[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 175 (Thursday, September 10, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54577-54579]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-22758]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

[Docket No. FR-5841-N-02]


60-Day Notice of Proposed Information Collection: Core 
Performance Reporting Requirements for Competitively-Funded Grants

AGENCY: Office of the Deputy Secretary, HUD.

ACTION: Notice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: HUD is seeking approval from the Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB) for the information collection described below. In 
accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act, HUD is requesting comment 
from all interested parties on the proposed collection of information. 
The purpose of this notice is to allow for 60 days of public comment.

DATES: Comments Due Date: November 9, 2015.

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: Colette Pollard, Reports 
Management Officer, QDAM, Department of Housing and Urban Development, 
451 7th Street SW., Room 4176, Washington, DC 20410-5000; telephone 
number 202-402-3400 (this is not a toll-free number) or email at 
[email protected]. Copies of the proposed forms and other 
information are available by contacting Ms. Pollard. Persons with 
hearing or speech impairments may access this number through TTY by 
calling the toll-free Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Colette Pollard, Reports Management 
Officer, QDAM, Department of Housing and Urban Development, 451 7th 
Street SW., Washington, DC 20410; email Colette Pollard at 
[email protected] or by telephone at 202-402-3400. This is not a 
toll-free number. Persons with hearing or speech impairments may access 
this number through TTY by calling the toll-free Federal Relay Service 
at (800) 877-8339. Requests for copies of the proposed forms should be 
submitted to Ms. Pollard.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This notice informs the public that HUD is 
seeking approval from OMB for the information collection described in 
Section A.

A. Overview of Information Collection

    Title of Information Collection: Core Performance Reporting for 
Competitively-Funded Grants.
    OMB Approval Number: Pending.
    Type of Request: Regular.
    Type of Information Collection: New.
    Form Numbers: HUD-PRL, HUD-CIRL, HUD-GF.
    Description of the need for the information and proposed use:
    This request is for the clearance of data collection and reporting 
requirements to enable the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban 
Development (HUD) Office of Strategic Planning and Management (OSPM) to 
better assess the effectiveness of competitively-funded grants included 
in this information collection request (ICR). The competitively-funded 
grant programs included in this ICR are: Community Development Block 
Grant Program for Indian Tribes and Alaska Native Villages (ICDBG), 
Family Self-Sufficiency Program (FSS), Housing Counseling (HC), Housing 
Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA), JobsPlus Program (Jobs+), 
Juvenile Reentry Assistance Program (JRAP), Lead-Based Paint Hazard 
Control (LBPHC), Lead Hazard Reduction Demonstration (LHRD), Self-Help 
Homeownership Opportunity Program (SHOP), Supportive Services 
Demonstration Program (202), and Resident Opportunity and Self 
Sufficiency Service Coordinators Program (ROSS).
    A key component of this proposed collection is the reporting of 
measureable outcomes. Additionally, the standardization of data 
collection and reporting requirements across the Department will 
increase data

[[Page 54578]]

comparability and utilization. Consolidation of de-identified data 
drawn from pre-existing HUD systems and databases, as applicable, into 
a single repository will enhance the Department's comprehensive and 
comparative analysis of competitively-funded HUD programs. Data 
submission will be acceptable via Comma Separated Values (CSV), 
Extensible Markup Language (XML), and other file formats in addition to 
direct data entry into an online web form.
    The Department has several reporting models in place for 
competitive grant programs, including the eLogic Model. The reporting 
models provide information on a wide variety of outputs and outcomes 
and are based on unique data definitions and outcome measures in 
program-specific performance and progress reports. In Federal Fiscal 
Year 2013, nine program offices at HUD used six systems and 15 
reporting tools to collect over 700 data elements in support of varied 
metrics to assess the performance of competitively-funded. The proposed 
data collection and reporting requirements described in this notice are 
designed to replace the use of the eLogic Model and other report forms 
and requirements.
    The lack of standardized data collection and reporting requirements 
imposes an increased burden on grantees with multiple grant awards from 
HUD. The need for a comprehensive and standardized reporting approach 
is underscored by reviews conducted by external oversight agencies, 
including the Department's Office of Inspector General (OIG) and the 
Government Accountability Office (GAO). These oversight agencies have 
questioned the validity and comparability of data reported by the 
Department. To address these issues, the Department is using its 
statutory and regulatory authority to redesign and strengthen 
performance reporting for many of its competitive grant programs into a 
single comprehensive approach.
    The Secretary's statutory and regulatory authority to administer 
housing and urban development programs include provisions allowing for 
the requirement of performance reporting from grantees. This legal 
authority is codified at 42 U.S.C. 3535(r). The individual privacy of 
service recipients is of the highest priority. The reporting repository 
established at HUD to receive data submission from grantees will not 
include any personally identifying information (PII). Additionally, if 
the data for a grant has 25 or fewer individuals served during a fiscal 
year as reported in the record-level reports, then the results for the 
demographic data elements for the 25 or fewer individuals will also be 
redacted or removed from the public-use data file and any publicly 
available analytical products in order to ensure the inability to 
identify any individual.
    Eligible entities awarded grants by the Department are expected to 
implement the proposed recordkeeping and reporting requirements with 
available grant funds. It is important to note that much of the data to 
be reported by grantees under this ICR is already required and reported 
to one or more program offices at HUD. Furthermore, generally only a 
subset of the universe of data elements presented will be submitted as 
data collection and reporting requirements are determined by the 
program office and include consideration of the type and level of 
service provided by the respective grant programs.
    The reporting requirements in this proposal better organize the 
data already being collected, standardize outcomes and performance 
measures, and allow program offices at HUD to select which data 
elements and performance indicators are relevant for their respective 
programs. Documents detailing the data elements, performance 
indicators, and draft online data entry forms are available for review 
by request from Colette Pollard ([email protected]). All 
information reported to HUD will be submitted electronically. 
Recipients or grantees may use existing management information systems 
provided those systems collect all of the required data elements and 
can be exported for submission to HUD. Recipients or grantees that sub-
grant funds to other organizations will need to collect the required 
information from their sub-recipients or sub-grantees.
    Information collected and reported will be used by recipients or 
grantees and the Department for the following purposes:
     To provide program and performance information to 
recipients, general public, Congress, and other stakeholders;
     To continuously improve the quality, effectiveness, and 
efficiency of grant-funded programs;
     To provide management information for use by the 
Department in program administration and oversight, including the 
monitoring of grant-specific participation, services, capital 
investments, and outcomes; and
     To better measure and analyze performance information to 
identify successful practices to be replicated and prevent or correct 
problematic practices and improve outcomes in compliance with the 
Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) and the GPRA 
Modernization Act.
    The data collection and reporting requirements will be phased in 
over a three-year period which includes a proof of concept pilot in 
FY16. The Department will provide technical assistance to recipients or 
grantees throughout the implementation.
    Respondents (i.e. affected public): Organizations awarded 
competitively-funded grants as listed on page 2.

                       Annual Burden Estimate for the Requested Reporting Approach Initial Year or Proof of Concept Pilot Project
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                                             Estimated       Estimated
           Type of record              Number of respondents     Submission      Hourly rate       Average  number of      annual burden   annual burden
                                                                  frequency          \1\                minutes                hours          dollars
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Participant Record-level............  63 grantees \2\........               1          $14.19  20 Per Record............           2,583         $36,653
Capital Investment Record-level.....  7 grantees \3\.........               1           14.19  15 Per Record............               7              99
Grant Feedback......................  70 grantees............               2           14.19  15.......................              35             497
                                     -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Total...........................  .......................  ..............           14.19  .........................           2,625          37,249
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ The hourly rate of $14.19 is the average wage for office and administrative support occupations as reported in the May 2014 Occupational Employment
  and Wages produced by the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics.
\2\ There are an estimated 7,749 individuals to be served by the 63 grantees.
\3\ There are an estimated 28 project-level records for the 7 grantees.


[[Page 54579]]


                                 Annual Burden Estimate for the Requested Reporting Approach Second and Subsequent Years
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                                             Estimated       Estimated
           Type of record              Number of respondents     Submission      Hourly rate   Average number of minutes   annual burden   annual burden
                                                                  frequency          \1\                                       hours          dollars
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Participant Record-level............  2,850 grantees \2\.....               1          $14.19  20 Per Record............         116,850      $1,658,102
Capital Investment Record-level.....  150 grantees \3\.......               1           14.19  15 Per Record............             150           2,129
Grant Feedback......................  3,000 grantees.........               2           14.19  15.......................           1,500          21,285
                                     -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Total...........................  .......................  ..............           14.19  .........................         118,500       1,681,516
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ The hourly rate of $14.19 is the average wage for office and administrative support occupations as reported in the May 2014 Occupational Employment
  and Wages produced by the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics.
\2\ There are an estimated 351,000 individuals to be served by the 2,850 grantees.
\3\ There are an estimated 600 project-level records for the 150 grantees.

B. Solicitation of Public Comment

    This notice is soliciting comments from members of the public and 
affected parties concerning the collection of information described in 
Section A on the following:
    (1) 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) The accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the 
proposed collection of information;
    (3) Ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected; and
    (4) Ways to 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.
    HUD encourages interested parties to submit comments in response to 
these questions.

     Authority: Section 3507 of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 
44 U.S.C. Chapter 35.

    Dated: September 1, 2015.
Henry Hensley,
Acting Director, Office of Strategic Planning and Management.
[FR Doc. 2015-22758 Filed 9-9-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4210-67-P