Agency Information Collection Activities: Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC); Food Delivery Portal (FDP), 37280-37282 [2021-15051]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
• Food and Nutrition Service

[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 133 (Thursday, July 15, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 37280-37282]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-15051]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Food and Nutrition Service


Agency Information Collection Activities: Special Supplemental 
Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC); Food Delivery 
Portal (FDP)

AGENCY: Food and Nutrition Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this 
notice invites the general public and other public agencies to comment 
on this proposed information collection. This collection is a revision 
of a currently approved collection to provide FNS and WIC State 
agencies with an ongoing/annual data set that can be used to assess 
State agencies' compliance with WIC vendor management requirements and 
estimate State agencies' progress in eliminating fraud, waste, and 
abuse.

DATES: Written comments must be received on or before September 13, 
2021.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be submitted via email to the attention of FDP 
Help Desk at [email protected]. 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 Amy 
Herring, at [email protected] or (703) 305-2376.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the 
proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper 
performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the 
information will have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the 
agency's estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of 
information,

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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.
    Title: Food Delivery Portal (FDP) Data Collection (formerly The 
Integrity Profile (TIP) Data Collection).
    Form Number: None.
    OMB Number: 0584-0401.
    Expiration Date: September 30, 2021.
    Type of Request: Revision of a Currently Approved Collection.
    Abstract: Each year, WIC State agencies administering the Special 
Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) 
are required by 7 CFR 246.12(j)(5) to submit to FNS an annual summary 
of the results of their vendor monitoring efforts in order to provide 
Congress, senior FNS officials, as well as the general public, 
assurance that every reasonable effort is being made to ensure 
integrity in the WIC Program. The number of WIC State agencies in 
fiscal year 2020 is 89. This includes 50 geographic State agencies, 33 
State agencies operated by Indian Tribal Organizations, the District of 
Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the 
Northern Mariana Islands, and the Virgin Islands. Through FY 2021, 
States report compliance and monitoring data in The Integrity Profile 
(TIP) system. That system is being replaced with an upgraded, web-based 
system called Food Delivery Portal (FDP). Starting FY 2022, all WIC 
State agencies will use the upgraded web-based system.
    The existing TIP system was designed and developed using the WIC 
Program requirements current as of 2005. Since 2005, there have been 
changes to the requirements, policies, technology, and guidance that 
the current system cannot support. It is critical that FNS implements a 
more robust data collection system to align with current security 
protocols and compliance guidance, support data storage and web 
components, ensure cost effectiveness, allow for more data-driven 
decision-making through increased data analytic functionality, enhance 
FNS reporting capabilities, reduce grantee burden through automated 
calculations and consolidated reporting, and add data validation 
features to reduce reporting errors. With this update, the TIP system 
will be replaced with the Food Delivery Portal (FDP).
    The TIP system currently collects data via three automated forms: 
FNS-698 Profile of Integrity Practices and Procedures (PIPP) Report, 
FNS-699 The Integrity Profile (TIP) Report, and FNS-700 Vendor Record. 
Revisions and consolidations in data collection in the FDP will 
eliminate these physical forms for the annual collection, instead 
allowing each State agency to provide updates using FDP. The screens in 
FDP provide a more flexible method of data capture, that focuses on the 
data that has changed for the year rather than recapturing all data 
elements each time. As a part of the upgrade effort, existing data in 
the TIP system will be migrated to the new FDP.
    There is an increase in the burden hours because FNS intends to 
seek feedback from the State agencies on the system. However, the 
responses for this collection will decrease as the FNS program needs 
have changed, and Seneca Nation no longer administers WIC. The State 
agency is currently required to generate a complete data package in TIP 
each year for each vendor. The current system requires each State 
agency to submit data for all of its vendors within a single file. The 
proposed changes for FDP allow each State agency to enter the majority 
of its vendor information once and then only update the fields that 
have changed within the year, reducing the data entry and monitoring 
burden. There is no recordkeeping burden associated with this 
information collection request.
    Estimate of Burden: Public reporting burden for this collection of 
information is based on the fields in the new online application, and 
the total number of vendor records estimated to be entered into FDP by 
WIC State agencies.
    The highest total burden for a single record is estimated at 10 
minutes (0.167 hours) for completing manual data entry for all fields 
in a new record. This estimate is based upon each vendor operating as a 
WIC authorized vendor at some point during the year. It includes the 
time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, 
gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing 
the collection of information. It is estimated to take 30 minutes (0.50 
hours) for the data upload,

Entering Vendor Data

    Each State agency maintains their vendor data records within their 
state-level system of record. They report to FDP the finalized records 
for each fiscal year. State agencies have the following two options for 
reporting annual vendor records. In FY 2019, there were 41,675 vendor 
records reported in TIP across all 89 State agencies. Of these 89 State 
agencies, 16 State agencies used Option 1 and 73 State agencies used 
Option 2.
    Option 1: State agencies manually update or add new records to the 
FDP system using the application screens. The FDP system stores and 
pre-populates information for vendors from the previous year's 
submission making updating existing entries quicker. FNS estimates that 
16 out of 89 State agencies (with a total of 456 vendors--430 existing 
and 26 new) will update existing and enter new vendors using Option 1.
    To update an existing record, State agencies must update any 
applicable changes to contract information (including status 
determinations), redemption data, monitoring activities, compliance 
investigations, sanctions, and administrative reviews on applicable 
existing vendors, taking approximately 5 minutes (0.083 hours per 
vendor). On average, these State agencies each update 26.9 records (430 
records divided by 16 State agencies, rounded to nearest tenth). FNS 
estimates a total of 35.7 hours to update existing records (0.083 hours 
per vendor x 430 responses).
    To enter a new record, State agencies must complete all data fields 
for new vendors authorized during the fiscal year, taking approximately 
10 minutes (0.167 hours per vendor) to complete the record. On average, 
these State agencies each update 1.6 records (26 records divided by 16 
State agencies, rounded to nearest tenth). FNS estimates a total of 4.3 
hours to enter the new records (0.167 hours x 26 responses).
    Option 2: State agencies upload data files in the FDP system with 
all vendor data. FNS estimates out of 89 State agencies, 73 State 
agencies (with a total of 41,219 vendor records), will upload their 
data using Option 2. FNS estimates that it will take 30 minutes (0.50 
hours) for a State agency to upload its vendor data, with small to 
medium State agencies taking up to a minute to upload data and large 
State agencies taking up to 60 minutes to upload data. The total hours 
requested for State agencies using Option 2 is 36.5 hours (0.50 hours 
per upload x 73 State agencies).

Data Preparation

    Table 1 depicts the estimated time for each State agency to prepare 
its vendor data for submission in FDP. The estimated time varies as 
some State agencies' MIS automatically generate the data each fiscal 
year while other State agencies manually compile the

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data from multiple sources. FNS estimates that data preparation takes 1 
to 30 hours with a median of 10 hours. For this estimate, median is 
used instead of mean as the data is skewed, based upon the number of 
records reported by each State agency on authorized vendors. FNS 
estimates the burden hours needed to comply with this requirement is 
890 hours (89 State agencies x 10 hours per submission).

SA System Feedback

    Table 1 depicts the estimated time that each State agency might 
spend reviewing and responding to FNS requests for feedback on the 
system on an annual basis. FNS estimates that it will take 
approximately 2.5 hours per State agency to provide this feedback, for 
an estimated 222.5 hours.
    Affected Public: State, Local, and Tribal Government. Respondent 
groups identified include State, Tribal, and WIC agencies in the 
District of Columbia and in U.S. territories.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: The total estimated number of 
respondents is 194.
    Estimated Number of Responses per Respondent: For update Option 1, 
the frequency for the manual entry of a new record is 1.6 and 26.9 for 
the manual update of existing records, while the frequency for Option 2 
(Data Upload) is one. Respondents prepare the data and respond to 
system feedback once per year. For all of the respondents across the 
entire collection, FNS estimates a frequency of 3.644.
    Estimated Total Annual Responses: 707 responses.
    Estimated Time per Response: The estimated time of response varies 
from 5 minutes (.083 hours) to 10 hours depending on respondent group, 
as shown in the table below, with an average estimated time of 1.682 
hours for all participants.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: 1,189 hours. See the 
table below for estimated total annual burden for each type of 
respondent.

                                                            Table 1--Estimate of Burden Hours
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                                   Type of
     Respondent category         respondents      Instruments      Form      Number of     Frequency of    Total annual      Hours per     Annual burden
                                  (optional)                                respondents      response        responses       response         (hours)
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State Government.............  State Program    Manual entry of     FDP               16             1.6              26           0.167             4.3
                                Staff.           a new record.
State Government.............  State Program    Manual update       FDP               16            26.9             430           0.083            35.7
                                Staff.           existing
                                                 record.
State Government.............  State Program    Data Upload....     FDP               73               1              73             0.5            36.5
                                Staff.
State Government.............  State Program    Data             .......              89               1              89            10.0           890.0
                                Staff.           Preparation
                                                 for this ICR.
State Government.............  State Program    SA System        .......              89               1              89             2.5           222.5
                                Staff.           Feedback.
                                                                         -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Total....................  ...............  ...............  .......             194           3.644             707           1.682           1,189
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Cynthia Long,
Acting Administrator, Food and Nutrition Service.
[FR Doc. 2021-15051 Filed 7-14-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-30-P