Agency Information Collection Activities: Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC); Food Delivery Portal (FDP)

CourtFood And Nutrition Service
Citation86 FR 37280
Record Number2021-15051
SectionNotices
Published date15 July 2021
Federal Register, Volume 86 Issue 133 (Thursday, July 15, 2021)
[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 133 (Thursday, July 15, 2021)]
                [Notices]
                [Pages 37280-37282]
                From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
                [FR Doc No: 2021-15051]
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                DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
                Food and Nutrition Service
                Agency Information Collection Activities: Special Supplemental
                Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC); Food Delivery
                Portal (FDP)
                AGENCY: Food and Nutrition Service, USDA.
                ACTION: Notice.
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                SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this
                notice invites the general public and other public agencies to comment
                on this proposed information collection. This collection is a revision
                of a currently approved collection to provide FNS and WIC State
                agencies with an ongoing/annual data set that can be used to assess
                State agencies' compliance with WIC vendor management requirements and
                estimate State agencies' progress in eliminating fraud, waste, and
                abuse.
                DATES: Written comments must be received on or before September 13,
                2021.
                ADDRESSES: Comments may be submitted via email to the attention of FDP
                Help Desk at [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 responses to this notice will be summarized and included in the
                request for Office of Management and Budget approval. All comments will
                be a matter of public record.
                FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or
                copies of this information collection should be directed to Amy
                Herring, at [email protected] or (703) 305-2376.
                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 will have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the
                agency's estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of
                information,
                [[Page 37281]]
                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: Food Delivery Portal (FDP) Data Collection (formerly The
                Integrity Profile (TIP) Data Collection).
                 Form Number: None.
                 OMB Number: 0584-0401.
                 Expiration Date: September 30, 2021.
                 Type of Request: Revision of a Currently Approved Collection.
                 Abstract: Each year, WIC State agencies administering the Special
                Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC)
                are required by 7 CFR 246.12(j)(5) to submit to FNS an annual summary
                of the results of their vendor monitoring efforts in order to provide
                Congress, senior FNS officials, as well as the general public,
                assurance that every reasonable effort is being made to ensure
                integrity in the WIC Program. The number of WIC State agencies in
                fiscal year 2020 is 89. This includes 50 geographic State agencies, 33
                State agencies operated by Indian Tribal Organizations, the District of
                Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the
                Northern Mariana Islands, and the Virgin Islands. Through FY 2021,
                States report compliance and monitoring data in The Integrity Profile
                (TIP) system. That system is being replaced with an upgraded, web-based
                system called Food Delivery Portal (FDP). Starting FY 2022, all WIC
                State agencies will use the upgraded web-based system.
                 The existing TIP system was designed and developed using the WIC
                Program requirements current as of 2005. Since 2005, there have been
                changes to the requirements, policies, technology, and guidance that
                the current system cannot support. It is critical that FNS implements a
                more robust data collection system to align with current security
                protocols and compliance guidance, support data storage and web
                components, ensure cost effectiveness, allow for more data-driven
                decision-making through increased data analytic functionality, enhance
                FNS reporting capabilities, reduce grantee burden through automated
                calculations and consolidated reporting, and add data validation
                features to reduce reporting errors. With this update, the TIP system
                will be replaced with the Food Delivery Portal (FDP).
                 The TIP system currently collects data via three automated forms:
                FNS-698 Profile of Integrity Practices and Procedures (PIPP) Report,
                FNS-699 The Integrity Profile (TIP) Report, and FNS-700 Vendor Record.
                Revisions and consolidations in data collection in the FDP will
                eliminate these physical forms for the annual collection, instead
                allowing each State agency to provide updates using FDP. The screens in
                FDP provide a more flexible method of data capture, that focuses on the
                data that has changed for the year rather than recapturing all data
                elements each time. As a part of the upgrade effort, existing data in
                the TIP system will be migrated to the new FDP.
                 There is an increase in the burden hours because FNS intends to
                seek feedback from the State agencies on the system. However, the
                responses for this collection will decrease as the FNS program needs
                have changed, and Seneca Nation no longer administers WIC. The State
                agency is currently required to generate a complete data package in TIP
                each year for each vendor. The current system requires each State
                agency to submit data for all of its vendors within a single file. The
                proposed changes for FDP allow each State agency to enter the majority
                of its vendor information once and then only update the fields that
                have changed within the year, reducing the data entry and monitoring
                burden. There is no recordkeeping burden associated with this
                information collection request.
                 Estimate of Burden: Public reporting burden for this collection of
                information is based on the fields in the new online application, and
                the total number of vendor records estimated to be entered into FDP by
                WIC State agencies.
                 The highest total burden for a single record is estimated at 10
                minutes (0.167 hours) for completing manual data entry for all fields
                in a new record. This estimate is based upon each vendor operating as a
                WIC authorized vendor at some point during the year. It includes the
                time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources,
                gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing
                the collection of information. It is estimated to take 30 minutes (0.50
                hours) for the data upload,
                Entering Vendor Data
                 Each State agency maintains their vendor data records within their
                state-level system of record. They report to FDP the finalized records
                for each fiscal year. State agencies have the following two options for
                reporting annual vendor records. In FY 2019, there were 41,675 vendor
                records reported in TIP across all 89 State agencies. Of these 89 State
                agencies, 16 State agencies used Option 1 and 73 State agencies used
                Option 2.
                 Option 1: State agencies manually update or add new records to the
                FDP system using the application screens. The FDP system stores and
                pre-populates information for vendors from the previous year's
                submission making updating existing entries quicker. FNS estimates that
                16 out of 89 State agencies (with a total of 456 vendors--430 existing
                and 26 new) will update existing and enter new vendors using Option 1.
                 To update an existing record, State agencies must update any
                applicable changes to contract information (including status
                determinations), redemption data, monitoring activities, compliance
                investigations, sanctions, and administrative reviews on applicable
                existing vendors, taking approximately 5 minutes (0.083 hours per
                vendor). On average, these State agencies each update 26.9 records (430
                records divided by 16 State agencies, rounded to nearest tenth). FNS
                estimates a total of 35.7 hours to update existing records (0.083 hours
                per vendor x 430 responses).
                 To enter a new record, State agencies must complete all data fields
                for new vendors authorized during the fiscal year, taking approximately
                10 minutes (0.167 hours per vendor) to complete the record. On average,
                these State agencies each update 1.6 records (26 records divided by 16
                State agencies, rounded to nearest tenth). FNS estimates a total of 4.3
                hours to enter the new records (0.167 hours x 26 responses).
                 Option 2: State agencies upload data files in the FDP system with
                all vendor data. FNS estimates out of 89 State agencies, 73 State
                agencies (with a total of 41,219 vendor records), will upload their
                data using Option 2. FNS estimates that it will take 30 minutes (0.50
                hours) for a State agency to upload its vendor data, with small to
                medium State agencies taking up to a minute to upload data and large
                State agencies taking up to 60 minutes to upload data. The total hours
                requested for State agencies using Option 2 is 36.5 hours (0.50 hours
                per upload x 73 State agencies).
                Data Preparation
                 Table 1 depicts the estimated time for each State agency to prepare
                its vendor data for submission in FDP. The estimated time varies as
                some State agencies' MIS automatically generate the data each fiscal
                year while other State agencies manually compile the
                [[Page 37282]]
                data from multiple sources. FNS estimates that data preparation takes 1
                to 30 hours with a median of 10 hours. For this estimate, median is
                used instead of mean as the data is skewed, based upon the number of
                records reported by each State agency on authorized vendors. FNS
                estimates the burden hours needed to comply with this requirement is
                890 hours (89 State agencies x 10 hours per submission).
                SA System Feedback
                 Table 1 depicts the estimated time that each State agency might
                spend reviewing and responding to FNS requests for feedback on the
                system on an annual basis. FNS estimates that it will take
                approximately 2.5 hours per State agency to provide this feedback, for
                an estimated 222.5 hours.
                 Affected Public: State, Local, and Tribal Government. Respondent
                groups identified include State, Tribal, and WIC agencies in the
                District of Columbia and in U.S. territories.
                 Estimated Number of Respondents: The total estimated number of
                respondents is 194.
                 Estimated Number of Responses per Respondent: For update Option 1,
                the frequency for the manual entry of a new record is 1.6 and 26.9 for
                the manual update of existing records, while the frequency for Option 2
                (Data Upload) is one. Respondents prepare the data and respond to
                system feedback once per year. For all of the respondents across the
                entire collection, FNS estimates a frequency of 3.644.
                 Estimated Total Annual Responses: 707 responses.
                 Estimated Time per Response: The estimated time of response varies
                from 5 minutes (.083 hours) to 10 hours depending on respondent group,
                as shown in the table below, with an average estimated time of 1.682
                hours for all participants.
                 Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: 1,189 hours. See the
                table below for estimated total annual burden for each type of
                respondent.
                 Table 1--Estimate of Burden Hours
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                 Type of
                 Respondent category respondents Instruments Form Number of Frequency of Total annual Hours per Annual burden
                 (optional) respondents response responses response (hours)
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                State Government............. State Program Manual entry of FDP 16 1.6 26 0.167 4.3
                 Staff. a new record.
                State Government............. State Program Manual update FDP 16 26.9 430 0.083 35.7
                 Staff. existing
                 record.
                State Government............. State Program Data Upload.... FDP 73 1 73 0.5 36.5
                 Staff.
                State Government............. State Program Data ....... 89 1 89 10.0 890.0
                 Staff. Preparation
                 for this ICR.
                State Government............. State Program SA System ....... 89 1 89 2.5 222.5
                 Staff. Feedback.
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                 Total.................... ............... ............... ....... 194 3.644 707 1.682 1,189
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                Cynthia Long,
                Acting Administrator, Food and Nutrition Service.
                [FR Doc. 2021-15051 Filed 7-14-21; 8:45 am]
                BILLING CODE 3410-30-P
                

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