[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 66 (Friday, April 5, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13629-13631]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-06651]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Census Bureau
Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request
The Department of Commerce will submit to the Office of Management
and Budget (OMB) for clearance the following proposal for collection of
information under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act.
Agency: U.S. Census Bureau.
Title: American Community Survey.
OMB Control Number: 0607-0810.
Form Number(s): ACS-1, ACS-1(SP), ACS-1(PR), ACS-1(PR)SP, ACS-
1(GQ), ACS-1(PR)(GQ), GQFQ, ACS CAPI (HU), ACS RI (HU), and AGQ QI, AGQ
RI.
Type of Request: Regular Submission.
Number of Respondents: 3,760,000 for the initial interview and
45,200 for reinterview.
Average Hours per Response: 40 minutes for the average household
questionnaire.
Burden Hours: The estimate is an annual average of 2,455,868 burden
hours. The table below provides the calculation for this estimate.
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Estimated
minutes per
Forms or instrument used Annual estimated number respondent by
Data collection operation in data collection of respondents data Annual estimated burden hours
collection
activity
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I. ACS Household Questionnaire--Paper ACS-1, ACS-1(SP), ACS- 3,540,000............... 40 2,360,000.
Mailout/Mailback. 1PR, ACS-1PR(SP).
ACS Household CAPI--Personal Visit CAPI HU................. [698,000 included in I.] [40] [466,000 included in I.]
Non-response Follow-up.
ACS Household internet............... Internet HU............. [712,000 included in I.] [40] [475,000 included in I.]
[[Page 13630]]
II. ACS GQ Facility Questionnaire CAPI GQFQ............... 20,000.................. 15 5,000.
CAPI--Telephone and Personal Visit.
III. ACS GQ CAPI Personal Interview CAPI, ACS-1(GQ), ACS- 200,000................. 25 83,333.
or Telephone, and--Paper Self- 1(GQ)(PR).
response.
IV. ACS Household Reinterview--CATI/ ACS HU-RI............... 43,200.................. 10 7,200.
CAPI.
V. ACS GQ GQ-level Reinterview--CATI/ ACS GQ-RI............... 2,000................... 10 335.
CAPI.
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Totals........................... ........................ 3,805,200............... N/A 2,455,868.
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Needs and Uses: The U.S. Census Bureau requests authorization from
the OMB for revisions to the American Community Survey (ACS).
The ACS is one of the Department of Commerce's most valuable data
products, used extensively by businesses, nongovernmental organizations
(NGOs), local governments, and many federal agencies. In conducting
this survey, the Census Bureau's top priority is respecting the time
and privacy of the people providing information while preserving its
value to the public.
In 2020, the ACS will adopt the final version of the race and
Hispanic origin questions that will be implemented for the 2020 Census.
This change will make the ACS consistent with 2020 Census data on this
topic. The ACS will also change the instruction for reporting babies'
ages to match the 2020 Census. Ongoing research suggests the
instructions for reporting infants creates challenges for some
respondents. Cognitive testing demonstrated the wording for the age
instruction is unclear and confusing to respondents. Details about all
of the questions planned for the 2020 Census and the American Community
Survey are available at https://www.census.gov/library/publications/2018/dec/planned-questions-2020-acs.html.
The ACS self-response rates in 2010, a decennial census year, were
higher than usual in the first few months of the year but were lower
than usual in the spring and summer months, when the 2010 Census was
underway. The increased self-response rates early in the year were
attributed to decennial census communications, while the decreased
rates later in the year were attributed to respondent confusion, as
respondents had already filled out their decennial census form and did
not understand that the ACS was a separate data collection. Prior
research suggests that during a decennial census year, ACS mail
materials such as envelopes and letters should be revised to
distinguish the ACS from the census. For the 2020 ACS data collection
year, the Census Bureau plans to modify the mail package contents,
field representative flyers, scripts for the Interactive Voice
Recognition system, and frequently asked questions to better
communicate to respondents that the ACS is a separate data collection
from the 2020 Census and that respondents selected for the ACS should
complete both the ACS and the 2020 Census.
As a result of the 2018 Mail Materials Test, the Census Bureau
plans to implement new mail materials designed to better emphasize the
benefits of survey participation. Included in the changes are the use
of updated logos on the envelopes and letters to identify the mail more
clearly as coming from the Census Bureau and the addition of ``Open
Immediately'' on some of the envelopes. Additionally, bold lettering
and boxes (callout boxes) are used to highlight elements of the
materials to capture the attention of busy respondents who may not read
the entire letter. The mandatory nature of the survey is highlighted by
using bold text and isolating sentences about being mandatory in the
materials. Some materials, such as the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
brochure are excluded from the mailings to simplify the materials and
focus the attention of the respondent to what they need to do. Content
from the FAQ brochure is included on the back of the letters. This
information is new since the publication of the 60-day Federal Register
Notice, Doc. 2018-22443, Volume 83, pages 52189-52190 on October 16,
2018.
To encourage self-response in the ACS, the Census Bureau sends up
to five mailings to an address selected to be in the sample. The first
mailing, sent to all mailable addresses in the sample, includes an
invitation to participate in the ACS online and states that a paper
questionnaire will be sent in a few weeks to those unable to respond
online. Subsequent mailings serve as a reminder to respond to the
survey, with a paper questionnaire included in the third mailing for
those households that prefer to respond by mailing back the
questionnaire. The Census Bureau may ask those who begin filling out
the survey online to provide an email address, which would be used to
send an email reminder to households that did not complete the online
form. The reminder asks them to log back in to finish responding to the
survey.
Some addresses are deemed unmailable because the address is
incomplete or directs mail only to a post office box. The Census Bureau
currently collects data for these housing units using Computer-Assisted
Personal Interviewing. The Census Bureau plans to make the ACS online
survey available to all housing units in the 50 states and the District
of Columbia, including those with unmailable addresses. Residents in
housing units with unmailable addresses will still be contacted by
Census Bureau field representatives, but they will now be given the
option to complete the survey online or by personal interview.
Affected Public: Individuals or households.
Frequency: Response to the ACS is on a one-time basis.
Respondent's Obligation: Mandatory.
Legal Authority: Title 13, United States Code, Sections 141, 193,
and 221.
This information collection request may be viewed at
www.reginfo.gov. Follow the instructions to view Department of Commerce
collections currently under review by OMB.
Written comments and recommendations for the proposed
[[Page 13631]]
information collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of
this notice to [email protected] or fax to (202) 395-5806.
Sheleen Dumas,
Departmental Lead PRA Officer, Office of the Chief Information Officer,
Commerce Department.
[FR Doc. 2019-06651 Filed 4-4-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-07-P