[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 155 (Friday, August 10, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 39657-39665]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-17186]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Food and Nutrition Service
Agency Information Collection Activities: Request for Extension
of a Current Information Collection; Comment Request--Evaluation of
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Employment and
Training (E&T) Pilots
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 public and other public agencies to comment on this
proposed information collection. This is a request for an extension of
a current information collection for the purpose of evaluating the
Fiscal Year 2015 Pilot Projects to Reduce Dependency and Increase Work
Requirements and Work Effort Under the Supplemental Nutrition
Assistance Program (SNAP).
DATES: Written comments must be received on or before October 9, 2018.
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
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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 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.
Comments may be sent to: Danielle Deemer, Food and Nutrition
Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 3101 Park Center Drive, Room
1014, Alexandria, VA 22302. Comments may also be submitted via fax to
the attention of Danielle Deemer 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 written comments will be open for public inspection at the
Office of the Food and Nutrition Service during regular business hours
(8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday) at 3101 Park Center Drive,
Room 1014, Alexandria, Virginia 22302.
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
Deemer, Office of Policy Support, Food and Nutrition Service, USDA,
3101 Park Center Drive, Room 1014, Alexandria, VA 22302.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Title: Evaluation of SNAP E&T Pilots.
OMB Number: 0584-0604.
Expiration Date: 01/31/2019.
Type of Request: Extension of a Current Information Collection
without Change.
Abstract: The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is a
critical work support for low-income people and families. SNAP benefits
help eligible low-income families put food on the table in times of
need. It also supports critical and needed skills and job training so
that recipients can obtain good jobs that lead to self-sufficiency.
SNAP's long-standing mission of helping unemployed and underemployed
people is challenging. To help them and their families achieve self-
sufficiency, strategies are needed to impart the skills employers want,
and to help address other barriers to employment. Some participants
need assistance developing a resume and accessing job leads, others
need education and training, and still others need help overcoming
barriers that prevent them from working steadily. The SNAP Employment
and Training (E&T) program provides assistance to unemployed and
underemployed clients in the form of job search, job skills training,
education (basic, post-secondary, vocational), work experience or
training and workfare, but limited information exists on what is most
effective in connecting these participants to gainful employment.
The Agriculture Act of 2014 (Pub. L. 113-79, Section 4022),
otherwise known as the 2014 Farm Bill, authorized grants for up to 10
pilot sites to develop and rigorously test innovative SNAP E&T
strategies for engaging more SNAP work registrants in unsubsidized
employment, increasing participants' earnings, and reducing reliance on
public assistance. The pilots' significant funding can expand the reach
of employment and training services and enable States to experiment
with promising strategies to increase engagement and promote
employment. An evaluation of the pilot sites will be critical in
helping Congress and FNS identify strategies that effectively assist
SNAP participants to succeed in the labor market and become self-
sufficient.
The 10 States receiving grants to fund pilot projects are
California, Delaware, Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, Illinois, Mississippi,
Vermont, Virginia and Washington State. The evaluation will collect
data from all 10 pilot sites in 2015-2016 (baseline), 2016-2018 (12-
month follow-up) and 2018-2020 (36-month follow-up). The data collected
for this evaluation will be used for implementation, impact,
participant and cost-benefit analyses for each pilot site. Research
objectives include: (1) Documenting the context and operations of each
pilot, identifying lessons learned, and helping to interpret and
understand impacts within each pilot and across pilots, (2) identifying
the impacts on employment, earnings, and reliance on public assistance
and food security and other outcomes to determine what works and what
works for whom, (3) examining the characteristics of service paths of
pilot participants and the control group to assess whether the mere
presence of the pilots and their offer of services or participation
requirements influence whether people apply for SNAP (entry effects),
and (4) estimating the total and component costs of each pilot to
provide an estimate of the return to each dollar invested in the pilot
services.
Primary outcomes will be participant employment, earnings, and
participation in public assistance programs, which will be measured
through State administrative records, a baseline survey administered
during enrollment into the study, and follow-up telephone surveys
conducted at approximately 12 months and 36 months after participants
enroll in the pilot. Impacts on secondary outcomes, such as food
security, health status, and self-esteem will be measured through the
follow-up telephone surveys as well. The end products (interim and
final reports) will provide scientifically valid evidence of the pilot
project impacts.
Affected Public: Members of the public affected by the data
collection include individuals and households; State and local
governments; and Businesses from the Private sector (for-profit and
not-for-profit). Respondent types identified include (1) individuals
and households eligible for SNAP E&T participation; (2) directors and
managers from State and local government agencies supporting the SNAP
E&T programs; (3) staff from State and local government agencies
providing direct services to SNAP E&T participants; (4) directors and
managers from private sector for-profit businesses providing SNAP E&T
services; and (5) directors and managers from private sector not-for-
profit agencies providing SNAP E&T services.
Estimated Number of Respondents: The total estimated number of
respondents is 53,830. This includes 52,870 individuals, 190 State and
local government directors/managers and staff, and 770 private sector
for-profit business and not-for-profit agency directors/managers. Of
the 52,852 individuals completing a baseline survey when applying for
services, FNS will contact 25,000 out of which 18,240 individuals in
the treatment and comparison groups will complete a 12-month follow-up
telephone survey (6,760 will be non-responders). Of 18,240 respondents
to the 12-month follow-up, 11,090 will complete a 36-month follow-up
telephone survey (7,150 nonrespondents). Among the individuals
contacted for the telephone surveys, 1,200 may also be contacted for a
focus group and 200 for a case study on topics of special interest to
FNS. Of the individuals contacted for the focus groups and case
studies, 280 participants will participate and 1,120 will decline and
be considered nonrespondents. 18 individuals were contacted separately
to pretest surveys and focus groups. 170 State and local
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government agency directors/managers will be contacted for in-person
interviews. 150 of those will be interviewed two additional times; 10
of the directors/managers will provide case study data, 10 will provide
documents for review, 10 will complete the MOU, 10 will provide wage
data, 10 will provide entry effects data, and 10 will provide entry
effects data. A separate group of 10 data director/managers will be
contacted for cost/benefit interviews and 10 will be contacted to
provide cost data. 200 Private sector not-for-profit and for-profit
agency directors/managers and staff will be contacted for cost/benefit
interviews. These individuals will also be contacted for in-person
interviews, and the directors and managers for the case study will be
recruited from this group. 160 individuals will be contacted for a
time-use survey. This sample will also be used to recruit staff to
participate in the case study. 210 staff members responsible for data
management will also be contacted for the provision of administrative
data. Additionally, 200 private sector not-for-profit employer training
supervisors will be recruited to participate in employer focus groups.
Estimated Frequency of Responses per Respondent: Average of 5.49
response for individuals per instrument or activity, 5.79 responses for
State and local government representatives for all contacts, and 13.8
responses for private sector representatives for all contacts. The
number of contacts per activity average 5.6 across all participants.
Estimated Total Annual Responses: 317,108.
Estimated Time per Response: About 0.15 hours (9.26 minutes). The
estimated time per response varies from 0.02 to 4 hours depending on
the respondent group and data collection activity, as shown in the
table below.
Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: The total annual
burden is 49,972 hours.
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Dated: August 1, 2018.
Brandon Lipps,
Administrator, Food and Nutrition Service.
[FR Doc. 2018-17186 Filed 8-9-18; 8:45 am]
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