[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 201 (Tuesday, October 18, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 64367-64368]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-26919]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

Docket No. FR-5486-N-24]


Notice of Proposed Information Collection for Public Comment: 
Pre-Purchase Homeownership Counseling Demonstration and Impact 
Evaluation

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: December 19, 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: Pre-Purchase Homeownership Counseling 
Demonstration and Impact Evaluation.
    Description of the need for the information and proposed use: This 
request is for the clearance of data collection instruments designed to 
collect the information necessary to conduct a random assignment 
evaluation of pre-purchase homeownership counseling. The evaluation 
will produce valuable information about the impact of pre-purchase 
homeownership counseling on a range of outcomes for low- to moderate-
income first-time FHA home buyers. Four thousand study

[[Page 64368]]

participants will be enrolled through the branch offices and telephone 
centers of three national lenders in 10 jurisdictions throughout the 
country. Lender staff will ask potential home buyers to voluntarily 
participate in the study, directing interested participants to the 
telephone call-in research center for the eligibility assessment and 
baseline survey. To achieve 4,000 enrolled study participants, the 
intake and eligibility assessment will be conducted with up to 7,000 
potential study participants over a period of 9 to 10 months. 
Additionally, 45 study participants will be asked to participate in 
semi-structured follow-up interviews that seek to learn about 
participants' experiences with enrollment and interaction with 
participating counseling agencies.
    In each of the 10 jurisdictions for the study, local counseling 
agencies and national counseling intermediaries will be recruited to 
provide (a) Online education and telephone counseling and (b) in-person 
education and counseling. One national provider will be responsible for 
the online education and telephone counseling. Local counseling 
agencies will be recruited to provide the in-person education and 
counseling. In each case, the counseling agencies will be responsible 
for documenting the counseling services provided to the 2,300 study 
participants assigned to receive one of these types of counseling (the 
remaining 1,700 study participants constitute the control group). Staff 
of the lenders and counseling agencies will be asked to participate in 
semi-structured interviews that seek to understand the enrollment 
process and provision of counseling in each jurisdiction. The purpose 
of these data collection activities is to collect the information 
needed to evaluate the impact of pre-purchase housing counseling.
    OMB Approval Number: Pending.
    Agency form numbers: None.
    Members of Affected Public: Up to 7,000 potential first-time 
homebuyers; Up to 30 counseling organizations; and, up to 1500 lender 
staff in 10 jurisdictions.
    Estimation of the total number of hours needed to prepare the 
information collection including number of respondents, frequency of 
response, and hours of response: The average time per client for the 
7,000 potential study participants to complete the intake and 
eligibility assessment is 10 minutes. The average time per client for 
the 4,000 enrolled study participants to complete the baseline survey 
is 25 minutes. The average time per client for the follow-up interviews 
is 30 minutes. The average time per client for counseling agencies to 
document the services provided to study participants is 10 minutes, 
with responses required for both the educational component and for the 
counseling services. The average time for counseling agency staff to 
complete interviews is 60 minutes--up to 8 interviews conducted at up 
to 30 counseling organizations. The average time per client for lender 
staff to input the intake information is 3 minutes, with intake 
conducted with up to 7,000 potential study participants. The total 
burden for the study is 4,274 hours: 2,857 hours for study participants 
and potential study participants, 1,007 hours for counseling agencies, 
and 410 hours for lenders.
    Status of the proposed information collection: Pending OMB 
approval.
    Authority: Section 3506 of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 44 
U.S.C. Chapter 35, as amended.

    Dated: October 11, 2011.
Raphael W. Bostic,
Assistant Secretary for Policy Development and Research.
[FR Doc. 2011-26919 Filed 10-17-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4210-67-P