[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 248 (Tuesday, December 28, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 81634-81635]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-32684]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

[Docket No. FR-5376-N-127]


Notice of Submission of Proposed Information Collection to OMB; 
Emergency Comment Request; Housing Choice Voucher Program 
Administrative Fee Study Notice of Proposed Information Collection for 
Public Comment

AGENCY: Office of the Chief Information Officer, HUD.

ACTION: Notice of proposed information collection.

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SUMMARY: The proposed information collection requirement described 
below has been submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
for emergency review and approval, as required by the Paperwork 
Reduction Act. The Department is soliciting public comments on the 
subject proposal.
    This request is for the clearance of on-site data collection from 
public housing agencies (PHAs). The proposed data collection has three 
purposes: (1) To identify a sample of PHAs that are verified to be 
operating high-performing and efficient HCV programs, (2) to test 
alternative methods of measuring time spent on administrative functions 
in the HCV program, and (3) to collect information on the factors that 
affect administrative costs in the HCV program. The proposed data 
collection will take place through site visits to 60 PHAs and will 
include interviews with PHA staff, interviews with program partners, 
and reviews of client files and administrative data collected by the 
PHA, included documentation related to the HCV program budget. In 
addition, at 5 of the 60 sites the research team will beta-test three 
alternative methods of collecting data on PHA staff time spent on the 
range of activities required to administer the HCV program. The results 
of the site visits and beta-tests will be used to develop the research 
design, sampling approach, and data collection instruments for a 
national study of the costs of administering the HCV program based on 
direct measurement of staff and other program costs among a sample of 
high-performing HCV programs. The results of this national study--for 
which separate OMB clearance will be sought--will be used to estimate 
administrative fees and develop a new administrative fee allocation 
formula for the HCV program.

DATES: Comments Due Date: January 27, 2011.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments regarding 
this proposal. Comments must be received within thirty (30) days from 
the date of this Notice. Comments should refer to the proposal by name/
or OMB approval number (2528-Housing Choice Voucher Program 
Administrative Fee Study) and should be sent to: Ross A. Rutledge, HUD 
Desk Officer, Office of Management and Budget, New Executive Office 
Building, Washington, DC 20503; e-mail: [email protected]; 
Fax: 202-395-3086.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Colette Pollard, Departmental Reports 
Management Officer, QDAM, Department of Housing and Urban Development, 
451 7th Street, SW., Washington, DC 20410; e-mail 
[email protected]; telephone (202) 402-3400. This is not a toll-
free number. Copies of available documents submitted to OMB may be 
obtained from Ms. Pollard.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Department will submit the proposed 
information collection to OMB for review, as required by the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. chapter 35, as amended). This Notice 
is soliciting comments from members of the public and affected agencies 
concerning the proposed collection of information to: (1) Evaluate 
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; (2) Evaluate the accuracy 
of the agency's estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of 
information; (3) Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected; and (4) Minimize the burden of the 
collection of information on those who are to respond, including 
through the use of appropriate automated collection techniques or

[[Page 81635]]

other forms of information technology (e.g., permitting electronic 
submission of responses).
    This Notice also lists the following information:
    Title of Proposal: Housing Choice Voucher Program Administrative 
Fee Study.
    Description of Information Collection: This request is for the 
clearance of on-site data collection from public housing agencies 
(PHAs). The proposed data collection has three purposes: (1) To 
identify a sample of PHAs that are verified to be operating high-
performing and efficient HCV programs, (2) to test alternative methods 
of measuring time spent on administrative functions in the HCV program, 
and (3) to collect information on the factors that affect 
administrative costs in the HCV program. The proposed data collection 
will take place through site visits to 60 PHAs and will include 
interviews with PHA staff, interviews with program partners, and 
reviews of client files and administrative data collected by the PHA, 
included documentation related to the HCV program budget. In addition, 
at 5 of the 60 sites the research team will beta-test three alternative 
methods of collecting data on PHA staff time spent on the range of 
activities required to administer the HCV program. The results of the 
site visits and beta-tests will be used to develop the research design, 
sampling approach, and data collection instruments for a national study 
of the costs of administering the HCV program based on direct 
measurement of staff and other program costs among a sample of high-
performing HCV programs. The results of this national study--for which 
separate OMB clearance will be sought--will be used to estimate 
administrative fees and develop a new administrative fee allocation 
formula for the HCV program.
    OMB Control Number: 2528-NEW.
    Agency Form Numbers: None.
    Members of Affected Public: Up to 375 public housing agency staff 
persons (an average of 5 staff members at each of the 60 sites, plus up 
to 15 staff members at the 5 beta-test sites) and up to 180 staff from 
partner organizations (an average of 3 representatives of partner 
organizations at each of the 60 sites).
    Estimation of the total numbers of hours needed to prepare the 
information collection including number of respondents, frequency of 
responses, and hours of response: The average time for a PHA staff 
person to complete the interview is 1.5 hours. Up to 5 PHA staff will 
be interviewed per site, for a maximum estimated burden for the PHA 
staff interviews of 600 hours (300 people times 2 hours per person). In 
addition, up to 3 representatives of program partners will be 
interviewed per site, for a maximum estimated burden for the program 
partner interviews of 180 hours (180 people times 1 hour per person). 
Finally, at the 5 beta-test sites, up to 15 PHA staff will spend up to 
20 minutes per day for 5 days documenting time spent on various 
activities related to voucher program administration, for a maximum 
estimated staff burden of 127.5 hours (75 people times 1.7 hours per 
person). These same staff will also participate in 1 hour of training 
related to the beta-test data collection, for a maximum staff burden of 
75 hours (75 staff times 1 hour per person). The total estimated burden 
across the three data collection activities for the study is 980 hours.

    Authority:  The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 44 U.S.C. 
chapter 35, as amended.

    Dated: December 21, 2010.
Colette Pollard,
Departmental Reports Management Officer, Office of the Chief 
Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 2010-32684 Filed 12-27-10; 8:45 am]
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