81 FR 3779 - Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
National Institute of Food and Agriculture

Federal Register Volume 81, Issue 14 (January 22, 2016)

[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 14 (Friday, January 22, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3779-3780]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2016-01262]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

National Institute of Food and Agriculture


Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

January 19, 2016.
    The Department of Agriculture has submitted the following 
information collection requirement(s) to OMB for review and clearance 
under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13. Comments 
are requested regarding (1) whether the collection of information is 
necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, 
including whether the information will have practical utility; (2) the 
accuracy of the agency's estimate of burden including the validity of 
the methodology and assumptions used; (3) ways to enhance the quality, 
utility and clarity of the information to be collected; and (4) 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 regarding this information collection received by February 
22, 2016 will be considered. Written comments should be addressed to: 
Desk Officer for Agriculture, Office of Information and Regulatory 
Affairs, Office of Management and Budget (OMB), New Executive Office 
Building, 725-17th Street NW., Washington, DC 20502. Commenters are 
encouraged to submit their comments to OMB via email to: 
[email protected] or fax (202) 395-5806 and to Departmental 
Clearance Office, USDA, OCIO, Mail Stop 7602, Washington, DC 20250-
7602. Copies of the submission(s) may be obtained by calling (202) 720-
8958.
    An agency may not conduct or sponsor a collection of information 
unless the collection of information displays a currently valid OMB 
control number and the agency informs potential persons who are to 
respond to the collection of information that such persons are not 
required to respond to the collection of information unless it displays 
a currently valid OMB control number.

National Institute of Food and Agriculture

    Title: Reporting Requirements for State Plans of Work for 
Agricultural Research and Extension Formula Funds.
    OMB Control Number: 0524-0036.
    Summary of Collection: Section 202 and 225 of the Agricultural 
Research, Extension, and Education Reform Act of 1998 (AREERA) which 
requires that a plan of work must be submitted by each institution and 
approved by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) 
before formula funds may be provided to the 1862 and 1890 land-grant 
institutions. The plan of work must address critical agricultural 
issues in the State and describe the programs and project targeted to 
address these issues using the NIFA formula funds. The plan of work 
also must describe the institution's multistate activities as well as 
their integrated research and extension activities.
    NIFA is requesting to continue to collect an update to the 5-Year 
Plan of Work which began with the Fiscal Year 2007, and as a result no 
longer needs to collect the initial 5-Year Plan. Also, as required by 
the Food Conservation and Energy Act of 2008 (FCEA) (Pub. L. 110-246, 
Sec. 7505), NIFA is working with the university partners in extension 
and research to review and identify measures to streamline the 
submission, reporting under, and implementation of plan of work 
requirements.
    Need and Use of the Information: Institutions are required to 
annually report to NIFA the following: (1) The actions taken to seek 
stakeholder input to encourage their participation; (2) a brief 
statement of the process used by the recipient institution to identify 
individuals or groups who are stakeholders and to collect input from 
them; and (3) a statement of how collected input was considered. NIFA 
uses the information to provide feedback to the institutions on their 
Plans of Work and Annual Reports of Accomplishments and Results in 
order for institutions to improve the conduct

[[Page 3780]]

and the delivery of their programs. Failure to comply with the 
requirements may result in the withholding of a recipient institution's 
formula funds and redistribution of its share of formula funds to other 
eligible institutions.
    Description of Respondents: Not-for-profit institutions; State, 
Local or Tribal Government.
    Number of Respondents: 75.
    Frequency of Responses: Reporting: Annually.
    Total Burden Hours: 49.

National Institute of Food and Agriculture

    Title: Children, Youth, and Families at Risk (CYFAR) Year End 
Report.
    OMB Control Number: 0524-0043.
    Summary of Collection: Funding for the Children, Youth, and 
Families at Risk (CYFAR) is authorized under section 3(d) of the Smith-
Lever Act (7 U.S.C. 341 et seq.), as amended and other relevant 
authorizing legislation, which provides jurisdictional basis for the 
establishment and operation of extension educational work for the 
benefit of youth and families in communities. The CYFAR funding program 
supports community-based programs serving children, youth, and families 
in at risk environments. CYFAR funds are intended to support the 
development of high quality, effective programs based on research and 
to document the impact of these programs on intended audiences which 
are children, youth, and families in at-risk environments.
    Need and Use of the Information: The purpose of the CYFAR Year End 
Report is to collect the demographic and impact data from each 
community site in order to evaluate the impact of the programs on 
intended audiences. Data from the CYFAR annual reports is used to 
refine and improve program focus and effectiveness. The CYFAR data is 
also used to respond to requests for impact information from Congress, 
the White House, and other Federal agencies. Without the information 
NIFA would not be able to verify if CYFAR programs are reaching at 
risk, low-income audiences.
    Description of Respondents: State, Local or Tribal Government.
    Number of Respondents: 51.
    Frequency of Responses: Reporting: Annually.
    Total Burden Hours: 16,422.

National Institute of Food and Agriculture

    Title: Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP).
    OMB Control Number: 0524-0044.
    Summary of Collection: The Department of Agriculture's National 
Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), Expanded Food and Nutrition 
Education Program (EFNEP) is a unique program that began in 1969 and is 
designed to reach limited resource audiences, especially youth and 
families with young children. EFNEP operates in all 50 states, the 
District of Columbia and in American Samoa, Guam, Micronesia, Northern 
Marianas, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. Extension professionals 
train and supervise paraprofessionals and volunteers who teach food and 
nutrition information and skills to limited resources families and 
youth.
    Need and Use of the Information: NIFA will collect information 
using Web-Based Nutrition Education Evaluation and Reporting System 
(WebNEERS), which is an integrated database system that stores 
information on: (1) Adult program participants, their family structure 
and dietary practices; (2) youth group participants; and (3) staff, 
NEERS consists of separate software sub-systems for the County and the 
State levels (State also refers to U.S. Territories). Without the 
information it would be extremely difficult for the national office to 
compare, assess, and analyze the effectiveness and the impact of EFNEP 
without the annual collection of data.
    Description of Respondents: State, Local or Tribal Government.
    Number of Respondents: 75.
    Frequency of Responses: Recordkeeping; Reporting: Annually.
    Total Burden Hours: 86,826.

Ruth Brown,
Departmental Information Collection Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. 2016-01262 Filed 1-21-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3410-09-P