[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 12 (Thursday, January 19, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2743-2744]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-1006]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

[Docket No. FR-5609-N-01]


Notice of Proposed Information Collection for Public Comment: 
Choice Neighborhoods Evaluation, Phase I

AGENCY: Office of the Assistant Secretary for 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: Comment Due Date: March 19, 2012.

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 electronically to 
[email protected] or in hard copy to: Paul Joice, Office of Policy 
Development and Research, Department of Housing and Urban Development, 
451 7th Street SW., Room 8120, Washington, DC 20410-6000. Please use 
``Choice Neighborhoods Evaluation PRA Comment'' in the subject line of 
any email.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Paul Joice at (202) 402-4608 (this is 
not a toll-free number) or [email protected], for copies of the 
proposed forms and other available

[[Page 2744]]

documents. Please use ``Choice Neighborhoods Evaluation PRA Comment'' 
in the subject line of any email.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Department of Housing and Urban 
Development will submit the proposed extension of 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: Choice Neighborhoods Evaluation, Phase I.
    OMB Control Number: Pending.
    Description of the Need for the Information and Proposed Use: HUD 
is conducting an evaluation of the Choice Neighborhoods Initiative, 
focused on the initial round of grants funded in August 2011. This 
evaluation requires the collection of information from households 
living in the Choice Neighborhoods sites. This proposed information 
collection will support the first phase of the evaluation, which is 
focused on studying implementation of the grants and establishing a 
baseline for long-term evaluation of program outcomes. The information 
collection is necessary to understand the experience of the residents 
in the Choice Neighborhood sites.
    Agency Form Numbers: None.
    Members of the Affected Public: This information collection request 
will affect residents in assisted and unassisted housing in each of the 
sites. We will use a longitudinal resident tracking survey to examine 
resident outcomes over time. To monitor outcomes for assisted housing 
residents, the research team proposes conducting a multi-wave survey 
that tracks a representative sample of the original assisted housing 
residents during implementation and revitalization of the site. The 
survey will track outcomes of interest, including housing location and 
quality; and resident physical and mental health, safety, employment, 
and education.
    To assess the outcomes of assisted residents, we will sample from 
the public housing developments at each site, including residents at 
the time of the survey as well as residents who relocated during 2012. 
We will oversample special populations (e.g., disabled, seniors, large 
families, or limited English proficiency households) when appropriate. 
Our research design calls for the collection of a random sample at the 
Chicago and New Orleans sites, and assumes 250 completed surveys. At 
the Boston site we will obtain 100 completed surveys (i.e., as complete 
coverage as possible of the occupied units, with no oversampling). In 
the event that funding becomes available to support a survey of 
assisted residents at the Seattle and San Francisco sites, we will 
obtain 250 completed surveys at each site.
    To allow for comparisons between assisted-households in units that 
will be transformed by the CNI and those in the neighborhood, the 
content of the unassisted resident survey and the assisted-resident 
will be as similar as possible. Part of this task will be to define the 
appropriate neighborhood boundary for the survey. Our goal is to have a 
minimum of 250 completed interviews with unassisted residents, with a 
larger sample in sites with bigger neighborhoods. Units will be drawn 
from a random sample of housing units in the defined neighborhood.
    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 following chart details the 
respondent burden:

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                                     Assisted          Other           Total         Hours per
                                    households      households      households       response       Total hours
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New Orleans.....................             250             250             500             .75             375
Chicago.........................             250             250             500             .75             375
Boston..........................             100             250             350             .75           262.5
Seattle.........................             250             250             500             .75             375
San Francisco...................             250             250             500             .75             375
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    Total.......................           1,100           1,250           2,350             .75         1,762.5
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    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: January 10, 2012.
Raphael W. Bostic,
Assistant Secretary for Policy Development and Research.
[FR Doc. 2012-1006 Filed 1-18-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4210-67-P