[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 137 (Wednesday, July 16, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 40830-40831]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-16149]


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 Notices
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 This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains documents other than rules 
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  Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 137 / Wednesday, July 16, 2008 / 
Notices  

[[Page 40830]]



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE


Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service; 
Notice of Intent To Revise and Extend a Currently Approved 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 Part 1320) that implement the Paperwork Reduction 
Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501, et seq.), this notice announces the 
Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service's (CSREES) 
intention to request approval to revise and extend a currently approved 
information collection for the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education 
Program (EFNEP).

DATES: Written comments on this notice must be received by September 
15, 2008 to be assured of consideration. Comments received after that 
date will be considered to the extent practicable.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods: 
Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://regulations.gov. Follow the 
instructions for submitting comments. E-mail: 
[email protected]; Mail: Jason Hitchcock, Information Systems 
and Technology Management, USDA/CSREES, STOP 2216, 1400 Independence 
Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20250-2216; Hand Delivery/Courier: Jason 
Hitchcock, Information Systems and Technology Management, USDA/CSREES, 
800 9th Street, SW., Room 4217, Waterfront Centre, Washington, DC 
20024.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jason Hitchcock, (202) 720-4343.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Title: Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program.
    OMB Number: 0524-0044.
    Expiration Date of Current Approval: January 31, 2009.
    Type of Request: Intent to seek approval to revise and extend a 
currently approved information collection for three years.
    Abstract: The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) CSREES 
Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) is a unique 
program that began in 1969 and is designed to reach limited resource 
audiences, especially youth and families with young children. Extension 
professionals train and supervise paraprofessionals and volunteers who 
teach food and nutrition information and skills to limited resource 
families and youth. EFNEP operates through the 1862 and 1890 Land-Grant 
Institutions in all 50 States and in American Samoa, the District of 
Columbia, Guam, Micronesia, the Northern Marianas, Puerto Rico, and the 
U.S. Virgin Islands. EFNEP is authorized under section 3(d) of the 
Smith-Lever Act (7 U.S.C. 343 (d)) and section 1425 of the National 
Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (7 
U.S.C. 3175).
    The objectives of EFNEP are to assist limited resource families and 
youth in acquiring the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and changed 
behaviors necessary to obtain nutritionally sound diets, and to 
contribute to their personal development and the nutritional well-being 
of the entire family.
    CSREES sponsors an integrated data collection process that is used 
at the county, State, and federal level. The current data collection 
system, the Nutrition Education Evaluation and Reporting System 
(NEERS), is an update to the OMB approved Evaluation and Reporting 
System (E/RS). NEERS has been developed to capture EFNEP impacts. Its 
purpose is to gauge if the federal assistance provided has had an 
impact on the target audience. It also enables CSREES staff to make 
programmatic improvements in delivering nutrition education. Further, 
the data collected provide information for program management decisions 
at the local level, and diagnostic assessments of participant needs. 
Specifications for this system were developed by a committee made up of 
representatives from across the United States and are in compliance 
with Federal standards for maintaining, collecting, and presenting data 
on race and ethnicity and protecting personally identifiable 
information.
    NEERS stores information on: (1) Adult program participants, their 
family structure and their dietary practices; (2) youth group 
participants; and (3) staff. NEERS consists of separate software sub-
systems for the county and State/territory levels. County data are 
exported electronically to the State-level systems. University staff 
import county level data into the State/territory level system. The 
State/territory level data is used to generate State/territory level 
reports for stakeholders and to guide program management decisions. 
States also export State/territory level data electronically to the 
Federal-level system for State and national assessments of the 
program's impact. One revision to the software is that NEERS will not 
have a formal system for data collection at the Federal level. Instead, 
the State-compiled data will be aggregated using statistical software 
and then, as before, will be used to create national reports which are 
made available to the public.
    Other revisions to the currently approved information collection 
include: Receiving latitude and longitude coordinates on people served, 
and Metropolitan Statistical Area and Congressional District 
information related to program participation. This feature can be used 
to illustrate program reach and impact in a targeted way. NEERS also 
includes a new foods database and revised client impact reports 
matching the USDA MyPyramid food groupings, quantities consumed, and 
physical activity measures of clients. This feature allows EFNEP data 
collection to be consistent with current Federal dietary 
recommendations.
    The evaluation processes of EFNEP remain consistent with the 
requirements of legislation and OMB requirements. The Government 
Performance and Results Act of 1993 (GPRA) (Pub. L. 103-62) 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

[[Page 40831]]

and Performance Integration, builds on GPRA and earlier efforts to 
identify program goals and performance measures and link them to the 
budget process. 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 multistate significance (7 U.S.C. 7671).
    Estimate of Burden: The respondents include the 1862 and 1890 Land-
Grant Institutions in all 50 States and in American Samoa, the District 
of Columbia, Guam, Micronesia, the Northern Marianas, Puerto Rico, and 
the U.S. Virgin Islands. The number of respondents has increased from 
56 to 75 institutions (i.e. State/territory level responses annually), 
thus constituting a total annual estimated burden of 91,982 hours for 
this data collection process--for participant education and data entry, 
aggregation, and reporting. Updates to NEERS are still being 
implemented in some states in FY 08, so burden estimates reflect the 
previous version of the data collection system.
    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 assumptions used; (c) ways to enhance 
the quality, utility and clarity of the information being collected; 
and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on 
those who respond, including through the use of appropriate automated, 
electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or 
other forms of information technology.
    Obtaining a Copy of the Information Collection: A copy of the 
information collection and related instructions may be obtained free of 
charge by contacting Jason Hitchcock by telephone, (202) 720-4343, or 
by e-mail, [email protected].

    Done in Washington, DC, this 10th day of July, 2008.
Merle Pierson,
Deputy Under Secretary, Research, Education, and Economics.
[FR Doc. E8-16149 Filed 7-15-08; 8:45 am]
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