SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

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 of the proposed collection of information, 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 use of appropriate automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms of information technology.

Title: Generic Clearance for FNA Quick Response Surveys (FNA QRS).

Form Number: N/A.

OMB Number: 0584-0613.

Expiration Date: 06/30/2027.

Type of Request: Revision of a currently approved collection.

Abstract: The Food and Nutrition Administration (FNA) intends to request the renewal of a generic clearance that allows FNA to conduct short, quick-turnaround surveys of State, local, and Tribal agencies and businesses that receive food, funds, and nutrition information through programs administered by FNA. This generic clearance enables FNA to better meet the goals of Executive Order 13777, Enforcing the Regulatory Reform Agenda, by allowing FNA to improve the efficiency and responsiveness of the programs it administers.

These programs include the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC); National School Lunch Program (NSLP); School Breakfast Program (SBP); Special Milk Program (SMP); Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program (FFVP); Summer Food Service Program (SFSP); Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer (SEBT); the Patrick Leahy Farm to School Program; Team Nutrition; the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP); USDA Foods in Schools; Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR); The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP); and the Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP).

Legislation authorizing these programs requires operators to cooperate with USDA program research and evaluation activities. Traditionally, FNA conducts large, program-specific studies to collect information on numerous features of each program. Such studies often take several years to complete. Quick response surveys provide a system for rapidly collecting current information on a specific feature or issue, and, therefore, enable FNA to administer the programs more effectively.

The data collection activities under this clearance will include: (1) sample frame data collections and (2) quick-response surveys. The sample frame data collections are used to request contact information from State agencies for the local program operators within their purview. The quick-response survey data collections will be used to survey key administrators of FNA programs at the State, local, and site level to answer policy and implementation questions.

Following standard OMB requirements, FNA will submit a change request to OMB for each data collection activity undertaken under this generic clearance. The respondents will be identified at the time that each change request is submitted to OMB. FNA will provide OMB with the instruments and supporting materials describing the research project and specific pre-testing activities.

Affected Public: State, Local and Tribal Governments and Businesses. State, Local and Tribal government respondents will include: (1) State Program Directors, including SNAP State agency directors, WIC State Agency directors and nutrition education and breastfeeding coordinators, directors of the Child Nutrition programs (NSLP, SBP, FFVP, SFSP, SEBT, Farm to School, CACFP), directors of State Distributing Agencies (CSFP, TEFAP, USDA Foods in Schools), and FDPIR State Agencies and Indian Tribal Organizations; and (2) local-level program administrators, including Local WIC Agencies and Sites, School Food Authorities (SFAs), Schools, SFSP Sponsors and Sites, USDA Foods in Schools Local Agencies and Providers, TEFAP Eligible Recipient Agencies (ERAs) and Emergency Food Organizations (EFOs), CSFP Local ( printed page 60576) Agencies, etc. Business respondents include not-for-profit local WIC Sites, not-for-profit SFSP Sponsors and Sites, for-profit and not-for-profit CACFP Sponsors and Providers, not-for-profit TEFAP ERAs and EFOs, not-for-profit CSFP Local Agencies, etc.

Estimated Number of Respondents: The estimated number of annual respondents is 19,626, which includes State Program Directors (326 total) and local-level program administrators from local government agencies (9,500 total) and businesses (9,800 total). The total number of respondents includes an estimated 15,766 total responsive entities as well as 3,860 local program administrators from both local agencies (1,900 total) and businesses (1,960 total) whom FNA expects will not respond to the information collection request.

Estimated Number of Responses per Respondent: Approximately once each year, State agencies responsible for a program will be asked to update contact information for their respective local agencies as part of the sample frame data collection. Any single individual respondent, State agency or local program operator, will receive no more than three surveys about the same FNA program in a given year, with each expected to receive a single survey in a given year. Including recruitment requests for the surveys, FNA estimates that respondents will average 2 responses per year.

Estimated Total Annual Responses: There will be an estimated 39,252 annual responses, or 117,756 responses over the three-year clearance period.

Estimated Time per Response: The estimated time per response ranges from 3 minutes (0.05 hours) to 1 hour for respondents and 1 minute (0.02 hours) for non-respondents, depending on the data collection activity, as shown in the table below. The average estimated time across all responses is approximately 14 minutes (0.24 hours).

Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: The estimated total annual burden is 9,135.40 hours, for a total of 27,406.20 over the three-year clearance period. See the table below for estimated total annual burden for each type of collection and respondent.

91 FR 60575