80 FR 38427 - Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; Comment Request-Food Program and Reporting System (FPRS)

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Food and Nutrition Service

Federal Register Volume 80, Issue 128 (July 6, 2015)

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice invites the general public and other public agencies to comment on a proposed information collection, which is a revision of a currently approved form. The purpose of the Food and Programs Reporting System (FPRS) is to facilitate data gathering for the reporting of data for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and the Special Nutrition Programs. FPRS consolidated certain programmatic and financial data reporting requirements in an electronic reporting system and is the primary collection point for FNS program performance statistics and financial data from State agencies (SA), Indian Tribal Organizations (ITO), and U.S. Territories participating in the nutrition assistance programs.

[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 128 (Monday, July 6, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38427-38429]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2015-16476]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Food and Nutrition Service


Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; 
Comment Request--Food Program and Reporting System (FPRS)

AGENCY: Food and Nutrition Service (FNS), USDA.

ACTION: Notice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this 
notice invites the general public and other public agencies to comment 
on a proposed information collection, which is a revision of a 
currently approved form.
    The purpose of the Food and Programs Reporting System (FPRS) is to 
facilitate data gathering for the reporting of data for the 
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and the Special 
Nutrition Programs. FPRS consolidated certain programmatic and 
financial data reporting requirements in an electronic reporting system 
and is the primary collection point for FNS program performance 
statistics and financial data from State agencies (SA), Indian Tribal 
Organizations (ITO), and U.S. Territories participating in the 
nutrition assistance programs.

DATES: Written comments must be submitted on or before September 4, 
2015.

ADDRESSES: Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed 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 hours, 
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 
through the use of appropriate automated, electronic, mechanical or 
other technological collection techniques or other forms of information 
technology.
    Comments may be sent to Jane Duffield, Chief, State Administration 
Branch, Program Accountability and Administration Division, 
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, U.S. Department of 
Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service, 3101 Park Center Drive, Room 
818, Alexandria, VA 22302. Comments may also be submitted via fax to 
the attention of Jane Duffield at 703-605-0795, Room 824, or via email 
to [email protected]. Comments will also be accepted through the 
Federal eRulemaking Portal. Go to http://www.regulations.gov and follow 
the online instructions for submitting comments electronically.
    All written comments will be open for public inspection at the 
office of FNS during regular business hours (8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. 
Monday through Friday) at 3101 Park Center Drive, Room 824, Alexandria, 
Virginia 22302.
    All responses to this notice will be summarized and included in the 
request for the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval. All 
comments will also be a matter of public record.
    Contact for Further Information: Requests for additional 
information should be directed to Kelly Stewart at 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Title: Food Program and Reporting System.
    OMB Number: 0584-0594.
    Form Number and Name: FNS-366B--Program and Budget Summary 
Statement Part B--Program Activity Statement.
    Expiration Date: 06/30/2016.
    Type of Request: Revision of a currently approved information 
collection.
    Abstract: Section 16(a) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (the 
Act) authorizes 50 percent Federal reimbursement for State agency costs 
to administer the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). 
SNAP regulations at 7 CFR 272.2(a) require that State agencies plan and 
budget program operations and establish objectives for the next year. 
The basic components of the State Plan of Operation are the Federal/
State Agreement, the Budget Projection

[[Page 38428]]

Statement and the Program Activity Statement (Sec.  272.2(a)(2)). Under 
Sec.  272.2(c), the State agency shall submit to FNS for approval a 
Budget Projection Statement (which projects total Federal 
administrative costs for the upcoming fiscal year) and a Program 
Activity Statement (which provides program activity data for the 
preceding fiscal year). Currently, regulations at Sec.  272.2(e) 
require SA submit the Program Activity Statement, or form FNS-366B, to 
FNS no later than 45 days after the end of the State agency's fiscal 
year, which is typically August 15 for most States. Form FNS-366B is 
required to substantiate the costs the State agency expects to incur 
during the next fiscal year. It currently provides data on the number 
of SNAP applications the State agency processed, the number of fair 
hearings the State agency conducted, and the fraud control activities 
the State agency engaged. FNS uses the data to monitor State agency 
activity levels and performance.
    FNS National and Regional Office staff developed national 
standardized Management Evaluation (ME) protocols for both Recipient 
Integrity and Program Access. The ME process provides a comprehensive 
assessment of how effectively States are managing SNAP activities 
related to the topic area and an opportunity for communication between 
FNS and State agencies on those management areas. MEs provided FNS the 
proper channel to discuss with State and local officials ideas for 
improving form FNS-366B, particularly Section C. In August 2014, the 
U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) completed a study of FNS' 
oversight of State recipient fraud responsibilities (GAO-14-641, SNAP: 
Enhanced Detection Tools Could Improve Efforts to Combat Recipient 
Fraud). GAO concluded FNS' ability to monitor State anti-fraud 
activities and develop more effective anti-fraud strategies was 
hindered by the lack of consistency and reliability of State reported 
data on form FNS-366B. FNS published a Request for Information (RFI) in 
the Federal Register on October 16, 2014, (79 FR 62096) seeking State 
agency feedback on the usefulness of the data collected and the level 
of difficulty completing sections E and F of the form. FNS received 
responses from 17 State agencies and 1 National organization and the 
feedback was generally consistent.
    Based on the GAO report, RFI responses, and results of MEs 
completed to date, it is apparent that State reporting lacks 
consistency and form FNS-366B data elements and instructions are not 
clearly defined. Due to the lack of clarity in these instructions, 
responses are left open to varying interpretation, among States, 
leading to unreliable reported data. Form FNS-366B lacks certain data 
elements that would increase its usefulness by providing more accurate 
information from State agencies on SNAP application timeliness, and on 
the types and impacts of fraud prevention activities in use. The 
revision of this form will improve reliability and accuracy of State 
reporting by adding, removing, and revising data elements related to 
application processing, fraud investigations, administrative 
disqualification hearings and prosecutions. By collecting more accurate 
and useful data SNAP can target technical assistance to those State 
agencies that need the most significant improvements to their 
application and recipient integrity processes. The changes to each 
section of form FNS-366B are specified below. Revisions were made to 
the form instructions for all revised sections to reflect the new and 
revised data elements. The revised form is available for review with 
this docket on www.Regulations.gov, in Supporting Documents.
    Section C.--Certifications: The current form collects information 
on the approval and denial of initial applications, recertifications, 
and expedited service. Recent reviews indicate the data reported by 
States in section C of form FNS-366B are inaccurate and therefore, 
unreliable. In 2014, FNS introduced a new warning process for States 
with poor application processing timeliness. FNS has identified 
inconsistencies between State data received under the warning process 
and data reported on form FNS-366B. In addition, FNS has identified 
that State backlogs of initial and recertification applications are an 
indicator that poor program compliance is adversely affecting program 
access. Updating form FNS-366B instructions to clarify requested data 
elements and to include data on overdue applications will assist FNS in 
monitoring State application timeliness performance. To improve 
reporting accuracy and usefulness, revisions to form FNS-366B in 
Section C include:
    (1) Addition of the words ``Approved and Denied'' in header row (C) 
Total in section C, Certifications.
    (2) Addition of new column D with subset columns D(1)--D(4), under 
the header ``Approved Overdue Applications'' in section C, 
Certifications.
    a. New column D will collect the counts of overdue applications for 
``Initial Applications'' (line 1), ``Recertifications'' (line 2), and 
``Total'' (line 3) broken out by ``1-30 days'' (Column D(1)), ``31-60 
days'' (Column D(2)), ``61-90 days'' (Column D(3)), and ``Over 91 
days'' (Column D(4)).
    Section D--Fair Hearings: There are no changes to this section. 
Section D collects data on the number of fair hearings requested and 
held, as well as the outcomes of those fair hearings.
    Sections E-G--Fraud Activity: Information currently collected on 
this form includes the total number of fraud referrals, investigations, 
prosecutions, disqualification consent agreements (DCA), administrative 
disqualification hearings (ADH), and ADH waivers for the reporting 
fiscal year. This form further collects data on program dollars 
associated with pre-certification and post-certification fraud 
investigations, as well as program dollars that may be recovered when a 
disqualification is established. Form FNS-366B lacks certain data 
elements that would increase its usefulness and provide more accurate 
information on the types and impacts of State fraud prevention 
activities. In the revised form FNS has replaced insufficient data 
elements with new reporting elements that better measure the 
effectiveness and impact of fraud prevention activities, such as those 
focusing on SNAP recipient benefit trafficking investigations and 
disqualifications, allowing FNS to better focus fraud prevention and 
detection strategies where needed. FNS has also added operational 
efficiency and cost avoidance measures to quantify a return on 
investment from fraud control activities. To improve reporting accuracy 
and usefulness, revisions to form FNS-366B in Sections E-G include:
    Section E.--Fraud Investigations:
    (1) Removed requirement to separate investigations by ``Pre-
certification'' (line 1) and ``Post-certification'' (line 2) and 
replaced with requirement to separate investigations by ``Eligibility 
Fraud'' (line 1) and ``Trafficking'' (line 2)
    (2) Removed ``Referred for Invest.'' (column a)
    (3) Changed ``Invest Completed--Negative'' (column b) to 
``Completed, Individual Not Referred for ADH or Prosecution''
    a. To collect data on whether investigations not resulting in a 
fraud Intentional Program Violation (IPV) did result in an overissuance 
claim due to an Inadvertent Household Error (IHE), sub-columns were 
added in this section for: ``(1) No IHE established'', ``(2) IHE 
Established'', and ``(3) $ IHE Established''

[[Page 38429]]

    (4) Changed ``Invest Completed--Positive'' (column c) to 
``Completed, Individual Referred for ADH or Prosecution'' (shifted to 
column a)
    (5) Removed ``Program Dollars'' (column d) and ``Invest Cancelled'' 
(column f)
    (6) Changed ``Invest Pending'' (column e) to ``Open Investigations, 
Individuals'' (shifted to column c)
    (7) To collect data on operational efficiency, added ``Average # of 
Days per Investigation'' (column d), ``Investigation Costs'' (column 
e), and ``Investigation FTE'' (column f)
    Section F.--Administrative Disqualification Hearings:
    (1) Split Section F on current form into sections F and G on 
revised form. Section F now collects data on Administrative 
Disqualification Hearings (ADH) only.
    (2) Removed ``Cases (Persons) Referred'' (column a)
    (3) Changed ``Upheld Convictions'' (column d) to ``ADH Completed, 
Individual Disqualified'' (shifted to column a)
    (4) Changed ``Waivers'' (column c) to ``Waiver Signed, Individual 
Disqualified'' (shifted to column b)
    (5) Changed ``Actually Acquitted'' (column e) to ``ADH Completed, 
Individual Not Disqualified'' (shifted to column c)
    (6) To collect data on operational efficiency, added ``Average # of 
Days from Referral to Disqualification'' (column d)
    (7) Changed ``Program Dollars'' (shifted to column e) to include 
``Amount Subject to Claim'' (e1) and ``Cost Savings'' (e2)
    (8) Removed ``Pending Decisions'' (column g)
    (9) To capture cases referred for ADH, but awaiting action by the 
State agency, added ``Referred Individuals Awaiting Scheduling'' 
(column f)
    a. To collect data on the number of days cases await ADH 
scheduling, sub-columns were added in this section for: ``(1) 0-180 
Days'', ``(2) 181-365 Days'', and ``(3) 366+ Days''.
    (10) Shifted ``Decisions Overdue'' to column g
    Section G.--Prosecutions:
    (1) Split Section F on current form into sections F and G on 
revised form. Section G proposes to collect data on Prosecutions only.
    (2) Removed ``Cases (Persons) Referred'' (column a)
    (3) Changed ``Upheld Convictions'' (column d) to ``Prosecution 
Completed, Individual Disqualified'' (shifted to column a)
    (4) Changed ``Waivers'' (column c) to ``DCA Signed, Individual 
Disqualified'' (shifted to column b)
    (5) Changed ``Actually Acquitted'' (column e) to ``Prosecution 
Completed, Individual Not Disqualified'' (shifted to column c)
    (6) To collect data on operational efficiency, added ``Average # 
Days from Referral to Disqualification'' (column d)
    (7) Changed ``Program Dollars'' (shifted to column e) to include 
``Amount Subject to Claim'' (e1) and ``Cost Savings'' (e2)
    (8) Removed ``Pending Decisions'' (column g)
    (9) To capture cases referred to the prosecuting agency, but 
awaiting action, added ``Referred Individuals, No Action by 
Prosecutor'' (column f)
    a. To collect data on the status of cases awaiting action, sub-
columns were added in this section for: ``(1) 366+ Days'' and ``(2) 
Reclaimed for ADH''.
    Section H.--Remarks:
    (1) Added remarks section (Section H) to allow space for State 
agencies to provide any additional information necessary to support 
data reported on the FNS-366B.
    The current burden for FNS 366 B is 950.29 hours. As a result of 
these revisions, there is an anticipated burden of 1,855, an increase 
of 904.71 hours for form FNS-366B. As this is a revision to form FNS-
366B within the FPRS system, the total FPRS burden is summarized below.

Reporting Burden Estimates

    Form FNS-366B. Fifty-three (53) SA submit 1 response annually for a 
total of 53 annual responses. The annual reporting burden for form FNS-
366B report is 35 hours per respondent to complete the form. The 
reporting burden for form FNS-366B alone is 1,855 hours (53SA x 1 
annual report = 53 total annual responses x 35 hours per response = 
1,855). There are recordkeeping burdens which are maintained in a 
separated OMB Control No.: 0584-0083, Expiration Date: 4/30/2017. As 
this is a revision to the reporting burden estimates for form FNS-366B 
within the FPRS system, the total FPRS burden is summarized below.
    Affected Public: State, Local and Tribal Government Agencies.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 3,266.
    Number of Responses per Respondent: 7.3.
    Estimated Total Annual Responses: 23,789.
    Hours per Response: 3.7.
    Total Annual Burden Hours: 87,716.

    Dated: June 25, 2015.
Jeffrey J. Tribiano,
Acting Administrator, Food and Nutrition Service.
[FR Doc. 2015-16476 Filed 7-2-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3410-34-P