Agency information collection activities: Proposed collection; comment request,

[Federal Register: January 5, 1999 (Volume 64, Number 2)]

[Notices]

[Page 472-477]

From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

[DOCID:fr05ja99-38]

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Food and Nutrition Service

Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collections; Comments Request--(1) Food Stamp Application, Verification and Certification Activities, and (2) State Agency Options

AGENCY: Food and Nutrition Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) is publishing for public comment a summary of proposed information collections. The information collection requirements described in this notice are limited to those which are necessary to carry out the application, verification, and certification of food stamp applicants and recipients.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before March 8, 1999 to be assured of consideration.

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 of the proposed collection of information, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions 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 the use of appropriate automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms of information technology.

Send comments and request for copies of this information collection to Margaret Werts Batko, Assistant Branch Chief, Certification Policy Branch, Program Development Division, Food and Nutrition Service, USDA, 3101 Park Center Drive, Alexandria, Virginia, 22302, (703) 305-2516. Comments may also be faxed to the attention of Ms. Batko at (703) 305- 2486. The internet address is: Margaret__Batko@FCS.USDA.GOV. All comments will be summarized and included in the request for Office of Management and Budget approval of the information collection. All comments will become a matter of public record.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Batko, (703) 305-2516.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The information collection requirements described in this notice are limited to those which are necessary to carry out Sections 3, 5, 6, 11 and 13 of the Food Stamp Act of 1977, and Title IV of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, Pub. L. 104-193, enacted August 26, 1996, as amended (PRWORA). PRWORA contained numerous amendments to the Food Stamp Act of 1977 (hereinafter referred to as ``the Act''). PRWORA contained several provisions designed to increase State agency flexibility in administering the Food Stamp Program--especially in the area of household application and certification for program benefits. PRWORA changed the eligibility requirement for aliens without changing the Food Stamp Act. PRWORA limited the eligibility of most able-bodied adults without children to three months in a three-year period, required that some individuals be sanctioned, and allowed some State agency options. State agencies were notified in an agency memorandum that they were required to implement the mandatory provisions of PRWORA upon enactment for applicant households and at recertification for participant households without waiting for formal regulations. The alien provisions in PRWORA were subsequently amended by Public Law 104- 208, the Omnibus Consolidated Appropriations Act, dated September 30, 1996; Public Law 105-33, the Balanced Budget Act, dated August 5,

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1997; and Public Law 105-185, the Agricultural Research, Extension, and Education Reform Act of 1988, dated June 23, 1998.

This notice contains two separate information requests and takes the statutory changes discussed in the preceding paragraph into account. The first information request is related to the collection and processing of information provided by households. The second one is related to State agency options.

Request 1

Title: Application and Certification of Food Stamp Households.

OMB Number: 0584-0064.

Form Numbers: None.

Expiration Date: (Three years from 10/31/00.)

Type of Request: Update of a currently approved information collection and request for approval of new collections.

Abstract: Title 7, Part 273 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) sets forth the Food Stamp Program requirements for the application, certification, and continued eligibility for food stamp benefits. This rulemaking updates the collection burden and takes into account changes required by PRWORA, as amended, in these areas. A majority of the information collection or record keeping requirements contained in this notice are currently approved by OMB under OMB Number 0584-0064. Proper notice and public comment were obtained prior to OMB approval (see notice published in Federal Register of February 5, 1997, 62 FR 5380). No comments were received. At the time the February 5 notice was issued, proposed rules to implement the changes in these areas were still in the development stage and some information collection or record keeping requirements had not yet been identified. The proposed rules are still in the Departmental clearance process, but we have reevaluated and revised the time required to take actions considering implementation of the new provisions and automation in most State agencies.

Revisions to Current Burden Estimates Under OMB No. 0584-0064

In the February 5 notice, the new requirements for sponsored aliens were included as a separate category. Since this is an integral part of the application process, we have included them and the additional alien eligibility and verification requirements in this rule in the burden associated with processing initial applications. We separated applications for initial application and recertification for both household and State agency burden. We included burden previously associated with application worksheets in the State agency's burden associated with applications for initial certification and recertification. We included the burden associated with giving an explanation of monthly reporting and retrospective budgeting to households in the State agency's burden for application processing because the household must be given the explanation at the time of certification and recertification. We separated State agency burden associated with processing reports and changes during the certification period into a separate category. We believe this will enable us to more accurately estimate burden associated with these tasks.

In making the new burden estimates, we factored in savings due to State agency computerized systems. We do not have reliable data on which to base our estimates, and we believe that the collection of such data would be counterproductive. However, we would welcome any data State agencies would like to submit for our future consideration.

Burden associated with the items--Demand Letter for Overissuance, Advance Notice of Administrative Disqualification Hearing, and Action Taken on Administrative Disqualification Hearing, 7 CFR 273.17 and 7 CFR 273.18, are being transferred out of OMB NO. 0584-0064. We plan to transfer the items to another existing OMB approval number or submit the items to OMB for a separate approval number. This move is for administrative management purposes because these forms are handled by a separate division within the agency.

Burden hours associated with information collection, reporting, and recordkeeping as it relates to household application, certification, and continued eligibility are described below and are assessed by using one of two specific base figures. Burden associated with initial applicant households is based on the number of initial applications expected to be received (7,400,000, as reported by State agencies on form FNS-366B). Burden associated with participating households such as recertification applicants and reporting of changes in household circumstances is based on the estimated number of participating households (10,900,000 as reported by State agencies on form FNS-388). Using these two base figures, the methodologies used and estimated burden hours are as follows:

7 CFR 273.2 Initial Food Stamp Application

Household burden: Households must complete an application in order to obtain benefits. Section 11(e)(2) of the Act (7 U.S.C. 2020(e)(2)) provides that the State agency shall develop an application containing the information necessary to comply with the Act. The Act requires an adult representative to sign a statement, under penalty of perjury, that the information provided on the application is true and correct to the best of his/her knowledge, including information regarding the citizenship or alien status of each member. Prior to PRWORA, State agencies had to use a federally-designed application unless FNS approved a State-designed deviation. The FNS-designed model application sought information used to comply with the eligibility requirements of Sections 5, 6, and 11 of the Act. Certain notices were required to be provided on or with the State-designed applications to ensure compliance other Federal laws governing nondiscrimination, civil rights, privacy, and computer matching. All States were operating with the FNS-designed model application or an FNS-approved deviation when PRWORA was enacted.

Section 835 of PRWORA amended Section 11(e) of the Act to eliminate some mandatory form content requirements and to allow State agencies to design their own application forms.

Many State agencies have automated the application and application processing requirements and some have on-line application systems. In recognition of this, PRWORA provides that nothing in the Act shall prohibit the use of signatures provided and maintained electronically, storage of records using automated retrieval systems only, or any other feature of a State agency's application system that does not rely exclusively on the collection and retention of paper applications or other records.

Section 11(e)(4) of the Act and 7 CFR 273.14 of the current regulations require State agencies to send the household a notice of expiration when its certification period is going to expire and require households to submit a new application in order to renew its eligibility. These requirements were not changed by PRWORA. Section 3(c) of the Act, as amended by section 801 of PRWORA, allows longer certification periods than were previously allowed. PRWORA allows State agencies to assign certification periods up to 12 months except that certification periods may be up to 24 months if all adult

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members are elderly or disabled. A State agency shall have at least one contact with each certified household every 12 months.

This information collection request takes into account additional burdens imposed pursuant to PRWORA. These allow State agencies to sanction food stamp households who are receiving grants under a State's Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program if minor children are not attending school, or if the adults do not have or are not working toward attaining a secondary school diploma or its equivalent (Section 103 of PROWRA), makes individuals convicted of drug-related felonies ineligible for food stamps (Section 115), makes fleeing felons and probation and parole violators ineligible (Section 821), allows States to disqualify individuals for failure to cooperate with child support agencies or who are in arrears in court-ordered child support payments (Sections 822 and 823), and limits the food stamp participation of most able-bodied adults without dependents to 3 months in a 3-year period (Section 824). These requirements mean that additional information has to be requested on the application.

Section 402(a)(2) of PRWORA, as amended, conditions food stamp eligibility of some aliens on factors not related to their alien status. For example, refugees and asylees are only eligible for 7 years from the date of entry or the date status was granted. Some aliens lawfully admitted for permanent residence must have earned or be credited with 40 qualifying quarters of work as determined under title II of the Social Security Act. Others have to have a military connection, be battered, belong to certain Indian tribes, or belong to certain Hmong or Highland Laotian Tribes during a certain period of time. Some aliens are only eligible if they were lawfully residing in the United States on August 22, 1996, or were age 65 or older on that date. Determining and verifying these complicated new eligibility requirements will significantly increase the information that must be obtained on the application, and the household will have to submit additional verification. Title IV of PRWORA requires the Department of Justice (DOJ) to develop regulations to be used to verify citizenship and eligible alien status. Under DOJ's August 4, 1998, proposed regulations (63 FR 41662), applicants for food stamps must provide verification of citizenship or alien status, each alien applicant 18 years of age or over must go to the food stamp office in person and present his or her immigration document, and many aliens may be required to submit an additional description identification document.

The total number of respondents is the number of initial applications expected to be received (7,400,000 less 200 alien households that will not apply = 7,399,800). Household burden to complete an initial application (assuming entries on every line) is estimated to average at least 11 minutes (.1833 hour). In some States the applications are on paper and in others they are on-line in computerized systems. In States that have multiple program applications, we are only considering the time it takes to complete the food stamp portion. Normally, verification is done through documentary evidence from a household's own records, such as birth certificates, bank statements, income tax returns, and utility bills. OMB does not require a burden assessment when collection of the information is provided from a respondent's own records, but it may take time to gather exact information from various documents such as wage stubs, immigration documents, social security number cards, and so forth. We estimate total annual household burden for initial applications to be 1,356,630 hours (7,399,800 x .1833).

State agency burden in processing initial applications: The State agency must interview the household to obtain all necessary information; explain the program; obtain required verification; and, for households determined to be eligible, explain the reporting requirements and compute the benefit level. Section 11(e)(3) of the Act requires that the State agency verify the household's eligibility and provide a clear written statement explaining what acts the household has to perform to cooperate in obtaining verification and otherwise completing the application process. As the result of PRWORA, additional information relating to the work history of able-bodied adults without dependents, the eligibility of aliens, disqualifications, and fleeing felon status must now be determined and verified.

At one time FNS designed a worksheet format to provide State agencies a place to document additional information provided or clarified by households during the interview; the type of verification provided by the household; and computations of ineligibility or eligibility and benefit levels. FNS does not have authority to approve State forms, and many States have automated the eligibility determination process. In some States the workers complete on-line applications with households during the interview. The system stores, interprets, and processes the information to determine if the household is eligible and, if eligible, the correct benefit level. FNS will no longer be making a worksheet format available to State agencies. State agencies may develop a paper worksheet if they want one.

In estimating the burden, we considered the changes in the eligibility criteria and the simplified procedures pursuant to PRWORA, reductions due to computerized systems which vary from State to State, and increases due to including the explanation for monthly reporting. Some applications may be denied for obvious reasons such as excess resources or income in a short period of time while other applications may take an extremely long time to process if the household contains aliens or has self-employment income. We estimate that on average a minimum of 15 minutes or .25 hours is required to perform an initial certification. We estimate total annual burden to be 1,849,950 hours (7,399,800 x .25).

7 CFR 273.14(b) Food Stamp Application for Recertification

Household burden: The number of households expected to file an application for recertification is based on the number of current participants (10,900,000 less 228,000 ineligible aliens = 10,672,000). Elderly and disabled households may now be certified for up to 24 months and other households may be certified for up to 12 months. A few State agencies assign three-month certification periods to prevent quality control errors. Our burden assessment assumes on average participating households will submit one application for recertification each year. We estimate that most States will choose to simplify the recertification form since FNS approval is no longer required and that the burden time will be reduced as households become familiar with the form. We estimate burden time for completing and submitting a recertification application to be 8 minutes (.1333 hour). We estimate total annual burden for recertification applications to be 1,422,933 hours (10,672,000 x .1333).

State agency burden in processing applications for recertification: We are assuming that the recertification process will be performed on all applications for recertification (10,672,000). We expect State agencies to streamline the recertification process, and previously verified information does not have to be reverified. We estimate it will take an average of 11 minutes or .1833 hours to process an application for

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recertification. We estimate total annual burden to be 1,956,533 hours (10,672,000 x .1833).

7 CFR 273.10(g) Notices of Eligibility, Denial, or Pending Status

State agency burden: Each household that submits an initial application or a reapplication must receive a notice of eligibility, notice of denial notice, or notice of pending status awaiting additional information. Estimates are based on the number of applications for initial certification and recertification expected to be received (18,071,800). There will be a decrease in the number of responses because of a decrease in the number of households that apply and the fact that longer certification periods will likely be assigned. Based on the fact that most State agencies have computerized notices, we estimate that it will take 2 minutes or .0333 hours to input data and initiate the notice. We estimate total annual burden to be 602,393 hours (18,071,800 x .0333).

7 CFR 273.21 Monthly Reports

Household burden: State agencies have the option to require certain households to report information about household circumstances, changed or unchanged, on a monthly basis. State agencies determine what information is to be reported and how. The content of each State agency's report is not readily available from which to estimate burden time per response. When monthly reporting was a Federal mandate, about 32% of the caseload was submitting monthly reports. When monthly reporting became optional, we previously estimated that 16% of the caseload would still be subject to monthly reporting. A few State agencies have since eliminated monthly reporting for households on Indian reservations when the Act was changed to impose restrictions on reporting, and some State agencies have reduced the number of monthly reporting households for their own administrative reasons over the past several years. Based on this, we estimate a further reduction to 15% of the caseload. We estimate that 1,600,800 participating households (10,672,000 x .15 = 1,600,800 ) will be subject to monthly reporting and total annual responses would be 19,209,600 (1,600,800 x 12 months). We estimate burden time for a household to complete a monthly report to be 7 minutes or .1167 hour. The monthly report is not affected by automation and households must complete and return a paper form. We estimate total annual burden to be 2,241,120 hours (19,209,600 x .1167).

7 CFR 273.12 (a) Change Report

Household burden: As stated earlier, we estimate that 15% of the caseload will be required to report monthly. The remaining 85% of the caseload (10,672,000 x .85 = 9,071,200 households) must report changes in circumstances that may affect their eligibility or benefit level within 10 days of the date the change becomes known. Data is not collected on the number of such change reporters or how often they report. Previous estimates assumed that 75% of those subject to change reporting would actually report, 25% of those households would report at least once a year, and 50% would report at least twice a year. State agencies may require households not subject to monthly reporting to submit information about child support payments quarterly on a change report form that is used for reporting other changes, or State agencies may develop a separate child support report form. Under PRWORA, States may assign longer certification periods which will result in more changes being reported. Taking these factors into consideration, we estimate that each change reporting household on average will submit 1 report a year for a total of 9,071,200 responses. We estimated the time to complete a report to be 5 minutes or .08333 hours. This burden time is not affected by automation as households must complete and submit a paper form. We estimate total annual burden to be 755,933 hours (9,071,200 x .0833).

7 CFR 273.21(j)(2) Notice of Late or Incomplete Monthly Reports

State agency burden: State agencies must notify households if a monthly report is late or additional information or verification is needed. We estimate that 5% (19,209,600 x .05 = 960,480) of the monthly reports expected to be received will be late or incomplete resulting in the need to generate this notice. We estimate burden time per response to be 2 minutes or .0333 hours and total annual burden to be 32,016 hours (960,480 x .0333).

7 CFR 271.2 and 7 CFR 273.21(j)(2) Adequate Notice to Monthly Reporters

State agency burden: State agencies must send monthly reporting households a written notice if their benefits will be or have been increased, reduced, or terminated based on information contained on the monthly report. We estimate that 30% (19,209,600 x .30 = 5,762,880) of the monthly reports received will result in an increase, reduction, or termination of benefits. The remaining 70% of the monthly reports will not require a change in benefits, so no notice is necessary. We estimate burden time per response to be 2 minutes or .0333 hours and total annual burden to be 192,096 hours (5,762,880 x .0333).

7 CFR 273.13 Advance Notice of Adverse Action

State agency burden: Households that submit a change report form must receive a written notice of any action to reduce or terminate benefits in advance of the date the action will become effective. We estimate that 50% of the change reports expected to be received (9,071,200 x .50 = 4,535,600) will result in a reduction or termination of benefits which will require the State agency to generate this notice. We estimate the burden per notice to be 2 minutes or .0333 hours and total annual burden to be 151,187 hours (4,535,600 x .0333).

7 CFR 273. 14(b) Notice of Expiration

State agency burden: The State agency must send each participating household a notice when its certification period is about to expire that informs the household it must reapply to receive continued benefits. Based on a 1995 report on the Characteristics of Food Stamp Households, the average certification period of all households, including those with elderly and disabled members was 9.8 months. (The number of annual notices was underestimated in the prior request.) Under PRWORA and this proposal, State agencies may establish longer certification periods--up to12 months for most households and 24 months for households in which all adult members are elderly or disabled. Households with an elderly or disabled person represent 34% of the caseload, but all adult members in these households may not be elderly or disabled. However, based on this new authority, it is anticipated that State agencies will in general establish somewhat longer certification periods to conserve resources. We estimate that on average each certified household (10,672,000) will receive at least one notice of expiration every 12 months. We estimate burden time per response to be 2 minutes or .0333 hours and total annual burden to be 355,733 hours (10,672,000 x .0333).

7 CFR 273.12(c) and 273.21(j) State Agency Burden in Processing Reports and Changes

When a report is submitted that shows a change, the State agency must determine if and how the change will affect the household's eligibility and benefit level, resolve questionable information, and obtain additional

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verification. We estimate that this will be performed on all change reports and 30 percent of the monthly reports (9,071,200 + 5,762,800 = 14,834,080) received. We estimate that this will take approximately 5 minutes or .0833 hour per change and the annual burden to be 1,236,173 hours (14,834,080 x .0833).

Record keeping burden only: Local agencies are required to maintain client case records for three years, 7 CFR 272.1(f), and to perform duplicate participation checks on individual household members to ensure that a member is not participating in more than one household, 7 CFR 272.4(f).

Data is not available on the actual number of local food stamp offices in each State or the actual number of workers (recordkeepers) that would be maintaining case files and performing duplicate participation checks. Previous estimates reflected one record keeper per State, but we believe this was too low. We are using the number of food stamp project areas which is 2,715 for purposes of this submission.

(A) Case Files: The number of case files to be established and maintained is equal to the number of applications expected to be received for initial application and recertification. The number of times recordkeepers must access these case files is equal to the number of documents (105,910,560 responses) expected to be filedannually. We estimate that each action will take a minimum of 2 minutes or .0333 hours. We estimate annual recordkeeping burden associated with creating, filing, and maintaining household case files to be 3,526,822 hours (105,910,560 x .0333).

(B) Monitoring Duplicate Participation: The estimated annual record keeping burden for maintaining this system which is automated by most States is based on the number of applications expected to be received (18,071,800) and the average number of persons (2.5) in each applicant household. Assuming that at least 80% of the applications expected to be received will be subject to this check, the estimated number of duplicate participation checks (responses) that must be performed by State agencies is 36,143,600 (18,071,800 x .80 x 2.5). Burden is estimated to be 15 seconds (or .0042 hours) per response, for a total burden of 151,803 hours annually.

(C) We estimate total recordkeeping burden to be 3,678,625 hours annually (3,526,822 + 151,803). Burden per recordkeeper would be 1,355 hours annually (3,678,625/2,715 recordkeepers).

Summary of burden hours for public--State and local governments, potential applicants, and current participants:

Respondents: 18,071,800 Annual responses: 119,261,240 Total burden hours: 16,275,901

The net affect of these Program changes and adjustments is a reduction in total burden hours of 3,752,042 from 20,027,943 to 16,275,901 due primarily to a reevaluation based on State agencies' automated systems.

Request 2

Title: State Agency Options.

OMB Number: Will be assigned when approved.

Form Number: None.

Expiration Date: Three years after OMB approved.

Type of Request: New.

Abstract: The collections covered under OMB Number 0584-0064 address information that will become part of a household's case file. The information collection and burden estimates associated with the following 4 collections will be assigned a separate OMB number because they are not related to household case files. The number that is assigned will be included in the preamble to the regulations which implements the PRWORA changes.

  1. Homeless shelter estimate--7 CFR 273.9(d): Section 5(e) of the Act, 7 U.S.C. 2014(e)(5), as amended by section 809 of PRWORA, allows State agencies to use a homeless shelter cost estimate as a separate deduction (instead of allowing only the amount that exceeds 50 percent of income under the excess shelter cost deduction.) We estimate that 20 State agencies will choose this option and that these States will spend 1 hour per year updating the estimate for an annual burden of 20 hours.

  2. Establishing and reviewing standard utility allowances--7 CFR 273.9(d): State agencies may establish standard utility allowances to be used in lieu of actual utility costs in determining a deduction from household income for shelter expenses. Currently, 49 State agencies have a standard that includes heating or cooling costs and 21 have a standard for utility costs other than heating or cooling. Of the 49 States, we estimate that 10 will develop one or more additional standards each year for the next 3 years. We estimate that this process will take an average of 4 hours since the basic information will likely already be included as a component of the main standard that is now being used. We also estimate that State agencies will continue to review the standards yearly, although they will no longer be required to do so, to determine if increases are needed due to the cost of living. We estimate a minimum of 2.5 hours annually to make this review and adjustment. Total burden for this provision is estimated to be 162.5 hours per year.

  3. Mandatory utility standards--7 CFR 273.9(d). Section 809 of PRWORA amended Section 5(e)(7)(C) of the Act (7 U.S.C. 2014(e)(7)(C)) to allow State agencies to mandate use of standard utility allowances when the excess shelter cost deduction is computed instead of allowing households to claim actual utility costs provided the standards will not increase program costs. We expect less than 7 States will choose this option so information collection and reporting burden is not required to be assessed.

  4. Establishing methodology for offsetting cost of producing self- employment income--7 CFR 273.10. The gross amount of self-employment income is reduced by the cost of producing such income. Section 5(m) of the Act, 7 U.S.C. 2014(m), as amended by section 812 of PRWORA allows State agencies to use a reasonable estimate of self-employment costs rather than actual costs to compute net income from self-employment provided the method will not increase program costs. Requests to use such estimates must be submitted to FNS and must include a description of the proposed method; the number, type, and percent of households affected; and documentation indicating that the procedure would not increase Program costs. We estimate that 10 State agencies will submit requests each year for the next three years. It is estimated that these States will incur a one-time burden of at least 10 working hours gathering and analyzing data, developing the methodology, determining the cost implications, and submitting a request to FNS for a total burden of 100 hours annually. State agencies are not required to periodically review their approved methodologies. We do not anticipate that State agencies will voluntarily review their methodologies for change on a regular basis, thus burden is not being assessed for this purpose at this time.

Affected Public: State and local governments.

Estimated Number of Respondents: 49.

Estimated Number of Responses: 138.

Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: 286.

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Dated: December 14, 1998. Samuel Chambers, Jr., Administrator, Food and Nutrition Service.

[FR Doc. 99-36Filed1-4-99; 8:45 am]

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