[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 161 (Friday, August 19, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Page 51939]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-21149]


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 DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE


Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

    The Department of Commerce will submit to the Office of Management 
and Budget (OMB) for clearance the following proposal for collection of 
information under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 
U.S.C. chapter 35).
    Agency: U.S. Census Bureau.
    Title: 2012 Survey of Income and Program Participation Event 
History Calendar (SIPP-EHC) Field Test.
    OMB Control Number: 0607-0957.
    Form Number(s): SIPP-EHC 105(L)2012--Director's Letter; SIPP-EHC-
105(L)(SP) 2012--Director's Letter Spanish; SIPP-EHC 4006A Brochure 
``SIPP You Represent Your Nation;'' SIPP/CAPI Automated Instrument.
    Type of Request: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Burden Hours: 5,460.
    Number of Respondents: 5,460.
    Average Hours per Response: 1 hour.
    Needs and Uses: The U.S. Census Bureau requests authorization from 
the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to conduct the 2012 Survey of 
Income and Program Participation Event History Calendar (SIPP-EHC) 
Field Test. The Census Bureau's SIPP-EHC computer-assisted personal 
interviewing (CAPI) will use an Event History Calendar (EHC) 
interviewing method and a 12-month, calendar-year reference period in 
place of the current SIPP questionnaire approach that uses a sliding 4-
month reference period. The Census Bureau is re-engineering the SIPP to 
accomplish several goals including re-engineering the collection 
instrument and processing system, development of the EHC in the 
instrument, use of the administrative records data where feasible, and 
increased stakeholder interaction.
    The main objective of the SIPP has been, and continues to be, to 
provide accurate and comprehensive information about the income and 
program participation of individuals and households in the United 
States. The survey's mission is to provide a nationally representative 
sample for evaluating: (1) Annual and sub-annual income dynamics, (2) 
movements into and out of government transfer programs, (3) family and 
social context of individuals and households, and (4) interactions 
among these items. The re-engineering of SIPP pursues these objectives 
in the context of several goals--cost reduction and improved accuracy, 
relevance, timeliness, reduced burden on respondents, and 
accessibility.
    A key component of the re-engineering process involves the proposed 
shift from the every-four-month data collection schedule of traditional 
SIPP to an annual data collection schedule for the re-engineered 
survey. To accomplish this shift with minimal impact on data quality, 
the Census Bureau proposes employing the use of an event history 
calendar to gather SIPP data. The EHC is intended to help respondents 
recall information in a more natural ``autobiographical'' manner by 
using life events as triggers to recall other economic events. For 
example, a residence change can in many cases occur contemporaneously 
with a change in employment. The entire process of compiling the 
calendar focuses, by its nature, on consistency and sequential order of 
events, and attempts to correct for otherwise missing data. For 
example, if the respondents are unemployed, they may then look for a 
job, and then become employed. The 2012 SIPP-EHC Field Test will 
continue the EHC methodology implemented in the 2011 Field Test 
instrument.
    The 2012 SIPP-EHC Field Test will re-interview respondents 
interviewed in 2011, collecting data for the previous calendar year as 
the reference period. The content of the 2012 SIPP-EHC will closely 
match that of the 2011 Re-engineered SIPP. As in the 2010 and 2011 
SIPP-EHC field interviews, a portion of traditional SIPP topical module 
content is integrated into the 2012 SIPP-EHC. The 2012, as in 2010 and 
2011, SIPP-EHC will not contain free-standing topical modules. The EHC 
allows recording dates of events and spells of coverage and should 
provide measures of monthly transitions of program receipt and 
coverage, labor force transitions, health insurance transitions, and 
others. The 2012 SIPP-EHC will be the first test of using dependent 
data (collected in 2011 SIPP-EHC) in conjunction with calendar methods 
to reduce burden and improve quality.
    The 2012 SIPP-EHC Field Test will be conducted in all 12 Census 
Regional Offices from January 2012 to March 2012. Approximately 2,600 
households (based on response and coverage estimates derived from the 
2011 Re-engineered SIPP field work) are selected for the 2012 SIPP-EHC. 
We estimate that each household contains 2.1 people aged 15 and above, 
yielding approximately 5,460 person-level interviews in the field test. 
Interviews take one hour on average. The total annual burden for the 
2012 SIPP-EHC interviews will be 5,460 hours in FY 2012.
    Results from the 2010, 2011 and 2012 Field Tests, and the 2008 SIPP 
Panel will be used to inform final decisions regarding the design, 
content, and implementation of the Re-engineered SIPP for its 
production beginning in 2014.
    Affected Public: Individuals or households.
    Frequency: One time.
    Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.
    Legal Authority: Title 13 U.S.C., Section 182.
    OMB Desk Officer: Brian Harris-Kojetin, (202) 395-7314.
    Copies of the above information collection proposal can be obtained 
by calling or writing Diana Hynek, Departmental Paperwork Clearance 
Officer, (202) 482-0266, Department of Commerce, Room 6616, 14th and 
Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20230 (or via the Internet at 
[email protected]).
    Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information 
collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of this notice 
to Brian Harris-Kojetin, OMB Desk Officer either by fax (202-395-7245) 
or e-mail ([email protected]).

    Dated: August 15, 2011.
Glenna Mickelson,
Management Analyst, Office of the Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 2011-21149 Filed 8-18-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-07-P