[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 139 (Friday, July 19, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 34849-34858]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-15401]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Food and Nutrition Service


Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; 
Comment Request WIC Nutrition Assessment and Tailoring Study

AGENCY: Food and Nutrition Service (FNS), USDA.

ACTION: 60-Day notice and request for comments.

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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 for the Special Supplemental 
Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Nutrition 
Assessment and Tailoring Study. This new information collection will 
provide the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service 
(FNS) with a comprehensive, detailed description of the WIC nutrition 
risk assessment

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process and the ways in which WIC clinics tailor participant benefits 
to address the results of the assessment. This collection will also 
identify specific practices or features of the nutrition services 
process associated with high levels of participant and staff 
satisfaction, reduced staff burden, and improved Program efficiency.

DATES: Written comments must be received on or before September 17, 
2019.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be sent to: Courtney Paolicelli, Office of 
Policy Support, Food and Nutrition Service, USDA, 3101 Park Center 
Drive, Room 1014, Alexandria, VA 22302. Comments may also be submitted 
via fax to the attention of Courtney Paolicelli 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 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 on 
or copies of this information collection should be directed to Courtney 
Paolicelli at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 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 on 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.
    Title: WIC Nutrition Assessment and Tailoring Study.
    Form Number: Not applicable.
    OMB Number: Not Yet Assigned.
    Expiration Date: Not Yet Determined.
    Type of Request: New collection.
    Abstract: The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, 
Infants, and Children (WIC) provides supplemental foods, nutrition 
education and breastfeeding support, and referrals to health care and 
other social services to safeguard the health of low-income women, 
infants, and children up to 5 years of age who are at nutritional risk. 
As part of the certification and recertification process, WIC staff 
perform a comprehensive nutrition risk assessment with each participant 
to screen for certain nutrition risks and collect other relevant 
dietary and health information. Based on the nutrition risk assessment, 
WIC staff can individualize the food package benefits, nutrition 
education, and referrals the participant and child receive to meet 
their unique nutritional needs. While guidelines for conducting a 
quality nutrition risk assessment are described in the Value Enhanced 
Nutrition Assessment (VENA) guidance,\1\ there is flexibility in how 
WIC staff conduct the nutrition risk assessment, and specifics of the 
process may vary by WIC State Agency (SA) and by WIC Local Agency (LA). 
Through this study, FNS seeks to better understand the nutrition 
services process as it transpires at WIC clinics, and WIC staff and 
participants' satisfaction with the process. The findings from this 
study will be used to develop guidance for WIC staff to enhance service 
delivery to improve program satisfaction, retention, and participant 
health and nutrition outcomes.
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    \1\ U.S. Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service. 
VENA Value Enhanced Nutrition Assessment. Available at: https://wicworks.fns.usda.gov/resources/value-enhanced-nutrition-assessment-vena-guidance.
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    The four study objectives are: (1) Provide in-depth descriptive 
information on how a large, diverse sample of local WIC agencies 
performs the WIC nutrition risk assessment; (2) Systematically describe 
how a national sample of diverse local WIC agencies uses the collection 
of nutrition risk assessment information to tailor program benefits, 
including food packages, nutrition education, breastfeeding promotion 
and support, and referrals to health and social services; (3) 
Investigate relationships between WIC nutrition risk services processes 
(to include the nutrition risk assessment and the associated tailoring 
of program benefits), and the clinic experience, participant and staff 
perceptions, and overall clinic flow and efficiency; and (4) Identify 
specific practices or features of nutrition risk service processes that 
facilitate the use of nutrition assessment information for providing 
tailored program benefits, and that are associated with participant and 
staff satisfaction.
    A tiered study design that yields a diverse, national sample of 
SAs, LAs, WIC clinic sites, and WIC participants will be used to 
address the four study objectives. SAs will be selected using FNS 
administrative data, including data from the WIC Participant and 
Program Characteristics Study (OMB# 0584-0609, expiration 8/31/2019). 
All LAs within the selected SAs will be asked to provide additional 
data about their LA via a web survey. WIC Clinics will be selected for 
site visits based on characteristics of the LA.\2\ WIC participants 
will be selected during site visits. Quantitative and qualitative data 
will be collected from SAs, LAs, WIC Clinics and WIC participants.
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    \2\ A subset of LAs will be selected within each SA based on 
sociodemographic and nutrition education characteristics; one WIC 
Clinic will be selected per LA in the subset.
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    Affected Public: Respondent groups identified include: (1) State, 
local, and tribal governments (WIC State agencies, local agencies, and 
clinics); (2) Businesses/Non-Profits; (WIC local agencies and clinic 
sites); and (3) Individuals (adults who participate in WIC or who have 
children that participate in WIC).
    Estimated Number of Respondents: The total estimated number of 
respondents is 1,454 (885 respondents and 569 non-respondents). The 
total includes 13 State agencies, 378 local agencies (262 government 
and 116 business), 39 clinics (22 government and 17 business), and 
1,024 individuals.
    Estimated Frequency of Response: The estimated frequency of 
response is 6.17 annually for respondents and 3.54 annually for non-
respondents.
    Estimated Total Annual Responses: The estimated total number of 
annual responses is 7,473. This includes 5,458 for respondents and 
2,015 for non-respondents.
    Estimated Time per Response: The estimated average response time is 
0.12 hours for all respondents (0.15 hours for responsive participants 
and 0.02 hours for nonresponsive participants). The estimated time of 
response varies from one minute (0.02 hours) to approximately four 
hours (3.68 hours) depending on the respondent group and activity, as 
shown in table 1. The average estimated time per response across all 
respondents is 0.12 hours (equal to 869.33 (total annual burden hours 
for both respondents and non-respondents) divided by 7,473 (total 
responses for both respondents and non-respondents), as shown in table 
1.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: The total public 
reporting burden for this collection of information

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is estimated at 869.33 hours (annually). See Table 1 (Total Public 
Burden Hours) for estimated total annual burden for each type of 
respondent.

    Dated: July 12, 2019.
Brandon Lipps,
Administrator, Food and Nutrition Service.
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[FR Doc. 2019-15401 Filed 7-18-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3410-30-C