[Federal Register: October 17, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 200)]
[Notices]
[Page 58805-58806]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr17oc07-28]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request
The Department of Commerce will submit 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: 2008 Panel of the Survey of Income and Program
Participation, Core Questions and Wave 1 Topical Modules.
Form Number(s): SIPP 28105(L) Director's Letter; SIPP/CAPI
Automated
[[Page 58806]]
Instrument; and SIPP 28003 Reminder Card.
OMB Control Number: None.
Type of Request: New collection.
Burden Hours: 95,535.
Number of Respondents: 94,500.
Average Hours Per Response: 30 minutes.
Needs and Uses: The U.S. Census Bureau requests authorization from
the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to conduct the 2008 Panel of
the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP). This clearance
request is to accommodate the core instrument for the life of the 2008
Panel, the topical modules for the Wave 1 (February through May 2008)
interviews, and the reinterview instrument, which will be used during
the life of the 2008 Panel. The reinterview instrument will be used for
quality control analysis of data collected by the SIPP field
representatives (FRs).
The SIPP represents a source of information for a wide variety of
topics and allows information for separate topics to be integrated to
form a single and unified database so that the interaction between tax,
transfer, and other government and private policies can be examined.
Government domestic policy formulators depend heavily upon the SIPP
information concerning the distribution of income received directly as
money or indirectly as in-kind benefits and the effect of tax and
transfer programs on this distribution. They also need improved and
expanded data on the income and general economic and financial
situation of the U.S. population. The SIPP has provided these kinds of
data on a continuing basis since 1983, permitting levels of economic
well-being and changes in these levels to be measured over time.
The survey is molded around a central ``core'' of labor force and
income questions that remain fixed throughout the life of a panel. The
core is supplemented with questions designed to answer specific needs,
such as estimating eligibility for government programs, examining
pension and health care coverage, and analyzing individual net worth.
These supplemental questions are included with the core and are
referred to as ``topical modules.''
The topical modules for the 2008 Panel Wave 1 are Recipiency
History and Employment History. These topical modules were previously
conducted in the SIPP 2004 Panel Wave 1 instrument. The 2008 Panel Wave
1 interviews will be conducted beginning February 1, 2008 and
concluding on May 31, 2008.
The SIPP is designed as a continuing series of national panels of
interviewed households that are introduced every few years, with each
panel having durations of 3 to 4 years. The 2008 Panel is scheduled for
three years and will include nine waves, which will begin February 1,
2008. All household members 15 years old or over are interviewed using
regular proxy-respondent rules. They are interviewed a total of nine
times (nine waves), at 4-month intervals, making the SIPP a
longitudinal survey. Sample people (all household members present at
the time of the first interview) who move within the country and
reasonably close to a SIPP primary sampling unit (PSU) will be followed
and interviewed at their new address. Individuals 15 years old or over
who enter the household after Wave 1 will be interviewed; however, if
these people move, they are not followed unless they happen to move
along with a Wave 1 sample individual.
Data provided by the SIPP are being used by economic policymakers,
the Congress, state and local governments, and federal agencies that
administer social welfare or transfer payment programs, such as the
Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of
Agriculture.
The knowledge gained from these ``core'' items will be of limited
value without information about how the respondents reached their
status at the time of the Wave 1 interview. The core, therefore, is
also supplemented with questions designed to answer specific needs,
such as estimating eligibility for government programs, examining
pension and health care coverage, and analyzing financing of
postsecondary education. These supplemental questions are included with
the core and are referred to as ``topical modules.'' The questions in
these topical modules will help us reduce, if not eliminate, the
``left-censoring'' analysis problem that occurs in nearly all
longitudinal surveys and cited as a serious concern by our data users.
Left-censoring refers to the experiences of individuals (or other units
of longitudinal analysis) prior to the start of the longitudinal study
period.
The questions for these topical modules address major policy and
program concerns. Each component is intended to provide explanatory
data describing likely relationships between earlier life-course
experiences and current socioeconomic status. Personal history data,
when linked with data derived from the panel interviews, yield a
powerful set of explanatory indicators, which help analysts more fully
understand associations between social, demographic, and economic
events.
The following is a description of the topical modules for Wave 1
and their uses:
Recipiency History
The Recipiency History topical module will help determine if and
for how long people not currently receiving benefits from selected
programs received such aid. Data from these questions will measure the
extent to which individuals and households have depended on government
transfer programs and will help evaluate the effectiveness of the
programs.
Employment History
The Employment History topical module will enable us to analyze
individuals' past labor force patterns and relate them to their current
employment status and their degree of reliance on government programs.
Affected Public: Individuals or households.
Frequency: Every 4 months.
Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.
Legal Authority: Title 13 U.S.C. Section 182.
OMB Desk Officer: Brian Harris-Kojetin, (202) 395-7314.
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 Brian Harris-Kojetin, OMB Desk Officer either by fax (202-395-7245)
or e-mail (bharrisk@omb.eop.gov).
Dated: October 11, 2007.
Gwellnar Banks,
Management Analyst, Office of the Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. E7-20431 Filed 10-16-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-07-P