[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 167 (Thursday, August 27, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 52942-52945]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-18860]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Food and Nutrition Service


Agency Information Collection Activities: FNS Information 
Collection Needs due to COVID-19

AGENCY: Food and Nutrition Service (FNS), Agriculture (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 collection is an 
Extension of a Currently Approved Collection.

DATES: Written comments must be received on or before October 26, 2020.

ADDRESSES: Comments will 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 or 
copies of this information collection should be directed to Melissa 
Abelev at [email protected], or 703-305-2134.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the 
proposed

[[Page 52943]]

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: FNS Information Collection Needs due to COVID-19.
    Form Number:
    OMB Number: 0584-0654.
    Expiration Date: November 31, 2020.
    Type of Request: Extension of a currently approved collection.
    Abstract: As the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) is responding to 
the COVID-19 Coronavirus pandemic, it is implementing a number of 
waivers and program adjustments to ensure Americans in need can access 
nutrition assistance during the crisis while maintaining recommended 
social distancing practices. Two pieces of legislation have detailed 
many of the program adjustments available to FNS. The Families First 
Coronavirus Response Act of 2020 (PL 116-127) and the Coronavirus Aid, 
Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act (PL 116-136) provided a 
number of program adjustments and additional funding, respectively. The 
programs' authorizing legislation also allows for some waivers and 
flexibilities. The statutes describing these waivers and flexibilities 
also have reporting requirements. The Department obtained approval 
through an emergency clearance to collect the information as described 
in this Notice (OMB-0854-0654; expiration 11/30/2020). USDA anticipates 
the need to collect the data beyond the expiration date and is seeking 
approval of this Information Collection Request in order to meet the 
continuing information collection and reporting requirements detailed 
in the Families First Coronavirus Response Act of 2020, as well as 
program administration needs to implement the CARES Act of 2020.
    Section 2302(a)(2) of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act 
of 2020 (FFCRA), enacted March 18, 2020, allows the Department of 
Agriculture to adjust, at the request of State agencies or by guidance 
in consultation with one or more State agencies, issuance methods and 
application and reporting requirements under the Food and Nutrition Act 
of 2008, as amended, (FNA) to be consistent with what is practicable 
under actual conditions in affected areas. Section 2302(c) of FFCRA 
requires the Secretary of Agriculture to submit a report to Congress 
following the end of the public health emergency, including a 
description of the measures taken to address the food security needs of 
affected populations during the emergency, including any information or 
data supporting State agency requests, among other information not 
included in this information collection (IC).
    Further, Section 2203(a)(1) allows State agencies administering the 
Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children 
(WIC) to request a waiver of 17(d)(3)(C)(i) of the Child Nutrition Act 
of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1786(d)(3)(C)(i)), which requires applicants be 
physically present in the clinic. Local agencies are required to submit 
a report detailing the use and benefits of this waiver within one year 
of use of such waiver, and State agencies are required to submit a 
summary report of local agency usage of waivers under this Section 
within 18 months. Section 2204(a)(1) gives State agencies administering 
WIC and the WIC Farmers Market Nutrition Program (FMNP) the opportunity 
to request a waiver or modification of qualified regulatory 
requirements from USDA if such requirements cannot be met due to COVID-
19, and such waivers are necessary to provide assistance to WIC and WIC 
FMNP participants. State agencies are also required under this Section 
to provide a report to USDA no later than one year after such waivers 
were granted, detailing their use of the waiver and how it improved 
services to women, infants and children.
    In addition, Title II of the FFRCA allows a number of adjustments 
to the Child Nutrition Programs and with those adjustments requires the 
States to report to the Secretary of Agriculture how they used the 
waivers and whether they improved services to children. In order to 
comply with the requirements of the FFRCA, FNS will ask the States to 
report the required data points on existing FNS forms. These data will 
be collected electronically using the existing remarks fields in the 
FNS Food Program Reporting System (FPRS).
    In all the instances described above, the information collection 
includes burden on State agencies for requesting waivers due to COVID-
19 and reporting to FNS evaluation data on how the waiver has impacted 
State operations, which is a requirement on States in FFRCA.
    Additionally, FNS is asking State agencies to report the USDA 
commodities used during a disaster on a more frequent basis. This 
information is currently collected in an OMB approved form, the FNS-
292A, Report of Commodity Distribution for Disaster Relief (OMB Control 
Number 0584-0594 Food Programs Reporting System, expiration July 31, 
2023). State distributing agencies may release commodity or donated 
foods procured by the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to disaster 
organizations to provide nutritional assistance to disaster victims. 
Under the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) at 7 CFR 250.69(f), State 
distributing agencies shall provide a summary report to FNS within 45 
days following termination of the disaster assistance, and maintain 
records of these reports and other information relating to disasters. 
OMB approved in an emergency collection (OMB 0584-0654, expiration 11/
30/2020) for FNS to change the frequency of the collection of the 
commodity reports from 45 days after the completion of the disaster, to 
a weekly basis. This change was requested due to the number of requests 
and the burden of the FNS regional offices. Additionally, this request 
is being requested in order for FNS Food Distribution (FD) staff to 
monitor levels of USDA commodities more frequently to ensure States 
have access to USDA commodities in the coming weeks.
    Affected Public: State, Local and Tribal Government: Respondent 
groups identified include: (1) State agencies and Indian Tribal 
Organizations that operate USDA Nutrition Assistance Programs; (2) 
Local WIC Agencies.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: The total estimated number of 
respondents is 2,068. This includes: 53 SNAP State Agencies who will 
submit Waiver information, evaluation information, and weekly 
operational updates; 89 WIC State program staff who will submit waiver 
information; 89 WIC State program staff who will submit evaluation 
information; 49 Farmers Market Nutrition Program Staff who will submit 
waiver information; 49 Farmers Market Nutrition Program Staff who will 
submit evaluation information; 56 Child Nutrition Program staff who 
will submit information on form FNS10; 57 Child Nutrition Program staff 
who will submit information on FNS44; 53 Child Nutrition Program staff 
who will submit information on FNS418; 60 Food Distribution State 
program staff who will submit information on FNS292A; and 1808 WIC 
Local Agency Program

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staff who will submit information on an evaluation survey.
    As shown in the respondent burden table below (Table 1), FNS 
anticipates two types of respondents: State Government workers and 
Local Government workers at WIC agencies. Together, their reporting 
burden is 26,386 burden hours. Note that the estimates below assume 
data collection over twelve months, though they will be revised should 
the Public Health Crisis timeline differ.
    SNAP State Program Staff will have two types of burden:
     Waivers: FNS anticipates up to 3 waivers requests per 
month per State agency. SNAP Program Staff in 53 State Agencies will 
submit approximately 3 waiver requests per month. Each waiver will take 
about 10 hours to complete for a total of 19,080 burden hours. (53 
State Agency Staff * 3 waivers per months * 12 months (36 waiver 
request) = 1,908 responses * 10 hours = 19,080 burden hours)
     Data Reports: SNAP Program Staff in 53 State Agencies will 
submit 3 data reports, reporting on the evaluation data required by 
FFRCA. It will take them about 3 hours to report the data in the data 
reports for a total of 159 burden hours. (53 State Agency Staff * 3 
data reports = 159 responses * 3 hours = 477 burden hours).
     Weekly Operational Update: SNAP program staff in 53 State 
Agencies will submit 1 weekly update to their FNS Regional Offices. 
Each update will take approximately 1 hour to complete. (53 State 
agencies * 52 weekly reports = 2,756 annual responses * 1 hour per 
response = 2,756 burden hours).
    WIC State Program Staff will have two types of burden:
     Waivers: FNS anticipates up to 40 waiver opportunities 
under the Public Health Emergency. Each state will request about 14 
waivers. Each waiver request will take about 15 minutes to complete for 
a total of 311.5 burden hours. (89 State Agency Staff * 14 waivers = 
1,246 responses * .25 hours = 311.5 burden hours)
     Evaluation Information: WIC Program Staff in 89 State 
Agencies will submit 1 survey, reporting on the evaluation data 
required by the FFRCA. It will take them about 2 hours to complete the 
survey, for a total of 178 burden hours. (89 State Agency Staff * 1 
survey = 89 Responses * 2 hours = 178 burden hours)
     MIS Data Pull: FNS will request states submit a data pull 
from their MIS systems to help facilitate the evaluation data reporting 
on the number of WIC participants affected by different waivers. (89 
WIC State Agencies * 1 data pull = 89 Responses * 1.5 hours per 
response = 133.5 burden hours)
    FMNP State Program Staff will have two types of burden:
     Waivers: FNS anticipates up to 8 waiver opportunities 
under the Public Health Emergency and each state will request 4 
waivers. FMNP Program Staff in 49 State Agencies will submit 
approximately 4 waiver requests. Each waiver request will take about 15 
minutes to complete for a total of 49 burden hours. (49 State Agency 
Staff * 4 waivers = 196 responses * .25 hours = 49 burden hours)
     Evaluation Information: FMNP Program Staff in 49 State 
Agencies will submit 1 State Plan, reporting on the evaluation data 
required by the FFRCA. It will take them about 3 hours to complete the 
report, for a total of 147 burden hours. (49 State Agency Staff * 1 
State Plan = 49 Responses * 3 hours = 147 burden hours)
    CN State Program Staff will submit data on three types of existing 
FNS Forms:
     FNS10: CN Program staff in 56 States will submit 
information on an existing FNS form in the remarks section. They will 
enter the data monthly for the 30-day report and for the 90-day report 
for two submissions per month. It will take about 15 minutes to 
complete for a total of 336 burden hours. (56 State Agency Staff * 24 
submissions = 1,344 responses * .25 hours = 336 burden hours)
     FNS44: CN Program staff in 57 States will submit 
information on an existing FNS form in the remarks section. They will 
enter the data monthly. It will take about 15 minutes to complete for a 
total of 171 burden hours. (57 State Agency Staff * 12 submissions = 
684 responses * .25 hours = 171 burden hours).
     FNS418: CN Program staff in 53 States will submit 
information on an existing FNS form in the remarks section. They will 
enter the data monthly. It will take about 15 minutes to complete for a 
total of 159 burden hours. (53 State Agency Staff * 12 submissions = 
636 responses * .25 hours = 159 burden hours).
    Food Distribution State program Staff will have one type of burden:
     FNS292A: Food Distribution Program Staff in 60 State 
Agencies will submit form FNS292A 52 times (weekly over twelve months) 
This is an increase in burden for an existing, approved form. It will 
take them approximately 15 minutes to complete the form each time for a 
total of 780 burden hours. (60 State Agency Staff * 52 submissions = 
3,120 responses * .25 hours = 780 burden hours).
    WIC Local Government Agency Staff: Local Agency staff in 1,808 
Local WIC agencies will submit 1 survey to FNS. It will take 1 hour to 
complete and submit the report for a total of 1,808 burden hours (1,808 
Local Agency staff * 1 submission = 1,808 responses * 1 hours = 1,808 
burden hours)

Pamilyn Miller,
Administrator, Food and Nutrition Service.


                                                            Table 1--Respondent Burden Table
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                                        Type of                              Number of     Frequency of    Total annual      Hours per     Annual burden
       Respondent category            respondents         Instruments       respondents      response        responses       response         (hours)
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State Gov.......................  SNAP State Program  Waiver............              53              36           1,908              10          19,080
                                  SNAP State Program  Data Reports......              53               3             159               3             477
                                  SNAP State Agency.  Weekly Operational              53              52           2,756               1           2,756
                                                       Update.
                                  WIC State Program   Waiver............              89              14           1,246            0.25           311.5
                                   Staff.
                                  WIC State Program   Evaluation Survey.              89               1              89               2             178
                                   Staff.
                                  WIC State Program   MIS Data Pull.....              89               1              89             1.5           133.5
                                   Staff.
                                  FMNP State Program  Waiver............              49               4             196            0.25              49
                                   Staff.
                                  FMNP State Program  Evaluation Info...              49               1              49               3             147
                                   Staff.
                                  CN State Program    Form: FNS10.......              56              24           1,344            0.25             336
                                   Staff.
                                                      Form: FNS44.......              57              12             684            0.25             171
                                                      Form: FNS418......              53              12             636            0.25             159

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                                  Food Dist. State    Form: FNS292A.....              60              52           3,120            0.25             780
                                   Program.
Local Government................  WIC Local Agency    Report to State...           1,808               1           1,808               1           1,808
                                   Program Staff.
                                                                         -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                                       0            0.25               0
    Respondent Total............  ..................  ..................           2,066           6.817          14,084           1.873          26,386
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[FR Doc. 2020-18860 Filed 8-26-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-30-P