Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; Comments Request-Understanding Risk Assessment in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Payment Accuracy Study, 46128-46136 [2023-15209]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
• Food and Nutrition Service

[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 137 (Wednesday, July 19, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 46128-46136]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-15209]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Food and Nutrition Service


Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; 
Comments Request--Understanding Risk Assessment in Supplemental 
Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Payment Accuracy Study

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 general public and other public agencies to comment 
on this proposed information collection. This collection is a new 
collection. The primary purpose of this study is to provide FNS with 
information about SNAP State agencies' use of risk assessment (RA) 
tools to reduce payment errors, the effects of these tools, and best 
practices for FNS and the SNAP State agencies to consider in the 
development and use of RA tools. RA tools may apply statistical models 
using SNAP household characteristics to estimate the relative risk of 
improper payment.

DATES: Written comments must be received on or before September 18, 
2023.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be sent to: Eric Williams, Food and Nutrition 
Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1320 Braddock Place, 
Alexandria, VA 22314. Comments may also be submitted via email to 
[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 written comments will be open for public inspection at the office 
of FNS during regular business hours (8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday 
through Friday) at 1320 Braddock Place, Alexandria, VA 22314. 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 Eric 
Williams at 703-305-2640.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Comments are invited on the following 
topics: (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 respondents, including use of 
appropriate automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological 
collection techniques or other forms of information technology.
    Title: Understanding Risk Assessment in Supplemental Nutrition 
Assistance Program (SNAP) Payment Accuracy.
    Form Number: Not applicable.
    OMB Number: 0584-NEW.
    Expiration Date: Not yet determined.
    Type of Request: New collection.
    Abstract: The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is 
the largest hunger safety net program in the United States, providing 
food assistance benefits to roughly one in eight Americans. SNAP is 
administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Food and 
Nutrition Service (FNS). Although the benefits are federally funded and 
must be issued in accordance with Federal statutes and regulations, 
SNAP State agencies are responsible for determining eligibility and 
calculating appropriate benefit amounts for eligible participants. SNAP 
State agencies have flexibility in administering the program through a 
range of policy options, waivers of regulations, and demonstration 
projects. The challenges associated with accurately documenting 
households' circumstances and calculating benefits within the context 
of complex regulations, options, and waivers lead to a degree of 
improper payments.
    The Payment Integrity Information Act of 2019 continues the work of 
previous related legislation in requiring Federal agencies to track and 
mitigate improper payments, which are defined as payments that either 
should not have been made or were made in an incorrect

[[Page 46129]]

amount. FNS and the SNAP State agencies use SNAP Quality Control (QC) 
to closely monitor the program for improper payments. SNAP State 
agencies must conduct a QC review of a random sample of current cases 
each month (referred to as active cases) to identify underpayments and 
overpayments and calculate total payment error. At the end of the 
review period for each month's cases, the SNAP State agencies share the 
case files and results with Federal SNAP staff, who review a subsample 
of the cases for accuracy and use the results to calculate an annual 
official payment error rate for each State agency's official payment 
error rate.
    Some social welfare agencies and criminal justice organizations 
have begun using risk assessment (RA) tools. These tools apply a 
statistical model to case characteristics to estimate the relative risk 
of a particular outcome. Agencies that use RA tools may use the output 
to allocate staff resources such that the riskiest cases receive the 
most time and attention. This is intended to improve program outcomes 
but may have unintended consequences. As RA tool use becomes more 
common across social sectors, it is critical to address the risk of 
bias in these tools. Bias can enter RA tools through the data used to 
build them and the way the tool uses those data to predict risk and may 
impinge on civil rights by leading to disparate treatments and/or 
disparate impacts.
    FNS is conducting a study, Understanding Risk Assessment in 
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Payment Accuracy, to 
develop a comprehensive picture of whether and how SNAP State agencies 
use RA tools and determine if these tools create disparate impacts on 
protected classes. The key research objectives follow: (1) determine 
which States use RA tools to reduce error rates; (2) determine what 
factors and variables are being used in RA tools; (3) identify how SNAP 
State agencies act on the results of their RA tools; (4) determine 
whether SNAP State agencies' RA tools are successful in reducing error 
rates; (5) determine if the RA tools create (or relieve) racial or 
other disparities by which individuals are flagged for further review; 
and (6) determine best practices in the development and use of RA 
tools.
    The study approach includes a survey, case studies, and a request 
for administrative data from SNAP State agencies. Data will be 
collected via a web-based census survey of the 53 SNAP State agencies. 
Case studies will be completed with six SNAP State agencies; these case 
studies will include telephone interviews with up to five types of 
State-level staff and up to two types of local SNAP agency staff (as 
applicable). The types of State-level staff will include RA tool 
development leads, SNAP Quality Control Directors, SNAP Quality 
Assurance Directors, IT systems staff, and data analysis staff. The 
types of local SNAP agency staff will include local agency supervisors 
and local agency eligibility staff. The study team will also request 
administrative data from the SNAP State agencies that use an RA tool.
    Affected Public: Respondent groups identified include the 
following: (1) individuals/households (pretest participants); and (2) 
State, local, and Tribal government (SNAP State agencies and SNAP local 
offices).
    Estimated Number of Respondents: The total estimated sample size 
and the number of respondents is 100. The team expects all sample units 
to respond to all relevant data collection activities. The study 
includes 53 SNAP State agency directors and up to 5 other staff in 6 
selected SNAP State agencies that use RA tools. The study also includes 
a SNAP local office supervisor and a local office eligibility staff 
member for local offices of relevant selected SNAP State agencies that 
use RA tools. The study also has 5 pretest participants from a pool of 
5 possible pretest participants. Some pretest participants will pretest 
more than one instrument. The study team expects all SNAP State 
agencies to respond to the survey. The exact number of SNAP State 
agencies that use RA tools is currently unknown, but estimates suggest 
the number is 15 or fewer. Under the assumption that 15 SNAP State 
agencies have RA tools, the study team expects all 15 of these SNAP 
State agencies to respond to the survey and provide data on their RA 
tool. The team expects 6 of these 15 SNAP State agencies to also 
participate in case study interviews. These estimates assume all 
potential respondents will eventually respond to their relevant 
information collections.
    Estimated Frequency of Response: The estimated frequency of 
response is 7.44 annually for respondents.
    Estimated Total Annual Responses: The total estimated number of 
responses for data collection is 744 from respondents.
    Estimated Time per Respondent: The estimated time of response 
varies from 2 minutes to 1 hour and 45 minutes, depending on the 
respondent group and activity, as shown in table 1. The average 
estimated response is 0.15 hours.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: The total public 
reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated at 111 
hours (annually). The estimated burden for each type of respondent is 
provided in table 1.
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Tameka Owens,
Assistant Administrator, Food and Nutrition Service.
[FR Doc. 2023-15209 Filed 7-18-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-30-C