[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 155 (Friday, August 10, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 39657-39665]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-17186]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Food and Nutrition Service


Agency Information Collection Activities: Request for Extension 
of a Current Information Collection; Comment Request--Evaluation of 
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Employment and 
Training (E&T) Pilots

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 public and other public agencies to comment on this 
proposed information collection. This is a request for an extension of 
a current information collection for the purpose of evaluating the 
Fiscal Year 2015 Pilot Projects to Reduce Dependency and Increase Work 
Requirements and Work Effort Under the Supplemental Nutrition 
Assistance Program (SNAP).

DATES: Written comments must be received on or before October 9, 2018.

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

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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 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 sent to: Danielle Deemer, Food and Nutrition 
Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 3101 Park Center Drive, Room 
1014, Alexandria, VA 22302. Comments may also be submitted via fax to 
the attention of Danielle Deemer at 703-305-2576 or via email to 
[email protected]. 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 comments 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 1014, Alexandria, Virginia 22302.
    All responses to this notice will be summarized and included in the 
request for Office of Management and Budget 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 Danielle 
Deemer, Office of Policy Support, Food and Nutrition Service, USDA, 
3101 Park Center Drive, Room 1014, Alexandria, VA 22302.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Title: Evaluation of SNAP E&T Pilots.
    OMB Number: 0584-0604.
    Expiration Date: 01/31/2019.
    Type of Request: Extension of a Current Information Collection 
without Change.
    Abstract: The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is a 
critical work support for low-income people and families. SNAP benefits 
help eligible low-income families put food on the table in times of 
need. It also supports critical and needed skills and job training so 
that recipients can obtain good jobs that lead to self-sufficiency. 
SNAP's long-standing mission of helping unemployed and underemployed 
people is challenging. To help them and their families achieve self-
sufficiency, strategies are needed to impart the skills employers want, 
and to help address other barriers to employment. Some participants 
need assistance developing a resume and accessing job leads, others 
need education and training, and still others need help overcoming 
barriers that prevent them from working steadily. The SNAP Employment 
and Training (E&T) program provides assistance to unemployed and 
underemployed clients in the form of job search, job skills training, 
education (basic, post-secondary, vocational), work experience or 
training and workfare, but limited information exists on what is most 
effective in connecting these participants to gainful employment.
    The Agriculture Act of 2014 (Pub. L. 113-79, Section 4022), 
otherwise known as the 2014 Farm Bill, authorized grants for up to 10 
pilot sites to develop and rigorously test innovative SNAP E&T 
strategies for engaging more SNAP work registrants in unsubsidized 
employment, increasing participants' earnings, and reducing reliance on 
public assistance. The pilots' significant funding can expand the reach 
of employment and training services and enable States to experiment 
with promising strategies to increase engagement and promote 
employment. An evaluation of the pilot sites will be critical in 
helping Congress and FNS identify strategies that effectively assist 
SNAP participants to succeed in the labor market and become self-
sufficient.
    The 10 States receiving grants to fund pilot projects are 
California, Delaware, Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, Illinois, Mississippi, 
Vermont, Virginia and Washington State. The evaluation will collect 
data from all 10 pilot sites in 2015-2016 (baseline), 2016-2018 (12-
month follow-up) and 2018-2020 (36-month follow-up). The data collected 
for this evaluation will be used for implementation, impact, 
participant and cost-benefit analyses for each pilot site. Research 
objectives include: (1) Documenting the context and operations of each 
pilot, identifying lessons learned, and helping to interpret and 
understand impacts within each pilot and across pilots, (2) identifying 
the impacts on employment, earnings, and reliance on public assistance 
and food security and other outcomes to determine what works and what 
works for whom, (3) examining the characteristics of service paths of 
pilot participants and the control group to assess whether the mere 
presence of the pilots and their offer of services or participation 
requirements influence whether people apply for SNAP (entry effects), 
and (4) estimating the total and component costs of each pilot to 
provide an estimate of the return to each dollar invested in the pilot 
services.
    Primary outcomes will be participant employment, earnings, and 
participation in public assistance programs, which will be measured 
through State administrative records, a baseline survey administered 
during enrollment into the study, and follow-up telephone surveys 
conducted at approximately 12 months and 36 months after participants 
enroll in the pilot. Impacts on secondary outcomes, such as food 
security, health status, and self-esteem will be measured through the 
follow-up telephone surveys as well. The end products (interim and 
final reports) will provide scientifically valid evidence of the pilot 
project impacts.
    Affected Public: Members of the public affected by the data 
collection include individuals and households; State and local 
governments; and Businesses from the Private sector (for-profit and 
not-for-profit). Respondent types identified include (1) individuals 
and households eligible for SNAP E&T participation; (2) directors and 
managers from State and local government agencies supporting the SNAP 
E&T programs; (3) staff from State and local government agencies 
providing direct services to SNAP E&T participants; (4) directors and 
managers from private sector for-profit businesses providing SNAP E&T 
services; and (5) directors and managers from private sector not-for-
profit agencies providing SNAP E&T services.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: The total estimated number of 
respondents is 53,830. This includes 52,870 individuals, 190 State and 
local government directors/managers and staff, and 770 private sector 
for-profit business and not-for-profit agency directors/managers. Of 
the 52,852 individuals completing a baseline survey when applying for 
services, FNS will contact 25,000 out of which 18,240 individuals in 
the treatment and comparison groups will complete a 12-month follow-up 
telephone survey (6,760 will be non-responders). Of 18,240 respondents 
to the 12-month follow-up, 11,090 will complete a 36-month follow-up 
telephone survey (7,150 nonrespondents). Among the individuals 
contacted for the telephone surveys, 1,200 may also be contacted for a 
focus group and 200 for a case study on topics of special interest to 
FNS. Of the individuals contacted for the focus groups and case 
studies, 280 participants will participate and 1,120 will decline and 
be considered nonrespondents. 18 individuals were contacted separately 
to pretest surveys and focus groups. 170 State and local

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government agency directors/managers will be contacted for in-person 
interviews. 150 of those will be interviewed two additional times; 10 
of the directors/managers will provide case study data, 10 will provide 
documents for review, 10 will complete the MOU, 10 will provide wage 
data, 10 will provide entry effects data, and 10 will provide entry 
effects data. A separate group of 10 data director/managers will be 
contacted for cost/benefit interviews and 10 will be contacted to 
provide cost data. 200 Private sector not-for-profit and for-profit 
agency directors/managers and staff will be contacted for cost/benefit 
interviews. These individuals will also be contacted for in-person 
interviews, and the directors and managers for the case study will be 
recruited from this group. 160 individuals will be contacted for a 
time-use survey. This sample will also be used to recruit staff to 
participate in the case study. 210 staff members responsible for data 
management will also be contacted for the provision of administrative 
data. Additionally, 200 private sector not-for-profit employer training 
supervisors will be recruited to participate in employer focus groups.
    Estimated Frequency of Responses per Respondent: Average of 5.49 
response for individuals per instrument or activity, 5.79 responses for 
State and local government representatives for all contacts, and 13.8 
responses for private sector representatives for all contacts. The 
number of contacts per activity average 5.6 across all participants.
    Estimated Total Annual Responses: 317,108.
    Estimated Time per Response: About 0.15 hours (9.26 minutes). The 
estimated time per response varies from 0.02 to 4 hours depending on 
the respondent group and data collection activity, as shown in the 
table below.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: The total annual 
burden is 49,972 hours.
 BILLING CODE 3410-30-P

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    Dated: August 1, 2018.
Brandon Lipps,
Administrator, Food and Nutrition Service.
[FR Doc. 2018-17186 Filed 8-9-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3410-30-C