[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 147 (Wednesday, August 4, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 41945-41948]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-16574]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Food and Nutrition Service


Agency Information Collection Activities: WIC Nutrition 
Assessment and Tailoring Study--In-Person Data Collection

AGENCY: Food and Nutrition Service (FNS), Agriculture (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. This collection is a revision 
of the currently approved collection for the Special Supplemental 
Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Nutrition 
Assessment and Tailoring Study (WIC NATS) [OMB Control Number 0584-
0663]. The revision adds data collection from in-person site visits, 
where the data collection activities planned for the currently approved 
remote site visits will be replicated for use with 30 WIC clinic sites 
for in-person site visits once WIC clinic sites safely resume in-person 
operations.

DATES: Written comments must be received on or before October 4, 2021.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be sent to: Alexander Bush, Office of Policy 
Support, Food and Nutrition Service, USDA, 1320 Braddock Place, 
Alexandria, VA 22314. Comments may also be submitted via fax to the 
attention of Karen Castellanos-Brown at 703-305-2732 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 Karen 
Castellanos-Brown at [email protected] or Courtney 
Paolicelli at 571-302-6447.

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: WIC Nutrition Assessment and Tailoring Study: In-Person Data 
Collection.
    Form Number: Not applicable.
    OMB Number: 0584-0663.
    Expiration Date: 04/30/2024.
    Type of Request: Revision of a currently approved 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 receives 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.
    Under the currently approved WIC NATS data collection [OMB Control 
Number 0584-0663], 30 clinic sites will be selected to participate in 
remote site visits--where the study team will observe remote nutrition 
assessment visits (i.e., assessments done via telephone or video call) 
and then interview WIC participants and staff by telephone. Under this 
revision, 30 clinic sites will be recruited to participate in the same 
data collection activities--including direct observation of nutrition 
assessments and interviews with

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participants and staff--during in-person site visits. Information 
collected under this revision will be used to better understand how the 
nutrition risk assessment process is conducted in a typical, face-to-
face setting. This information will also be compared to similar 
information collected during the remote site visits.
    This phase of data collection for in-person site visits reduces the 
burden to the information collection. While the Local Agencies 
participated in the remote data collection, the collection activities 
for the in-person site visits do not collect information from them. As 
a result, they have been removed from the collection. Although the data 
collection from the in-person site visits actually adds burden to the 
four currently approved elements of the collection: (1) Direct 
observation of nutrition assessments, (2) interviews with clinic site 
directors; (3) interviews with clinic staff, and (4) interviews with 
WIC participants, this increase is offset by the removal of the Local 
Agencies from this collection. Estimates of the number of respondents 
and hours associated with this data collection are given below. The 
content of the currently approved data collection instruments has not 
changed.
    Affected Public: (1) State, Local, and Tribal Government; (2) 
Business or Other for Profit; (3), Not For Profit Organizations; and 
(4) Individuals/Households. Respondent groups identified include: (1) 
State, local, and tribal governments (WIC clinic sites); (2) 
Businesses/Non-Profits; (WIC 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 1,050 (540 respondents and 510 non-respondents). The 
total includes 30 clinics (21 government and 9 business), and 1,020 
individuals.
    Estimated Number of Responses per Respondent: The estimated 
frequency of response across the entire collection is 4.63. The 
estimated frequency of response is 5.78 annually for respondents and 
3.42 annually for non-respondents. For most of the items in the 
collection, respondents reply to them only once, with the exception of 
the informed consents for the observation and staff interviews, the 
identified risks data collection form, and the staff interview guide. 
The WIC Clinic respondents will provide consent six times and will 
complete the data collection form and the interview five times.
    Estimated Total Annual Responses: The estimated total number of 
annual responses is 4,865 (3,120 respondents and 1,745 non-
respondents).
    Estimated Time per Response: The estimated average response time 
per response across all respondents in the collection is 0.10 hours 
(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 one hour depending on the respondent group 
and activity, as shown in table 1.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: The total public 
reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated at 
509.38 hours (annually). See table 1 for estimated total annual burden 
for each type of respondent.

Timothy English,
Acting Administrator, Food and Nutrition Service.
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[FR Doc. 2021-16574 Filed 8-3-21; 8:45 am]
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