[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 67 (Thursday, April 8, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17942-17943]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-8027]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT
[Docket No. FR-5382-N-05]
Notice of Proposed Information Collection for Public Comment on
the Quality Control for Rental Assistance Subsidy Determinations
AGENCY: Office of Policy Development and Research, HUD.
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The proposed information collection requirement described
below will be submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
for review, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act. The Department
is soliciting public comments on the subject proposal.
DATES: Comment Due Date: June 7, 2010.
ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments regarding
this proposal. Comments should refer to the proposal by name and/or OMB
Control Number and should be sent to: Reports Liaison Officer, Office
of Policy Development and Research, Department of Housing and Urban
Development, 451 7th Street, SW., Room 8234, Washington, DC 20410.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Yves Djoko, Economic Development
and Public Finance Division, Department of Housing and Urban
Development, 451 7th Street, SW., Room 8216, Washington, DC 20410;
telephone 202-402-5851 (not a toll-free number). Copies of the proposed
forms and other
[[Page 17943]]
available documents submitted to OMB may be obtained from Dr. Djoko.
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). The
Department is required by the Improper Payments Act of 2002 to submit
annual reports on improper payments associated with its assisted
housing programs. The information must meet statistical accuracy tests
and requires on-site file reviews and tenant interviews that cannot be
accomplished with remote monitoring or HUD data systems. 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 if 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 other
forms of information technology that will reduce respondent burden
(e.g., permitting electronic submission of responses).
Title of Proposal: Quality Control for Rental Assistance Subsidy
Determinations.
Description of the need for the information and proposed use: The
Department is conducting under contract a study to update its estimates
of the extent and type of errors associated with income, rent, and
subsidy determinations for the 4.3 million households covered by the
Public Housing and Section 8 housing subsidies. The Quality Control
process involves selecting a nationally representative sample of
assisted households to measure the extent and types of errors in rent
and income determinations, which in turn cause subsidy errors. On-site
tenant interviews, file reviews, third-party income verifications, and
income matching with other Federal data are conducted. The data
obtained are used to identify the most serious problems and their
associated costs. HUD program officers are then responsible for
designing and implementing corrective actions. In addition to providing
current estimates of error, results will be compared with those from
previous years' studies. These comparisons will indicate whether
corrective actions initiated since the 2000 study have been effective
and if changes in priorities are needed.
The first QC study was completed in 1996 and found that about one-
half of the errors measured using on-site tenant interviews and file
reviews could not be detected with the 50058/50059 from data collected
by the Department, which is why HUD and other agencies with means-
tested programs have determined that on-site reviews and interviews are
an essential complement to remote monitoring measures. The 2000 study
showed that the calculation errors detectable with 50058/50059 data had
decreased, probably because this information was increasingly subject
to automated computational checks. HUD has initiated a program of
corrective actions and increased monitoring since 2000 and recent
studies of tenant certification and recertification actions showed
significant error reductions in income and rent determinations.
Future studies are planned on an annual basis, as required by
legislation. Program monitoring and income matching policies being
implemented may eliminate the need for an independent, statistically
valid measure of program errors provided by the current study design,
but such procedures have yet to be fully implemented and evaluated. The
Improper Payments Act of 2002 requires that the Department report on
the error measurements annually. This proposed data collection approval
request is for studies to be conducted in 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014 of
prior year certification and recertification actions. These studies
will provide current information on the quality of tenant interviews
(e.g., whether they are being asked about all sources of income) and
the reliability of eligibility determinations and income verification.
Members of affected public: Recipients of Public Housing and
Section 8 Housing Assistance subsidies.
Estimation of the total number of hours needed to prepare the
information collection, including the number of respondents, frequency
of response, and hours of response: For each study, approximately 600
PHA/program sponsor staff will need to be asked about recertification
procedures, training, interview procedures, and problems encountered in
conducting (re)certifications. Although more than one staff member may
need to be contacted to obtain answers to all questions, the
questionnaire will be administered once at each participating project
and the total interview times are expected to be less than 40 minutes
per PHA or project. Researchers will survey approximately 2,400 program
participants to obtain information on household composition, expenses,
and income. The time required for these interviews will vary, but is
estimated to require an average of about 50 minutes per interview.
The time estimates provided are based on the 2009 QC survey. The
proposed surveys will continue to make use of Computer Assisted
Interviewing (CAI) questionnaires and equipment, which are being used
in part because they reduce interview times. The software also provides
for consistency check and ensures that all needed data have been
collected, thereby reducing the need for the follow-up contacts. Status
of the Proposed Information Collection: Pending OMB approval.
Status of the proposed information collection: Pending OMB
approval.
Authority: Section 3506 of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995,
44 U.S.C. Chapter 35, as amended.
Dated: April 1, 2010.
Raphael W. Bostic,
Assistant Secretary for Policy Development and Research, R.
[FR Doc. 2010-8027 Filed 4-7-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4210-67-P