[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 66 (Thursday, April 4, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23539-23545]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-07164]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Food and Nutrition Service


Agency Information Collection Activities, Proposed Collection: 
Request for Comments on Evaluating the Interview Requirement for 
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Certification Study

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 is a new information 
collection for the contract of the study titled ``Evaluating the 
Interview Requirement for SNAP Certification.'' The purpose of this 
collection is to help FNS describe the effects of waiving the interview 
requirement, including SNAP agency processes and staff experiences with 
implementing the no-interview demonstration, analyzing the differences 
in outcomes for SNAP applicants and recipients, and identifying key 
lessons to inform future policy or implementation.

DATES: Written comments must be received on or before June 3, 2024.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be mailed to Amanda Wyant, Food and Nutrition 
Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1320 Braddock Place, 5th 
Floor, Alexandria, VA 22314. Comments may also be submitted 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 or 
copies of this information collection should be directed to Amanda 
Wyant at 703-305-7537.

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: Evaluating the Interview Requirement for SNAP Certification 
Study.
    Form Number: N/A.
    OMB Number: 0584-NEW.
    Expiration Date: Not yet determined.
    Type of Request: New collection.
    Abstract: The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is 
the foundation of the nation's nutrition assistance safety net and is a 
core source of support to millions of Americans, particularly during 
economic downturns. To help States handle increased need and 
participation amid the health risks of the pandemic, the Food and 
Nutrition Service (FNS) offered States a range of flexibilities which 
provided support to States administering the program and clients in the 
application process, including the option to waive the certification 
and recertification interview requirement. This allowed States to 
continue administering SNAP during the public health emergency with 
minimal client contact. FNS required States that waived the interview 
requirement to document their experiences processing cases without the 
interview. However, more rigorous evidence is needed to confidently 
understand the effects of waiving the interview requirement.
    The Evaluating the Interview Requirement for SNAP Certification 
study will collect information in five States to assess how eliminating 
interviews affects outcomes, including administrative efficiency, 
costs, benefit accuracy, and client access. The project

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will include a randomized control trial (RCT) to analyze the impacts of 
outcomes between those clients assigned to receive an interview (the 
regular interview process group) and those assigned to not receive an 
interview (the no-interview group). The project will also include 
collection of administrative and quality control data, as well as 
qualitative information. The qualitative data collection will include 
virtual site visits and observations, a workflow analysis, and a time-
use study. During the site visits, the team will conduct interviews 
with staff involved with all stages of certification and 
recertification processes. Site visitors will observe verification 
calls between eligibility workers and no-interview SNAP applicants to 
collect information about whether staff carry out policies and 
procedures as intended. The workflow analysis will involve small group 
interviews with State and local staff and will support the assessment 
of the changes required when implementing the no-interview 
demonstration and the possible challenges. Finally, the study will 
include a staff time-use survey to determine whether application 
processing requires more or less time for workers when there is an 
interview compared to when there is not.
    Affected public. Members of the public affected by the data 
collection include State and local government workers from SNAP 
agencies in five States, as well as staff at not-for-profit 
organizations, and individuals who apply for or participate in SNAP. 
Respondent groups identified include (1) State SNAP directors, (2) 
State SNAP policy directors, (3) State SNAP field operations managers, 
(4) State data systems staff, (5) State quality control (QC) staff, (6) 
local SNAP directors, (7) local SNAP office supervisors, (8) 
eligibility workers, (9) customer service staff, (10) community based 
organizations (CBOs) and advocates, and (11) SNAP applicants and 
participants.
    Estimated number of respondents. The total estimated number of 
unique respondents--which includes everyone contacted for data 
collection regardless of whether they participate--is 494. This 
includes up to 65 individuals/households, 409 State and local 
government staff, and 20 community based organization staff or 
advocates. The study team will contact 65 individuals/households, out 
of which 50 SNAP applicants or participants will participate in an 
observation and 15 SNAP applicants or participants will be considered 
nonrespondents. The study team will contact 63 State SNAP agency staff, 
which includes SNAP directors, SNAP policy directors, State SNAP field 
operations managers, State data systems staff, and State QC staff. The 
study team will contact 67 local agency directors/supervisors, out of 
which 20 will be considered nonrespondents. The study team will contact 
279 local agency direct service staff, out of which 80 will be 
considered nonrespondents. Fifteen of the State directors will provide 
administrative data. The study team will contact 20 community based 
organizations or advocates for virtual interviews.
    Respondents will participate in multiple activities as follows:

 5 State SNAP directors (one from each State will participate 
in the interviews and workflow analysis)
 5 State SNAP policy directors (one from each State will 
participate in the interviews, document review and workflow analysis)
 20 State field operations managers (four from each State will 
participate in the interviews and workflow analysis)
 15 State data systems staff (three from each State will 
participate in the interviews, workflow analysis, and administrative 
data collection)
 15 Local SNAP directors (three from each State will 
participate in the interviews and work flow analysis)
 30 Local SNAP office supervisors (6 from each State will 
participate in the time-use survey, workflow analysis, and/or the 
interviews)
 135 Eligibility workers (27 from each State will participate 
in the time-use survey, observations, workflow analysis, and/or 
interviews. Eligibility workers could participate in one or multiple 
activities in the study. Amongst the 135 eligibility workers, 90 will 
have participated in the time-use survey, 50 will have participated in 
the observations, 45 will have participated in the interviews, and 30 
will have participated in the workflow analysis)
 60 customer service staff (12 from each State will participate 
in the time-use survey, workflow analysis, and/or the interviews. 
Customer service staff could participate in the time-use survey and the 
interviews or the interviews and observations or only one of these 
activities. Amongst the 60 customer service staff, 30 will have 
participated in the time-use survey, 30 will have participated in the 
workflow analysis, and 30 will have participated in the interviews)

    The 15 State QC staff will participate in the interviews. Before 
the start of data collection in one non-study State, we will pretest 
the semi-structured interview guide with one State SNAP director, one 
State SNAP policy director, one State data system staff, one Local SNAP 
director, one eligibility worker, and one customer service staff 
member. We also will pretest the time-use survey with one eligibility 
worker, one customer service staff, and one Local SNAP office 
supervisor.
    Estimated number of responses per respondent. Across all 494 unique 
respondents (379 respondents and 115 non-respondents) and 3,159 annual 
responses, the average number of responses is 6.39.
    Estimated total annual responses. 3,159.
    Estimated time per response. The time per all respondent/non-
respondent group was used to determine the annual frequency estimates. 
The estimated time per response varies from 0.0835 hours for activities 
related to reading email reminders for the time-use survey to 24 hours 
for State data systems staff to provide administrative data. The 
response time will vary depending on the respondent group, with an 
average estimated time of 105 minutes (1.75 hours).
    Estimated total annual burden on respondents. The total estimated 
annual burden on respondents is 108,300 minutes (1,805 hours).
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Tameka Owens,
Assistant Administrator, Food and Nutrition Service.
[FR Doc. 2024-07164 Filed 4-3-24; 8:45 am]
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