[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 85 (Wednesday, May 3, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 27857-27859]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-09359]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Food and Nutrition Service


Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; 
Comment Request--The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, 
Infants and Children (WIC) Breastfeeding Award of Excellence

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. This collection is a revision 
of a currently approved collection for awarding local agencies for 
excellence in WIC breastfeeding services and support.

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

ADDRESSES: The Food and Nutrition Service, USDA, invites interested 
persons to submit written comment.
     Preferred Method: Federal eRulemaking Portal. Go to http://www.regulations.gov and follow the online instructions for submitting 
comments electronically.
     Mail: Send comments to: Kristin Garcia, Director, Food 
Safety and Nutrition Division, Food and Nutrition Service, U.S. 
Department of Agriculture, 1320 Braddock Pl., 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 Valery 
Soto, Chief, Nutrition Services and Promotion Branch, Food Safety and 
Nutrition Division, FNS, USDA, 1320 Braddock

[[Page 27858]]

Pl., Alexandria, VA 22314. Telephone: (703) 305-2742.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 231 of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids 
Act of 2010, Public Law 111-296, requires that the Department of 
Agriculture (USDA) establish a program to recognize WIC local agencies 
and clinics that demonstrate exemplary breastfeeding promotion and 
support activities.
    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: Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants 
and Children (WIC) Breastfeeding Award of Excellence.
    Form Number: Not applicable.
    OMB Number: 0584-0591.
    Expiration Date: 11/30/2023.
    Type of Request: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Abstract: This information collection is mandated by section 231 of 
the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 (HHFKA) (Pub. L. 111-296). 
Section 231 of the HHFKA, which requires USDA to implement a program to 
recognize exemplary breastfeeding support practices at WIC local 
agencies and clinics. The WIC Program provides breastfeeding promotion 
and support for pregnant and postpartum mothers as a part of its 
mission to improve the health of the approximately 6 million Americans 
it serves each month. Breastfeeding is a priority in WIC and WIC 
mothers are strongly encouraged to breastfeed their infants unless 
medically contraindicated.
    In recognizing exemplary local agencies and clinics, the HHFKA 
requires the Secretary to consider the following criteria: (1) 
performance measurements of breastfeeding; (2) the effectiveness of a 
peer counselor program; (3) the extent to which the agency or clinic 
has partnered with other entities to build a supportive breastfeeding 
environment for women participating in WIC; and (4) other criteria the 
Secretary considers appropriate after consultation with State and local 
program agencies. The information will be submitted voluntarily by WIC 
local agencies who will be applying for an award. FNS will use the 
information collected to evaluate the components of existing 
breastfeeding programs and support in WIC local agencies and make 
decisions about awards. This program is expected to provide models and 
motivate local agencies and clinics to strengthen their breastfeeding 
promotion and support activities.
    A notable improvement from past collection requests is that FNS 
hosts the application process for local agencies fully online. The 
State agencies continue to conduct their evaluation on PartnerWeb. FNS 
plans to explore ways to streamline the evaluation for State agencies 
to improve their user experience. The total estimated time to complete 
the application is not expected to change.
    Affected Public: State, local and Tribal government: Respondent 
groups identified include local and State WIC agencies.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: The total estimated number of 
participants is 239: 150 local WIC agencies, 89 State WIC agencies.
    WIC Peer Counseling is an FNS initiative that equips WIC programs 
with an implementation and management model--the ``WIC Breastfeeding 
Model for Peer Counseling''--to serve as a framework for designing, 
building, and sustaining peer counseling programs, a requirement for 
award eligibility. Since the inception of the program in 2015, a total 
of 728 awards have been given. In fiscal year (FY) 2020, 138 eligible 
local agencies applied for an award; in FY 2021, 130 eligible local 
agencies applied for an award; in FY 2022, 127 eligible local agencies 
applied for an award; and in FY 2023, 143 eligible local agencies 
applied for awards. FNS estimates the annual submitted applications 
will range from 130-150 applications submitted annually. For small 
entities WIC estimates that 7-8% (11 applications) of local agency 
applications do not come from health departments. The estimated number 
of respondents for the State agency application verification is derived 
from the total number of State WIC agencies.
    Estimated Number of Responses per Respondent: The estimated number 
of responses per respondent for the WIC local agency is one, as each 
eligible WIC local agency can submit one application. The estimated 
number of responses per respondent for the WIC State agency is 2.0, as 
each WIC State agency will evaluate approximately 2.0 applications 
annually. These estimates were derived by dividing the total number of 
responses for the WIC Local Agency Application or the State Agency 
Evaluation by the respective number of respondents. Overall, the 
estimated number of responses per respondent across the entire 
collection is 1.4, which is derived by dividing the total number of 
responses (328) by the total estimated number of respondents (239).
    Estimated Total Annual Responses: 328.
    Estimated Time per Response: FNS estimates the WIC local agency 
application response is 2.5 hours, and the WIC State agency response is 
1.5 hours. Overall, the average estimated time for all of the award 
participants is 2 hours. The estimated average number of hours per 
response was derived by dividing the number of estimated total hours 
(642), by the number of total annual responses by all respondents 
(328). The time for the WIC local agency is an estimated time for the 
agency to voluntarily review the instructions, fill out the ``WIC 
Breastfeeding Award of Excellence'' application, and attach supportive 
documentation. The time for the State WIC agency is an estimated time 
for the agency to review the instructions, evaluate the components of 
the local WIC agencies applications, and make a recommendation for an 
award.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: 642.0 hours.
    See the Burden table below for estimated total annual burden for 
each type of respondent.

[[Page 27859]]



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                                                                                  Estimated avg.
                                     Estimated       Responses     Total annual      number of       Estimated
           Respondent                number of     annually per      responses       hours per      total hours
                                    respondent      respondent                      response *
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                                                Reporting Burden
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Small Entity Application........            11.0             1.0            11.0             2.5            27.5
WIC Local Agency Application....           139.0             1.0           139.0             2.5           347.5
WIC State Agency Evaluation.....            89.0             2.0           178.0             1.5           267.0
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    Total Reporting Burden......           239.0             1.4           328.0             2.0           642.0
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* Estimated average # of hours per response includes .5 hours for reviewing instructions.


Tameka Owens,
Assistant Administrator, Food and Nutrition Service.
[FR Doc. 2023-09359 Filed 5-2-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-30-P