[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 69 (Monday, April 11, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-8585]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: April 11, 1994]



7 CFR Part 273

[Amendment No. 352]

 

Food Stamp Program: Performance Standards for the Employment and 
Training Program

AGENCY: Food and Nutrition Service, USDA.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: This final rule amends Food Stamp Program regulations as a 
result of the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act Amendments 
of 1991, enacted December 13, 1991. Section 907(b) of the Act mandates 
that the performance standard for the Food Stamp Employment and 
Training (E&T) Program, meaning the percent of persons subject to the 
work requirements of the Food Stamp Act who must be served by a State's 
E&T Program, shall not exceed 10 percent in each of Fiscal Years 1992 
and 1993, and 15 percent in each of Fiscal Years 1994 and 1995. This 
final rule sets the performance standard at 10 percent through Fiscal 
Year 1995. This change, pursuant to Congressional mandate, is expected 
to result in more targeted E&T Programs, improved quality of services 
provided and enhanced coordination among Federal employment programs.

DATES: Effective September 30, 1991.
    In accordance with Section 1101(d)(3) of the Food, Agriculture, 
Conservation, and Trade Act Amendments of 1991 (Pub. L. 102-237), the 
program modifications set forth in this rule were effective September 
30, 1991. State agencies were subsequently instructed through a Food 
and Nutrition Service (FNS) directive dated December 31, 1991, to 
implement such modifications.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions regarding this final rule 
should be directed to Ellen Henigan, Supervisor, Work Program Section, 
Food Stamp Program, Food and Nutrition Service, USDA, 3101 Park Center 
Drive, Room 716, Alexandria, Virginia 22302. The telephone number is 
(703) 305-2762.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Classification

Executive Order 12866

    This final rule is issued in conformance with Executive Order 
12866.

Executive Order 12372

    The Food Stamp Program is listed in the Catalog of Federal Domestic 
Assistance under No. 10.551. For the reasons set forth in the final 
rule and related notice to 7 CFR part 3015, subpart V (48 FR 29115, 
June 24, 1983), this program is excluded from the scope of Executive 
Order No. 12372 which requires intergovernmental consultation with 
State and local officials.

Executive Order 12778

    This final rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12778, 
Civil Justice Reform. This rule is intended to have preemptive effect 
with respect to any State or local laws, regulations or policies which 
conflict with its provisions or which would otherwise impede its full 
implementation. This rule is not intended to have retroactive effect 
unless so specified in the Dates section of this preamble. Prior to any 
judicial challenge to the provisions of this rule or the application of 
its provisions, all applicable administrative procedures must be 
exhausted. In the Food Stamp Program the administrative procedures are 
as follows:
    (1) For program benefit recipients--State administrative procedures 
issued pursuant to 7 U.S.C. 2020(e)(10) and 7 CFR 273.15;
    (2) For State agencies--administrative procedures issued pursuant 
to 7 U.S.C. 2023 set out at 7 CFR 276.7; and
    (3) For program retailers and wholesalers--administrative 
procedures issued pursuant to 7 U.S.C. 2023 set out at 7 CFR 278.8.

Regulatory Flexibility Act

    This action has also been reviewed with regard to the requirements 
of the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601-12). The Administrator 
of the Food and Nutrition Service has certified that this rule will not 
have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small 
entities. State and local welfare agencies will be affected to the 
extent that they must administer their Employment and Training Programs 
in a manner that meets the minimum performance standard, which will be 
revised pursuant to this rulemaking.

Paperwork Reduction Act

    The provisions of this final rule do not contain new or additional 
reporting or recordkeeping requirements subject to approval by the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under the Paperwork Reduction Act 
of 1980 (44 U.S.C. 3507). The provisions at 7 CFR 273.7(c)(6) relating 
to the submission of the Form FNS-583, Employment and Training (E&T) 
Program Report, are currently approved under OMB No. 0584-0339. Public 
reporting burden for Form FNS-583 is estimated to be 231,827 hours 
annually, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching 
existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and 
completing and reviewing the collection of information. Comments 
regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection 
of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, should 
be sent to Department of Agriculture, Clearance Officer, OIRM, room 
404-W, Washington, DC 20251; and to the Office of Information and 
Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, room 3208, New 
Executive Office Building, Washington, DC 20503, Attn: Laura Oliven, 
Desk Officer for FNS.

Public Participation and Effective Date

    This action codifies legislative mandates contained in section 
907(b) of Public Law 102-237, which became effective September 30, 
1991. State agencies were instructed through a Food and Nutrition 
Service directive dated December 31, 1991, to implement the changes set 
forth in the legislation. As a result, for each of Fiscal Years 1992 
and 1993, the performance standards for the Food Stamp Employment and 
Training Program were set at 10 percent for each State agency. State 
agencies have already been notified that the 10 percent performance 
standard will remain in effect for Fiscal Year 1994, and the 
performance standard for Fiscal Year 1995, pursuant to this rule, will 
remain at the 10 percent level. Neither at the time the original 
instruction was issued, nor since that time, has the Food and Nutrition 
Service received any adverse comments on the performance standards 
established for the State agencies. During the two years these 
performance standards have been in effect, the reduction from the 
previously established 50 percent performance standard has been 
noncontroversial and programmatically beneficial. Therefore, pursuant 
to 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B), the Department has determined that good cause 
exists to publish this final rule without prior public notice and 
comment, as such publication would be unnecessary for the reasons 
stated herein. For the same reasons, the Department has determined, 
pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3), that good cause exists to forego 
publication of this rule and solicitation of public comment thirty (30) 
days before its effective date; instead making it effective upon 
publication.

Background

    As mandated by Section 6(d)(4)(K)(i) of the Food Stamp Act of 1977, 
as amended (7 U.S.C. 2015(d)(4)(K)(i)), State agencies are required to 
place a minimum number of eligible persons into their E&T Programs. To 
ensure this requirement is met, the Department sets a minimum 
performance standard for each year. For Fiscal Years (FYs) 1990 and 
1991 the performance standard was set at 50 percent in keeping with 
previous statutory requirements. In accordance with 7 CFR 273.7(p)(2), 
sanctions may be invoked if a State agency fails to meet the standard 
set by the Department.
    In determining if a State agency had met the standard during FYs 
1990 and 1991, FNS divided the number of E&T mandatory participants 
placed in an E&T component (numerator) by the total number of E&T 
mandatory participants eligible to be placed (denominator). The 
denominator is the number of work registrants not exempted from E&T 
under the approved State E&T Plan. If a State agency serves volunteers, 
FNS added the number of volunteers placed to both the numerator and the 
denominator.
    Section 907 of the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act 
Amendments of 1991 (Pub. L. 102-237) amended section 6(d)(4)(K)(i) of 
the Food Stamp Act to lower the Food Stamp E&T Program performance 
standard to a level not to exceed 10 percent in FYs 1992 and 1993, and 
15 percent in FYs 1994 and 1995. This change allowed the State agencies 
to serve fewer persons in FYs 1992 and 1993, thereby concentrating 
limited resources on more intensive components.
    A recent study of the Food Stamp E&T Program found that in FY 1988 
E&T had no effect on participant's employment and earnings and only a 
relatively small effect on average food stamp benefit levels. This 
study, which was conducted for the Department by Abt Associates, Inc. 
(Evaluation of the Food Stamp Employment and Training Program, 1990), 
examined the E&T Program during its first full year of operation. At 
that time, most participants (78 percent) were assigned to low-cost 
components, such as job search and job search training. The evaluators 
concluded that substantial revision of the program would be required to 
increase its effectiveness and recommended greater emphasis on 
targeting and service delivery, including increased use of more 
intensive services.
    Other research to date has not conclusively demonstrated that 
intensive, long-term interventions to a limited number of people yield 
greater success ratios than short-term interventions with larger 
numbers in large caseload programs, such as the Food Stamp E&T Program. 
According to Judith Gueron and Daniel Friedlander (``Are High-Cost 
Services More Effective Than Low-Cost Services?,'' 1990, Manpower 
Demonstration Research Corporation (MDRC)), the research suggests that 
a program that provides primarily low-cost services to as many people 
as possible may have the greatest aggregate impact on earnings or 
welfare payments. On the other hand, using the same resources to serve 
fewer people with higher cost components may produce lower aggregate 
effects, but may help program enrollees achieve higher average 
earnings.
    Another study suggests, however, that low-cost approaches must 
exceed a certain threshold level of intensity for these positive 
impacts to occur. According to Judith Gueron and Edward Pauly (From 
Welfare to Work, 1991, MDRC), research shows that employment and 
earning impacts did not occur when resources per eligible individual 
were so limited that staff could only process and sanction cases and 
provide virtually no direct assistance, even in the job search 
component. The study cited in From Welfare to Work evaluated the 
Department of Health and Human Services' Work Incentive Program in Cook 
County, Illinois in 1985, where the average cost per participant was 
$157. In comparison, the evaluation of the Food Stamp E&T Program 
reported an average cost per participant of $135 in FY 1988.
    It is the Department's view that a meaningful program should reach 
a reasonable number of persons. This rule requires State agencies to 
serve no less than 10 percent of the E&T mandatory population beginning 
in FY 1992. That is, at least 10 percent of the E&T mandatory 
population would begin participation (i.e., be placed) in an E&T 
component. A State agency that provides for voluntary participation in 
the E&T Program would be credited by including the number of volunteers 
placed in both the numerator and denominator of the performance level 
formula, just as is done currently.
    The performance standard will remain at 10 percent through FY 1995. 
Although the statute allows the Secretary to increase the level to no 
more than 15 percent in FY 1994, it is the Department's view that an 
increase would not be in the best interest of the State agencies, or 
those individuals being served by the program. We anticipate that many 
State agencies, in response to the lower performance standard, have 
been and will continue to revamp their programs to offer more intensive 
components. A corresponding decrease in broad-based services is also 
expected.
    Lowering the performance standard to 10 percent for FYs 1992-1995 
allows State agencies greater flexibility in designing and operating 
their E&T Programs. Placing 10 percent of eligibles into components is 
a minimum level of performance and State agencies are free to exceed 
that level as they see fit. This change enables State agencies to 
target their program to the appropriate population. State agencies, 
that choose to do so, could provide a broader spectrum of services 
covering a larger portion of the population.
    The Department recognizes the importance of State flexibility in 
the design of programs that are best suited to meet the needs of each 
State's E&T population; however, the Department also wants to encourage 
the State agencies to provide E&T services to as many work registrants 
as possible. We invite the State agencies to design programs that would 
assist an even higher percentage of E&T eligibles than 10 percent, 
while effectively meeting the objectives of the E&T Program.
    The Department retains the current provisions at 7 CFR 273.7(o)(8) 
concerning variations in performance standards with some necessary 
modifications to the current language. A performance standard below 10 
percent may be approved if determined to be warranted by the 
Department.
    However, the Department retains the current provision at 7 CFR 
273.7(o)(8)(ii) which establishes a minimum percentage of persons 
placed below which no State agency may fall, regardless of the 
intensity of program components offered or the type of persons served. 
Specifically, no State agency may receive approval for a plan that 
provides for a performance standard which would be more than 40 percent 
below the nationwide standard. For example, with the nationwide 
performance standard at 10 percent, the Department will not approve any 
State E&T plan with anticipated performance levels lower than 6 
percent.
    The Department also retains the current provisions at 7 CFR 
273.7(p) concerning a State agency's failure to meet the established 
performance standard. State agencies which fail to meet their 
established performance standard may be subject to a disallowance of 
funds. The sanction provisions at 7 CFR 273.7(p) have also been 
clarified to include a cross reference to the current provision at 7 
CFR 273.7(d)(1)(i)(B) which stipulates that a State agency shall not 
receive performance-based funding for a given fiscal year if it did not 
meet its performance standard (as established prospectively) for the 
second preceding fiscal year.

Implementation

    In accordance with section 1101(d)(3) of Public Law 102-237, the 
program modifications set forth in this rule were effective September 
30, 1991. State agencies were subsequently instructed through a Food 
and Nutrition Service directive dated December 31, 1991, to implement 
such modifications. The provisions of this final rule, therefore, are 
effective upon publication.

List of Subjects

7 CFR Part 272

    Alaska, Civil rights, Food stamps, Grant programs--social programs, 
Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

7 CFR Part 273

    Administrative practice and procedure, Aliens, Claims, Food stamps, 
Fraud, Grant programs--social programs, Penalties, Reporting and 
recordkeeping requirements, Social Security, Students.

    Accordingly, 7 CFR parts 272 and 273 are amended as follows:

    1. The authority citation for parts 272 and 273 continues to read 
as follows:

    Authority: 7 U.S.C. 2011-2032.

PART 272--REQUIREMENTS FOR PARTICIPATING STATE AGENCIES

    2. In Sec. 272.1, a new paragraph (g)(133) is added to read as 
follows:

Sec. 272.1  General terms and conditions.

* * * * *
    (g) * * *
    (133) Amendment No. 352. The provisions of this amendment are 
effective April 11, 1994.

PART 273--CERTIFICATION OF ELIGIBLE HOUSEHOLDS

    3. In Sec. 273.7:
    a. Paragraph (o)(7) is revised;
    b. Paragraph (o)(8)(i) is amended by revising the first sentence;
    c. A new paragraph (p)(4) is added.
    The addition and revisions read as follows:


Sec. 273.7  Work requirements.

* * * * *
    (o) * * *
    (7) Percentage of persons to be placed. Beginning in Fiscal Year 
1992, 10 percent of the number of mandatory E&T participants, plus 
volunteers who participated, shall be placed in an E&T Program. This 
performance standard shall remain in effect through Fiscal Year 1995.
    (8) Variations in performance standards. (i) The Department will 
adjust the performance standard for an individual State agency if the 
State agency can show, prospectively, that the components it plans to 
offer or the type of participant it plans to serve will require 
significantly higher levels of service. * * *
* * * * *
    (p) * * *
    (4) In addition to the disallowance described in paragraph (p)(2) 
of this section, a State agency shall not receive performance-based 
funding for a given fiscal year in accordance with paragraph 
(d)(1)(i)(B) of this section, if the State agency does not meet its 
performance standard (as establish prospectively) for the second 
preceding fiscal year.

    Dated: March 29, 1994.
William E. Ludwig,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 94-8585 Filed 4-8-94; 8:45 am]
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