Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget for Review and Approval; Comment Request; Application Package for AmeriCorps Diversity Questionnaire Form, 2145-2146 [2022-00474]

Agencies

• Corporation for National and Community Service

[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 9 (Thursday, January 13, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2145-2146]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-00474]


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CORPORATION FOR NATIONAL AND COMMUNITY SERVICE


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the 
Office of Management and Budget for Review and Approval; Comment 
Request; Application Package for AmeriCorps Diversity Questionnaire 
Form

AGENCY: Corporation for National and Community Service.

ACTION: Notice of information collection; request for comment.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the 
Corporation for National and Community Service (operating as 
AmeriCorps) is proposing to renew an information collection.

DATES: Written comments must be submitted to the individual and office 
listed in the ADDRESSES section by March 14, 2022.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by the title of the 
information collection activity, by any of the following methods:
    (1) By mail sent to: AmeriCorps, Attention Sharron Tendai, 250 E 
Street SW, Washington, DC 20525.
    (2) By hand delivery or by courier to the AmeriCorps mailroom at 
the mail address given in paragraph (1) above, between 9:00 a.m. and 
4:00 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday, except federal holidays.
    (3) Electronically through www.regulations.gov.
    Comments submitted in response to this notice may be made available 
to the public through regulations.gov. For this reason, please do not 
include in your comments information of a confidential nature, such as 
sensitive personal information or proprietary information. If you send 
an email comment, your email address will be automatically captured and 
included as part of the comment that is placed in the public docket and 
made available on the internet. Please note that responses to this 
public comment request containing any routine notice about the 
confidentiality of the communication will be treated as public comment 
that may be made available to the public, notwithstanding the inclusion 
of the routine notice.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sharron Tendai, 202-391-1029, or by 
email at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Comments

    An emergency 30-day Notice requesting public comment was published 
in the Federal Register on August 24, 2021 at Vol. 86: 47301. This 
comment period ended September 24, 2021. Twelve public comments were 
received on this Notice. AmeriCorps grouped the comments around issues 
raised and addressed them to the full extent possible in this revised 
information collection. Most of the comments focused on the data 
collection approach and tool, timeline for the data collection, usage 
of the data, safeguarding of data, assessment of burden, and 
organizational capacity to complete the tool. For comments related to 
revisions of the collection approach and updates to the tool, 
AmeriCorps has revised the diversity questions to better align with 
U.S. Census terminology and has revised definitions accordingly. For 
comments related to revisions to the collection timeline, AmeriCorps 
has not made a change, as it aims to create a baseline through this 
first data collection and therefore the most comprehensive and 
efficient time to collect is during the application process. In terms 
of questions related to data usage, AmeriCorps has refined the sections 
of the tool on purpose and usage of data. In terms of questions related 
to safeguarding, AmeriCorps updated language in the tool to confirm 
that it will be collecting data in the aggregate. The information 
requested does not include any types of personally identifiable 
information, and other than lawfully authorized requests, the 
information will not otherwise be disclosed to entities outside of 
AmeriCorps. For comments related to the assessment of burden for 
information collection, AmeriCorps estimated that the burden of 
entering

[[Page 2146]]

existing demographic data into the Diversity Questionnaire data 
collection tool is correctly estimated to be 30 minutes and does not 
warrant a revision. Finally, for comments related to organizational 
capacity, AmeriCorps believes that all organizations have the capacity 
to fill out the tool in a timely and responsive manner; instructions in 
the tool were updated to say that organizations should complete the 
form to the ``best of their ability.''
    Title of Collection: AmeriCorps Diversity Questionnaire Form.
    OMB Control Number: 3045-0187. Type of Review: Renewal.
    Respondents/Affected Public: Businesses and Organizations and 
State, Local, or Tribal Governments.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 3,500.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 1,750.
    Abstract: The information provided by prospective and current 
grantees and sponsors through the AmeriCorps Diversity Questionnaire 
Form will enable AmeriCorps to better understand the demographic 
characteristics of current grantees, potential grantees, and the people 
served by AmeriCorps programs. The aim is to further AmeriCorps' 
efforts to consider the diversity of communities and participants in 
its grantmaking and direct service activities and create programs that 
represent and serve the full diversity of the community/our country.
    The information requested in the Diversity Questionnaire Form will 
be collected in the aggregate for each grantee, applicant for funding, 
and sponsor receiving an AmeriCorps resource. First, it will provide 
AmeriCorps with a deeper understanding of the demographics of grantee 
and sponsor organizations and people served by AmeriCorps programs. 
Second, AmeriCorps will take the data into account in its grantmaking 
and resource allocation decisions, particularly to better reach those 
who are underserved. Over the next 5 years, AmeriCorps aims to ensure 
that 40% of all those served by AmeriCorps members and AmeriCorps 
Seniors volunteers are people in poverty. (AmeriCorps uses ``people in 
poverty'' as its proxy measure for ``underserved,'' recognizing that 
data shows that a higher proportion of people in poverty are people of 
color and other minority populations.) Third, the data will enable 
AmeriCorps to better target training, technical assistance, and 
outreach to potential grantees and sponsors, in particular those who 
are new to AmeriCorps, with the goal of creating programs that 
represent and serve the full diversity of our nation's communities.
    When it collects this data for the first time, AmeriCorps will 
request that the Diversity Questionnaire Form be filled by every 
current grantee and applicant for funding and resource allocation. 
Following this baseline, AmeriCorps expects this questionnaire to be 
included with grant renewal and new applications on an annual basis. 
Estimated time for completion of the form is less than 30 minutes, 
based on staff testing of the survey. Questions have been crafted for 
ease of reporting and efficient collection.
    In AmeriCorps' grant making processes, the questionnaire will be 
submitted electronically as part of the grant application and guidance 
about the form will be part of an in-depth set of grant application 
instructions. Additionally, the form will be used to collect data from 
sponsor applicants for directly-managed programs such as AmeriCorps' 
National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC). Staff will be available to 
provide individualized assistance, if needed, to organizations filling 
out the form.
    AmeriCorps also seeks to continue using the currently approved 
information collection until the revised information collection is 
approved by OMB. The currently approved information collection is due 
to expire on 3/31/2022.
    Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized 
and/or included in the request for OMB approval. Comments are invited 
on: (a) Whether the 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 collection of information; (c) 
ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to 
be collected; (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; and (e) 
estimates of capital or start-up costs and costs of operation, 
maintenance, and purchase of services to provide information. Burden 
means the total time, effort, or financial resources expended by 
persons to generate, maintain, retain, disclose, or provide information 
to or for a Federal agency. This includes the time needed to review 
instructions; to develop, acquire, install, and utilize technology and 
systems for the purpose of collecting, validating, verifying, 
processing, and maintaining information, and disclosing and providing 
information; to train personnel and to be able to respond to a 
collection of information; to search data sources, to complete and 
review the collection of information; and to transmit or otherwise 
disclose the information. All written comments will be available for 
public inspection on regulations.gov.

    Dated: January 6, 2022.
Anna Mecagni,
Chief of Program Operations.
[FR Doc. 2022-00474 Filed 1-12-22; 8:45 am]
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