[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 136 (Wednesday, July 15, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42821-42826]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-15218]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Food and Nutrition Service


Agency Information Collection Activities: Best Practices in 
Disaster Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (D-SNAP) Operations 
and Planning

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 for the Best Practices in 
Disaster SNAP Operations and Planning study. This is a new information 
collection request. This study informs the U.S. Department of 
Agriculture's (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) about best 
practices in planning for and implementing D-SNAP.

DATES: Written comments must be received on or before September 14, 
2020.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be sent to Eric Williams, Food and Nutrition 
Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1320 Braddock Place, 
Alexandria, VA 22314. Comments may also be submitted via email at 
[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 FNS during regular business hours (8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. 
Monday through Friday) at 1320 Braddock Place, Alexandria, VA 22314.
    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 Eric 
Williams at (703) 305-2640.

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 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.
    Title: Best Practices in Disaster Supplemental Nutrition Assistance 
Program (D-SNAP) Operations and Planning.
    Form Number: Not Applicable.
    OMB Number: 0584-NEW.
    Expiration Date: Not Yet Determined.
    Type of Request: New Information Collection Request.
    Abstract: Section 17 [7 U.S.C. 2026] (a)(1) of the Food and 
Nutrition Act of 2008, as amended, provides general legislative 
authority for the planned data collection. It authorizes the Secretary 
of Agriculture to enter into contracts with private institutions to 
undertake research that will help to improve the administration and 
effectiveness of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
    FNS is conducting this study to identify and document best 
practices in D-SNAP planning and operations from across the country and 
for a variety of disaster types. The project will give FNS a better 
understanding of what works when States implement D-SNAP to provide 
better direction to States when developing plans and implementing the 
program. FNS has identified five objectives for this study:
    1. Assess the implementation and operation of D-SNAP for selected 
disaster(s) in each study State.
    2. Describe the characteristics and economic circumstances of the 
D-SNAP households for the selected disaster(s).
    3. Document each State's approach to protecting program integrity 
while operating D-SNAP for the selected disaster(s).
    4. Determine best practices for developing annual disaster plans to 
address a variety of disaster types.
    5. Determine best practices for implementing and operating D-SNAP 
for a variety of disaster types.
    The study will gather data through extant administrative SNAP 
caseload data (already approved under OMB

[[Page 42822]]

Control Number: 0584-0064; Expiration Date: 07/31/2020; and under OMB 
Control Number: 0584-0037; Expiration Date: 02/28/2021), document 
review, and site visits to five States. The study will focus on 10 
recent county or local government administered D-SNAPs across the 5 
study States. Each site visit will include interviews with staff at (1) 
the State SNAP agency, (2) the county SNAP office (if SNAP is county-
administered), (3) one local SNAP office near the D-SNAP site, and (4) 
relevant stakeholders that supported the D-SNAP (e.g., community-based 
organizations, SNAP retailers). The study team will also seek to 
interview any former State staff who were closely involved with D-SNAP 
planning and operations for the relevant disasters. These data will 
provide information on D-SNAP planning, operations, challenges, best 
practices, and lessons learned. SNAP administrative caseload data about 
SNAP participants will be used to examine the characteristics and 
economic circumstances of D-SNAP households and estimate the economic 
impact in the affected areas. In some cases, State SNAP offices staff 
may be asked to provide documentation related to the D-SNAP(s), such as 
promotional or training materials. These documents will inform the site 
visits and provide further information on D-SNAP planning and 
operations. The data collected will be kept private. It will not be 
shared with anyone outside the study team and FNS research and 
administrative staff.
    Affected Public: (1) State, Local and Tribal Governments; (2) 
Business (For Profit and Not for Profit); and (3) Individuals/
Households.
    Respondent groups identified include the following:
    1. State, Local, and Tribal Government: State SNAP directors, State 
D-SNAP policy leads, State emergency response managers in 5 study 
States; State information technology, civil rights, and communications 
staff in 5 study States; State database administrators in 5 study 
States; County SNAP directors, County D-SNAP policy leads, and County 
emergency response managers in 4 study counties across 2 study States; 
Local SNAP office staff in each of the 5 study States; we anticipate 
100 percent participation from this affected public.
    2. Business (For Profit and Not For Profit): Staff at stakeholder 
organizations, SNAP retailers such as grocery stores or community-based 
organizations.
    3. Individuals: Former State or local staff who no longer work for 
the government.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: The total estimated number of 
respondents is 233 (122 State, Local, and Tribal Government staff, 55 
Business (For Profit and Not For Profit) staff, and 56 Individuals). Of 
the 233 contacted, 224 are estimated to be responsive and 9 are 
estimated to be nonresponsive. The breakout of respondents follows:
    1. 126 State, Local, and Tribal Government staff: Of the 35 State 
SNAP staff contacted, 35 are estimated to be responsive; of the 16 
County SNAP staff contacted, 16 are estimated to be responsive; of the 
15 State database administrators contacted, 15 are estimated to be 
responsive; of the 70 Local office staff contacted, 70 are estimated to 
be responsive.
    2. 55 Business (For Profit and Not For Profit) staff: Of the 55 
Business stakeholder staff contacted, 50 are estimated to be 
responsive; and 5 will be non-responsive.
    3. 56 Individuals: Of the 56 individuals contacted, 52 are 
estimated to be responsive and 4 will be non-responsive.
    Estimated Number of Responses per Respondent: 1.00--based on 247 
total annual responses (238 responsive and 9 nonresponsive) made by the 
233 respondents (238 responsive and 9 nonresponsive). See table 1 for 
the estimated number of responses per respondent for each type of 
respondent.
    The estimate breakout follows:
    1. State SNAP Staff (30): The estimated number of responses per 
State SNAP staff is 1.00:
     5 State SNAP directors will respond to advance materials 
and scheduling, including submission of D-SNAP documentation; the same 
5 State SNAP directors plus 5 additional D-SNAP policy leads and 5 
additional emergency response managers will take part in an in-person 
interview during the site visit. 5 State information technology staff, 
5 State communications staff, and 5 State civil rights staff will take 
part in an in-person interview during the site visit.
    2. County SNAP Staff (12): The estimated number of responses per 
County SNAP staff is 1.00:
     4 County SNAP directors will respond to advance materials 
and scheduling, including submission of D-SNAP documentation; the same 
4 County SNAP directors plus 4 additional D-SNAP policy leads and 4 
additional emergency response managers will take part in an in-person 
interview during the site visit.
    3. State SNAP Database Administrators (10): The estimated number of 
responses per State SNAP database administrator is 1.00:
     5 State SNAP database administrators will respond to 
advance materials and scheduling; 5 State SNAP database junior staffers 
will submit a test datafile and the same 5 State SNAP database junior 
staffers will submit a final administrative datafile.
    4. Local SNAP Office Staff (70): The estimated number of responses 
per Local SNAP office staff is 1.00:
     10 Local SNAP office directors will respond to advance 
materials and scheduling, including submission of D-SNAP documentation; 
the same 10 Local SNAP office directors will take part in an in-person 
interview; 50 additional Local SNAP office staff will take part in a 
group discussion during the site visit; and an additional 10 Local SNAP 
office staff will take part in observations of the D-SNAP and disaster 
sites during the site visit.
    5. Business (For Profit and Not for Profit) D-SNAP Stakeholder 
Staff (55): The estimated number of responses per Business stakeholder 
staff is 1.00:
     Of 30 Business D-SNAP stakeholder staff, 25 will respond 
to advance materials and scheduling, including submission of D-SNAP 
documentation (5 will not respond to advance materials and scheduling); 
25 staff will take part in an in-person interview during the site 
visit, we anticipate these will be different responders.
    6. Individuals (Former State/Local Government Officials no Longer 
Working in Government) (30): The estimated number of responses per 
Individual is 1.00:
     Of 10 Individuals who previously worked for the State 
government, 8 will respond to advance materials and scheduling (2 will 
not respond to the advance materials and scheduling); the 8 individuals 
who responded to the advance materials will take part in an interview.
     Of 20 Individuals who previously worked for the County/
Local government, 18 will respond to advance materials and scheduling 
(2 will not respond to the advance materials and scheduling); the 18 
individuals who responded to the advance materials will take part in an 
interview.
    Estimated Total Frequency Response per Respondent: 1.0600858369. 
FNS anticipate on response per respondent although some State, Local or 
Tribal staff may participate in more than one (1) activity.
    Estimated Total Annual Responses: 247 (238 annual responses for 
responsive participants and 9 annual responses for nonresponsive 
participants).

[[Page 42823]]

    Estimated Time per Response: 1.90870445 hours (2.07 hours for 
responsive participants and 0.05 hours for nonresponsive participants). 
The estimated time of response varies from 0.05 hours to 10 hours 
depending on respondent group and activity, as shown in table 1.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents and Non-Respondents: 
471.45 hours (471 hours for responsive participants, and 0.45 hours for 
nonresponsive participants). See table 1 for estimated total annual 
burden for each type of respondent.

[[Page 42824]]



                                                                                                   Table 1--Total Public Burden Hours
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                                                                                                                                 Responsive                                               Nonresponsive                          Grand
                                                                                                        ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------   total
                                                                        Instruments and         Sample                                                                                                                           annual
         Respondent  category               Type of respondent             activities            size     Number of    Frequency     Total    Hours per    Annual    Number of    Frequency     Total    Hours per    Annual     burden
                                                                                                         respondents      of        annual     response    burden       non-         of        annual     response    burden    estimate
                                                                                                                       response    responses              (hours)   respondents   response    responses              (hours)    (hours)
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                                                                                                   State, Local, and Tribal Government
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State/local/tribal government subtotal  State SNAP Directors * (1  Advance materials and              5            5           1           5          4         20            0           0           0          0          0         20
                                         per State).                preparation, including
                                                                    all conference and
                                                                    scheduling calls, and
                                                                    submission of documents.
                                        State SNAP Directors * (1  In-person semi-structured         15           15           1          15          3         45            0           0           0          0          0         45
                                         per State); D-SNAP         interviews in 5 States.
                                         Policy Lead (1 per
                                         State), and Emergency
                                         Response Manager (1 per
                                         State).
                                        State information          In-person semi-structured         15           15           1          15          1         15            0           0           0          0          0         15
                                         technology staff (1 per    interviews in 5 States.
                                         State), civil rights
                                         staff (1 per State), and
                                         communications staff (1
                                         per State).
                                       -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                    Subtotal for State SNAP staff                    30           30       1.167          35        2.3         80            0           0           0          0          0         80
                                       -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                        County SNAP Directors ***  Advance materials and              4            4           1           4          4         16            0           0           0          0          0         16
                                         (2 per State, in 2         preparation, including
                                         States).                   all conference and
                                                                    scheduling calls, and
                                                                    submission of documents.
                                        County SNAP Directors (2   In-person semi-structured         12           12           1          12          3         36            0           0           0          0          0         36
                                         per State, in 2 States),   interviews in 4 counties.
                                         D-SNAP policy lead (2
                                         per State, in 2 States),
                                         and emergency response
                                         managers (2 per State,
                                         in 2 States).
                                       -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                   Subtotal for county SNAP staff                    12           12           1          16          3         52            0           0           0          0          0         52
                                       -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                        State SNAP Database        Advance materials and              5            5           1           5          3         15            0           0           0          0          0         15
                                         administrator (1 per       preparation, including
                                         State).                    consultative data call.
                                        State SNAP Database        Submit test file and               5            5           2          10          4         40            0           0           0          0          0         40
                                         junior staffer (1 per      submit final file.
                                         State).
                                       -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                              Subtotal for State database administrator              10           10           2          15       3.67         55            0           0           0          0          0         55
                                       -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                        Local SNAP Office          Advance materials and             10           10           1          10          2         20            0           0           0          0          0         20
                                         Director ** (2 per State   preparation, including
                                         in 5 States).              submission of documents.
                                        Local SNAP Office          In-person semi-structured         10           10           1          10          1         10            0           0           0          0          0         10
                                         Director ** (the same 2    interviews with 1 SNAP
                                         per State in 5 States      director/manager at 10
                                         that received and          sites.
                                         reviewed the advance
                                         materials).
                                        Local SNAP Office staff    Group discussion with 5           50           50           1          50          2        100            0           0           0          0          0        100
                                         (on average, 10 per        local staff at 10 sites.
                                         State in 2 States).
                                        Local SNAP Office staff    Observations of D-SNAP            10           10           1          10          4         40            0           0           0          0          0         40
                                         (2 per State in 5          and disaster site with
                                         States).                   SNAP director/manager at
                                                                    10 sites.
                                       -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                          Subtotal for local SNAP                                    70           70           1          70       2.43        170            0           0           0          0          0        170
                                           office.
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    State/local/tribal government subtotal..................................................        122          122           1         136       2.63        357            0           0           0          0          0        357
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                                                                                                                Business
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Business (for profit and not for        D-SNAP stakeholder (3 per  Advance materials and             30           25           1          25          2         50            5           1           5       0.05       0.25      50.25
 profit).                                disaster).                 preparation, including
                                                                    submission of documents.
                                        D-SNAP stakeholder (3 per  In-person semi-structured         25           25           1          25          1         25            0           0           0          0          0         25
                                         disaster).                 interviews with 1 staff
                                                                    member at 25 stakeholder
                                                                    offices.
                                       -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Business subtotal.......................................................................         55           50           1          50          2         75            5           1           5       0.05       0.25      75.25
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[[Page 42825]]

 
                                                                                                               Individuals
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Individuals...........................  Former State office D-     Advance letter and other          10            8           1           8        0.5          4            2           1           2       0.05        0.1        4.1
                                         SNAP staff (1 per          recruitment.
                                         disaster).
                                        Former State office D-     In-person semi-structured          8            8           1           8          1          8            0           0           0          0          0          8
                                         SNAP staff (8 from among   interview.
                                         those receiving the
                                         advance letter).
                                        Former local office D-     Advance letter and other          20           18           1          18        0.5          9            2           1           2       0.05        0.1        9.1
                                         SNAP staff (2 per          recruitment.
                                         disaster).
                                        Former local office D-     In-person semi-structured         18           18           1          18          1         18            0           0           0          0          0         18
                                         SNAP staff (8 from among   interview.
                                         those receiving the
                                         advance letters).
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Individuals subtotal....................................................................         56           52           1          52       0.75         39            4           1           4       0.05        0.2       39.2
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
        Total...............................................................................        233          224    1.062500         238       1.98        471            9           1           9       0.05       0.45     471.45
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* The unique 5 State SNAP Directors respondents are counted once although they participated in multiple activities.
** The unique 10 Local SNAP Office Directors are counted once although they participated in multiple activities.
*** The unique 4 Count SNAP Directors are counted once although they participated in multiple activities.



[[Page 42826]]

Pamilyn Miller,
Administrator, Food and Nutrition Service.
[FR Doc. 2020-15218 Filed 7-14-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-30-P