[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 188 (Wednesday, September 29, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58124-58125]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-21754]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service


Notice of Intent To Establish an Information Collection

AGENCY: Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service, 
USDA.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
regulations (5 CFR 1320) that implement the Paperwork Reduction Act of 
1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35), this notice announces the Cooperative 
State Research, Education, and Extension Service's (CSREES) intention 
to request approval to establish an information collection for the 4-H 
Youth Development Annual Enrollment Report.

DATES: Written comments on this notice must be received by December 3, 
2004 to be assured of consideration. Comments received after that date 
will be considered to the extent practicable.

ADDRESSES: Written comments concerning this notice may be mailed to 
Jason Hitchcock, E-Government Program Leader, Information Systems and 
Technology Management, CSREES, USDA, STOP 2216, 1400 Independence 
Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20250-2216 or sent electronically to: 
[email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request a copy of the information 
collection, contact Jason Hitchcock at (202) 720-4343; facsimile at 
(202) 720-0857; or electronically at: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Title: 4-H Youth Development Annual Enrollment Report.
    OMB Number: 0524-NEW.
    Expiration Date of Current Approval: Not applicable.
    Type of Request: Intent to seek approval to establish an 
information collection for three years.
    Abstract: As early as 1902 USDA Demonstration field staff and 
progressive educators around the country began to work with groups of 
young rural boys and girls in practical applications of research 
knowledge through hands-on agricultural and home economics-related 
subjects which evolved into 4-H. Over time, 4-H became the largest non-
formal youth development program in the country, and has remained so.
    4-H is a complex national organization, involving the National 4-H 
Headquarters, CSREES, USDA, and hundreds of educational curricula, 
activities, and events for youth K through 12th grade. Programs 
originate at 105 land-grant universities, and local programs are 
conducted and managed by some 4,000 professional Extension staff in 
3,050 counties, with nearly seven million youth enrolled each year. 
Nearly 600,000 volunteer leaders work directly with the 4-H youth. The 
Annual 4-H Enrollment Report is the principal means by which the 4-H 
movement keeps track of its progress, as well as emerging needs, 
potential problems and opportunities.
    The evaluation processes of 4-H are consistent with the 
requirements of Congressional legislation and OMB. The Government 
Performance and Results Act of 1993 (GPRA) (Pub. L. 103-62), the 
Federal Activities Inventory Reform Act of 1998 (FAIR Act) (Pub. L. 
105-270), and the Agricultural, Research, Extension and Education 
Reform Act of 1998 (AREERA)(Pub. L. 105-185), together with OMB 
requirements, support the reporting requirements requested in this 
information collection. One of the five Presidential Management Agenda 
initiatives, Budget and Performance Integration, builds on GPRA and 
earlier efforts to identify program goals and performance measures, and 
link them to the budget process. The FAIR Act requires the development 
and implementation of a system to monitor and evaluate agricultural 
research and extension activities in order to measure the impact and 
effectiveness of research, extension, and education programs. AREERA 
requires a performance evaluation to be conducted to determine whether 
federally funded agricultural research, extension, and education 
programs result in public goods that have national or multi-state 
significance.
    All of the information necessary to run the county-level 4-H 
program is collected by the county from individuals, Clubs, and other 
Units. It is maintained electronically at the County 4-H offices in 
cumulative individual and Club electronic records within the County 4-H 
program management software system. Annually each county sends their 
State 4-H office an electronic aggregated summary of their 4-H 
enrollment.
    One professional 4-H staff member in each State or Territory 
annually uses their program management software to electronically 
aggregate the 4-H enrollment for their State or Territory into a 
standardized format in a database flat file. Only certain categories 
from the flat file are forwarded to CSREES. None of the aggregated 
summary information

[[Page 58125]]

collected by CSREES contains sensitive information of an individual 
nature.
    Estimate of Burden: Each year, the State 4-H office aggregates all 
electronic County 4-H enrollment reports into the State 4-H enrollment 
report, and transmits it electronically to CSREES. The applicable 
Territories similarly transmit aggregated information. This requirement 
constitutes the Federal burden CSREES imposes on the States and 
Territories and is the only burden measured and accounted for in this 
estimate. CSREES estimates that it takes one State or Territory 31 
hours to aggregate the local level information and transmit the summary 
information to CSREES. There are a total of 57 responses annually, thus 
constituting a total annual estimated burden of 1,767 hours for this 
information collection.
    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; (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 through the use of 
appropriate automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological 
collection techniques or other forms of information technology.

    Done in Washington, DC, this 1st day of September, 2004.
Joseph J. Jen,
Under Secretary, Research, Education, and Economics.
[FR Doc. 04-21754 Filed 9-28-04; 8:45 am]
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