[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 88 (Wednesday, May 7, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 24432-24434]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-11238]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Census Bureau


 2004 Census Test Other Living Quarters Validation Questionnaire

ACTION: Proposed collection; comment request.

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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 July 7, 2003.

ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments to Diana Hynek, Departmental 
Paperwork Clearance Officer, Room 6625, 14th and Constitution Avenue, 
NW., Washington, DC 20230 (or via the Internet at [email protected]).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or 
copies of the information collection instrument and instructions should 
be directed to Sharon Schoch, U.S. Census Bureau, Building 2, Room 
2102, Washington, DC 20233-9200, telephone number (301) 763-8272.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

    The Census Bureau must provide everyone in the United States the 
opportunity to be counted, including persons who do not live in 
conventional housing units. In Census 2000, the Census Bureau 
implemented a comprehensive set of procedures to enumerate persons who 
live or stay in group quarters (GQ) such as nursing homes, college 
dormitories, jails, and shelters. In order to count these persons, the 
Census Bureau developed a list of GQs--living quarters other than 
conventional housing units.

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    Prior to the Census 2000 enumeration of persons living in group 
quarters, the Census Bureau conducted the Special Place Facility 
Questionnaire operation to develop an inventory of special place/group 
quarters facilities. This operation was designed to identify, verify, 
classify, and obtain pertinent enumeration information about every 
special place (SP--See Definition of Terms) and all group quarters 
associated with it.
    As part of ongoing Census 2010 planning, the Census Bureau has 
scheduled a test in 2004, which includes a new operation, Group 
Quarters Validation (GQV). The goal of this new operation is to improve 
the enumeration of the group quarters population in the next decennial 
census. In order to accomplish this goal, we are developing new 
procedures to verify and update the existing Census 2000 GQ inventory 
as corrected by the Count Question Resolution (CQR--See Definition of 
Terms) program. In addition, GQV will attempt to properly classify 
other places with housing units that may be difficult to classify or 
that require special procedures such as hotels/motels and assisted 
living facilities. There are two test sites for the 2004 Test Census 
GQV operation--Queens, NY, and three rural counties in Georgia 
(Colquitt, Tift, and Thomas). The universe of GQV cases or addresses 
will be developed differently for each site.

II. Method of Collection

    The universe for the Queens, NY test site will include all 
addresses identified previously as Other Living Quarters (OLQ--See 
Definition of Terms) during an earlier 2004 Census Test Address 
Canvassing (AC--See Definition of Terms) operation. The AC field staff 
will update and verify Census 2000 addresses for the New York test 
site. Address Canvassing staff will be instructed to identify any 
address that does not meet the definition of a housing unit and has 
living quarters or has the potential of having living quarters, and to 
code that address as an OLQ. The OLQs will be merged with the existing 
Census 2000 GQ inventory for the test area to produce the final list of 
OLQ addresses for the GQV operation.
    AC will not be conducted in the Georgia test site, therefore, the 
OLQs for this site will consist only of the existing Census 2000 
inventory as corrected by the Count Question Resolution program.
    GQV staff from local census offices (LCO--See Definition of Terms) 
will visit each identified OLQ to conduct an interview using the paper 
OLQV questionnaire. The staff member will ask a series of questions to 
determine if the address is a GQ, a housing unit, or not a living 
quarters, such as a commercial establishment. These questions include 
asking the respondent's name and job title, as well as showing the 
respondent a card containing a list of types of group quarters. If the 
respondent says that none of the types of group quarters listed 
describes the address, the interviewer will end the interview after 
determining that the address is a housing unit, a nonresidential 
address, or another type of GQ not on our list.
    If the address is determined to be a GQ, the field staff will 
interview the respondent to verify, classify, and obtain other 
pertinent information about the GQ. The LCO staff will attempt to 
collect information such as the basic street address, contact name, 
telephone number, maximum capacity, and the special place name, 
address, and telephone number with which the GQ is affiliated. If there 
are additional GQs at this address, the LCO staff will add the newly 
identified GQs and attempt to collect the above information for each 
addition.
    If the address is determined to be either a housing unit or a 
commercial establishment with no living quarters, then the LCO staff 
will attempt to complete the appropriate items in the OLQV 
questionnaire and end the interview.
    The completed questionnaires will be sent to the Census Bureau 
National Processing Center in Jeffersonville, Indiana for data capture, 
and the information from the OLQV questionnaire will be processed for 
assessing the effectiveness of this operation.

Evaluation of Special Place/Group Quarters Frame Development Operations

    Approximately eight weeks after the data collection portion of GQV 
has been completed, the Census Bureau will conduct a follow-up 
evaluation to assess the effectiveness of the GQV operation. Using the 
OLQV questionnaire, staff will re-interview respondents at a sample of 
approximately 275 GQs to validate the identification of GQs and the 
assignment of GQ type code.

Definition of Terms

    Address Canvassing (AC)--A method of data collection designed to 
insure that the Master Address File is current and complete. Listers 
collect information from each address in their assignment areas to 
identify all OLQs. These OLQs and the OLQs from the CQR corrected 
inventory make up the GQV universe. AC also identifies housing units 
and not-in-universe entities such as commercial establishments.
    Count Question Resolution (CQR)--A process whereby state, local, 
and tribal government officials could ask the Census Bureau to verify 
the accuracy of the legal boundaries used for Census 2000, the 
allocation of living quarters and their residents in relation to those 
boundaries, and the count of people recorded by the Census Bureau for 
specific living quarters.
    Local Census Office (LCO)--A temporary office established for 
Census Bureau data collection purposes.
    Other Living Quarters (OLQ)--Any address that does not meet the 
definition of a housing unit and has living quarters or has the 
potential of having living quarters.
    Special Places (SP)--Establishments that are administratively 
responsible for one or more Group Quarters. In some cases, the Special 
Place and the Group Quarters are one and the same.

III. Data

    OMB Number: Not available.
    Form Number: DB-351(GQV).
    Type of Review: Regular.
    Affected Public: Individuals, businesses or other for-profit 
organizations, non-profit institutions and small businesses or 
organizations.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: Approximately 550 for the GQV 
operation. Approximately 275 for the Evaluation of Special Place/Group 
Quarters Frame Development Operations.
    Estimated Time Per Response: 15 minutes.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 138 hours for GQV. 69 hours 
for the Evaluation of Special Place/Group Quarters Frame Development 
Operations.
    Estimated Total Annual Cost: There is no cost to respondents except 
for their time to respond.
    Respondent Obligation: Mandatory.
    Legal Authority: Title 13, United States Code, Sections 141 and 
193.

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

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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: May 1, 2003.
Madeleine Clayton,
Management Analyst, Office of the Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 03-11238 Filed 5-6-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-07-P