[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 248 (Monday, December 29, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 78027-78029]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-30373]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Food and Nutrition Service
Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection;
Comment Request--Evaluation of Demonstration Projects To End Childhood
Hunger
AGENCY: Food and Nutrition Service (FNS), USDA.
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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 is a new collection for
the contract Evaluation of Demonstration Projects to End Childhood
Hunger.
DATES: Written comments must be received on or before February 27,
2015.
ADDRESSES: 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 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
those who are to respond, including use of appropriate automated,
electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or
other forms of information technology.
Written comments may be sent to: Danielle Berman, Office of Policy
Support, Food and Nutrition Service, USDA, 3101 Park Center Drive, Room
1014, Alexandria, VA 22302.
Comments may also be submitted via fax to the attention of Danielle
Berman at 703-305-2576 or via email to [email protected].
Comments will also be accepted through the Federal eRulemaking
Portal. Go to http://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 Danielle
Berman, Office of Policy Support, Food and Nutrition Service, USDA,
3101 Park Center Drive, Room 1014, Alexandria, VA 22302.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Title: Evaluation of Demonstration Projects to End Childhood
Hunger.
Form Number: N/A.
OMB Number: 0584-NEW.
Expiration Date: Not Yet Determined.
Type of Request: New Collection.
Abstract: The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act (HHFKA) of 2010 (Public
Law 111-296), under Section 141, added a new Section 23 on Childhood
Hunger Research to the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act.
This section provides substantial new mandatory funding to research
the causes and consequences of childhood hunger and to test innovative
strategies to end child hunger and food insecurity. Congress called for
the development and evaluation of innovative strategies to ``reduce the
risk of childhood hunger or provide a significant improvement to the
food security status of households with children,'' including
alternative models of service delivery or benefit levels.
The purpose of the evaluation is to rigorously assess the impact of
five demonstration projects on the prevalence of child food insecurity,
and other relevant outcomes. The demonstration projects are intended to
test innovative strategies to end childhood hunger, including
alternative models for service delivery and benefit levels that promote
the reduction or elimination of childhood hunger and food insecurity.
Projects may include enhanced Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
(SNAP) benefits for eligible households with children; enhanced
benefits or innovative program delivery models in school meals
programs, afterschool snacks programs, and the Child and Adult Care
Food Program (CACFP); and other targeted Federal, State or local
assistance, including refundable tax credits, emergency housing,
employment and training, or family preservation services, for
households with children who are experiencing food insecurity. At least
one demonstration must be implemented in a rural Indian reservation
where the prevalence of diabetes exceeds 15 percent. Demonstration
projects will be selected and announced in early 2015.
The evaluation will collect data from all five demonstration
projects in 2015 and 2016 (two rounds of data collection), and from one
demonstration project in 2017 (three rounds of data collection). The
data will be used for implementation, cost, and impact analyses for
each demonstration project. Analyses include (1) which agencies and
partner organizations delivered services, (2) whether the way the
demonstration model was implemented has an effect on any observed
impacts, (3) the resources used in planning, starting up, and operating
each demonstration project, and how those resources compare to those
for the control or comparison groups, and (4) how cost effective the
demonstration was in reducing childhood food insecurity. The primary
outcome measure for the demonstrations will be the change in the
prevalence of food insecurity among children in households with
children as measured by the U.S. Household Food Security Survey Module.
The end products will provide scientifically valid evidence of
demonstration project impacts.
Affected Public: Individuals/households; State, local and Tribal
governments; Private sector (for-profit and not-for-profit).
Estimated Number of Respondents: The total estimated number of
respondents is 27,297. This includes 27,107 individuals/households, 150
State, local, and Tribal government directors/managers and staff, and
40 private sector for-profit business and not-for-profit agency
directors/managers. FNS will contact 27,107 individuals/households, out
of which 22,589 parents/guardians in the treatment and comparison
groups will complete telephone surveys and 4,518 parents/guardians will
be survey nonrespondents. The survey sample sizes are large because
they are needed to detect statistically significant differences in the
key outcome of interest--child food insecurity--between treatment and
comparison households within each demonstration site. Among the
parents/guardians contacted for the telephone surveys, 456 will also be
contacted for the focus
[[Page 78028]]
groups; 96 parents/guardians will participate in the focus groups and
360 will be considered nonrespondents. A total of 320 parents/guardians
will also be contacted for an in-person interview; 80 parents/guardians
will be interviewees and 240 will be considered nonrespondents. FNS
will contact 50 State, local and Tribal agency directors/managers and
100 State, local and Tribal agency direct service staff for in-person
interviews; 5 of the directors/managers will provide administrative
data and 5 will provide cost data. FNS will contact 10 private sector
for-profit business directors/managers for in person interviews; 5 will
also provide administrative data. FNS will also contact 30 private
sector not-for-profit agency directors/managers for in person
interviews, and 5 will also provide cost data.
Estimated Frequency of Responses per Respondent: Average 2.09
responses for individuals/households, 3.20 responses for State, local
or Tribal government representatives, and 5.90 responses for private
sector representatives.
Estimated Total Annual Responses: 57,458.
Estimated Time per Response: About 0.51 hours (31 minutes). The
estimated time of response varies from 0.50 to 2.33 hours depending on
the respondent group, as shown in the table below. The total annual
burden is 25,157.13 hours.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Respondents Non-respondents
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Average Total Average Total GRAND
Affected public Data collection activity Respondents type Sample Estimated Frequency Total burden annual Estimated Frequency Total burden annual total
size number of of annual hours burden number of of annual hours burden burden
respondents response responses per estimate non- response responses per estimate estimate
response (hours) respondents response (hours)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Individuals/households................... Telephone survey............ Parent/guardian............ 24,755 20,629 2 41,258 0.50 20,629.00 4,126 2 8,252 0.05 412.60 21,041.60
(two rounds)................
Telephone survey............ Parent/guardian............ 2,352 1,960 3 5,880 0.50 2,940.00 392 3 1,176 0.05 58.80 2,998.80
(three rounds)..............
In-person focus group....... Parent/guardian............ 456 96 1 96 1.67 160.13 360 1 360 0.08 28.80 188.93
In-person interview......... Parent/guardian............ 320 80 1 80 1.67 133.60 240 1 240 0.08 19.20 152.80
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subtotal individuals/households........ ............................ ........................... 27,107 22,589 ......... 47,314 ........ 23,862.73 4,518 ......... 9,428 ........ 519.40 24,382.13
State, local, and Tribal government...... In-person interview (two State, local, or Tribal 40 40 2 80 1.00 80.00 0 2 0 0.08 0.00 80.00
rounds). agency director/manager.
In-person interview (three State, local, or Tribal 10 10 3 30 1.00 30.00 0 3 0 0.08 0.00 30.00
rounds). agency director/manager.
In-person interview (two State, local, or Tribal 80 80 2 160 1.00 160.00 0 2 0 0.08 0.00 160.00
rounds). agency direct service
staff.
In-person interview (three State, local, or Tribal 20 20 3 60 1.00 60.00 0 3 0 0.08 0.00 60.00
rounds). agency direct service
staff.
Provide administrative data. State, local, or Tribal 5 5 24 120 0.83 99.60 0 1 0 0.08 0.00 99.60
agency director/manager.
Provide cost data........... State, local, or Tribal 5 5 6 30 2.33 69.90 0 1 0 0.08 0.00 69.90
agency director/manager.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subtotal State, local, and Tribal ............................ 150........................ 150 ........... 480 ......... 499.50 0 ........... 0 ......... 0.00 499.50
government.
Private sector........................... In-person interview......... Private sector for-profit 10 10 2 20 0.50 10.00 0 2 0 0.08 0.00 10.00
business director/manager.
Provide administrative data. Private sector for-profit 5 5 24 120 0.83 99.60 0 1 0 0.08 0.00 99.60
business director/manager.
In-person interview (two Private sector not-for- 24 24 2 48 1.00 48.00 0 2 0 0.08 0.00 48.00
rounds). profit agency director/
manager.
In-person interview (three Private sector not-for- 6 6 3 18 1.00 48.00 0 3 0 0.08 0.00 48.00
rounds). profit agency director/
manager.
Provide cost data........... Private sector not-for- 5 5 6 30 2.33 69.90 0 1 0 0.08 0.00 69.90
profit agency director/
manager.
Subtotal private sector................ ............................ ........................... 40 40 ......... 236 ........ 275.50 0 ......... 0 ........ 0.00 275.50
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Grand total........................ ............................ ........................... 27,297 22,779 2.11 48,030 0.51 24,637.73 4,518 2.09 9,428 0.06 519.40 25,157.13
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[[Page 78029]]
Dated: December 16, 2014.
Audrey Rowe,
Administrator, Food and Nutrition Service.
[FR Doc. 2014-30373 Filed 12-24-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-30-P