[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 111 (Friday, June 8, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 34005-34010]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-13943]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Food and Nutrition Service


Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; 
Comment Request: Determining Eligibility for Free and Reduced Price 
Meals and Free Milk

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 collection is a revision of 
a currently approved collection for determining eligibility for free 
and reduced price meals and free milk in schools as stated in 7 CFR 
Part 245. These federal requirements affect eligibility under the 
National School Lunch Program, School Breakfast Program, and the 
Special Milk Program and are also applicable to the Child and Adult 
Care Food Program and the Summer Food Service Program when individual 
eligibility must be established. The current approval for the 
information collection burden associated with 7 CFR Part 245 expires on 
March 31, 2013. The revisions being requested are from rulemaking and 
are also from revisions made to a form associated with this information 
collection.

DATES: Written comments must be submitted by August 7, 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 will 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 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: Jon Garcia, Acting Branch Chief, Program 
Analysis and Monitoring Branch, Child Nutrition Division, Food and 
Nutrition Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 3101 Park Center 
Drive, Room 640, Alexandria, Virginia 22302. 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 comment(s) 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 640, Alexandria, Virginia 22302.
    All responses to this notice will be summarized and included in the 
request for Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval, and will 
become a matter of public record.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jon Garcia at (703) 305-2600.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Title: Determining Eligibility for Free and Reduced Price Meals and 
Free Milk in Schools--7 CFR Part 245.
    OMB Number: 0584-0026.
    Expiration Date: March 31, 2013.
    Type of Request: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Form Number: FNS-742.
    Abstract: The Food and Nutrition Service administers the National 
School Lunch Program, the School Breakfast Program, and the Special 
Milk Program as mandated by the Richard B. Russell National School 
Lunch Act (NSLA), as amended (42 U.S.C. 1751, et seq.), and the Child 
Nutrition Act of 1966, as amended (42 U.S.C. 1771, et seq.). As 
provided in 7 CFR Part 245, schools participating in these meal 
programs must make free and reduced price meals available to eligible 
children. Similarly, all schools and institutions participating in the 
free milk option of the Special Milk Program must make free milk 
available for eligible children. This information collection obtains 
eligibility information for free and reduced price meals and free milk 
and also incorporates verification procedures as required to confirm 
eligibility. FNS uses form FNS-742, titled ``School Food

[[Page 34006]]

Authority Verification Summary Report,'' for State agencies to report 
data on verification of eligibility to FNS as required by 7 CFR 
245.6a(h). All State agencies report this data electronically to FNS. 
The FNS-742 form has been recently revised and the title slightly 
modified (refer to Appendix A at the end of this notice). The estimated 
time for completion has been increased to 45 minutes per School Food 
Authority response; therefore, the previously approved reporting burden 
hours have increased by 5,215 hours for this form.
    In addition, this information collection is also requesting a 
revision in the burden hours due to rulemaking. The revision is based 
on the implementation of an interim final rule titled, ``Direct 
Certification and Certification of Homeless, Migrant and Runaway 
Children for Free School Meals,'' published April 25, 2011, Federal 
Register, Vol. 76, No. 79, pp. 22785-22802, which incorporates into 7 
CFR part 245 provisions from the Child Nutrition and WIC 
Reauthorization Act of 2004, Public Law 108-265, concerning the direct 
certification of children receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance 
Program (SNAP) benefits and also the certification of certain children 
who are homeless, runaway, or migratory. The revisions decrease the 
total approved reporting burden by -113,070 hours due to a reduction in 
household reporting burden as well as increase the total approved 
recordkeeping burden by 5 hours for State agencies.
    Affected Public: Individuals/Households, School Food Authorities, 
and State Agencies.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 8,303,871.
    Estimated Number of Responses per Respondent: 2.2350528.
    Estimated Total Annual Responses: 18,559,590.
    Estimated Time per Response: 0.05202604.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: 965,582.
    Current OMB Inventory: 1,073,432.
    Difference (Burden Revisions Requested): -107,850.
    Refer to the following tables for estimated total annual reporting 
and recordkeeping burden per each type of respondent:

                                                                   Table 1--Reporting
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                                                                                                        (e) Estimated                     (g) Estimated
                                                                      (c) Estimated    (d) Estimated     total annual    (f) Estimated     total annual
                (a) Affected public                   (b) Form no.   no. respondents   no. responses    responses (c x     hours per     burden hours (e
                                                                                       per respondent         d)            response           x f)
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Reporting Burden:
    State Agencies................................            * 742               56             5.79              324            1.163              377
    School Food Authorities.......................            * 742           20,858         483.1047       10,076,598        0.0283325          285,495
    Individuals/Households........................              N/A        8,262,043        1.0232267        8,453,943        0.0796859          673,660
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        Total.....................................  ...............        8,282,957         2.237228       18,530,865        0.0514988          959,532
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* Form FNS-742 does not incur all of the burden associated with the affected respondents.


                                                                 Table 2--Recordkeeping
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                                                                                                        (e) Estimated                     (g) Estimated
                                                                      (c) Estimated    (d) Estimated     total annual    (f) Estimated     total annual
                (a) Affected public                   (b) Form no.   no. respondents   no. responses    responses (c x     hours per     burden hours (e
                                                                                       per respondent         d)            response           x f)
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Recordkeeping Burden:
    State Agencies................................            * 742               56           120.98            6,775           0.2483            1,682
    School Food Authorities.......................              N/A           20,858          1.05235           21,950            0.199            4,368
                                                   -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
        Total.....................................  ...............           20,914           1.3735           49,639          0.21062            6,050
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* Form FNS-742 does not incur all of the burden associated with the affected respondents.

    Estimated Total Reporting and Recordkeeping Burden: 965,582 hours.

    Dated: June 4, 2012.
Robin D. Bailey, Jr.,
Acting Administrator, Food and Nutrition Service.

Attachment

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[FR Doc. 2012-13943 Filed 6-7-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-30-C