[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 241 (Thursday, December 16, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 78673-78674]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-31550]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Food and Nutrition Service


Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; 
Comment Request--Study To Assess the Effect of Supplemental Nutrition 
Assistance Program (SNAP) Participation on Food Security in the Post-
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) Environment

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

ACTION: Notice.

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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 collection. This is a new collection for the contract 
Assessing the Effect of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program 
(SNAP) Participation on Food Security in the Post-American Recovery and 
Reinvestment Act (ARRA) Environment.

DATES: Written comments must be received on or before February 14, 
2011.

ADDRESSES: Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed data 
collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of 
the functions of the agency, including whether the information has 
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 the 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, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and 
Nutrition Service, 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 instruction for submitting comments electronically.
    All written comments will be open for public inspection at the 
office of the Food and Nutrition Service during regular business hours 
(8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday) at Room 1014, 3101 Park 
Center Drive, Alexandria, Virginia 22302.
    All responses to this notice will be summarized and included in the 
request for Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval. All 
comments will also be a matter of public record.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information 
should be directed to Steven Carlson on 703-305-2017.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Title: Study To Assess the Effect of Supplemental Nutrition 
Assistance Program (SNAP) Participation on Food Security in the Post-
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) Environment.
    OMB Number: [0584-NEW.]
    Expiration Date: [Not Yet Assigned.]
    Type of Request: New collection.
    Abstract: The Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) administers the food 
and nutrition assistance programs in the U.S. Department of 
Agriculture. SNAP, the new name of the Food Stamp Program, remains the 
cornerstone of the Nation's nutrition assistance safety net. SNAP 
provides nutrition assistance benefits and nutrition education services 
to low-income individuals and families in an effort to reduce hunger 
and improve the health and well-being of low-income people and 
families.
    The implementation of ARRA presents a unique opportunity to measure 
the impact of increased benefits on food insecurity. For decades, 
policy makers, advocates, and those implementing the program have 
hypothesized that increasing benefit amounts would reduce food 
insecurity and, perhaps, draw more individuals into the program who may 
have been reticent to apply. The ARRA increases the maximum allotments 
of SNAP participants by 13.6 percent, eases eligibility requirements 
for childless adults without jobs, and provides additional funding to 
State agencies responsible for administering the program. The natural 
experiment offered by the ARRA's benefit increase will be used to 
measure its impact on reducing food insecurity and hunger. This 
collection notice pertains to this effort, The Study To Assess the 
Effect of SNAP Participation on Food Security in the Post-American 
Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) Environment, which is funded by 
the FNS to determine whether and to what extent food insecurity 
declines with SNAP participation in a post-ARRA environment.
    The study has several objectives: (1) Determine how, if at all, the 
prevalence of household food insecurity and amount of food expenditures 
vary with SNAP participation; (2) determine how, if at all, the 
observed results vary by key household characteristics and 
circumstances; and (3) determine what factors distinguish between food 
secure and food insecure SNAP households with children.
    To meet the first two objectives, FNS will collect information from 
two representative samples: One from new SNAP households and one from 
SNAP households who in their current spell have participated in the 
program 6-7 months. The new SNAP households will be interviewed twice--
first, the baseline survey will occur soon after they have been 
approved to receive benefits and the second, the follow-up survey, will 
occur approximately 6-7 months later for those new entrants who 
continue to participate in the SNAP program.
    Among households participating in SNAP at the time of the baseline 
survey, samples of new entrants and ongoing participants will be chosen 
for individual in-depth in-person interviews. The purpose of these 
interviews is to supplement the quantitative analysis of the household 
interview data by developing tentative generalizations and hypotheses 
about the causes and results of food insecurity.
    SNAP participants from 30 states will be sampled via a two-stage 
sampling process where the states are the first stage and sampled with 
probability proportional to size based on the number of SNAP 
participant households in each state. Within the selected states that 
agree to participate, SNAP participants will be randomly sampled. To 
ensure sufficient sample for the follow-up interviews, an oversample 
will be drawn of the new SNAP households for the baseline survey.
    Affected Public: Individuals/Household.
    Type of Respondents: SNAP Participants.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: Out of the estimated 17,100 
individuals initially sampled, 1,710 will not be contacted due to 
invalid or incomplete contact information. The remaining 15,390 
individuals in a total of 30 states are expected to be contacted (see 
table below). Of those, 3,770 will refuse or be determined to be 
ineligible.
    Estimated Number of Responses per Respondent: 1 to 2 responses. 
7,529 respondents will have participated in

[[Page 78674]]

only one interview. 4,001 respondents will have participated in both a 
baseline and follow-up interview. 90 respondents will have participated 
in both a baseline and an in-depth interview.
    Estimated Time per Respondent: The estimated time per response 
varies from 5 minutes to 2 hours. The baseline and follow-up interviews 
will each average 0.50 hours (30 minutes). The in-depth interviews will 
average 1.50 hours (90 minutes). Therefore, among those who complete 
both a baseline and a follow-up interview, the burden estimate is 1 
hour. For those who complete a baseline interview and an in-depth 
interview, the burden estimate is 2 hours. For all persons who decline 
to participate in the interview, the burden estimate is 0.08 hours (5 
minutes) and includes the respondent's time to be screened in a brief 
call (see table below).
    Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: 8,247.1 hours. This 
includes interviewing hours for the baseline telephone survey, the in-
depth in-person interviews and the follow-up telephone survey. See the 
table below for estimated total annual burden for each type of 
respondent by type of interview.

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                                                                             Estimated                                       Estimated
                                                                             number of       Responses     Total annual   average number     Estimated
              Respondent type                       Instrument/s            respondents    annually per      responses     of hours per     total hours
                                                                                \1\         respondent                       response
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New Entrants..............................  Baseline only...............            3572               1            3572            0.50          1786.0
                                            Baseline & Follow-Up........            4001               2            8002            0.50          4001.0
                                            Baseline & In-depth.........              45               2              90         \2\ 1.0            90.0
                                            Refuse/Ineligible...........            2282               1            2282            0.08           182.6
Current SNAP Participants.................  Baseline only...............            3957               1            3957            0.50          1978.5
                                            Baseline & In-depth.........              45               2              90         \2\ 1.0            90.0
                                            Refuse/Ineligible...........            1488               1            1488            0.08           119.0
                                                                         -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Total.................................  ............................          15,390  ..............          19,481  ..............         8,247.1
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\1\ Assumes 10 percent of the full sample (1,100 of new entrants and 610 of current SNAP participants) will not be contacted due to invalid or
  incomplete contact information.
\2\ Average of 1.5 hours for the in-depth interview and 0.5 hours for the baseline interview.


    Dated: December 8, 2010.
Julia Paradis,
Administrator, Food and Nutrition Service.
[FR Doc. 2010-31550 Filed 12-15-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-30-P