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[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 15 (Friday, January 23, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3713-3716]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-01129]

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SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION

[Docket No. SSA-2015-0001]

Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Request and 
Comment Request

    The Social Security Administration (SSA) publishes a list of 
information collection packages requiring clearance by the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) in compliance with Public Law 104-13, the 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, effective October 1, 1995. This notice 
includes revisions and extensions of OMB-approved information 
collections.
    SSA is soliciting comments on the accuracy of the agency's burden 
estimate; the need for the information; its practical utility; ways to 
enhance its quality, utility, and clarity; and ways to minimize burden 
on respondents, including the use of automated collection techniques or 
other forms of information technology. Mail, email, or fax your 
comments and recommendations on the information collection(s) to the 
OMB Desk Officer and SSA Reports Clearance Officer at the following 
addresses or fax numbers.

(OMB) Office of Management and Budget, Attn: Desk Officer for SSA, Fax: 
202-395-6974, Email address: [email protected].

[[Page 3714]]

(SSA) Social Security Administration, OLCA, Attn: Reports Clearance 
Director, 3100 West High Rise, 6401 Security Blvd., Baltimore, MD 
21235, Fax: 410-966-2830, Email address: [email protected]

    Or you may submit your comments online through www.regulations.gov, 
referencing Docket ID Number [SSA-2015-0001].
    I. The information collections below are pending at SSA. SSA will 
submit them to OMB within 60 days from the date of this notice. To be 
sure we consider your comments, we must receive them no later than 
March 24, 2015. Individuals can obtain copies of the collection 
instruments by writing to the above email address.
    1. Waiver of Right to Appear--Disability Hearing--20 CFR 404.913-
404.914, 404.916(b)(5), 416.1413-416.1414, 416.1416(b)(5)--0960-0534. 
Claimants for Social Security disability payments or their 
representatives can use Form SSA-773-U4 to officially waive their right 
to appear at a disability hearing. The disability hearing officer uses 
the signed form as a basis for not holding a hearing, and for preparing 
a written decision on the claimant's request for disability payments 
based solely on the evidence of record. The respondents are claimants 
for disability payments under Title II and Title XVI of the Social 
Security Act, or their representatives, who wish to waive their right 
to appear at a disability hearing.
    Type of Request: Revision of an OMB-approved information 
collection.

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                                                                                Average  burden  Estimated total
           Modality of completion                Number of       Frequency of    per  response    annual burden
                                                respondents        response        (minutes)         (hours)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SSA-773-U4..................................             200                1                3               10
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    2. Promoting Readiness of Minors in SSI (PROMISE) Evaluation--0960-
0799.
    Background.
    The Promoting Readiness of Minors in SSI (PROMISE) demonstration 
pursues positive outcomes for children with disabilities who receive 
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and their families by reducing 
dependency on SSI. The Department of Education (ED) awarded six 
cooperative agreements to states to improve the provision and 
coordination of services and support for children with disabilities who 
receive SSI and their families to achieve improved education and 
employment outcomes. ED awarded PROMISE funds to five single-state 
projects, and to one six-state consortium.\1\ With support from ED, the 
Department of Labor (DOL), and the Department of Health and Human 
Services (HHS), SSA is evaluating the six PROMISE projects. SSA 
contracted with Mathematica Policy Research to conduct the evaluation.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ The six-state consortium project goes by the name Achieving 
Success by Promoting Readiness for Education and Employment (ASPIRE) 
rather than by PROMISE.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Under PROMISE, targeted outcomes for youth include an enhanced 
sense of self-determination; achievement of secondary and post-
secondary educational credentials; an attainment of early work 
experiences culminating with competitive employment in an integrated 
setting; and long-term reduction in reliance on SSI. Outcomes of 
interest for families include heightened expectations for and support 
of the long-term self-sufficiency of their youth; parent or guardian 
attainment of education and training credentials; and increases in 
earnings and total income. To achieve these outcomes, we expect the 
PROMISE projects to make better use of existing resources by improving 
service coordination among multiple state and local agencies and 
programs.
    ED, SSA, DOL, and HHS intend the PROMISE projects to address key 
limitations in the existing service system for youth with disabilities. 
By intervening early in the lives of these young people, at ages 14-16, 
the projects engage the youth and their families well before critical 
decisions regarding the age 18 redetermination are upon them. We expect 
the required partnerships among the various state and Federal agencies 
that serve youth with disabilities to result in improved integration of 
services and fewer dropped handoffs as youth move from one agency to 
another. By requiring the programs to engage and serve families and 
provide youth with paid work experiences, the initiative is mandating 
the adoption of critical best practices in promoting the independence 
of youth with disabilities.

Project Description

    SSA is requesting clearance for the collection of data needed to 
implement and evaluate PROMISE. The evaluation provides empirical 
evidence on the impact of the intervention for youth and their families 
in several critical areas, including: (1) Improved educational 
attainment; (2) increased employment skills, experience, and earnings; 
and (3) long-term reduction in use of public benefits. We base the 
PROMISE evaluation on a rigorous design that entails the random 
assignment of approximately 2,000 youth in each of the six projects to 
treatment or control groups (12,000 total). The PROMISE projects 
provide enhanced services for youth in the treatment groups; whereas 
youth in the control groups are eligible only for those services 
already available in their communities independent of the 
interventions.
    The evaluation assesses the effect of PROMISE services on 
educational attainment, employment, earnings, and reduced receipt of 
disability payments. The three components of this evaluation include:
     The process analysis, which documents program models, 
assesses the relationships among the partner organizations, documents 
whether the grantees implemented the programs as planned, identifies 
features of the programs that may account for their impacts on youth 
and families, and identifies lessons for future programs with similar 
objectives.
     The impact analysis, which determines whether youth and 
families in the treatment groups receive more services than their 
counterparts in the control groups. It also determines whether 
treatment group members have better results than control group members 
with respect to the targeted outcomes noted above.
     The cost-benefit analysis, which assesses whether the 
benefits of PROMISE, including increases in employment and reductions 
in benefit receipt, are large enough to justify its costs. We conduct 
this assessment from a range of perspectives, including those of the 
participants, state and Federal governments, SSA, and society as a 
whole.
    SSA planned several data collection efforts for the evaluation. 
These include: (1) Follow-up interviews with youth and their parent or 
guardian 18 months and 5 years after enrollment; (2) phone and in-
person interviews with local program administrators, program 
supervisors, and service delivery staff at

[[Page 3715]]

two points in time over the course of the demonstration; (3) two rounds 
of focus groups with participating youth in the treatment group; (4) 
two rounds of focus groups with parents or guardians of participating 
youth; and (5) collection of administrative data.
    At this time, SSA requests clearance for the 18-month survey 
interviews. SSA will request clearance for the 5-year survey interviews 
in a future submission. The respondents are the youth participants in 
the PROMISE program, and the parents or guardians of the youth 
participants.
    Type of Request: Revision of an OMB-approved information 
collection.

                                           Time Burden on Respondents
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                                                                                      Average        Estimated
                                                     Number of     Frequency of     burden per     total annual
             Modality of completion                 respondents      response        response         burden
                                                                                     (minutes)        (hours)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                  2014: Interviews and Focus Group Discussions
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Staff Interviews with Administrators or                       75               1              66              83
 Directors......................................
Staff Interviews with PROMISE Project Staff.....             145               1              66             160
Youth Focus Groups--Non-participants............             320               1               5              27
Youth Focus Groups--Participants................              80               1             100             133
Parents or Guardian Focus Groups--Non-                       320               1               5              27
 participants...................................
Parents or Guardian Focus Groups--Participants..              80               1             100             133
                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------
    Totals......................................           1,020  ..............  ..............             563
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                                        2015: 18 Month Survey Interviews
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18 Month Survey Interviews--Parent..............             850               1              41             581
18 Month Survey Interviews--Youth...............             850               1              30             425
                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------
    Totals......................................           1,700  ..............  ..............           1,006
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                                  2016: Interviews and Focus Group Discussions
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Staff Interviews with Administrators or                       75               1              66              83
 Directors......................................
Staff Interviews with PROMISE Project Staff.....             145               1              66             160
Youth Focus Groups--Non-participants............             320               1               5              27
Youth Focus Groups--Participants................              80               1             100             133
Parents or Guardian Focus Groups--Non-                       320               1               5              27
 participants...................................
Parents or Guardian Focus Groups--Participants..              80               1             100             133
18 Month Survey Interviews--Parent..............           5,100               1              41           3,485
18 Month Survey Interviews--Youth...............           5,100               1              30           2,550
                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------
    Totals......................................          11,220  ..............  ..............           6,598
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                                        2017: 18 Month Survey Interviews
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
18 Month Survey Interviews--Parent..............           4,250               1              41           2,904
18 Month Survey Interviews--Youth...............           4,250               1              30           2,125
                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------
    Totals......................................           8,500  ..............  ..............           5,029
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                                                   Grand Total
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    Grand Total.................................          22,440  ..............  ..............          13,196
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                                           Cost Burden for Respondents
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                      Average                          Total
                                     Number of     Frequency of     burden per     Median hourly    respondent
         Respondent type            respondents      response        response        wage rate         cost
                                                                     (minutes)       (dollars)       (dollars)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                        2014: Annual Cost to Respondents
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Parent or Guardian Focus Group--             320               1               5           $7.38         $196.01
 Non-Participants...............
Parent or Guardian Focus Group--              80               1             100            7.38          984.20
 Participants...................
                                 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Total.......................             400  ..............  ..............  ..............        1,180.21
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                                        2016: Annual Cost to Respondents
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Parent or Guardian Focus Group--             320               1               5            7.38          196.01
 Non-Participants...............
Parent or Guardian Focus Group--              80               1             100            7.38          984.20
 Participants...................
                                 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[[Page 3716]]

 
    Total.......................             400  ..............  ..............  ..............        1,180.21
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                                            Grand Total Cost Estimate
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    Grand Total.................             800  ..............  ..............  ..............        2,360.42
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    II. SSA submitted the information collections below to OMB for 
clearance. Your comments regarding the information collections would be 
most useful if OMB and SSA receive them 30 days from the date of this 
publication. To be sure we consider your comments, we must receive them 
no later than February 23, 2015. Individuals can obtain copies of the 
OMB clearance package by writing to [email protected].
    1. Modified Benefit Formula Questionnaire--Foreign Pension--0960-
0561. SSA uses Form SSA-308 to determine exactly how much (if any) of a 
foreign pension may be used to reduce the amount of Title II Social 
Security retirement or disability benefits under the modified benefit 
formula. The respondents are applicants for Title II Social Security 
retirement or disability benefits who have foreign pensions.
    Type of Request: Extension of an OMB-approved information 
collection.

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                                                                                      Average        Estimated
                                                     Number of     Frequency of     burden per     total annual
             Modality of completion                 respondents      response        response         burden
                                                                                     (minutes)        (hours)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SSA-308.........................................          13,452               1              10           2,242
Phone Interview.................................           1,666               1              60           1,666
                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------
    Totals......................................          15,118  ..............  ..............           3,908
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    2. Filing Claims Under the Federal Tort Claims Act--20 CFR 429.101-
429.110--0960-0667. The Federal Tort Claims Act is the legal mechanism 
for compensating persons injured by negligent or wrongful acts that 
occur during the performance of official duties by Federal employees. 
In accordance with the law, SSA accepts monetary claims filed under the 
Federal Tort Claims Act for damages against the United States, loss of 
property, personal injury, or death resulting from an SSA employee's 
wrongful act or omission. The regulation sections cleared under this 
information collection request require claimants to provide information 
SSA can use to investigate and determine whether to make an award, 
compromise, or settlement under the Federal Tort Claims Act. The 
respondents are individuals or entities making a claim under the 
Federal Tort Claims Act.
    Type of Request: Extension of an OMB-approved information 
collection.

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                                                                                      Average        Estimated
                                                     Number of     Frequency of     burden per     total annual
                   CFR section                      respondents      response        response         burden
                                                                                     (minutes)        (hours)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
429.102; 429.103 \1\............................               1  ..............  ..............               1
429.104(a)......................................              11               1               5               1
429.104(b)......................................              43               1               5               4
429.104(c)......................................               1               1               5               0
429.106(b)......................................               6               1              10               1
                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------
    Totals......................................              62  ..............  ..............               7
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\1\ The 1 hour represents a placeholder burden. We are not reporting a burden for this collection because
  respondents complete OMB-approved Form SF-95.

    Dated: January 20, 2015.
Faye Lipsky,
Reports Clearance Officer, Social Security Administration.
[FR Doc. 2015-01129 Filed 1-22-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4191-02-P
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