83 FR 52189 - Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; The American Community Survey

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Census Bureau

Federal Register Volume 83, Issue 200 (October 16, 2018)

Page Range		52189-52190
FR Document		2018-22443

The Department of Commerce, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

Federal Register, Volume 83 Issue 200 (Tuesday, October 16, 2018)

[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 200 (Tuesday, October 16, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 52189-52190]
From the Federal Register Online [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2018-22443]

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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Census Bureau

Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; The American
Community Survey

AGENCY: U.S. Census Bureau, Commerce.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce, as part of its continuing effort
to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public
and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on
proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

DATES: To ensure consideration, written comments must be submitted on
or before December 17, 2018.

ADDRESSES: Please direct all written comments to Jennifer Jessup,
Departmental Paperwork Clearance Officer, Department of Commerce, Room
6616, 14th and Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230 (or via the
internet at docpra@doc.gov). You may also submit comments, identified
by Docket number USBC-2018-0014 to the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal:
http://www.regulations.gov. All comments received are part of the
public record. No comments will be posted to http://www.regulations.gov
for public viewing until after the comment period has closed. Comments
will generally be posted without change. All Personally Identifiable
Information (for example, name and address) voluntarily submitted by
the commenter may be publicly accessible. Do not submit Confidential
Business Information or otherwise sensitive or protected information.
You may submit attachments to electronic comments in Microsoft Word,
Excel, WordPerfect, or Adobe PDF file formats only.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or
copies of the information collection instrument(s) and instructions
should be directed to Robin A. Pennington, Rm. 2H465, U.S. Census
Bureau, Decennial Census Management Division, Washington, DC 20233 or
via email to Robin.A.Pennington@census.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

Since its founding, the U.S. Census Bureau has balanced the demands
of a growing country for information about its people and economy, with
concerns for respondents' privacy and the time and effort it takes
respondents to answer questions. Beginning with the 1810 Census,
Congress added questions to support a range of public concerns and
uses, and over the course of a century, federal agencies requested to
add questions about agriculture, industry, and commerce, as well as
individuals' occupation, ancestry, marital status, disabilities, place
of birth and other topics. In 1940, the U.S. Census Bureau introduced
the long-form census in order to ask more detailed questions to only a
sample of the public.
In the early 1990s, the demand for current, nationally consistent
data from a wide variety of users led federal government policymakers
to consider the feasibility of collecting social, economic, and housing
data continuously throughout the decade. The benefits of providing
current data, along with the anticipated decennial census benefits in
cost savings, planning, improved census coverage, and more efficient
operations, led the U.S. Census Bureau to plan the implementation of
the continuous measurement survey, later called the American Community
Survey (ACS). After years of testing the ACS, which is the current
embodiment of the long form of the decennial census, the survey
launched in 2005. Each year a sample of approximately 3.5 million
households and about 200,000 persons living in group quarters in the
mainland United States and Puerto Rico are selected to participate in
the ACS.
In 2020, the ACS will change the race and ethnicity questions to
match the 2020 Census. This change will make the ACS consistent with
2020 Census data on this topic. The ACS will also change the
instruction for reporting babies' ages to match the 2020 Census.
Ongoing research suggests the instructions for reporting infants
creates challenges for some respondents. Cognitive testing demonstrated
the wording for the age instruction is unclear and confusing to
respondents. Details about all of the questions planned for the 2020
Census and the American Community Survey are available at https://www.census.gov/library/publications/2018/dec/planned-questions-2020-acs.html.
The ACS self-response rates in 2010, a decennial census year, were
higher than usual in the first few months of the year, but were lower
than usual in the spring and summer months, when the 2010 decennial
census was underway. The increased self-response rates early in the
year were attributed to decennial census communications while the
decreased rates later in the year were attributed to respondent
confusion, as respondents had already filled out their decennial census
form and did not understand that the ACS was a separate data
collection. Prior research suggests that during a decennial census
year, ACS mail materials such as envelopes and letters should be
revised to distinguish the ACS from the Census. For the 2020 data
collection year, we are considering modifying the mail package
contents, Field Representative flyers, scripts for the Interactive
Voice Recognition system, frequently asked questions, and the ACS
website to better communicate to respondents that the ACS is a separate
data collection from the 2020 Census and that respondents selected for
the ACS should complete both the ACS and the 2020 Census.

[[Page 52190]]

II. Method of Collection

To encourage self-response in the ACS, the Census Bureau sends up
to five mailings to an address selected to be in the sample. The first
mailing, sent to all mailable addresses in the sample, includes an
invitation to participate in the ACS online and states that a paper
questionnaire will be sent in a few weeks to those unable to respond
online. Subsequent mailings serve as a reminder to respond to the
survey, with a paper questionnaire included in the third mailing for
those households that prefer to respond by mailing back the
questionnaire. The Census Bureau may ask those who begin filling out
the survey online to provide an email address, which would be used to
send an email reminder to households that did not complete the online
form. The reminder asks them to log back in to finish responding to the
survey.
Some addresses are deemed unmailable because the address is
incomplete or directs mail only to a post office box. The Census Bureau
currently collects data for these housing units using Computer-Assisted
Personal Interviewing. In July 2019, the ACS plans to make the online
survey available to all housing units in the 50 states and the District
of Columbia, including those with unmailable addresses. Residents in
housing units with unmailable addresses will still be contacted by
Census Bureau Field Representatives, but they will now be given the
option to complete the survey online or by personal interview.

III. Data

OMB Control Number: 0607-0810.
Form Number(s): ACS-1, ACS-1(SP), ACS-1(PR), ACS-1(PR)SP, ACS-
1(GQ), ACS-1(PR)(GQ), GQFQ, ACS CAPI (HU), ACS RI (HU), AGQ QI, and AGQ
RI.
Type of Review: Regular submission.
Affected Public: Federal and legislative agencies, individuals,
households, and businesses.
Estimated Time per Response: 40 minutes for the average household
questionnaire; 15 minutes for a GQ facility questionnaire; 25 minutes
for a GQ person questionnaire; 10 minutes for a household reinterview;
10 minutes for a GQ-level reinterview.
Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: The Census Bureau plans to
contact the following number of respondents each year: 3,540,000
households; 200,000 persons in group quarters; 20,000 contacts in group
quarters; 43,000 households for reinterview; and 1,500 group quarters
contacts for reinterview. The estimate is an annual average of
2,455,868 burden hours.

Table 1--Annual ACS Respondent and Burden Hour Estimates
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Estimated
minutes per
Forms or instrument used Annual estimated number of respondent by
Data collection operation in data collection respondents data Annual estimated burden hours
collection
operation
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I. ACS Household Questionnaire--Paper ACS-1, ACS 1(SP), ACS- 3,540,000.......................... 40 2,360,000.
Mailout/Mailback. 1PR, ACS-1PR(SP).
ACS Household CAPI--Personal Visit CAPI HU................. [698,000 included in I.]........... [40] [466,000 included in I.].
Non-response Follow-up.
ACS Household internet............... Internet HU............. [712,000 included in I.]........... [40] [475,000 included in I.].
II. ACS GQ Facility Questionnaire CAPI GQFQ............... 20,000............................. 15 5,000.
CAPI--Telephone and Personal Visit.
III. ACS GQ CAPI Personal Interview CAPI, ACS-1(GQ),........ 200,000............................ 25 83,333.
or Telephone, and--Paper Self- ACS-1(GQ)(PR)...........
response.
IV. ACS Household Reinterview--CATI/ ACS HU-RI............... 43,200............................. 10 7,200.
CAPI.
V. ACS GQ GQ-level Reinterview--CATI/ ACS GQ-RI............... 2,000.............................. 10 335.
CAPI.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Totals........................... ........................ 3,805,200.......................... N/A 2,455,868.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Estimated Total Annual Cost to Public: $0 (This is not the cost of
respondents' time, but the indirect costs respondents may incur for
such things as purchases of specialized software or hardware needed to
report, or expenditures for accounting or records maintenance services
required specifically by the collection.)
Respondent's Obligation: Mandatory.
Legal Authority: Title 13 U.S.C. Sections 141 and 193.

IV. Request for Comments

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 shall have practical
utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden
(including hours and cost) of the proposed collection of information;
(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 respondents, including through the use of
automated collection techniques or other forms of information
technology.
Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized
and/or included in the request for OMB approval of this information
collection; they also will become a matter of public record.

Sheleen Dumas,
Departmental Lead PRA Officer, Office of the Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 2018-22443 Filed 10-15-18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-07-P

52190 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 200 / Tuesday, October 16, 2018 / Notices

II. Method of Collection Some addresses are deemed (HU), ACS RI (HU), AGQ QI, and AGQ
unmailable because the address is RI.
To encourage self-response in the incomplete or directs mail only to a post Type of Review: Regular submission.
ACS, the Census Bureau sends up to office box. The Census Bureau currently Affected Public: Federal and
five mailings to an address selected to collects data for these housing units legislative agencies, individuals,
be in the sample. The first mailing, sent using Computer-Assisted Personal households, and businesses.
to all mailable addresses in the sample, Interviewing. In July 2019, the ACS Estimated Time per Response: 40
includes an invitation to participate in plans to make the online survey minutes for the average household
the ACS online and states that a paper available to all housing units in the 50 questionnaire; 15 minutes for a GQ
questionnaire will be sent in a few states and the District of Columbia, facility questionnaire; 25 minutes for a
weeks to those unable to respond including those with unmailable GQ person questionnaire; 10 minutes for
online. Subsequent mailings serve as a addresses. Residents in housing units a household reinterview; 10 minutes for
reminder to respond to the survey, with with unmailable addresses will still be a GQ-level reinterview.
a paper questionnaire included in the contacted by Census Bureau Field Estimated Total Annual Burden
third mailing for those households that Representatives, but they will now be Hours: The Census Bureau plans to
prefer to respond by mailing back the given the option to complete the survey contact the following number of
questionnaire. The Census Bureau may online or by personal interview. respondents each year: 3,540,000
ask those who begin filling out the households; 200,000 persons in group
survey online to provide an email III. Data quarters; 20,000 contacts in group
address, which would be used to send quarters; 43,000 households for
an email reminder to households that OMB Control Number: 0607–0810. reinterview; and 1,500 group quarters
did not complete the online form. The Form Number(s): ACS–1, ACS–1(SP), contacts for reinterview. The estimate is
reminder asks them to log back in to ACS–1(PR), ACS–1(PR)SP, ACS–1(GQ), an annual average of 2,455,868 burden
finish responding to the survey. ACS–1(PR)(GQ), GQFQ, ACS CAPI hours.
TABLE 1—ANNUAL ACS RESPONDENT AND BURDEN HOUR ESTIMATES
Estimated
minutes per
Forms or instrument used in Annual estimated number Annual estimated
Data collection operation respondent by
data collection of respondents burden hours
data collection
operation

I. ACS Household Questionnaire—Paper Mailout/ ACS–1, ACS 1(SP), ACS–1PR, 3,540,000 ........................ 40 2,360,000.
Mailback. ACS–1PR(SP).
ACS Household CAPI—Personal Visit Non-response CAPI HU .......................................... [698,000 included in I.] ... [40] [466,000 included in I.].
Follow-up.
ACS Household internet ............................................... Internet HU ...................................... [712,000 included in I.] ... [40] [475,000 included in I.].
II. ACS GQ Facility Questionnaire CAPI—Telephone CAPI GQFQ .................................... 20,000 ............................. 15 5,000.
and Personal Visit.
III. ACS GQ CAPI Personal Interview or Telephone, CAPI, ACS–1(GQ), .......................... 200,000 ........................... 25 83,333.
and—Paper Self-response. ACS–1(GQ)(PR) ..............................
IV. ACS Household Reinterview—CATI/CAPI .............. ACS HU–RI ..................................... 43,200 ............................. 10 7,200.
V. ACS GQ GQ-level Reinterview—CATI/CAPI ........... ACS GQ–RI ..................................... 2,000 ............................... 10 335.

Totals ..................................................................... .......................................................... 3,805,200 ........................ N/A 2,455,868.

Estimated Total Annual Cost to collected; and (d) ways to minimize the DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Public: $0 (This is not the cost of burden of the collection of information
respondents’ time, but the indirect costs on respondents, including through the Census Bureau
respondents may incur for such things use of automated collection techniques
as purchases of specialized software or Proposed Information Collection;
or other forms of information
hardware needed to report, or Comment Request; Generic Clearance
technology.
expenditures for accounting or records for Census Bureau Field Tests and
Comments submitted in response to Evaluations
maintenance services required
specifically by the collection.) this notice will be summarized and/or
included in the request for OMB AGENCY: U.S. Census Bureau,
Respondent’s Obligation: Mandatory. Commerce.
Legal Authority: Title 13 U.S.C. approval of this information collection;
Sections 141 and 193. they also will become a matter of public ACTION: Notice.
record.
IV. Request for Comments SUMMARY: The Department of
Sheleen Dumas, Commerce, as part of its continuing
Comments are invited on: (a) Whether
the proposed collection of information Departmental Lead PRA Officer, Office of the effort to reduce paperwork and
is necessary for the proper performance Chief Information Officer. respondent burden, invites the general
of the functions of the agency, including [FR Doc. 2018–22443 Filed 10–15–18; 8:45 am] public and other Federal agencies to
amozie on DSK3GDR082PROD with NOTICES1

whether the information shall have BILLING CODE 3510–07–P take this opportunity to comment on
practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the proposed and/or continuing information
agency’s estimate of the burden collections, as required by the
(including hours and cost) of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.
proposed collection of information; (c) DATES: To ensure consideration, written
ways to enhance the quality, utility, and comments must be submitted on or
clarity of the information to be before December 17, 2018.

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Document Created: 2018-10-15 23:42:14
Document Modified: 2018-10-15 23:42:14

Category		Regulatory Information
Collection		Federal Register
sudoc Class		AE 2.7: GS 4.107: AE 2.106:
Publisher		Office of the Federal Register, National Archives and Records Administration
Section		Notices
Action		Notice.
Dates		To ensure consideration, written comments must be submitted on or before December 17, 2018.
Contact		Requests for additional information or copies of the information collection instrument(s) and instructions should be directed to Robin A. Pennington, Rm. 2H465, U.S. Census Bureau, Decennial Census Management Division, Washington, DC 20233 or via email to [email protected]
FR Citation		83 FR 52189

83 FR 52189 - Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; The American Community Survey

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCECensus Bureau

Federal Register Volume 83, Issue 200 (October 16, 2018)

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Census Bureau