[Federal Register: August 24, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 163)]
[Notices]
[Page 49556]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr24au05-28]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request
DOC has submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for
clearance the following proposal for collection of information under
the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. chapter 35).
Agency: U.S. Census Bureau.
Title: 2006 Census Test.
Form Number(s): DD-1, DD-1(E/S), DD-A(RQ), DD-1(E), DD-1(E)SUPP,
DD-1(E)R, DD-20, D-20(S).
Agency Approval Number: None.
Type of Request: New collection.
Burden: 37,808 hours.
Number of Respondents: 239,890.
Avg Hours Per Response: Households and reinterview--10 minutes;
Persons in Gqs and reinterview--5 minutes.
Needs and Uses: The U.S. Census Bureau requests authorization from
the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to collect data from the
public as part of the 2006 Census Test. The 2006 Census Test is one of
a number of tests planned to improve the 2010 Census.
Census 2000 was an operational and data quality success. However,
that success was achieved at great operational risk and great expense.
In response to the lessons learned from Census 2000, and in striving to
better meet our Nation's ever-expanding needs for social, demographic,
and geographic information, the U.S. Department of Commerce and the
Census Bureau have developed a multi-year effort to completely
modernize and re-engineer the 2010 Census of Population and Housing.
In order to meet our constitutional and legislative mandates, we
must implement a re-engineered 2010 Census that is cost-effective,
improves coverage, and reduces operational risk. Achieving this
strategic goal requires an iterative series of tests that will provide
an opportunity to evaluate new or improved question wording,
methodology, technology, and questionnaire design. The 2006 Census Test
is part of this testing cycle, which has been planned to allow us to
finalize methodologies and operational procedures in time to conduct a
Dress Rehearsal in 2008 and a successful census in 2010.
The 2006 Census Test draws heavily on the results of the 2004
Census Test, a site test that we conducted to examine the feasibility
of collecting personal information during Non Response Followup (NRFU)
using Hand Held Computers (HHCs). The 2004 Census Test was the first
large-scale test of a HHC in census-like conditions. The 2004 Census
Test also studied new methods to improve coverage, including procedures
for reducing duplication, and tested respondent reaction to revised
race and Hispanic origin questions, examples, and instructions.
The 2006 Census Test is a site test that includes a replacement
questionnaire (in the mailout/mailback site), a NRFU component, an
enumeration of group quarters (GQs), and an update/enumerate operation
that includes activities planned to increase response rates on an
American Indian Reservation. Like the other tests leading up to the
2010 Census, this test is designed to evaluate new methods and systems
intended to improve accuracy, reduce risks, and/or contain costs. In
conjunction with the results of cognitive tests, focus groups, the 2003
National Census Test, the 2004 Census Test, and the 2005 National
Census Test, the 2006 Census Test will help us develop the optimal data
collection methodology for the 2010 Census.
There are two test sites for the 2006 Census Test--selected census
tracts in Travis County, Texas, and the Cheyenne River American Indian
Reservation and Off-Reservation Trust Land in South Dakota.
Affected Public: Individuals or households; Business or other for-
profit; Not-for-profit institutions; State, local, or Tribal
government.
Frequency: One time.
Respondent's Obligation: Mandatory.
Legal Authority: Title 13, U.S.C., Sections 141 and 193.
OMB Desk Officer: Susan Schechter, (202) 395-5103.
Copies of the above information collection proposal can be obtained
by calling or writing Diana Hynek, Departmental Paperwork Clearance
Officer, (202) 482-0266, Department of Commerce, room 6625, 14th and
Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20230 (or via the Internet at
dhynek@doc.gov).
Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information
collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of this notice
to Susan Schechter, OMB Desk Officer either by fax (202-395-7245) or e-
mail (susan_schechter@omb.eop.gov).
Dated: August 19, 2005.
Madeleine Clayton,
Management Analyst, Office of the Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 05-16831 Filed 8-23-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-07-P