[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 56 (Thursday, March 22, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16809-16810]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-6944]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE


Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

    The Department of Commerce will submit to the Office of Management 
and Budget (OMB) for clearance the following proposal for collection of 
information under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 
U.S.C. chapter 35).
    Agency: U.S. Census Bureau.
    Title: Current Population Survey, June Fertility Supplement.
    OMB Control Number: 0607-0610.
    Form Number(s): None.
    Type of Request: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Burden Hours: 500.
    Number of Respondents: 30,000.
    Average Hours Per Response: 1 minute.
    Needs and Uses: The purpose of this request for review is to obtain 
clearance for the supplemental inquiry concerning fertility to be 
conducted biennially in conjunction with the June Current Population 
Survey (CPS).
    The 2012 Fertility Supplement will ask fertility questions and 
questions on marital and cohabitation status of females 15-50 years of 
age. The new questions on marital and cohabitation status will provide 
additional information about mothers' living arrangements at the time 
of the first birth. The June Fertility Supplements, June 2010 and 2008, 
both asked women about the birth of the last child, which differ from 
the June 1998 and the June 1995 supplements because they only included 
fertility items. The 1998 supplement contained fertility and birth 
expectations items. The 1995 supplement contained fertility and marital 
history items.
    The data collected from this supplement are used primarily by 
government and private analysts to project future population growth, to 
analyze childbearing patterns, and to assist policymakers in making 
decisions that are affected by changes in family size and composition. 
Past studies have documented profound changes to historical patterns 
that have occurred in fertility rates, family structures, premarital 
births, and the timing of the first birth. The data collected from the 
new questions on marital and cohabitation status will be used by 
government and private analysts to analyze mother's living situations 
at the time of the first birth; the data will also fill a need for 
information that is not available in other Census Bureau surveys.
    The CPS characteristics, such as family income, household 
relationships,

[[Page 16810]]

and labor force status, when matched with fertility data, can produce 
estimates of potential needs families may have for governmental 
assistance; for example, aid to families with dependent children, 
childcare, and maternal health care for single-parent households. The 
fertility data also assist researchers and analysts who explore such 
important issues as premarital childbearing and postponement of 
childbirth because of educational or occupational responsibilities and 
goals. As a result of the rapid changes in the economy, the June 
Fertility supplement offers analysts with a key indicator of family 
economic resources, namely, the employment status of women with infant 
children.
    Discontinuance of the Fertility Supplement would interrupt a data 
series, which is built upon previous surveys first collected in June 
1971. Without current fertility data for the most recent female cohorts 
(age 18-24) would be missing in fertility projections. The statistics 
and projections from these data are useful for legislators in the 
public sector and businesses that make policy and resource decisions 
about childcare, development, and changes in family life.
    Affected Public: Individuals or households.
    Frequency: Biennially.
    Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.
    Legal Authority: Title 13 U.S.C., Section 182.
    OMB Desk Officer: Brian Harris-Kojetin, (202) 395-7314.
    Copies of the above information collection proposal can be obtained 
by calling or writing Jennifer Jessup, Departmental Paperwork Clearance 
Officer, (202) 482-0336, Department of Commerce, Room 6616, 14th and 
Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20230 (or via the Internet at 
[email protected]).
    Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information 
collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of this notice 
to Brian Harris-Kojetin, OMB Desk Officer either by fax (202-395-7245) 
or email ([email protected]).


    Dated: March 19, 2012.
Glenna Mickelson,
Management Analyst, Office of the Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 2012-6944 Filed 3-21-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-07-P