[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 86 (Wednesday, May 5, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 24130-24132]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-11231]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Economic Research Service


Notice of Intent To Seek Approval to Collect Information

AGENCY: Economic Research Service, USDA.


[[Page 24131]]


ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. 
L. 104-13) and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) regulations at 5 
CFR 1320 (60 FR 44978, August 29, 1995), this notice announces the 
Economic Research Service's (ERS) intention to request approval for a 
new information collection, the New EBT (Electronic Benefit Transfer) 
User Survey, to analyze the demographic characteristics and experiences 
of new entrants to USDA's Food Stamp Program (FSP). These data will be 
used in the Evaluation of the Impact of EBT Customer Service Waivers on 
Recipients to determine the nature and frequency of any problems which 
may be caused when USDA grants to States waivers to regulations 
governing customer service in EBT systems for the FSP.

DATES: Written comments on this notice must be received by July 9, 
1999, to be assured of consideration.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION OR COMMENTS: Requests for additional information 
should be directed to William Levedahl, Food Assistance, Poverty, and 
Well-Being Branch, Food and Rural Economics Division, Economic Research 
Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1800 M St., NW, Washington, DC 
20036-5801, 202-694-5431.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Title: Evaluation of the Impact of EBT Customer Waivers on 
Recipients: New EBT User Survey.
    Type of Request: Approval to collect information on new Food Stamp 
Program (FSP) entrants in EBT states.
    Abstract: The Economic Research Service (ERS) of the U.S. 
Department of Agriculture is responsible for conducting studies and 
evaluations of the Nation's food assistance programs that are 
administered by the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS), U.S. Department 
of Agriculture. The Food Stamp Program (FSP) is the largest domestic 
food-assistance program in the United States. Traditionally, food stamp 
recipients have received their monthly benefits as paper coupons to be 
redeemed for food at authorized retail food stores. The Personal 
Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act of 1996 requires that, by 
October 1, 2002, all States deliver food stamp benefits using an 
electronic benefits transfer (EBT) system. Approximately 37 States now 
have some type of operational EBT system.
    An EBT system provides an alternative to paper food stamp coupons 
for issuing and redeeming FSP benefits. EBT is a point-of-sale (POS) 
terminal network system that uses plastic magnetic encoded cards much 
like bank debit cards. Recipients are trained in the use of the card 
and utilize a personal identification number (PIN) for each 
transaction. To access their food stamp benefits, recipients run their 
EBT cards through an electronic reader at the checkout counter and 
enter their PIN on a keypad. The amount of the purchase is deducted 
from the recipient's account.
    EBT systems routinely provide client services through customer 
service centers supported by EBT vendors. The centers maintain toll-
free telephone hotlines for clients to call for various reasons, e.g., 
to determine account balances, to report lost or stolen cards, or to 
activate EBT cards they receive through the mail. Clients having 
problems with the system in general are instructed to call the service 
centers for assistance.
    The regulations governing the implementation and operation of EBT 
systems include several customer service standards (7 CFR 274.12). As 
EBT has developed and expanded, FNS has allowed States to try 
alternative service policies via waivers. The principal waivers 
employed by States include: training recipients by mail rather than 
through in-person training with hands-on practice with EBT equipment; 
assignment of the initial PIN by the EBT vendor rather than PIN 
selection by the recipient; and permitting up to five days for card 
replacement rather than two days. Twenty-four States have been granted 
one or more of the above three EBT customer service waivers.
    To promote and support the efficient and cost-effective operation 
of EBT systems, ERS is conducting a study with the following 
objectives: (1) to characterize client service problems associated with 
EBT customer service waivers and identify how clients respond to these 
problems; and (2) to estimate the occurrence of client service problems 
associated with EBT customer service waivers. Special attention will be 
paid to the nature and frequency of problems encountered by vulnerable 
recipients, especially the elderly and the disabled, as defined by FSP 
regulations.
    ERS, working with Abt Associates Inc., who will collect information 
about the nature and frequency of client service problems from three 
main sources in each of five States, including three States that have 
implemented all three customer service waivers and two States that have 
not implemented any of the three waivers. The first information source 
is vendor- or system-generated monthly reports which summarize activity 
levels within the system, including the number of EBT card replacements 
and calls to customer service hotlines. The second source is EBT system 
transaction logs, which record all system activity including benefit 
postings to recipient accounts, purchases, attempted purchases rejected 
due to incorrect PIN entry, and EBT card PIN locks (when multiple 
entries of an incorrect PIN temporarily disable the card). The third 
source, for which OMB clearance will be needed, is the New EBT User 
Survey, a telephone survey of food stamp recipients in each of the five 
participating States. The survey will be administered to a random 
sample of recipients who are new to the FSP and EBT system use because 
new clients are likely to be most affected by waivers to hands-on 
training and PIN-selection regulations. The survey sample will be 
stratified by State and by whether the head of the FSP assistance unit 
is considered vulnerable (i.e., elderly or disabled). The participating 
States with waivers are Alabama, Florida and Minnesota; the 
participating non-waiver States are Louisiana and Pennsylvania. These 
States were purposively selected and recruited to participate because 
their approaches to customer service and experiences with EBT 
implementation were expected by FNS to be especially informative. This 
selection method is appropriate because of the need for State 
cooperation and because the study is intended to explore the 
possibility that the waivers have significant impacts on recipients, 
not to provide definitive, nationally-representative impact estimates.
    The survey will collect information about: client demographics; 
respondent use of an authorized representative or others to shop with 
the EBT card, and why; how each respondent received his or her EBT 
card, including time and other resources spent obtaining the card; how 
the respondent learned to use his or her EBT card; whether the 
respondent encountered any problems remembering the PIN or using the 
card to shop; whether the respondent ever requested a replacement EBT 
card and, if so, the process and time involved in obtaining the new 
card; and the respondent's general satisfaction with the EBT system and 
customer service. Responses of food stamp recipients from the three 
waiver States will be compared to responses of food stamp recipients 
from the two non-waiver States to determine whether there are any 
systematic differences in the problems encountered and EBT experiences 
of recipients in waiver and

[[Page 24132]]

non-waiver states. Similarly, responses of vulnerable respondents will 
be compared to those of non-vulnerable respondents to see the extent to 
which the elderly and/or disabled may have greater problems with use of 
EBT, and whether the introduction of customer service waivers imposes 
any special hardships on the elderly and disabled.
    This information is needed to assist FNS as it makes decisions in 
the future regarding the granting of customer service waivers. No 
existing data source can provide all of the information needed to 
complete the evaluation. Computer-assisted telephone interviewing 
(CATI) will be used to minimize respondent burden and interviewer error 
in the New EBT User Survey. Existing FSP databases from the five States 
will be used to construct the survey sample frame and to obtain 
demographic data on recipients affected by the waivers. The survey 
questionnaire will be kept as simple and respondent-friendly as 
possible. Responses are voluntary and confidential. Survey data will be 
combined with other data for statistical purposes and reported only in 
aggregate or statistical form.
    Estimate of Burden: Public reporting burden for this data 
collection is estimated to average 20 minutes per response, including 
time for listening to instructions and responding to questionnaire 
items. There is no need for respondents to gather data to respond to 
the questionnaire items.
    Respondents: Persons in five selected EBT States who apply for food 
stamp benefits for the first time in November 1999, and who use their 
EBT card for shopping.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 1,400.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: 467 hours.
    Copies of the information to be collected can be obtained from 
William Levedahl, Food Assistance, Poverty and Well-Being Branch, Food 
and Rural Economics Division, Economic Research Service, U.S. 
Department of Agriculture, 1800 M St., NW, Washington, DC 20036-5801, 
202-694-5431.
    Comments: Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed 
collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of 
the functions of the Department, including whether the information will 
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 used; (c) ways to enhance 
the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; 
(d) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on 
those who are to respond, such as through the use of appropriate 
automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection 
techniques or other forms of information technology. Comments may be 
sent to William Levedahl, Food Assistance, Poverty and Well-Being 
Branch, Food and Rural Economics Division, Economic Research Service, 
U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1800 M St., NW, Washington, DC 20036-
5801, 202-694-5431. All responses to this notice will be considered and 
included in the request for OMB approval. All comments will also become 
a matter of public record.

    Dated: April 21, 1999.
Betsey Kuhn,
Director, Food and Rural Economic Division.
[FR Doc. 99-11231 Filed 5-4-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-18-P