[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 248 (Tuesday, December 28, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 81634-81635]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-32684]
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DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT
[Docket No. FR-5376-N-127]
Notice of Submission of Proposed Information Collection to OMB;
Emergency Comment Request; Housing Choice Voucher Program
Administrative Fee Study Notice of Proposed Information Collection for
Public Comment
AGENCY: Office of the Chief Information Officer, HUD.
ACTION: Notice of proposed information collection.
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SUMMARY: The proposed information collection requirement described
below has been submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
for emergency review and approval, as required by the Paperwork
Reduction Act. The Department is soliciting public comments on the
subject proposal.
This request is for the clearance of on-site data collection from
public housing agencies (PHAs). The proposed data collection has three
purposes: (1) To identify a sample of PHAs that are verified to be
operating high-performing and efficient HCV programs, (2) to test
alternative methods of measuring time spent on administrative functions
in the HCV program, and (3) to collect information on the factors that
affect administrative costs in the HCV program. The proposed data
collection will take place through site visits to 60 PHAs and will
include interviews with PHA staff, interviews with program partners,
and reviews of client files and administrative data collected by the
PHA, included documentation related to the HCV program budget. In
addition, at 5 of the 60 sites the research team will beta-test three
alternative methods of collecting data on PHA staff time spent on the
range of activities required to administer the HCV program. The results
of the site visits and beta-tests will be used to develop the research
design, sampling approach, and data collection instruments for a
national study of the costs of administering the HCV program based on
direct measurement of staff and other program costs among a sample of
high-performing HCV programs. The results of this national study--for
which separate OMB clearance will be sought--will be used to estimate
administrative fees and develop a new administrative fee allocation
formula for the HCV program.
DATES: Comments Due Date: January 27, 2011.
ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments regarding
this proposal. Comments must be received within thirty (30) days from
the date of this Notice. Comments should refer to the proposal by name/
or OMB approval number (2528-Housing Choice Voucher Program
Administrative Fee Study) and should be sent to: Ross A. Rutledge, HUD
Desk Officer, Office of Management and Budget, New Executive Office
Building, Washington, DC 20503; e-mail: [email protected];
Fax: 202-395-3086.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Colette Pollard, Departmental Reports
Management Officer, QDAM, Department of Housing and Urban Development,
451 7th Street, SW., Washington, DC 20410; e-mail
[email protected]; telephone (202) 402-3400. This is not a toll-
free number. Copies of available documents submitted to OMB may be
obtained from Ms. Pollard.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Department will submit the proposed
information collection to OMB for review, as required by the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. chapter 35, as amended). This Notice
is soliciting comments from members of the public and affected agencies
concerning the proposed collection of information to: (1) Evaluate
whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the
proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether
the information will have practical utility; (2) Evaluate the accuracy
of the agency's estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of
information; (3) Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the
information to be collected; and (4) Minimize the burden of the
collection of information on those who are to respond, including
through the use of appropriate automated collection techniques or
[[Page 81635]]
other forms of information technology (e.g., permitting electronic
submission of responses).
This Notice also lists the following information:
Title of Proposal: Housing Choice Voucher Program Administrative
Fee Study.
Description of Information Collection: This request is for the
clearance of on-site data collection from public housing agencies
(PHAs). The proposed data collection has three purposes: (1) To
identify a sample of PHAs that are verified to be operating high-
performing and efficient HCV programs, (2) to test alternative methods
of measuring time spent on administrative functions in the HCV program,
and (3) to collect information on the factors that affect
administrative costs in the HCV program. The proposed data collection
will take place through site visits to 60 PHAs and will include
interviews with PHA staff, interviews with program partners, and
reviews of client files and administrative data collected by the PHA,
included documentation related to the HCV program budget. In addition,
at 5 of the 60 sites the research team will beta-test three alternative
methods of collecting data on PHA staff time spent on the range of
activities required to administer the HCV program. The results of the
site visits and beta-tests will be used to develop the research design,
sampling approach, and data collection instruments for a national study
of the costs of administering the HCV program based on direct
measurement of staff and other program costs among a sample of high-
performing HCV programs. The results of this national study--for which
separate OMB clearance will be sought--will be used to estimate
administrative fees and develop a new administrative fee allocation
formula for the HCV program.
OMB Control Number: 2528-NEW.
Agency Form Numbers: None.
Members of Affected Public: Up to 375 public housing agency staff
persons (an average of 5 staff members at each of the 60 sites, plus up
to 15 staff members at the 5 beta-test sites) and up to 180 staff from
partner organizations (an average of 3 representatives of partner
organizations at each of the 60 sites).
Estimation of the total numbers of hours needed to prepare the
information collection including number of respondents, frequency of
responses, and hours of response: The average time for a PHA staff
person to complete the interview is 1.5 hours. Up to 5 PHA staff will
be interviewed per site, for a maximum estimated burden for the PHA
staff interviews of 600 hours (300 people times 2 hours per person). In
addition, up to 3 representatives of program partners will be
interviewed per site, for a maximum estimated burden for the program
partner interviews of 180 hours (180 people times 1 hour per person).
Finally, at the 5 beta-test sites, up to 15 PHA staff will spend up to
20 minutes per day for 5 days documenting time spent on various
activities related to voucher program administration, for a maximum
estimated staff burden of 127.5 hours (75 people times 1.7 hours per
person). These same staff will also participate in 1 hour of training
related to the beta-test data collection, for a maximum staff burden of
75 hours (75 staff times 1 hour per person). The total estimated burden
across the three data collection activities for the study is 980 hours.
Authority: The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 44 U.S.C.
chapter 35, as amended.
Dated: December 21, 2010.
Colette Pollard,
Departmental Reports Management Officer, Office of the Chief
Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 2010-32684 Filed 12-27-10; 8:45 am]
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