This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER

contains documents other than rules or

proposed rules that are applicable to the

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section.

Notices Federal Register

2657

Vol. 63, No. 11

Friday, January 16, 1998

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Economic Research Service

Notice of Intent to Seek Approval to

Collect Information

AGENCY: Economic Research Service,

USDA.

ACTION: Notice and request for

comments.

SUMMARY: In accordance with the

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995

(Pub.L. No. 104–13) and Office of

Management and Budget (OMB)

regulations at 5 CFR Part 1320 (60 FR

44978, August 29, 1995), this notice

announces the Economic Research

Service’s (ERS) intention to request

approval for a new information

collection from day care home

sponsoring organizations participating

in the Child and Adult Care Food

Program (CACFP); from day care homes

that participate in CACFP; from day care

homes that have dropped out of the

program; and from parents of children

cared for in participating day care

homes in order to answer the legislative

mandate in the Personal Responsibility

and Work Opportunity Reconciliation

Act of 1996 (Pub. L. 104–193, Sec. 708

(l)) to study the impact of amendments

to the CACFP’s authorizing legislation

on participation and day care home

licensing.

DATES: Comments on this notice must be

received by March 23, 1998 to be

assured of consideration.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION OR COMMENTS:

Contact Linda Ghelfi, Food Assistance,

Poverty, and Well-Being Branch, Food

and Rural Economics Division,

Economic Research Service, U.S.

Department of Agriculture, 1800 M. St.,

NW, Room 2145, Washington, DC

20036–5831, 202–694–5351.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Title: Application for ERS collection

of information on day care home

sponsoring organizations, current and

‘‘dropout’’ day care homes, and parents

of children cared for in day care homes

that receive food assistance through the

Child and Adult Care Food Program

(CACFP).

Type of Request: Approval to collect

information on the sponsors, current

and ‘‘dropout’’ day care homes, and

parents of children cared for in day care

homes that receive food assistance

through the Child and Adult Care Food

Program (CACFP).

Abstract: The Economic Research

Service has the responsibility to provide

social and economic intelligence on

consumer, food marketing, and rural

issues, including: Food consumption

determinants and trends; consumer

demand for food quality, safety, and

nutrition; food market competition and

coordination; food security status of the

poor; domestic food assistance

programs; low-income assistance

programs; and food safety regulation.

The Food and Nutrition Service (FNS)

administers the nutrition assistance

programs of the U.S. Department of

Agriculture. FNS’’ Child and Adult Care

Food Program (CACFP) provides cash

reimbursements and commodity foods

for meals served in child and adult care

centers, and day care homes. Some 2.3

million children, of which about

988,000 were cared for in day care

homes, participated in the program in

June 1997. Generally, day care homes

provide care in a licensed or approved

private home for a small group of

children. Day care homes must be

administered by a sponsoring

organization that ensures compliance

with Federal and State regulations and

prepares a monthly food reimbursement

claim. The sponsoring organization also

receives Federal reimbursement for

administrative expenses, based on the

number of homes it sponsors.

The Personal Responsibility and Work

Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996

(Pub.L. 104–193, Sec. 708) amended the

CACFP’s authorizing legislation,

instituting, on July 1, 1997, a tiered

reimbursement system that reimburses

day care homes in low-income areas and

those in other areas that are run by lowincome providers (tier I) at a higher rate

than day care homes in other areas that

are run by higher income providers (tier

II). Meals served to low-income children

in tier II homes may be reimbursed at

the tier I rate if the parents of those

children apply to the sponsoring

organization.

The data collection effort proposed

here will obtain information necessary

to complete the Study of Impact of

Amendments on Program Participation

and Family Day Care Licensing

mandated by the Personal

Responsibility and Work Opportunity

Reconciliation Act of 1996 (Pub.L. 104–

193, Sec. 708 (l)).

A sample of day care home

sponsoring organizations will be asked

about the number of homes they

sponsored before July 1, 1997, the

number of homes by tier they sponsor

at the time of the interview, and changes

in their business operations or

recruitment efforts related to the

introduction of tiering. A sample of day

care homes participating in CACFP will

be asked about the number of children

they care for, their tier status, and

changes in their operations related to

the tiering. Tier II homes in the sample

will additionally be asked about the

foods they serve and to obtain waivers

from parents so that the portions of

foods eaten by children they care for

may be recorded. A sample of day care

homes that dropped out of CACFP but

continued to provide child care will be

asked about the reasons they dropped

out. They will also be asked about the

foods they serve and to obtain waivers

from parents so that the portions of

foods eaten by children they care for

may be recorded. A sample of parents

whose children are cared for in tier I

and tier II day care homes will be asked

about their household characteristics on

a voluntary basis.

Information gathered in these surveys

is crucial to completing the Study of

Impact of Amendments on Program

Participation and Family Day Care

Licensing mandated by the Personal

Responsibility and Work Opportunity

Reconciliation Act of 1996 (Pub.L. 104–

193, Sec. 708 (l)). The U.S. Department

of Agriculture is required to report to

Congress on changes in the numbers of

participating day care homes, the

nutritional adequacy and quality of

meals served in tier II and ‘‘dropout’’

day care homes, and the income levels

of children cared for in participating

day care homes. Data collected in the

surveys will provide the basis for that

report.

ERS, working with Abt Associates,

will conduct the surveys of CACFP day
2658 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 11 / Friday, January 16, 1998 / Notices

care home sponsoring organizations,

participating day care homes, ‘‘dropout’’

day care homes, and parents of children

cared for in participating day care

homes. The sampling process is four

staged. Twenty States have been

selected for the survey as a nationally

representative sample of CACFP. The

CACFP-administering agencies in those

States will be asked for lists of sponsors.

A random sample of the sponsors will

be drawn and surveyed. From lists of

participating and ‘‘dropout’’ homes

provided by the sampled sponsors,

random samples of participating and

‘‘dropout’’ homes will be selected and

surveyed. From lists of parents provided

by the participating day care homes, a

random sample of parents will be drawn

and surveyed.

Survey data will be collected through

mail surveys, Computer-Assisted

Telephone Interviewing (CATI), and,

when necessary, personal interviews.

With each stage of the sampling process

dependent upon the success of the

previous stage, every effort will be made

to make the process as simple and user

friendly as possible. For example,

parents will be able to choose between

a phone interview or mail survey to

answer the household questions.

Responses are voluntary and

confidential. Survey data will be used

with other data for statistical purposes

and reported only in aggregate or

statistical form.

No existing data sources, including

FNS administrative data, can provide

the information needed to complete the

Study of Impact of Amendments on

Program Participation and Family Day

Care Licensing mandated by Congress.

These data and the research they will

support are vital to the Department’s

ability to assess the impact of

amendments to CACFP.

Estimate of Burden: Public reporting

burden for this data collection is

estimated to vary by the type of

respondent. Responses by sponsors and

tier I providers are estimated to average

30 minutes. Responses by tier II and

‘‘dropout’’ homes are estimated to

average 3 hours, with those who prepare

foods needing an additional hour to

answer an additional set of questions.

Responses by parents of children cared

for in participating day care homes are

estimated to average 17 minutes. The

estimates include time for listening to

instructions, gathering data needed, and

responding to questionnaire items.

Respondents: Representatives of day

care home sponsoring organizations,

participating day care providers,

‘‘dropout’’ day care providers, and

parents of children cared for in

participating day care homes.

Estimated Number of Respondents:

400 sponsors, 580 tier I providers, 580

tier II providers of which 145 prepare

their own foods, 580 ‘‘dropout’’ day care

providers of which 145 prepare their

own foods, and 1,536 parents of

children cared for in participating day

care homes.

Estimated Total Annual Burden on

Respondents: 4,521 hours.

Copies of the information to be

collected can be obtained from Linda

Ghelfi, Food Assistance, Poverty, and

Well-Being Branch, Food and Rural

Economics Division, Economic Research

Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture,

1800 M. St., NW, Room 2145,

Washington, DC 20036–5801, 202–694–

5351.

Comments: Comments are invited on

(a) whether the proposed collection of

information is necessary for the proper

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

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 on those who are to respond,

such as through the use of appropriate

automated, electronic, mechanical, or

other technological collection

techniques. Comments may be sent to

Linda Ghelfi, Food Assistance, Poverty,

and Well-Being Branch, Food and Rural

Economics Division, Economic Research

Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture,

1800 M. St., NW, Room 2145,

Washington, DC 20036–5831. All

responses to this notice will be

summarized and included in the request

for OMB approval. All comments will

also become a matter of public record.

Signed at Washington, D.C.

Betsey Kuhn,

Director, Food and Rural Economics Division.

[FR Doc. 98–1085 Filed 1–15–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–18–P

COMMITTEE FOR PURCHASE FROM

PEOPLE WHO ARE BLIND OR

SEVERELY DISABLED

Procurement List; Proposed Additions

AGENCY: Committee for Purchase From

People Who Are Blind or Severely

Disabled.

ACTION: Proposed additions to

Procurement List.

SUMMARY: The Committee has received

proposals to add to the Procurement List

commodities and services to be

furnished by nonprofit agencies

employing persons who are blind or

have other severe disabilities.

COMMENTS MUST BE RECEIVED ON OR

BEFORE: February 17, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Committee for Purchase

From People Who Are Blind or Severely

Disabled, Crystal Gateway 3, Suite 310,

1215 Jefferson Davis Highway,

Arlington, Virginia 22202–4302.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Beverly Milkman (703) 603–7740.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This

notice is published pursuant to 41

U.S.C. 47(a)(2) and 41 CFR 51–2.3. Its

purpose is to provide interested persons

an opportunity to submit comments on

the possible impact of the proposed

actions.

If the Committee approves the

proposed additions, all entities of the

Federal Government (except as

otherwise indicated) will be required to

procure the commodities and services

listed below from nonprofit agencies

employing persons who are blind or

have other severe disabilities.

I certify that the following action will

not have a significant impact on a

substantial number of small entities.

The major factors considered for this

certification were:

1. The action will not result in any

additional reporting, recordkeeping or

other compliance requirements for small

entities other than the small

organizations that will furnish the

commodities and services to the

Government.

2. The action does not appear to have

a severe economic impact on current

contractors for the commodities and

services.

3. The action will result in

authorizing small entities to furnish the

commodities and services to the

Government.

4. There are no known regulatory

alternatives which would accomplish

the objectives of the Javits-WagnerO’Day Act (41 U.S.C. 46–48c) in

connection with the commodities and

services proposed for addition to the

Procurement List. Comments on this

certification are invited. Commenters

should identify the statement(s)

underlying the certification on which

they are providing additional

information.

The following commodities and

services have been proposed for

addition to Procurement List for

production by the nonprofit agencies

listed:

Commodities

Slacks, Woman’s