[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 55 (Tuesday, March 22, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15993-15994]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-6714]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Indian Affairs


Revision of Agency Information Collection for Financial 
Assistance and Social Services

AGENCY: Bureau of Indian Affairs, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of Submission to Office of Management and Budget.

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SUMMARY: The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) is submitting to the Office 
of Management and Budget a revision to the information collection, 
titled ``Financial Assistance & Social Services, 25 CFR 20.'' The 
information collection is currently authorized by OMB Control Number 
1076-0017, which expires March 31, 2012. The information collection 
requires applicants to provide information in support of their 
eligibility for BIA assistance and services and requires a subset of 
those applicants to complete an ISP in order to obtain General 
Assistance. Revisions include changes to the application form to 
address all five types of assistance authorized by 25 CFR 20 and a new

[[Page 15994]]

standardized form for Individual Self-Sufficiency Plans (ISPs).

DATES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before 
April 21, 2011.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on the information collection to the 
Desk Officer for the Department of the Interior, Office of Management 
and Budget, either by facsimile at (202) 395-5806, or you may send an 
e-mail to [email protected]. Please send a copy of your comments 
to Sue Settles, Chief, Division of Human Services, Office of Indian 
Services, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Department of the Interior, 1849 C 
Street, NW., Mail Stop 4513, Washington, DC 20240, facsimile: (202) 
208-5113, e-mail: [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: You may request further information or 
obtain copies of the information collection request submission from Sue 
Settles, telephone: (202) 513-7621.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

    The BIA is seeking to revise the information collection it conducts 
to provide assistance under 25 CFR 20 to eligible Indians when 
comparable financial assistance or social services either are not 
available or not provided by State, tribal, county, local, or other 
Federal agencies. Approval for this collection expires March 31, 2012. 
The information collection allows BIA to determine whether an 
individual is eligible for assistance and services. This information 
collection is being revised to allow revisions to the Application to 
promote usefulness in obtaining needed client information. 
Specifically, the application form was revised to include all Financial 
Assistance and Social Service components including General Assistance, 
Child Assistance, Adult Care Assistance, Burial Assistance, and 
Emergency Assistance. The Application was also revised to be more user-
friendly and assist in the eligibility determination process. In 
addition, the revised Application includes a case management tool for 
case workers. The case management tool is a breakdown of each Financial 
Assistance component to be utilized as a checklist of items to include 
in the case file, to check for during the application and intake 
process, and again during the eligibility determination. The checklist 
is a guide to 25 CFR part 20. The Application includes instructions on 
client appeal rights, the fraud statement, the appeal process, 
Paperwork Reduction Act and the Privacy Act. This information 
collection is also being revised to standardize the Individual Self-
Sufficiency Plan (ISP) that is used for a subset of the General 
Assistance applicants. The standardized form will guide BIA and tribal 
case workers in obtaining information to develop the ISP with the 
client. The form will allow case workers to develop more meaningful and 
attainable goals through specific action steps. No third party 
notification or public disclosure burden is associated with this 
collection. BIA is requesting an increase in the estimated burden hours 
for this information collection to better account for the groups of 
respondents (applicants for any of the five types of assistance versus 
the subset of applicants requesting General Assistance), to better 
account for the time it takes respondents to complete the application 
and, where appropriate, provide information for an employability 
assessment and ISP.

II. Request for Comments

    The BIA requests that you send your comments on this collection to 
the location listed in the ADDRESSES section. Your comments should 
address: (a) The necessity of the information collection for the proper 
performance of the agencies, including whether the information will 
have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of our estimate of the burden 
(hours and cost) of the collection of information, including the 
validity of the methodology and assumptions used; (c) ways we could 
enhance the quality, utility and clarity of the information to be 
collected; and (d) ways we could minimize the burden of the collection 
of the information on the respondents, such as through the use of 
automated collection techniques or other forms of information 
technology.
    Please note that an agency may not sponsor or conduct, and an 
individual need not respond to, a collection of information unless it 
has a valid OMB Control Number. Approval for this collection expires 
March 31, 2012.
    It is our policy to make all comments available to the public for 
review at the location listed in the ADDRESSES section during the hours 
of 9 a.m.--5 p.m., Eastern Time, Monday through Friday except for legal 
holidays. Before including your address, phone number, e-mail address 
or other personally identifiable information, be advised that your 
entire comment--including your personally identifiable information--may 
be made public at any time. While you may request that we withhold your 
personally identifiable information, we cannot guarantee that we will 
be able to do so.

III. Data

    OMB Control Number: 1076-0017.
    Title: Financial Assistance and Social Services, 25 CFR 20.
    Brief Description of Collection: Submission of this information is 
required of Indian applicants of BIA financial assistance and social 
services. BIA uses the information to determine if an individual is 
eligible for services and, where appropriate, to conduct an 
employability assessment and jointly develop with the individual an 
Individual Self-Sufficiency Plan outlining how the individual can 
attain self-sufficiency. Response is required to obtain a benefit.
    Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Respondents: Individual Indians seeking financial assistance or 
social services from BIA.
    Number of Respondents: 240,000 provide information on the 
application, and of those, 95,000 contribute information to an 
employability assessment and ISP.
    Total Number of Responses: Once, on occasion.
    Estimated Time per Response: 1.5 (0.5 hours for the application + 1 
hour for the employability assessment and ISP).
    Estimated Total Annual Burden: 215,000 hours ((240,000 x 0.5 hours 
for applications) + (95,000 x 1 hour for employability assessment and 
ISP)).

    Dated: March 14, 2011.
Alvin Foster,
Acting Chief Information Officer--Indian Affairs.
[FR Doc. 2011-6714 Filed 3-21-11; 8:45 am]
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