[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 116 (Thursday, June 16, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35232-35233]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-14906]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

[Docket No. FR-5486-N-14]


Notice of Proposed Information Collection for Public Comment; 
Housing Choice Voucher Program Administrative Fee Study Pretest

AGENCY: Office of the Policy Development and Research, HUD.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The proposed information collection requirement described 
below will be submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
for review, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act. The Department 
is soliciting public comments on the subject proposal.

DATES: Comments Due Date: August 15, 2011.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments regarding 
this proposal. Comments should refer to the proposal by name and/or OMB 
Control number and should be sent to: Reports Liaison Officer, Office 
of Policy Development & Research, Department of Housing and Urban 
Development, 451 7th Street, SW., Room 8226, Washington, DC 20410-5000.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Marina L. Myhre, (202) 402-5705 for 
copies of the proposed forms and other available documents. (This is 
not a toll-free number.)

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 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 Pretest.
    Description of the Need for the Information and Proposed Use: This 
request is for the clearance of on-site data collection from public 
housing agencies (PHAs) to test the methodology for the Housing Choice 
Voucher (HCV) Program Administrative Fee study. The purpose of the 
study is to collect accurate information on the costs of administering 
the HCV program across a representative sample of high performing and 
efficient PHAs and to use this information to develop a new 
administrative fee allocation formula for the HCV program. The study is 
proceding in multiple phases. This request is for data collection to 
test the methodology for estimating program costs in the study. We 
propose to use two main methods for collecting cost data: (1) Measuring 
the time that front line staff spend working on the program and 
translating that time into costs using the salaries and benefits of the 
staff doing the work and adjusting for market factors; and (2) 
collecting information via interviews and document review on the 
overhead costs and other costs related to HCV program administration 
that cannot be captured by measuring staff time spent on the program. 
We will test these data collection approaches at between 5 and 10 PHAs 
across the country. The results of the pretest will be used to refine 
the methodology used for the full study of

[[Page 35233]]

administrative fees with a larger sample of PHAs.
    OMB Approval Number: Pending.
    Agency Form Numbers: None.
    Members of Affected Public: Up to 250 PHA staff persons across up 
to 10 PHAs.
    Estimation of the Total Number of Hours Needed To Prepare the 
Information Collection Including Number of Respondents, Frequency of 
Response, and Hours of Response: We plan to conduct the pretest at 5 to 
10 PHAs across the country. The pretest will involve a combination of 
on-site and telephone data collection from PHA staff through 
interviews, observation, and self-reporting of time spent working on 
the HCV program via timesheets and other methods. There are five data 
collection activities that involve PHA staff. First, at each pretest 
site, PHA staff will spend up to 32 hours assembling data for the study 
and being interviewed by the study team (32 hours x 10 sites = 320 
hours). Second, at each site up to 15 staff will be observed in their 
work for up to four weeks (28 working days). These staff will engage 
with the researchers for approximately 15 minutes per day, for a total 
of 7 hours per staff over four weeks (7 hours x 15 staff x 10 sites = 
1,050 hours). Third, at each site up to 15 staff will complete 
timesheets or respond to messages via a SmartPhone for a period of 
approximately two months (45 working days). These activities will take 
approximately 15 minutes per day, for a total of 11.25 hours per staff 
over the two-month period (11.25 hours x 15 staff x 10 sites = 1,688 
hours). Fourth, all staff involved in time measurement activities will 
participate in up to 2 hours of training or preparation activities (2 
hours x 30 staff x 10 sites = 600 hours). Fifth, an average of 10 PHA 
staff per site will spend approximately 60 minutes debriefing with the 
research team about their experiences with the pretest (1 hour x 10 
staff x 10 sites = 100 hours). The total estimated burden across all 
proposed data collection activities is 3,758 hours.
    Status of the Proposed Information Collection: Pending OMB 
approval.

    Authority: U.S. Code 12, 1701z-1, Research and demonstrations.

    Dated: June 9, 2011.
Raphael W. Bostic,
Assistant Secretary for Policy Development and Research.
[FR Doc. 2011-14906 Filed 6-15-11; 8:45 am]
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