[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 229 (Tuesday, November 29, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 73584-73586]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-30674]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Food and Nutrition Service


Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; 
Comment Request--Assessment of the Contributions of an Interview to 
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Eligibility and Benefit 
Determinations

AGENCY: Food and Nutrition Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice.

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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 a proposed information collection. This proposed collection is for 
``Assessment of the Contributions of an Interview to Supplemental 
Nutrition Assistance Program Eligibility and Benefit Determinations.'' 
The proposed collection will examine if there is a difference in 
payment accuracy, program access, administrative costs, and client 
satisfaction under two conditions: usual application procedures and the 
no-interview test condition.

DATES: Written comments must be received on or before January 30, 2012.

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 used; and (c) 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: Steven Carlson, Director, Office of 
Research and Analysis, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and 
Nutrition Service, 3101 Park Center Drive, Room 1014, Alexandria, VA 
22302. Comments may also be submitted via fax to the attention of 
Steven Carlson at (703) 305-2576 or via email 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 written comments will be open for public inspection at the 
office of the Food and Nutrition Service during regular business hours 
(8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday) at 3101 Park Center Drive, 
Room 1014, Alexandria, Virginia 22302.
    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: Requests for additional information or 
copies of this information collection should be directed to Steven 
Carlson at (703) 305-2017.
    Abstract: The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is a 
critical source of support for many low-income families and 
individuals. In recent years, States have changed the way clients 
enroll in SNAP. A central feature of the changes is a waiver that 
allows States to conduct the in-person eligibility interview over the 
telephone. Many States have implemented this interview waiver. Some 
states have expressed interest in exploring alternative certification 
approaches that do not require conducting any interviews in the SNAP 
eligibility determination process. However, there is little data 
available to assess the impact of eliminating a certification interview 
on client access, customer service, and program integrity. This study 
will focus on the contributions of interviews to the determination of 
SNAP eligibility and benefits. It will examine if there is a difference 
in payment accuracy, program access, administrative costs, and client 
satisfaction under two conditions: usual application procedures and the 
no-interview test condition.
    Three states--North Carolina, Oregon, and Utah--applied and were 
selected to conduct this study. North Carolina and Oregon will be 
conducting the study in selected demonstration sites and Utah will 
randomly select clients across the entire state. All three states will 
limit the size of the no-interview test condition to 20 percent of 
their caseload. Each state will identify a comparison site(s) that 
represents its current application procedures. These comparison sites 
will be similar to the no-interview demonstration sites in terms of 
population characteristics, population density, SNAP participation 
trends, SNAP advocacy and outreach, economic indicators, and other 
factors. Project findings will help policymakers understand the 
contributions of an interview for eligibility and benefit 
determination.
    The project has eight research objectives: (1) Describe the 
eligibility determination procedures under the current system and the 
demonstration condition in each State; (2) describe any modernization 
activities in each State that complement the waiver to make its 
application most effective; (3) describe the process for implementing 
the waivers; (4) describe the responses of clients to the no-interview 
condition; (5) describe the responses of SNAP staff to the no-interview 
condition; (6) describe the responses of community partners and other 
stakeholders to the no-interview condition; (7) document the impact of 
the no-interview condition; and (8) document the main take-away points 
from the study to inform FNS.
    Data will be collected from four sources:
     First, site visits will be conducted to observe 
demonstration and comparison procedures and to interview professional 
staff who work at SNAP offices or related not-for-profit organizations.
     Second, each State will conduct Quality Control (QC)-like 
reviews both before and after implementing the demonstration projects. 
The States will select 225 to 300 clients to interview from the 
demonstration site during each round of reviews. The State will use the 
same procedures to interview clients as it uses to conduct its Federal 
QC reviews. These data will be used to measure the accuracy of the 
eligibility and benefit determinations under both the no-interview and 
the States' regular interview procedures.
     Third, clients will be surveyed by telephone about their 
recent application/recertification experiences under the interview 
conditions to provide their perspectives on the process. Clients will 
receive an advance letter about the survey, including a $2 pre-
interview cash incentive. The telephone interview will last five to 
seven minutes. Clients will also receive a $10 gift card to a local 
store after completing the survey.
     Finally, a total of four focus groups will be conducted in 
each State--two focus groups in the no-interview sites and two focus 
groups in the interview sites. These focus groups will be conducted 
with ``procedural denials''--individuals who submit a SNAP application 
but are denied SNAP benefits because they fail to complete the 
subsequent stages of the application

[[Page 73585]]

process. Focus group members will be selected using State SNAP 
administrative data for recent applicants. Focus group discussions will 
last approximately 90 minutes. All focus group participants will 
receive a $30 stipend for participation and a $6 stipend for 
transportation or parking. These qualitative data will provide a better 
understanding of reasons applicants do not complete the certification 
or recertification process.
    Tailored protocols will be used for the survey and focus groups. 
Interview and focus group questions will be as simple and respondent-
friendly as possible. Responses to all questions will be voluntary. The 
contractor will take the following steps to treat the data provided in 
a confidential manner: (1) No data will be released in a form that 
identifies individual respondents by name and (2) information collected 
through interviews will be combined across other respondents in the 
same category and reported only in aggregate form. Respondents will be 
notified of these confidentiality measures during data collection.
    Other data collection will include observations of local offices 
and interviews with staff at State and local SNAP offices and at not-
for-profit organizations. The study will use State administrative data 
to examine trends in participation and benefit amounts and to monitor 
demonstration costs and other performance issues.
    Affected Public: Members of the public affected by the data 
collection include State and local government, individuals and 
households, and not-for-profit institutions. Respondent groups 
identified include (1) SNAP staff at the State, district/county, and 
local levels; (2) SNAP applicants and participants; and (3) not-for-
profit organizations that work closely with SNAP applicants and 
participants.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: The study will collect data from a 
total of 2,991 respondents across all States. This number represents 
the sum of 12 State-level SNAP staff interviews; 18 district/county 
SNAP staff interviews; 60 local office SNAP staff interviews; 9 
interviews with staff at not-for-profit organizations; 2,772 SNAP 
clients; and 120 procedural denials.
    Estimated Number of Responses per Respondent: Each client survey 
and focus group respondent will require one response. Each interview 
respondent for State and local agency and not-for-profit organization 
staff will require two responses.
    Estimated Time per Response: For all interviews of State SNAP 
staff, district/county SNAP staff, local office SNAP staff, and not-
for-profit partner staff, the burden estimate is 1.5 hours, which 
includes the respondents' time to prepare for and complete the 
interview. For client survey respondents, including the respondents' 
time to read an advance letter and complete the survey, the burden 
estimate is 0.1667 hours (10 minutes). For client survey refusers, the 
burden estimate is 0.0833 hours (5 minutes), including time to read the 
advance letter and field a call attempting the survey. For all 
participating members in the focus groups, the burden estimate is 1.667 
hours (100 minutes). This includes the respondents' time to be 
screened, receive a reminder call, read a reminder letter, and 
participate in the group. For all who decline to participate in the 
focus groups, including the respondents' time to be screened, the 
burden estimate is 0.0833 hours (5 minutes) (see the following table).
    Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents and Non-responders: 
Staff from State-, district-, county-, and local-level SNAP offices, as 
well as staff from not-for-profit organizations, will be interviewed 
twice in the 15-month field period of this study. SNAP clients and 
procedural denials will be interviewed or participate in a focus group 
only once. This sums to a total of 1,072 hours, including State SNAP 
staff, 36 hours; district/county SNAP staff, 54 hours; local office 
SNAP staff, 180 hours; not-for-profit organization staff, 27 hours; 
SNAP clients participating in the survey, 462 hours; and SNAP client 
survey non-responders, 72.9 hours.
    The number of survey non-responders is based on the assumption that 
we will start with a sample of 3,647 clients, of which 95 percent will 
be eligible for the survey, and will achieve an 80 percent response 
rate. The burden for clients with procedural denials participating in 
the focus groups is estimated at 200 hours, and for respondents who 
elect not to participate in the focus groups (refusers), the estimated 
total burden is 40 hours. The number of refusers is based on the 
assumption that in order to have 120 respondents ultimately attend the 
focus groups, 300 people will need to be recruited. In order to recruit 
300 people, twice as many, or 600, will need to be contacted initially.

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                                                                Estimated       Responses
          Affected public                Respondent type        number of     annually per    Total annual    Estimated average number   Estimated total
                                                               respondents     respondent       responses      of hours per  response         hours
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State and Local Agencies...........  State SNAP staff......              12               2              24  1.5.......................             36
                                     District/County SNAP                18               2              36  1.5.......................             54
                                      staff.
                                     Local office SNAP                   60               2             120  1.5.......................            180
                                      staff.
Not-for-Profit Organizations.......  Community partner                    9               2              18  1.5.......................             27
                                      organization staff.
Individuals and Households.........  Active SNAP                      2,772               1           2,772  0.1667 (10 minutes).......            462.1
                                      participants (client
                                      survey).\a\
                                     Active SNAP                        875               1             875  0.0833 (5 minutes)........             72.9
                                      participants (client
                                      survey non-
                                      responders).\b\
                                     SNAP procedural                    120               1             120  1.667 (100 minutes).......            200
                                      denials (focus group
                                      participants).\c\
                                     SNAP procedural                    480               1             480  0.0833....................             40
                                      denials (focus group                                                   (5 minutes)...............
                                      non-responders).\d\
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    Total..........................  ......................           4,346  ..............           4,445  ..........................          1,072
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\a\ Client survey respondents will receive an advance letter before the interview.
\b\ Client survey non-responders will receive an advance letter before fielding a call attempting the interview.
\c\ Focus group members will participate in a brief screening call or interview, participate in the focus group, and receive a reminder call and letter
  before the focus group.
\d\ Focus group refusers will participate in a brief screening call or interview.



[[Page 73586]]

    Dated: November 21, 2011.
Audrey Rowe,
Administrator, Food and Nutrition Service.
[FR Doc. 2011-30674 Filed 11-28-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-30-P