE will involve multiple modes of enumeration. During the 2018 
End-to-End Census Test, electronic response for GQs will be tested on a 
broad scale to determine if there are gains in efficiency

[[Page 15491]]

through self-response. Use of the automated enumeration device is an 
additional technology to be tested in GQE. For GQs that request paper-
based enumeration, enumerators will perform drop off and pickup of 
paper forms, which are completed by self-enumeration.

Group Quarters QC

    A sample of cases that have been enumerated via GQE will be 
selected for reinterview. This operation is intended to help us 
pinpoint possible cases of enumerator falsification.

Coverage Improvement

    Coverage Improvement is conducted to resolve potential erroneous 
enumerations and omissions from the initial self-response data 
collection and from all field enumeration data collections. Coverage 
questions are included in both the self-response and NRFU instruments 
to aid in the identification of coverage follow-up cases. In-office 
follow-up includes evaluating usual-home-elsewhere address data from GQ 
enumerations, and assessing the potential person duplication, as 
identified through person matching on collected data. For cases where 
in-office processes do not yield a resolution, field and/or telephone 
follow-up with the respondent will occur.

Response Processing and Data Tabulation

    With the addition of expanded language options, response data from 
detailed write-in fields, such as those on the combined race/ethnicity 
question, will need to be translated, output, processed, coded, edited, 
and tabulated. In addition, a prototype of the Redistricting Data 
Program output will be delivered. Ensuring these interfaces meet the 
requirements for data tabulation will be a crucial step in preparing to 
tabulate the test data.
    The design of this data product and its dissemination is a critical 
final objective of the 2018 End-to-End Census Test, as the Census 
Bureau must be prepared to meet the needs of various stakeholders for 
2020 Census data.

III. Data

    OMB Control Number: 0607-XXXX.
    Form Number(s): Paper and electronic questionnaires; numbers to be 
determined.
    Type of Review: Regular submission.
    Affected Public: Households/Individuals.
    Estimated Number of Respondents:

Test Sites--Pierce County, Washington; Providence County, Rhode Island; and the Bluefield-Beckley-Oak Hill, West
                                                  Virginia Area
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                     Estimated
                                                                     Estimated       time per      Total burden
                      Operation or category                          number of       response          hours
                                                                    respondents      (minutes)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Geographic Area Focused on Self-Response:
    Internet/Telephone/Paper....................................         337,000              10          56,167
    Nonresponse Followup........................................         323,000              10          53,833
    Nonresponse Followup Reinterview............................          30,685              10           5,114
                                                                 -----------------------------------------------
        Self-Response Subtotal..................................         690,685  ..............         115,114
                                                                 -----------------------------------------------
Geographic Area Focused on Update Enumerate:
    Update Enumerate Production.................................          96,000              12          19,200
    Update Enumerate Listing QC.................................           9,600               5             800
    Update Enumerate Followup...................................          48,000              10           8,000
    Update Enumerate Reinterview................................           9,600              10           1,600
    Update Enumerate Subtotal...................................         163,200  ..............          29,600
                                                                 -----------------------------------------------
Group Quarters:
    GQ Advance Contact (facility)...............................           1,200              10             200
    GQ SBE--facility contact....................................             100              10              17
    GQ SBE--person contact......................................           4,000              10             667
    GQ Enumeration--facility contact............................           1,100              10             183
    GQ Enumeration--person contact..............................          55,000              10           9,167
    Group Quarters QC...........................................             110               5               9
                                                                 -----------------------------------------------
        Group Quarters Subtotal.................................          61,510  ..............          10,243
                                                                 -----------------------------------------------
    Non-ID Processing Phone Followup............................             337               5              28
    Re-collect..................................................          16,000              10           2,667
    Field Verification..........................................             421               2              14
    Coverage Improvement........................................          15,420              10           2,570
                                                                 -----------------------------------------------
            Totals..............................................         947,573  ..............         160,236
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Self-Response by Internet/Telephone/Paper: 337,000 respondents.
    Nonresponse Followup: 323,000 respondents.
    Nonresponse Followup Reinterview: 30,685 respondents.
    Update Enumerate Production: 96,000 respondents.
    Update Enumerate Listing QC: 9,600 respondents.
    Update Enumerate Followup: 48,000 respondents.
    Update Enumerate Reinterview: 9,600 respondents.
    Group Quarters Advance Contact (facility): 1,200 respondents.
    Group Quarters Service-Based Enumeration--facility contact: 100 
respondents.
    Group Quarters Service-Based Enumeration--person contact: 4,000 
respondents.
    Group Quarters Enumeration--facility contact: 1,100 respondents.

[[Page 15492]]

    Group Quarters Enumeration--person contact: 55,000 respondents.
    Group Quarters QC: 110 respondents.
    Non-ID Processing Phone Followup: 337 respondents.
    Re-collect: 16,000 respondents.
    Field Verification: 421 respondents.
    Coverage Improvement: 15,420 respondents.
    Total: 947,573 Contacts.
    Estimated Time per Response:
    Self-Response by Internet/Telephone/Paper: 10 minutes per response.
    Nonresponse Followup: 10 minutes per response.
    Nonresponse Followup Reinterview: 10 minutes per response.
    Update Enumerate Production: 12 minutes per response.
    Update Enumerate Listing QC: 5 minutes per response.
    Update Enumerate Followup: 10 minutes per response.
    Update Enumerate Reinterview: 10 minutes per response.
    Group Quarters Advance Contact: 10 minutes per response.
    Group Quarters Service-based Enumeration: 10 minutes per response.
    Group Quarters Enumeration: 10 minutes per response.
    Group Quarters QC: 5 minutes per response.
    Non-ID Processing Phone Followup: 5 minutes per response.
    Re-collect: 10 minutes per response.
    Field Verification: 2 minutes per response.
    Coverage Improvement: 10 minutes per response.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 160,236 hours.
    Estimated Total Annual Cost to Public: There are no costs to 
respondents other than their time to participate in this data 
collection.
    Respondent's Obligation: Mandatory.
    Legal Authority: Title 13 U.S.C. Sections 141, 191 and 193.

IV. Request for 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 shall have practical 
utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden 
(including hours and cost) 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 respondents, including through the use of 
automated collection techniques or other forms of information 
technology.
    Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized 
and/or included in the request for OMB approval of this information 
collection; they also will become a matter of public record.

Sheleen Dumas,
PRA Departmental Lead, Office of the Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 2017-06171 Filed 3-28-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-07-P