[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 214 (Friday, November 5, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 68317-68319]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-28039]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Food and Nutrition Service


Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; 
Comment Request--Evaluation of the Summer Electronic Benefits for 
Children Household-Based Demonstrations on Food Insecurity

AGENCY: Food and Nutrition Service (FNS), USDA.

ACTION: Notice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this 
notice invites the general public and other public agencies to comment 
on this proposed information collection. This collection is a new 
collection for the purpose of conducting The Evaluation of the Impact 
of the Summer Electronic Benefits for Children Household-Based 
Demonstrations on Food Insecurity.

DATES: Written comments must be received on or before January 4, 2011.

ADDRESSES: 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 of the 
proposed collection of information, including the validity of the 
methodology and assumptions that were 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 use of appropriate automated, 
electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or 
other forms of information technology.
    Comments may be sent to: Steven Carlson, Director, Office of 
Research and Analysis, Food and Nutrition Service, U.S. Department of 
Agriculture, 3101 Park Center Drive, Room 1014, Alexandria, VA 22302. 
Comments may also be submitted via fax to the attention of Steven 
Carlson at 703-305-2576 or via e-mail to [email protected]. 
Comments will also be accepted through the Federal eRulemaking Portal. 
Go to http://www.regulations.gov, and follow the online instructions 
for submitting comments electronically.
    All responses to this notice will be summarized and included in the 
request for Office of Management and Budget approval. All comments will 
be a matter of public record.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or 
copies of this information collection should be directed to Steven 
Carlson at 703-305-2017.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

[[Page 68318]]

    Title: Evaluation of the Impact of the Summer Electronic Benefits 
for Children Household-Based Demonstrations on Food Insecurity.
    Form Number: Not yet assigned.
    OMB Number: Not yet assigned.
    Expiration Date: Not yet assigned.
    Type of Request: New Collection of Information.
    Abstract: The Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug 
Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2010 (Pub. 
L. 111-80), Section 749(g), directed that the Secretary of Agriculture 
shall carry out demonstration projects to develop and test methods of 
providing access to food for children in urban and rural areas during 
the summer months when schools are not in regular session to reduce or 
eliminate the food insecurity and hunger of children and to improve the 
nutritional status of children. The Summer Electronic Benefits for 
Children Household-Based Demonstrations will carry out the 
demonstration projects Congress directed USDA to perform in this 
section.\1\ In addition, the Act directed the Secretary of Agriculture 
to provide for an independent evaluation of the demonstration projects 
using rigorous methodologies. The Evaluation of the Impact of the 
Summer Electronic Benefits for Children Household-Based Demonstrations 
on Food Insecurity will carry out these provisions of the Act.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ USDA is also conducting demonstrations of enhancements to 
the existing Summer Food Service Program. Those demonstrations are 
not part of this Information Collection.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The evaluation of these projects is intended to provide 
policymakers with clear, rigorous and timely findings to make decisions 
about potential changes to Federal summer feeding programs during the 
next Child Nutrition reauthorization cycle. Primarily, the evaluation 
of the Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer for Children (SEBTC) 
demonstrations will examine how the provision of summer food benefits 
to the households of children certified for free or reduced-price 
school meals impacts the prevalence of very low food security among 
children certified for free or reduced-price meals as well as their 
nutritional status. Nutritional status will be examined with relatively 
simple measures of food choices, nutritional behaviors and Body Mass 
Index (BMI). Other effects, such as perceptions of parents and changes 
in household food supply and food expenditures will also be considered. 
In addition to impact measures, the evaluation will document the 
process and challenges of implementing the SEBTC demonstrations and the 
costs of operating the demonstrations. The results will provide 
valuable information to States considering applying for additional 
demonstrations as well as if the demonstrations lead to policy changes. 
The evaluation will gather data from up to 5 demonstration areas in 
2011. Each demonstration area will consist of contiguous school 
districts that, collectively, have 10,000 children certified for free 
or reduced-price school meals. The evaluation will gather data from up 
to 15 demonstration areas in 2012. The 2012 demonstration areas will 
also consist of contiguous school districts that, collectively, have 
10,000 children certified for free or reduced-price meals. In the 
demonstration areas households with children certified for free or 
reduced-price school meals will be divided into treatment and control 
groups.
    Affected Public: Individuals/Households; State, Local and Tribal 
Government; Business (for-profit). Respondent Type: Individual school-
aged children and their parents/guardians in each demonstration area; 
Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) processors and retail grocery 
vendors who operate in the demonstration areas; agencies that 
administer either the National School Lunch and School Breakfast, 
WIC,\2\ or SNAP \3\ programs in the States with a demonstration area; 
the agency that administers education programs in the States with a 
demonstration area; and, local school food authorities and schools in 
each demonstration area.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \2\ Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, 
and Children.
    \3\ Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (formerly the Food 
Stamp Program).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Estimated Number of Respondents: The total estimated number of 
respondents is 98,565 (32,731 in 2011 and 65,834 in 2012). Over both 
years this includes: 22,059 treatment and 22,059 control parents/
guardians; 8,823 attempted but incomplete parent/guardian interviews; 
22,059 treatment and 22,059 control students (1 per interviewed 
household); 400 State agency officials from about 35 State agencies, 
400 officials from about 35 local school food authorities; 700 food 
retailers and 6 EBT processors. These sample sizes are large because 
the key outcome of interest--very low food security--is a relatively 
rare event; these sample sizes are needed in order to meet the 
Congressional requirement to detect statistically significant 
differences in very low food security between treatment and control 
households.
    Estimated Number of Responses per Respondent: there will be one 
interview per parent/guardian, one per student, 2 per food retailer, 2 
per EBT processor, and 3 per State or local official.
    Estimated Total Annual Responses: 21,313.
    Estimated Time per Response: The estimated average response time is 
61.2 minutes (1.02 hours). The estimated time of response varies from 
15 to 180 minutes depending on respondent group, as shown in the table 
below, with an average estimated time of 6 minutes for non-responders 
to the participant survey.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: The total estimated 
response time is 20,654.6 hours in 2011 and 43,284.2 in 2012. See the 
table below for estimated total annual burden for each type of 
respondent.

 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                           Estimated
       Type of respondent          Respondent type        Type of          Number of     Frequency of       annual         Time per       Annual burden
                                                         instrument       respondents      response        responses      respondent          hours
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Individual/Households..........  Parent-Guardian...  interviews.......          44,118               1          44,118          1              44,118.00
                                 Parent-Guardian     interviews.......           8,823               1           8,823          0.1002            884.06
                                  (non-response
                                  rate).
                                 Children..........  interviews.......          44,118               1          44,118          0.25           11,029.50
State, Local, ITO..............  State Agency        interviews.......             400               3           1,200          3               3,600.00
                                  Official.

[[Page 68319]]

 
                                 Local School Food   interviews.......             400               3           1,200          3               3,600.00
                                  Authority.
Business.......................  Food Retailer.....  interviews.......             700               2           1,400          0.5               700.00
                                 EBT Processors....  interviews.......               6               2              12          1                  12.00
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Total Annual Cost to Respondents..................................          98,565  ..............         100,871  ..............         63,943.56
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note: Children are included in the parents non-response rate.


    Dated: November 1, 2010.
Julia Paradis,
Administrator, Food and Nutrition Service.
[FR Doc. 2010-28039 Filed 11-4-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-30-P