[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 195 (Friday, October 7, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 62341-62342]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-26058]


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 DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Food and Nutrition Service


Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; 
Comment Request--School Foodservice Indirect Cost Study

AGENCY: Food and Nutrition Service (FNS), United States Department of 
Agriculture (USDA).

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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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 information collection. This collection is a new 
information collection for the School Foodservice Indirect Cost Study.

DATES: Written comments on this notice must be received by December 6, 
2011.

ADDRESSES: Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed collection 
of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions 
of the agency, including whether the information shall have 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 use of appropriate automated, 
electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or 
other forms of information technology.
    Comments may be sent to: John Endahl, Senior Program Analyst, 
Office of Research and Analysis, Food and Nutrition Service, USDA, 3101 
Park Center Drive, Room 1004, Alexandria, VA 22302. Comments may also 
be submitted via fax to the attention of John Endahl 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 instructions for submitting 
comments electronically.
    All responses to this notice will be summarized and included in the 
request for Office of Management and Budget approval. All comments will 
be a matter of public record.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request more information on the 
proposed project or to obtain a copy of the data collection plans, 
contact John Endahl, Senior Program Analyst, Office of Research and 
Analysis, Food and Nutrition Service/USDA, 3101 Park Center Drive, Room 
1004, Alexandria, VA 22302; Fax: 703-305-2576; E-mail: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Title: School Foodservice Indirect Cost Study.
    OMB Number: 0584-NEW.
    Expiration Date of Approval: Not yet determined.
    Type of Information Collection Request: New information collection.
    Abstract: The Healthy Hunger Free Kids Act of 2010 (Pub. L. 111-
296) requires USDA to conduct this study to assess the extent to which 
school food authorities (SFAs) participating in the National School 
Lunch and Breakfast Programs pay indirect costs. The objective of the 
School Foodservice Indirect Cost Study is to collect and analyze up-to-
date data on school districts' policies and procedures for reporting 
and recovering indirect costs attributable to their foodservice 
operations.
    The ultimate goal of this study is to provide USDA and Congress the 
necessary information to assess the extent to which school districts 
indentify, treat, and charge indirect costs attributable to their 
foodservice operations. Some focus will be placed on whether school 
districts treat indirect costs attributable to their food service 
operations the same way that they treat indirect costs attributable to 
other grant programs. The School Lunch and Breakfast Cost Studies 
conducted in the early 1990s and again in the mid 2000s provide some 
evidence that as school district budgets have become increasingly 
tight, school districts have been increasingly likely to assess and 
recover indirect costs attributable to their food service operations. 
While this is permissible under USDA regulations, the regulations also 
stipulate that school districts must treat foodservice indirect costs 
in the same manner as their other grant programs. Previous research 
suggests that this is often not the case. This study will help FNS 
understand the extent to which current regulations are being followed 
and if there is a need for additional regulations and/or legislation to 
ensure that school districts treat indirect costs in the same manner 
across all of their grant programs. Specifically, this study will 
address the following questions:
    [squ] What is the role of the State departments of education in 
establishing or approving school districts' indirect cost rates?
    [squ] Are the indirect costs charged or recovered by school 
districts from foodservice consistent with Federal and State allocation 
requirements?
    [squ] What are the types and amounts of indirect costs charged and 
recovered by school districts from the foodservice account?
    [squ] What are the types and amounts of indirect costs that school 
districts could, but do not, charge and recover from the foodservice 
account?
    [squ] What is the impact of school districts charging and 
recovering indirect costs from the foodservice account on the ability 
of SFAs to operate on a break-even basis?
    The activities to be undertaken subject to this notice include:
    [squ] Conducting a multi-modal (e.g. paper, Web, and telephone) 
survey of approximately 1,897 SFA Directors who will complete the 
survey out of 2,373 recruited.
    [squ] Conducting a multi-modal (e.g. paper, Web, and telephone) 
survey of approximately 1,897 School District Business Managers who 
will complete the survey out of 2,373 recruited.
    [squ] Conducting a telephone survey of all 56 State Agency Child 
Nutrition Directors.
    [squ] Conducting a telephone survey of all 56 State Agency 
Financial Officers.
    Affected Public: State and Local Governments.
    Type of Respondents: 2,373 SFA Directors, 2,373 School District 
Business Managers, 56 State Child Nutrition Directors, and 56 State 
Agency Financial Officers.
    Estimated Total Number of Respondents: 4,858.
    Frequency of Response: Once annually.
    Estimated Annual Responses: 4,858.
    Estimate of Time per Respondent and Annual Burden: Public reporting 
burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 
thirty (30) minutes per completed Self Administered Survey for the SFA 
Directors and sixty (60) minutes for the completed School District 
Business Managers. Reporting burden is estimated at thirty (30) minutes 
per completed telephone interview for the State Agency Child Nutrition 
Directors and sixty (60) minutes for the completed State Agency 
Financial Officer (this includes 30 minutes for data gathering and 30 
minutes to respond to the interview). The initial sample in the School

[[Page 62342]]

Foodservice Indirect Cost Study includes 2,373 SFA Directors, 2,373 
School District Business Managers, 56 State Child Nutrition Program 
Directors, and 56 State Agency Financial Officers. We expect responses 
from 1,897 SFA Directors, 1,897 School District Business Managers, 56 
State Child Nutrition Program Directors, and 56 State Agency Financial 
Officers. The annual reporting burden is estimated at 3,010 hours (see 
table below).

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                                                                                                                                           Total annual
                                                                             Estimated     Frequency of      Estimated    Average burden      burden
         Data collection activity                    Respondents             number of       response      total annual      hours per     estimate (in
                                                                            respondents                      responses       response         hours)
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Self-Administered/Web/Phone Survey........  School Food Authority
                                             Directors:
                                            Completed...................           1,897               1           1,897            0.50             949
                                            Attempted...................             476               1             476            0.08              40
Self-Administered/Web/Phone Survey........  School District Business
                                             Managers:
                                            Completed...................            1897               1           1,897            1.00           1,897
                                            Attempted...................             476               1             476            0.08              40
Telephone Survey..........................  State Agency Child Nutrition
                                             Directors:
                                            Completed...................              56               1              56            0.50              28
Telephone Survey..........................  State Agency Financial
                                             Officers:
                                            Completed...................              56               1              56            1.00              56
                                                                         -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Total.................................  ............................           4,858  ..............           4,858            0.62           3,010
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    Dated: October 3, 2011.
Audrey Rowe,
Administrator, Food and Nutrition Service.
[FR Doc. 2011-26058 Filed 10-6-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-30-P