47874 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 176 / Thursday, September 11, 1997 / Notices

By direction of the Secretary.

Donald L. Neilson,

Director, Information Management Service.

[FR Doc. 97–24058 Filed 9–10–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 8320–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS

AFFAIRS

[OMB Control No. 2900–0571]

Agency Information Collection

Activities Under OMB Review

AGENCY: Department of Veterans Affairs.

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: In compliance with the

Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995

(44 U.S.C., 3501 et seq.), this notice

announces that the National Cemetery

System (NCS), Office of Management

(OM), and Office of Inspector General

(IG), Department of Veterans Affairs,

have submitted the collection of

information abstracted below to the

Office of Management and Budget

(OMB) for review and comment. The

PRA submission describes the nature of

the information collection and its

expected cost and burden; it includes

the actual data collection instrument. In

addition, OMB is being requested to:

a. Grant the NCS, OM, and IG a 3-year

generic clearance approval authority.

b. Allow the NCS, OM, and IG to

establish a maximum number of annual

burden hours against which burden will

be charged for each survey actually

used.

c. Allow for the submission of a

summary of objectives, specific burden

estimates, and all final or near final

survey instruments covered by the

generic clearance for inclusion in the

OMB public docket prior to their use.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on

or before October 14, 1997.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION OR A COPY OF

THE SUBMISSION CONTACT: Ron Taylor,

Information Management Service

(045A4), Department of Veterans

Affairs, 810 Vermont Avenue, NW,

Washington, DC 20420, (202) 273–8015

or FAX (202) 273–5981. Please refer to

‘‘OMB Control No. 2900–0571.’’

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Title: Generic Clearance for the

National Cemetery System, Office of

Management, and Office of Inspector

General Customer Satisfaction Surveys.

OMB Control Number: 2900–0571.

Type of Review: Extension of a

currently approved collection.

Abstract: Executive Order 12862,

Setting Customer Service Standards,

requires Federal agencies and

departments to identify and survey its

customers to determine the kind and

quality of services they want and their

level of satisfaction with existing

service. The NCS, OM, and IG use the

customer satisfaction surveys to

evaluate customer services as well as

customer expectations and desires. The

results of this information collection

lead to improvements in the quality of

the NCS, OM, and IG service delivery by

helping to shape the direction and focus

of specific services.

An agency may not conduct or

sponsor, and a person is not required to

respond to a collection of information

unless it displays a currently valid OMB

control number. The Federal Register

Notice with a 60-day comment period

soliciting comments on this collection

of information was published on June

18, 1997 at pages 33153–33155.

Affected Public: Individuals or

households; Business or other for-profit.

Listing of Survey Activities: The

following list of activities is a

compendium of customer satisfaction

survey plans by the NCS, OM, and IG.

The actual conduct of any particular

activity listed could be affected by

circumstances. A change in, or

refinement of, our focus in a specific

area, as well as resource constraints

could require deletion or substitution of

any listed item. If these organizations

substitutes or proposes to add a new

activity that falls under the umbrella of

this generic approval, including those

activities that are currently in a

planning stage, OMB will be notified

and will be furnished a copy of

pertinent materials, a description of the

activity and number of burden hours

involved. The NCS, OM, and IG will

conduct periodic reviews of ongoing

survey activities to ensure that they

comply with the PRA.

Year Number of respondents

Estimated annual burden

(hours)

Frequency

National Cemetery System Focus Groups with Next of Kin (10 participants per group/3 hours each session)

1998 ............................................................................................................................... 150 450 15 groups annually.

1999 ............................................................................................................................... 150 450 15 groups annually.

2000 ............................................................................................................................... 150 450 15 groups annually.

National Cemetery System Focus Groups with Funeral Directors (10 participants per group/3 hours each session)

1998 ............................................................................................................................... 150 450 15 groups annually.

1999 ............................................................................................................................... 150 450 15 groups annually

2000 ............................................................................................................................... 150 450 15 groups annually.

National Cemetery System Focus Groups with Veterans Service Organizations (10 participants per group/3 hours each session)

1998 ............................................................................................................................... 150 450 15 groups annually.

1999 ............................................................................................................................... 150 450 15 groups annually.

2000 ............................................................................................................................... 150 450 15 groups annually.

National Cemetery System Focus Groups with State Veterans Officers (10 participants per group/3 hours each session)

1998 ............................................................................................................................... 20 60 2 groups annually.

1999 ............................................................................................................................... 20 60 2 groups annually.

2000 ............................................................................................................................... 20 60 2 groups annually.

National Cemetery System Visitor Comments Cards

1998 ............................................................................................................................... 2,500 420 Twice annually.

1999 ............................................................................................................................... 2,500 420 Twice annually.
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 176 / Thursday, September 11, 1997 / Notices 47875

Year Number of respondents

Estimated annual burden

(hours)

Frequency

2000 ............................................................................................................................... 2,500 420 Twice annually.

National Cemetery System Next of Kin National Customer Satisfaction Survey (Telephone)

1998 ............................................................................................................................... 1,500 750 Annually.

1999 ............................................................................................................................... 1,500 750 Annually.

2000 ............................................................................................................................... 1,500 750 Annually.

National Cemetery System Potential Customers National Customer Satisfaction Survey (Telephone)

1998 ............................................................................................................................... 1,500 750 Annually.

1999 ............................................................................................................................... 1,500 750 Annually.

2000 ............................................................................................................................... 1,500 750 Annually.

National Cemetery System Program/Specialized Service Survey (Telephone)

1998 ............................................................................................................................... 1,000 250 Annually.

1999 ............................................................................................................................... 1,000 250 Annually.

2000 ............................................................................................................................... 1,000 250 Annually.

Office of Management Accountability Report Pilot Evaluation Form

1998 ............................................................................................................................... 550 138 Annually.

1999 ............................................................................................................................... 550 138 Annually.

2000 ............................................................................................................................... 550 138 Annually.

Office of Inspector General Patient Questionnaire

1998 ............................................................................................................................... 1,200 200 Annually.

1999 ............................................................................................................................... 1,200 200 Annually.

2000 ............................................................................................................................... 1,200 200 Annually.

Most customer satisfaction surveys

will be recurring so that the NCS, OM,

and IG can create ongoing measures of

performance and to determine how well

the agency meets customer service

standards. Each collection of

information will consist of the

minimum amount of information

necessary to determine customer needs

and to evaluate the organization’s

performance. The NCS expects to

conduct 47 focus groups annually

involving a total of 1,410 hours during

the approval period. In addition, the

NCS expects to conduct telephone

surveys with a total annual burden of

1,750 hours. The NCS, OM, and IG will

distribute written surveys with a total

annual burden of 758 hours.

The areas of concern to the NCS, OM,

and IG and their customers may change

over time, and it is important to have

the ability to evaluate customer

concerns quickly. Participation in the

surveys and focus groups will be

voluntary and the generic clearance will

not be used to collect information

required to obtain or maintain eligibility

for a VA program or benefit. In order to

maximize the voluntary response rates,

the information collection will be

designed to make participation

convenient, simple, and free of

unnecessary barriers. Baseline data

obtained through these information

collections will be used to improve

customer service standards. The NCS,

OM, and IG will consult with OMB

regarding each specific information

collection during this approval period.

Send comments and

recommendations concerning any

aspect of the information collection to

VA’s OMB Desk Officer, Allison Eydt,

OMB Human Resources and Housing

Branch, New Executive Office Building,

Room 10235, Washington, DC 20503

(202) 395–4650. Please refer to ‘‘OMB

Control No. 2900–0571’’ in any

correspondence.

Dated: August 20, 1997.

By direction of the Secretary.

Donald L. Neilson,

Director, Information Management Service.

[FR Doc. 97–24059 Filed 9–10–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 8320–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS

AFFAIRS

[OMB Control No. 2900–0567]

Agency Information Collection

Activities Under OMB Review

AGENCY: National Cemetery System,

Department of Veterans Affairs.

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: In compliance with the

Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995

(44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), this notice

announces that the National Cemetery

System (NCS), Department of Veterans

Affairs, has submitted the collection of

information abstracted below to the

Office of Management and Budget

(OMB) for review and comment. The

PRA submission describes the nature of

the information collection and its

expected cost and burden; it includes

the actual data collection instrument.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on

or before October 14, 1997.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION OR A COPY OF

THE SUBMISSION CONTACT: Ron Taylor,

Information Management Service

(045A4), Department of Veterans

Affairs, 810 Vermont Avenue, NW,

Washington, DC 20420, (202) 273–8015

or FAX (202) 273–5981. Please refer to

‘‘OMB Control No. 2900–0567.’’

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Title: PMC (Presidential Memorial

Certificate) Insert.

OMB Control Number: 2900–0567.

Type of Review: Extension of a

currently approved collection.

Abstract: The PMC Program was

initiated in March 1962 by President

John F. Kennedy to honor the memory

of honorably discharged, deceased

veterans, and has been continued by all