[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 40 (Wednesday, March 1, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10597-10598]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-2833]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Community Development Financial Institutions Fund


Proposed Collection; Comment Request

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Treasury, 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)). Currently, the Community Development Financial 
Institutions Fund (the Fund), a government corporation within the 
Department of the Treasury, is soliciting comments concerning the draft 
``Survey of CDFIs to Gather Feedback on the Effectiveness of the 
Programs of the CDFI Fund of the U.S. Department of the Treasury'' 
(hereafter, the Survey).

DATES: Written comments should be received on or before May 1, 2006 to 
be assured of consideration.

ADDRESSES: Direct all comments to Pamela Williams, Program Operations 
Advisor, Community Development Financial Institutions Fund, U.S. 
Department of the Treasury, 601 13th Street, NW, Suite 200 South, 
Washington, DC 20005, Facsimile Number (202) 622-7754.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The Survey may be obtained from the 
Fund's Web site at http://www.cdfifund.gov. Requests for additional 
information should be directed to Pamela Williams, Program Operations 
Advisor, Community Development Financial Institutions Fund, U.S. 
Department of the Treasury, 601 13th Street, NW, Suite 200 South, 
Washington, DC 20005, or by phone to (202) 622-6355.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Title: Survey of CDFIs to Gather Feedback on the Effectiveness of 
the Programs of the CDFI Fund of the U.S. Department of the Treasury.
    OMB Number: Pending OMB approval.
    Abstract: The Community Development Banking and Financial 
Institutions Act of 1994 (12 U.S.C. 4701 et seq.) authorizes the 
Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (the Fund) of the 
U.S. Department of the Treasury to select and provide financial 
assistance (FA) awards and technical assistance (TA) awards to eligible 
applicants through the Community Development Financial Institutions 
(CDFI) Program. In addition, the legislation authorizes the CDFI Fund 
to certify eligible entities as CDFIs and to provide training to CDFIs 
and members of the financial services industry. The Department is 
conducting, through a contract with Abt Associates Inc., a study of the 
effectiveness of the CDFI Program (including the FA and TA award 
components), the Training Program and the CDFI certification 
designation. The assessment will rely on information from CDFIs on 
their opinions of the value of these program components in their 
ability to meet the community development finance needs of their 
communities. These data will be used along with quantitative 
information (to be obtained from existing administrative sources) to 
help identify the impacts of the components. Data on CDFI opinion 
regarding the effectiveness of the components is not available from 
other sources, and needs to be collected directly from the CDFIs 
through the proposed survey. In addition, the survey will gather 
recommendations from CDFIs on ways that going forward, the Fund through 
these program components, can better meet the needs of their 
communities.
    Current Actions: Pending OMB approval.
    Type of review: Initial.
    Affected Public: CDFIs, including business or other for-profit 
institutions, not-for-profit institutions and State, local and Tribal 
entities; community development trade associations and industry 
experts.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 1,100.
    Estimated Annual Time Per Respondent: The researchers will 
administer a one-time mail web-based survey with e-mail and telephone 
follow-up to staff from each of the 1,100 CDFIs. Each CDFI will be 
asked to respond only to specific portions of the survey, depending on 
the types of assistance they applied for and received. The survey is 
estimated to take anywhere from 30 minutes (for respondents who have 
not participated

[[Page 10598]]

in the program components being evaluated) to 54 minutes (for 
respondents who received each type of assistance and participated in 
the Training Program). The survey is estimated to take 35 minutes for 
the average respondent that received funding under the program 
components being evaluated. Based on our estimates of the number of 
respondents in each category, the total burden across all respondents 
is estimated at 496 hours.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 496 hours.
    Requests for Comments: Comments submitted in response to this 
notice will be summarized and/or included in the request for OMB 
approval. All comments will become a matter of public record. Comments 
are invited on: (a) Whether the 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 of the collection of 
information; (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 respondents, including through the use of 
technology; and (e) estimates of capital or start-up costs and costs of 
operation, maintenance, and purchase of services required to provide 
information.

    Authority: 12 U.S.C. 4703, 4703 note, 4704, 4706, 4707, 4717; 12 
CFR part 1805.

    Dated: February 23, 2006.
Arthur A. Garcia,
Director, Community Development Financial Institutions Fund.
[FR Doc. E6-2833 Filed 2-28-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4810-70-P