[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 163 (Wednesday, August 22, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 50711-50712]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-20586]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

[Docket No. FR-5603-N-57]


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

AGENCY: Office of the Chief Information Officer, 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.
    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 home buyers. This is the first OMB request 
for this evaluation.

DATES: Comments Due Date: September 21, 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 to: Reports Liaison Officer, 
Department of Housing and Urban Development, 451 7th Street SW., 
Washington, DC 20410, Room 9120 or the number for the Federal 
Information Relay Service (1-800-877-8339).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Colette Pollard, Reports Management 
Officer, QDAM, Department of Housing and Urban Development, 451 Seventh 
Street SW., Washington, DC 20410; email Colette Pollard at 
[email protected] or telephone (202) 402-3400. This is not a 
toll-free number. Copies of available documents submitted to OMB may be 
obtained from Ms. Pollard. Copies of the proposed forms and other 
available information may be obtained from Ms. Pollard.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Department is submitting 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 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 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.
    OMB Control Number, if applicable: Pending.
    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 home buyers. Up to 7,000 study participants will be 
recruited through branch offices and telephone centers of three 
national lenders in 20 jurisdictions throughout the country. Lender 
staff will ask potential homebuyers if they are interested in learning 
more about the study. If potential homebuyers are interested in 
learning more about the study, then the lender will pass potential 
homebuyers' contact information to the study team. The study team will 
then contact those potential homebuyers to explore study participation 
and complete an informed consent agreement, an eligibility assessment, 
and baseline survey. To achieve 7,000 enrolled study participants, the 
intake and eligibility assessment will be conducted with up to 17,500 
potential study participants over a period of 12 months. To achieve 
17,500 potential study participants, lenders will contact approximately 
87,500 customers. Additionally, 200 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.

[[Page 50712]]

    In each of the 20 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 4,026 study 
participants assigned to receive one of these types of counseling (the 
remaining 2,975 study participants constitute the control group). Staff 
of the lenders will be asked to participate in semi-structured 
interviews that seek to understand the recruitment process and provide 
the study team a weekly outcome report for recruitment calls. Staff at 
the counseling agencies will be asked to participate in semi-structured 
interviews that seek to understand provision of counseling in each 
jurisdiction and provide the study team information on counseling and 
education services that study participants receive. The purpose of 
these data collection activities is to collect the information needed 
to evaluate the impact of pre-purchase housing counseling.
    Agency form numbers, if applicable: None.
    Estimation of the total numbers 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 lender 
staff to conduct a recruitment call is 3 minutes, with recruitment 
conducted with up to 87,500 potential homebuyers. The average time per 
client for the 17,500 potential first-time homebuyers to complete an 
eligibility assessment is 5 minutes. The average time per client for 
the 7,000 potential study participants to complete the consent form is 
5 minutes. The average time per client for the 7,000 enrolled study 
participants to complete the baseline survey is 25 minutes. The average 
time per study participant for the 7,000 enrolled study participants to 
complete each tracking letter is 5 minutes. There will be 9 tracking 
letters issued over the course of 3 years. The average time per client 
for the follow-up interviews is 30 minutes. The average time for each 
study participant's co-borrower to complete the co-borrower consent 
agreement is 3 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 40 counseling organizations. The average time for 
lenders' staff to complete recruitment calls and input the contact 
information is 3 minutes. The average time for lenders' call center 
teams to complete the recruitment call outcome report is 30 minutes. 
These reports will be provided to the study team weekly through the 
enrollment period. The enrollment period is estimated to last 52 weeks 
for each lender. The average time for lenders' staff to complete 
interviews is 60 minutes. Up to 84 staff will be interviewed across 3 
lenders. The total burden for the study is 21,056 hours: 14,683 hours 
for study participants and potential study participants, 105 hours for 
study participants' co-borrowers, 1,662 hours for counseling agencies, 
and 4,606 hours for lenders.
    Status of the proposed information collection: This is a new 
collection.

    Authority: The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 44 U.S.C. 
chapter 35, as amended.

    Dated: August 15, 2012.
Colette Pollard,
Departmental Reports Management Officer, Office of the Chief 
Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 2012-20586 Filed 8-21-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4210-67-P