[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 12 (Wednesday, January 20, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3097-3099]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-01005]


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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 
March 21, 2016.

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

[[Page 3098]]

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:
    [ssquf] 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.
    [ssquf] Objective 2: Assess when State and local NSLP/SBP data 
management information systems were developed, and the expected 
longevity of these systems.
    [ssquf] Objective 3: Determine the typical costs of developing, 
maintaining, modifying and replacing State and local NSLP/SBP data 
management information systems.
    [ssquf] Objective 4: Outline the data elements that State and SFA 
NSLP/SBP data management systems collect and generate, beyond those 
reported to FNS, to administer and manage the NSLP and SBP at the State 
and SFA levels.
    [ssquf] Objective 5: Assess what proportion of States and SFAs 
collect or generate NSLP/SBP management data that they do not report to 
FNS.
    [ssquf] Objective 6: Describe how long these data elements are 
retained and how frequently they are updated.
    [ssquf] 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.
    [ssquf] 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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                                                   Frequency of    Total annual   Estimated avg.     Estimated
           Respondent               Estimated #      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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[[Page 3099]]

 
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.......................
    Total Reporting Burden......           5,091            3.16          16,062            0.17        2,743.09
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    Dated: January 13, 2016.
Audrey Rowe,
Administrator, Food and Nutrition Service.
[FR Doc. 2016-01005 Filed 1-19-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3410-30-P