[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 21 (Wednesday, February 1, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6697-6700]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-02055]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Food and Nutrition Service


Agency Information Collection Activities: School Meals Operations 
Study: Evaluation of the School-Based Child Nutrition Programs

AGENCY: Food and Nutrition Service (FNS), United States Department of 
Agriculture (USDA).

ACTION: Notice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

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 a currently approved collection for the School Meals Operations 
(SMO) Study (OMB control number 0584-0607) information collection with 
updated survey instruments for school year (SY) 2022-2023. This study 
will collect data from State agencies and public school food 
authorities (SFAs), including disaggregated administrative data, on the 
continued use and effectiveness of the nationwide Child Nutrition (CN) 
COVID-19 waivers, and continuation of SMO information collection with 
updated survey instruments.

DATES: Written comments must be received on or before April 3, 2023.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be sent to: Darcy G[uuml]ng[ouml]r 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 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 Darcy 
G[uuml]ng[ouml]r at [email protected], 703-305-4345.

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: School Meals Operations Study: Evaluation of the School-
based Child Nutrition Programs.
    Form Number: N/A.
    OMB Number: 0584-0607.
    Expiration Date: 12/31/2024.
    Type of Request: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Abstract: FNS administers the school-based Child Nutrition (CN) 
Programs (i.e., the school meal programs) in partnership with States 
and local SFAs. Section 28(a) of the Richard B. Russell National School 
Lunch Act authorizes the USDA Secretary to conduct annual national 
performance assessments of the school meal programs. FNS plans to 
conduct this annual assessment through the SMO Study in SY 2023-2024. 
This notice covers the fourth year of the SMO Study, which will collect 
data from State and local agencies on the CN COVID-19 waivers as well 
as data on state and local CN Program operations during SY 2022-2023. 
Data collection will occur in SY 2023-2024.
    The fourth year of the SMO Study is a minor revision of a currently 
approved collection for the SMO Study. The SMO study is designed to 
collect timely data on the continued use and effectiveness of the CN 
COVID-19 waivers as well as policy, administrative, and operational 
issues in the school-based CN Programs, which contributes to budget 
preparation, development and implementation of program policy and 
regulations, and identification of areas for technical assistance and 
training. This study will help FNS obtain:

[[Page 6698]]

    1. General descriptive data on the characteristics of CN Programs 
to inform the budget process and answer questions about topics of 
current policy interest;
    2. Data on Program operations to identify potential topics for 
training and technical assistance for SFAs and State agencies (SAs) 
responsible for administering the CN Programs;
    3. Administrative data to identify program trends and predictors;
    4. Information on the use and effectiveness of the CN COVID-19 
waivers.
    The activities to be conducted subject to this notice include:

 Collecting disaggregated administrative data from 67 State 
Agency Directors that are currently only reported in aggregate on forms 
FNS-10, Report of School Program Operations, FNS-418, Report of the 
Summer Food Service Program for Children, and FNS-44, Report of the 
Child and Adult Care Food Program (which are approved under OMB# 0584-
0594, Food Programs Reporting System (FPRS), expiration date 07/31/
2023)
 Conducting a web survey of 54 State CN Directors
 Conducting a web survey of 1,266 SFA Directors

    To reduce data collection burden on SFAs, the SMO Study will 
analyze existing administrative data collected from SAs which will 
limit the number and type of questions included in surveys to SAs and 
SFAs. To facilitate data collection, SAs will receive an agenda for 
initial telephone meetings and a template for the data request. The 
data request template will link each data element to the corresponding 
item number on forms FNS-10, FNS-418, and FNS-44. Examples of the types 
of data that the administrative request will respond to include number 
of schools and students participating in the meal programs and the 
number of meals served under the meal programs.
    SMO will also conduct surveys of a census of SAs and a nationally 
representative sample of SFAs on key topics identified annually. 
Recruitment will be a three-step process. First, data collection will 
begin with an email to regional offices requesting their assistance by 
sending a letter of support to States. Next, the study team will send 
an advance letter to the States that describes the study and asks CN 
Directors to send a letter of support to SFAs. Third, the study team 
will send an invitation to States and SFAs to complete the web survey. 
To maximize the opportunity to reach all respondents, the study team 
will attempt to contact them by mail, email, and phone. Participants 
will be able to complete the survey on the web, in hard copy, or over 
the phone.
    The goal of data collection for the SMO Study is to respond to 
annual research questions on the following topics: (1) school 
participation, (2) student participation, (3) meal counting, (4) 
financial management, and (5) program integrity. This revision covers 
data collection for one school year, with revisions of surveys and 
administrative data collection instruments from previous years.

    Note: Personally identifiable information will not be used to 
retrieve survey records or data.

    Affected Public: State, Local, and Tribal Governments: Respondent 
groups identified include: (1) SFA Directors for public schools, and 
(2) State Agency Directors from all 50 States, 3 territories, and the 
District of Columbia.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: The total estimated number of 
respondents is 1,339. This includes (1) 67 State Agency Directors who 
are expected to participate in the administrative data collection, 54 
of whom are also CN Directors who will be participating in the CN 
Director survey (3 of the 54 CN Directors are also expected to 
participate in the pretest), and (2) 1,266 SFA Directors. Six SFA 
Directors are expected to participate in the pretest of the SFA 
Director web survey; these six SFA Director pretest participants are 
unique respondents and will not be included in the sample for the SFA 
survey. Of the 1,266 public SFA Directors included in the sample for 
the SFA Director web survey, 1,012 are expected to respond and FNS 
expects 254 will not respond to the study activities (non-respondents).
    Estimated Number of Responses per Respondent: State Agency Director 
respondents will be asked to complete an initial telephone meeting and 
respond to the FNS-10, FNS-418 and FNS-44 administrative data requests 
one time. SFA Director and CN Director respondents will be asked to 
complete their respective web surveys one time. In the event of non-
response, CN Directors may receive reminder emails and phone calls 
until the target of 67 respondents is reached for the administrative 
data collection. Child Nutrition Directors may receive reminder emails, 
phone calls, and a last chance postcard until the target of 54 
respondents is reached for the web survey. Similarly, SFA Directors who 
do not respond to the web survey may receive reminders via email, 
phone, or post card until the target number of 1,012 respondents is 
reached.
    FNS estimates that respondents will average 7.33 responses (7,948 
responses/1,085 respondents) across the entire collection, with non-
respondents averaging 15.32 responses (3,892 responses/254 non-
respondents). Across all participants in the collection (respondents 
and non-respondents) the average number of responses is 8.84 (11,840 
responses/1,339 total respondents).
    Estimated Total Annual Responses: 11,840.
    Estimated Time per Response: The estimated time per response ranges 
from 3 minutes (0.05 hours) to 6 hours depending on the instrument, as 
shown in the table below, with an average estimated time for all 
participants of 13.20 minutes (0.22 hours) per response.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: 119,985.60 minutes 
(1,999.76 hours). See the table below for estimated total annual burden 
for each type of respondent.
BILLING CODE 3410-30-P

[[Page 6699]]

[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN01FE23.015



[[Page 6700]]


Tameka Owens,
Assistant Administrator, Food and Nutrition Service.
[FR Doc. 2023-02055 Filed 1-31-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-30-C