[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 45 (Monday, March 9, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12429-12430]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-05315]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Food and Nutrition Service
Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection;
Comment Requested--Review of Child Nutrition Data and Analysis for
Program Management
AGENCY: Food and Nutrition Service (FNS), 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 this proposed information collection. This is a new collection to
review and document State and School Food Authority (SFA) National
School Lunch Program (NSLP) and School Breakfast Program (SBP)
Management Information Systems (MIS) in order to provide FNS with a
baseline assessment of the MIS system and to inform FNS regarding how
States and SFAs use data systems beyond fulfilling FNS reporting
requirements.
DATES: Written comments on this notice must be received on or before
May 8, 2015.
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 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 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 submitted through one of the following methods:
Preferred method: Submit information through the Federal
eRulemaking Portal at http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online
instructions for submissions.
Mail: Submissions should be addressed to Dennis Ranalli,
Social Science Policy Analyst, Office of Policy Support, FNS, U.S.
Department of Agriculture, 3101 Park Center Drive, Room 1014,
Alexandria, VA 22302. Comments may also be emailed to
[email protected].
All information properly and timely submitted, using one of the
methods described above, in response to this request will be included
in the record and will be made available to the public on the Internet
at http://www.regulations.gov. Please be advised that the substance of
the information provided and the identity of the individuals or
entities submitting it will be subject to public disclosure.
All written comments will be open for public inspection at the FNS
office located at 3101 Park Center Drive, Alexandria, Virginia, 22302,
Room 1014, during regular business hours (8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.,
Monday through Friday). All responses to this notice will be summarized
and included in the request for Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
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 Dennis
Ranalli at 703-305-2149 or [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Title: Review of Child Nutrition Data and Analysis for Program
Management.
Form Number: N/A.
OMB Number: Not yet assigned.
Expiration Date: Not yet determined.
Type of Request: New collection.
Abstract: The Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act of 1946
and Child Nutrition Act of 1966 provide the legislative authority for
the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and School Breakfast Program
(SBP). These programs provide federal financial assistance and USDA
foods to public and non-profit private schools and residential
childcare institutions to facilitate serving meals that meet
nutritional standards. At the State level, State education agencies
(SEAs) administer NSLP/SBP. At the local level, School Food Authorities
(SFAs) operate these programs through agreements with SEAs. SFAs use
Management Information Systems (MIS) of varying levels of
sophistication to collect the range of information required to
implement and manage school food service programs.
The information SFAs collect include meal production, labor cost,
food cost, inventory and other data needed to manage their operations.
SFAs also collect reimbursable meal counts and other information for
obtaining NSLP/SBP reimbursements and meeting State reporting
requirements. SFAs are accountable for meeting NSLP/SBP standards,
maintaining food safety standards, ensuring proper use of funds, and
managing meal services within a budget.
Current State and federal data collection requirements for the
NSLP/SBP have grown from manual paper-based reporting and early
computer eras that were characterized by concerns to minimize paperwork
and reporting burden. While SFAs collect a wide array of data to
enhance local administration, SEAs request and aggregate a subset of
this data and ultimately report only a small part of it to the Food and
Nutrition Service (FNS) as State data.
The purpose of this study is to review and document the management
information systems of State education agencies and School Food
Authorities. Specifically, the study will present a baseline assessment
of the MIS systems based on data collected:
Objective 1: Determine the baseline ``as is''
functionality of State education agencies (SEA) and School Food
Authority (SFA) National School Lunch Program (NSLP)/School Breakfast
Program (SBP) data management information systems.
Objective 2: Assess when State and local NSLP/SBP data
management information systems were developed, and the expected
longevity of these systems.
Objective 3: Determine the typical costs of developing,
maintaining, modifying and replacing State and local NSLP/SBP data
management information systems.
Objective 4: Outline the data elements that State and SFA
NSLP/SBP data management systems collect and generate, beyond those
reported to FNS,
[[Page 12430]]
to administer and manage the NSLP and SBP at the State and SFA levels.
Objective 5: Assess what proportion of States and SFAs
collect or generate NSLP/SBP management data that they do not report to
FNS.
Objective 6: Describe how long these data elements are
retained and how frequently they are updated.
Objective 7: Determine the functions that these data
element serve. Describe the types of access, analysis, and standard or
ad-hoc report generation supported by State and local NSLP/SBP data
systems.
Objective 8: Describe the technical and other challenges
SFA and State administrators face in NSLP/SBP data collection,
aggregation, and reporting. Describe the perceptions of these officials
of the quality of the reported data.
The purpose of this project is to review and document SFA and State
NSLP/SBP management information systems by conducting:
1. A census of all State agencies responsible for administering
NSLP/SBP, and
2. A Web survey of a nationally representative sample of small,
medium and large SFAs.
Affected Public: State, Local and Tribal Government. Respondent
groups identified include: (1) Data managers from State agencies that
administer school meal programs in all 50 States and the District of
Columbia and (2) a sample of SFA administrators or data managers.
Estimated Number of Respondents: The total estimated number of
unique respondents is 5,091. FNS expects that one representative from
each State school meals agency will participate in the State agency
survey. In addition, FNS expects that two respondents from each SFA
will be needed to complete the SFA survey because this survey will seek
information on a range of aspects of the MIS of SFAs. Based on this,
FNS estimates that the total number of unique respondents for this
study will include 51 representatives from State school meals agencies;
4,032 administrators and data managers from small, medium, and large
SFAs; and 1,008 non-respondents. The study will contact 2,520 SFAs with
an expected response rate of 80%, which will result in 2,016 completed
Web surveys.
Estimated Frequency of Responses per Respondent: 3.16.
Estimated Total Annual Responses: 16,062.
Estimated Time per Response: 10 minutes (0.17 hours). The estimated
response time varies from three minutes to one hour. The census of
State school meal agencies will take 60 minutes (1 hour) to complete.
All representatives will receive prior notification of the survey. The
estimated burden of this notification is 5 minutes (0.08 hours). For
the Web survey of SFAs, all potential respondents will receive prior
notification, which will require 5 minutes (0.08 hours) to read. It is
anticipated that two respondents from each SFA will respond--the
administrator and data manager. Estimated time of response for SFA
administrators is 12 minutes (0.2 hours). The estimated time of
response for SFA data managers (or equivalent) is 48 minutes (0.8
hours). Estimated time for non-respondents is 3 minutes (0.05 hours).
Non-respondents include those who attempt the survey but do not
complete or decline to participate. There will be three follow-up
activities for both the census and the Web survey. The estimated burden
for each follow-up activity is 3 minutes (0.05 hours).
Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: 2,743.09 hours.
See the table below for estimated total annual burden for each type
of respondent.
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Estimated
Estimated Frequency of Total annual avg. number Estimated
Respondent number response responses of hours per total hours
respondent (annually) (col. bxc) response (col. dxe)
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Census.
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Census Notification............. 51 1 51 0.08 4.08
Representative of State school 51 1 51 1.00 51.00
meals agencies.................
Census Follow-up 1.............. 36 1 36 0.05 1.79
Census Follow-up 2.............. 28 1 28 0.05 1.40
Census Follow-up 3.............. 20 1 20 0.05 1.02
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Web Survey
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Survey Notification............. 2,520 1 2,520 0.08 201.60
School Food Authority 2,016 1 2,016 0.20 403.20
Administrator..................
Survey Follow-up 1 3,528 1 3,528 0.05 176.40
(Administrator and Data
Manager).......................
Survey Follow-up 2 2,772 1 2,772 0.05 138.60
(Administrator and Data
Manager).......................
Survey Follow-up 3 2,016 1 2,016 0.05 100.80
(Administrator and Data
Manager).......................
School Food Authority Data 2,016 1 2,016 0.80 1,612.80
Manager (or equivalent)........
School Food Authority 504 1 504 0.05 25.20
Administrator (Attempted)--Non-
Response.......................
School Food Authority Data 504 1 504 0.05 25.20
Manager (or equivalent)--Non-
Response.......................
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Total Reporting Burden...... 5,091 3.16 16,062 0.17 2,743.09
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Dated: February 19, 2015.
Audrey Rowe,
Administrator, Food and Nutrition Service.
[FR Doc. 2015-05315 Filed 3-6-15; 8:45 am]
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