[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 241 (Thursday, December 16, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 78673-78674]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-31550]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Food and Nutrition Service
Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection;
Comment Request--Study To Assess the Effect of Supplemental Nutrition
Assistance Program (SNAP) Participation on Food Security in the Post-
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) Environment
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 collection. This is a new collection for the contract
Assessing the Effect of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
(SNAP) Participation on Food Security in the Post-American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act (ARRA) Environment.
DATES: Written comments must be received on or before February 14,
2011.
ADDRESSES: Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed data
collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of
the functions of the agency, including whether the information has
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 the use of
appropriate automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological
collection techniques or other forms of information technology.
Comments may be sent to: Steven Carlson, Director, Office of
Research and Analysis, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and
Nutrition Service, 3101 Park Center Drive, Room 1014, Alexandria, VA
22302. Comments may also be submitted via fax to the attention of
Steven Carlson at 703-305-2576 or via e-mail to
[email protected]. Comments will also be accepted through the
Federal eRulemaking Portal. Go to http://www.regulations.gov and follow
the online instruction for submitting comments electronically.
All written comments will be open for public inspection at the
office of the Food and Nutrition Service during regular business hours
(8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday) at Room 1014, 3101 Park
Center Drive, Alexandria, Virginia 22302.
All responses to this notice will be summarized and included in the
request for Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval. All
comments will also be a matter of public record.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information
should be directed to Steven Carlson on 703-305-2017.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Title: Study To Assess the Effect of Supplemental Nutrition
Assistance Program (SNAP) Participation on Food Security in the Post-
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) Environment.
OMB Number: [0584-NEW.]
Expiration Date: [Not Yet Assigned.]
Type of Request: New collection.
Abstract: The Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) administers the food
and nutrition assistance programs in the U.S. Department of
Agriculture. SNAP, the new name of the Food Stamp Program, remains the
cornerstone of the Nation's nutrition assistance safety net. SNAP
provides nutrition assistance benefits and nutrition education services
to low-income individuals and families in an effort to reduce hunger
and improve the health and well-being of low-income people and
families.
The implementation of ARRA presents a unique opportunity to measure
the impact of increased benefits on food insecurity. For decades,
policy makers, advocates, and those implementing the program have
hypothesized that increasing benefit amounts would reduce food
insecurity and, perhaps, draw more individuals into the program who may
have been reticent to apply. The ARRA increases the maximum allotments
of SNAP participants by 13.6 percent, eases eligibility requirements
for childless adults without jobs, and provides additional funding to
State agencies responsible for administering the program. The natural
experiment offered by the ARRA's benefit increase will be used to
measure its impact on reducing food insecurity and hunger. This
collection notice pertains to this effort, The Study To Assess the
Effect of SNAP Participation on Food Security in the Post-American
Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) Environment, which is funded by
the FNS to determine whether and to what extent food insecurity
declines with SNAP participation in a post-ARRA environment.
The study has several objectives: (1) Determine how, if at all, the
prevalence of household food insecurity and amount of food expenditures
vary with SNAP participation; (2) determine how, if at all, the
observed results vary by key household characteristics and
circumstances; and (3) determine what factors distinguish between food
secure and food insecure SNAP households with children.
To meet the first two objectives, FNS will collect information from
two representative samples: One from new SNAP households and one from
SNAP households who in their current spell have participated in the
program 6-7 months. The new SNAP households will be interviewed twice--
first, the baseline survey will occur soon after they have been
approved to receive benefits and the second, the follow-up survey, will
occur approximately 6-7 months later for those new entrants who
continue to participate in the SNAP program.
Among households participating in SNAP at the time of the baseline
survey, samples of new entrants and ongoing participants will be chosen
for individual in-depth in-person interviews. The purpose of these
interviews is to supplement the quantitative analysis of the household
interview data by developing tentative generalizations and hypotheses
about the causes and results of food insecurity.
SNAP participants from 30 states will be sampled via a two-stage
sampling process where the states are the first stage and sampled with
probability proportional to size based on the number of SNAP
participant households in each state. Within the selected states that
agree to participate, SNAP participants will be randomly sampled. To
ensure sufficient sample for the follow-up interviews, an oversample
will be drawn of the new SNAP households for the baseline survey.
Affected Public: Individuals/Household.
Type of Respondents: SNAP Participants.
Estimated Number of Respondents: Out of the estimated 17,100
individuals initially sampled, 1,710 will not be contacted due to
invalid or incomplete contact information. The remaining 15,390
individuals in a total of 30 states are expected to be contacted (see
table below). Of those, 3,770 will refuse or be determined to be
ineligible.
Estimated Number of Responses per Respondent: 1 to 2 responses.
7,529 respondents will have participated in
[[Page 78674]]
only one interview. 4,001 respondents will have participated in both a
baseline and follow-up interview. 90 respondents will have participated
in both a baseline and an in-depth interview.
Estimated Time per Respondent: The estimated time per response
varies from 5 minutes to 2 hours. The baseline and follow-up interviews
will each average 0.50 hours (30 minutes). The in-depth interviews will
average 1.50 hours (90 minutes). Therefore, among those who complete
both a baseline and a follow-up interview, the burden estimate is 1
hour. For those who complete a baseline interview and an in-depth
interview, the burden estimate is 2 hours. For all persons who decline
to participate in the interview, the burden estimate is 0.08 hours (5
minutes) and includes the respondent's time to be screened in a brief
call (see table below).
Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: 8,247.1 hours. This
includes interviewing hours for the baseline telephone survey, the in-
depth in-person interviews and the follow-up telephone survey. See the
table below for estimated total annual burden for each type of
respondent by type of interview.
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Estimated Estimated
number of Responses Total annual average number Estimated
Respondent type Instrument/s respondents annually per responses of hours per total hours
\1\ respondent response
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New Entrants.............................. Baseline only............... 3572 1 3572 0.50 1786.0
Baseline & Follow-Up........ 4001 2 8002 0.50 4001.0
Baseline & In-depth......... 45 2 90 \2\ 1.0 90.0
Refuse/Ineligible........... 2282 1 2282 0.08 182.6
Current SNAP Participants................. Baseline only............... 3957 1 3957 0.50 1978.5
Baseline & In-depth......... 45 2 90 \2\ 1.0 90.0
Refuse/Ineligible........... 1488 1 1488 0.08 119.0
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Total................................. ............................ 15,390 .............. 19,481 .............. 8,247.1
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\1\ Assumes 10 percent of the full sample (1,100 of new entrants and 610 of current SNAP participants) will not be contacted due to invalid or
incomplete contact information.
\2\ Average of 1.5 hours for the in-depth interview and 0.5 hours for the baseline interview.
Dated: December 8, 2010.
Julia Paradis,
Administrator, Food and Nutrition Service.
[FR Doc. 2010-31550 Filed 12-15-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-30-P