[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 224 (Monday, November 20, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 69729-69730]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-29563]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Economic Research Service


Notice of Intent To Seek Approval To Collect Information

AGENCY: Economic Research Service, USDA.

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 part 1320 (60 FR 44978, August 29, 1995), this notice announces the 
Economic Research Service's (ERS) intention to request OMB approval for 
a new information collection from Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) 
state agencies, sponsoring organizations, former sponsoring 
organizations, site directors, school food authorities, and from 
parents or guardians of elementary-school-age children who live near 
SFSP sites.

DATES: Comments on this notice must be received by January 19, 2001 to 
be assured of consideration.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION OR COMMENTS: Requests for additional information 
should be directed to Jane Allshouse, Diet, Safety, and Health 
Economics Branch, Food and Rural Economics Division, Economic Research 
Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1800 M Street, NW., 
Washington, DC 20036-5831, tel. 202-694-5449. Submit electronic 
comments to [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Title: Application for ERS collection of information for an SFSP 
Implementation Study.
    OMB Number: Not yet assigned.
    Expiration Date: N/A.
    Type of Request: Approval for new data collection from SFSP state 
agencies, sponsoring organizations, former sponsors, site directors, 
School Food Authorities near SFSP sites, and parents or guardians of 
elementary-school-age children who live near SFSP sites.
    Abstract: USDA needs to obtain detailed information on SFSP 
operations and administration and to learn more about the factors that 
contribute to the large gap in participation levels between the 
National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and the SFSP. Such knowledge will 
help the USDA determine whether future changes in SFSP policy are 
warranted. Currently, very little administrative data are collected at 
the national level on the operations of this program. Furthermore, the 
last national study of the program collected data in 1986.
    To evaluate how program operations contribute to participation 
levels and the nutritional benefits of SFSP participation, and to study 
the characteristics of participants and

[[Page 69730]]

eligible nonparticipants and the factors affecting participation, many 
kinds of information must be obtained. Data for this study will be 
collected from five separate, but related, constituencies:
     Program staff at the state agency or USDA Food and 
Nutrition Service (FNS) regional office.
     Current SFSP sponsors, who may be School Food Authorities, 
government agencies, public or nonprofit residential camps, National 
Youth Sports Camps, or other nonprofit organizations.
     Former SFSP sponsors who recently left the program.
     Site directors (in conjunction with site visits to observe 
operations, meal content, and the extent of plate waste).
     Parents or guardians of participating and eligible 
nonparticipating children of elementary school age who live near SFSP 
sites.
    The data will be collected on a one-time basis in 2001, to provide 
USDA and Congress with information prior to the next reauthorization of 
the SFSP.
    The information collected will help USDA to describe program 
operations at all administrative levels, and to identify possible 
barriers to program participation by low-income children.
    Obtaining sample frame information for the study will require data 
collection at several stages. State agencies will be contacted several 
times for lists of sponsors and their sites. Some sites operating in 
the prior year will be selected as locations for the participant-
nonparticipant study, and School Food Authorities near these sites will 
be contacted to request lists of students who receive free or reduced-
price school lunches at the elementary schools closest to the selected 
sites. These school lists will provide the sample frame for the parent 
survey. Sponsors selected for the sample will be contacted to provide 
updated site lists in early summer.
    State data collection will involve telephone interviews with state 
administrators from all 54 states and territories that offer the SFSP 
(or, in a few states, with the FNS regional office staff who administer 
the program).\1\ In addition, states will be asked to provide 
administrative data on the sponsors and sites sampled for detailed 
study. At substate levels, samples will be selected to provide 
estimates with a 10 percent coefficient of variation or less, when 
weighted by the number of participants served at each level. All 
samples will be nationally representative; they will be selected with 
probability proportional to size, where the measure of size will be 
average daily attendance at SFSP sites administered. A national sample 
of 120 sponsors will have the option of completing a self-administered 
mail survey or a telephone interview. One hundred former sponsors will 
be interviewed by telephone to provide information on why sponsors 
leave the SFSP. Site directors at 150 sites will be interviewed in 
person, and their sites will be observed by trained site visitors. 
Finally, a sample of 1,200 parents or guardians of elementary-school-
age children eligible to participate at nearby SFSP sites will be 
interviewed by telephone, using computer-assisted telephone 
interviewing (CATI).
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    \1\ The FNS regional office administers the program in Michigan 
and Virginia, and divides responsibilities in New York with the New 
York Department of Education. Thus, there will be two state 
interviews in New York, or 55 total.
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    Respondent burden will be minimized for the parent survey by using 
CATI methods to streamline the interviewing process, and by carefully 
training interviewing staff on survey procedures. Burden will be 
minimized at other levels by relying on administrative records for 
variables that are consistently available across states. In addition, 
states, sponsors, and School Food Authorities will be encouraged to 
provide lists or other administrative records in whatever form is most 
convenient to them.
    Responses will be voluntary and confidential, except for aggregate 
data that are already published from administrative records. To ensure 
confidentiality, data will be reported only in tabular form, with 
analysis cells large enough to prevent identification of individual 
agencies or families. In addition, identifying information will be kept 
only by the contractor and will be released only to the contractor's 
internal staff who need it directly for the survey and analysis 
operations.
    Estimate of Burden: To develop the sample frame and obtain 
administrative records, we estimate the burden to be as follows:

State administrators--40 hours each (Sponsor and site lists and 
administrative records will only be obtained for the 50 states and the 
District of Columbia.)
Sponsors--4 hours each
School Food Authorities--8 hours each

    To complete the interviews, the estimated burden is:

State administrators--1 hour to prepare for the interview, 45 minutes 
to complete the interview \2\
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    \2\ There will be two state interviews for New York, as noted 
above.
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Sponsors--1 hour to complete either the self-administered questionnaire 
or the telephone interview, 30 minutes to look up information for the 
interview, plus a 15-minute phone call to inform sponsor about site 
visits
Former Sponsors--30 minutes each
Site Directors--30 minutes for the interview, plus 30 minutes for 
explanation and discussion of the site visit, including the meal and 
plate waste observation
Eligible Parents or Guardians--25 minutes each
Ineligible Parents or Guardians--2 minutes each for screening questions 
\3\
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    \3\ Parents or guardians will be ineligible if their children 
are away for the summer, or if the family has moved out of the area 
near the SFSP site.

    Respondents: Respondents include federal, state, and local 
government staff, school district staff, and staff from local nonprofit 
organizations that sponsor the SFSP or have in the recent past, and 
private citizens.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 1,655 in total: 55 state 
administrators, 120 sponsors, 30 school food authorities, 100 former 
sponsors, 150 site directors, 1,200 parents or guardians of elementary-
school-age children.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: Total of 3768 hours.
    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 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 the assumptions 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 the use of 
appropriate automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technology. 
Comments should be sent to the address stated in the preamble. All 
responses to this notice will be summarized and included in the request 
for Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval. All comments will 
also become a matter of public record.

    Dated: October 30, 2000.
Betsey Kuhn,
Director, Food and Rural Economics Division.
[FR Doc. 00-29563 Filed 11-17-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-18-P