[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 123 (Monday, June 28, 1999)] [Notices] [Pages 34631-34633] From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] [FR Doc No: 99-16403] ======================================================================= ----------------------------------------------------------------------- DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE Census Bureau Census 2000 Accuracy and Coverage Evaluation--Housing Unit and Person Activities ACTION: Proposed collection; comment request. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13 (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)). DATES: Written comments must be submitted on or before August 27, 1999. ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments to Linda Engelmeier, Departmental Forms Clearance Officer, Department of Commerce, Room 5033, 14th and Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20230. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or copies of the information collection instrument(s) and instructions should be directed to Magdalena Ramos, Bureau of the Census, Room 2126A/SFC2, Washington, DC 20233, (301) 457-4295. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: I. Abstract The Bureau of the Census developed the Accuracy and Coverage Evaluation approach for measuring coverage of the population in the decennial census. In the Accuracy and Coverage Evaluation, we independently count a sample of housing units and the people living in those units, then compare those results to the census. We then use this comparative information to produce final estimates of the coverage for Census 2000. The Accuracy and Coverage Evaluation approach was tested during the Census 2000 Dress Rehearsal in Columbia, South Carolina. The Accuracy and Coverage Evaluation was formerly referred to as the Post- [[Page 34632]] Enumeration Survey in the Census 2000 Dress Rehearsal. The Independent Listing Operation is the first step in the Accuracy and Coverage Evaluation process. During the Independent Listing, the Bureau of the Census will obtain a complete housing inventory of all addresses within the Census 2000 Accuracy and Coverage Evaluation sample of block clusters before the Census 2000 enumeration commences. The materials for the Independent Listing have been submitted to the Office of Management and Budget and are awaiting approval. The address listings will be matched to the address list used in the census; the unmatched cases will be sent to the field for reconciliation during the Accuracy and Coverage Evaluation Housing Unit Follow-up Operation using the Housing Unit Follow-up Questionnaires, Forms D-1303 and D-1303 PR. The D-1303 is the English language version and will be used in the Accuracy and Coverage Evaluation sample areas in the 50 states and the District of Columbia; the D-1303 PR is the Spanish language version of the follow-up form and will be used only in sample areas in Puerto Rico. For quality assurance purposes, a sample of the housing unit follow-up cases will be verified to ensure that the follow-up enumerators visit the block clusters, resolve the cases, and correctly follow procedures. The information obtained using the D-1303 and D-1303 PR will be used to resolve match status for unmatched cases and to assign final match codes. The results from the matching will be used to identify clusters for the Targeted Extended Search (TES) Operation. The TES attempts to correct erroneous enumerations and nonmatches caused by census geocoding errors. A geocoding error occurs when a housing unit is counted in the wrong Accuracy and Coverage Evaluation sample cluster. Because of geocoding errors, the people in the housing units can be counted in the incorrect block and, as a result, may be counted more than once. The housing units in the TES clusters are sent to the field for resolution using the Targeted Extended Search Field Followup Questionnaires, Forms D-1360 and D-1360 PR. The D-1360 is the English language version and will be used in the Accuracy and Coverage Evaluation sample areas in the 50 states and the District of Columbia; the D-1360 PR is the Spanish language version and will be used only in sample areas in Puerto Rico. The goal of the TES field follow-up is to determine the correct geographic location of the housing units in the cluster. The results of TES field follow-up will be used during person matching to allow the clerical matchers to correctly code the people in the TES clusters. The TES will be conducted during the same time period as the Person Interview. The resultant address listing from the Housing Unit Follow-up Operation will be used in the Person Interview. The Person Interview will be conducted using a Computer Assisted Personal Interviewing (CAPI) instrument. During the initial phase of this operation, the Census Bureau will target sample cases for telephone interviews. This is done to allow interviewing to start since personal visits cannot be done until Nonresponse Follow-up for Census is 90 percent complete. Telephone cases will be city style addresses selected from households that returned their census questionnaires and provided their telephone numbers. After the conclusion of the Nonresponse Follow-up Operation for a sample block cluster, all remaining sample cases will be interviewed using a person-to-person approach. Telephone interviews may also be used later in the process for hard to enumerate areas or situations. Intensive probing techniques will be used to reconstruct a roster of the sample housing unit. The interviewer will attempt to determine the status of the sample units and their occupants on Census Day, April 1, 2000. For households where the Census Day residents have moved out, we will obtain a proxy interview from the current residents or another reliable proxy. When combined with our efforts to match responses to the results of the census count, the interview data will identify persons missed or incorrectly included in the census as well as persons correctly enumerated. For quality assurance, a sample of respondents in the Accuracy and Coverage Evaluation sample will be reinterviewed using the CAPI instrument. There will be a Spanish language version of the instrument that will be available for use in the 50 states, District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. After the person interview, person matching for input into dual system estimation (DSE) processing will be conducted. The estimation is called DSE because two independent sources of information or systems are used. The people enumerated during the Person Interview Operation will be matched to the people enumerated in the census for the same addresses. Unresolved cases will be reconciled in the field during the Accuracy and Coverage Evaluation Person Follow-up Interview using the Person Follow-up Questionnaires, Forms D-1301, D-1301(S), and D-1301 PR. The D-1301 is the English language version and will be used in the sample areas in the 50 states and the District of Columbia except in selected areas; the D-1301(S) and D-1301 PR are Spanish language versions of the follow-up form. The D-1301(S) will be used in sample areas, where needed, in the 50 states and the District of Columbia; the D-1301 PR will be used only in sample areas in Puerto Rico. The completed follow-up interview files will be reviewed and used to resolve a person's residence status and match status. The person follow-up interview will undergo a quality assurance operation to ensure that the interviewer contacted the household and conducted an interview. The information from the person interview will be used in the Census 2000 coverage estimates. Because the initial housing unit operations (matching and field follow-up) are conducted before the inventory of census housing units is final, a final housing unit match and field reconciliation are needed for selected cases that were not followed up during the original housing unit operations. The field reconciliation will be conducted using the Final Housing Unit Follow-up Questionnaires, Forms D-1340 and D-1340 PR. The D-1340 is the English language version and will be used in the Accuracy and Coverage Evaluation sample areas in the 50 states and the District of Columbia; the D-1340 PR is the Spanish language version of the follow-up form and will be used only in sample areas in Puerto Rico. As in the initial Housing Unit operation, a sample of the housing unit follow-up cases will be verified to ensure that the follow-up enumerators visit the block clusters, resolve the cases, and correctly follow procedures. The results of the final housing match are needed to produce housing unit coverage estimates. II. Method of Collection Telephone and person to person interview. III. Data OMB Number: Not available. Form Number: Housing Unit Follow-up Interview--D-1303, D-1303 PR Housing Unit Follow-up Quality Assurance Interview--D-1303, D-1303 PR CAPI Person Interview--No form number CAPI Nonresponse Conversion--No form number CAPI Person Quality Assurance Interview--No form number [[Page 34633]] Targeted Extended Search--D-1360, D-1360 PR Person Follow-up Interview--D-1301, D-1301(S), D-1301 PR Person Follow-up Quality Assurance Interview--D-1301, D-1301(S) Final Housing Unit Follow-up Interview D-1340, D-1340 PR Final Housing Unit Follow-up Quality Assurance Interview--D-1340, D-1340 PR Type of Review: Regular. Affected Public: Individuals or households. Estimated Number of Respondents: 325,486 Housing units (HUs) Estimated Time Per Response: Housing Unit Follow-up Interview--3 minutes Housing Unit Follow-up Quality Assurance Interview--3 minutes CAPI Person Interview--20 minutes CAPI Nonresponse Conversion--20 minutes CAPI Person Quality Assurance Interview--10 minutes Targeted Extended Search--2 minutes Person Follow-up Interview--15 minutes Person Follow-up Quality Assurance Interview--15 minutes Final Housing Unit Follow-up Interview--3 minutes Final Housing Unit Follow-up Quality Assurance Interview--3 minutes Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: Total = 195,042 Hours. Housing Unit Follow-up Interview=13,983 Hours (279,664 HUs x 3 minutes) Housing Unit Follow-up Quality Assurance Interview=2,331 Hours (46,610 HUs x 3 minutes) CAPI Person Interview=108,495 Hours (325,486 HUs x 20 minutes) CAPI Nonresponse Conversion=21,699 Hours (65,097 HUs x 20 minutes) CAPI Person Quality Assurance Interview=6,781 Hours (40,686 HUs x 10 minutes) Targeted Extended Search=1,460 Hours (43,800 HUs x 2 minutes) Person Follow-up Interview=32,549 Hours (130,194 HUs x 15 minutes) Person Follow-up Quality Assurance Interview=5,425 Hours (21,699 HUs x 15 minutes) Final Housing Unit Follow-up Interview=1,988 Hours (39,758 HUs x 3 minutes) Final Housing Unit Follow-up Quality Assurance Interview=331 Hours (6,626 HUs x 3 minutes) Estimated Total Annual Cost: No cost to the respondents except for their time to respond. Respondent's Obligation: Mandatory. Legal Authority: Title 13, United States Code, Sections 141, 193, and 221. IV. Request for Comments 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 (including hours and cost) of the proposed collection of information; (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 respondents, including through the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology. Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized and/or included in the request for OMB approval of this information collection; they also will become a matter of public record. Dated: June 23, 1999. Linda Engelmeier, Departmental Forms Clearance Officer, Office of the Chief Information Officer. [FR Doc. 99-16403 Filed 6-25-99; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3510-07-P