This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER

contains documents other than rules or

proposed rules that are applicable to the

public. Notices of hearings and investigations,

committee meetings, agency decisions and

rulings, delegations of authority, filing of

petitions and applications and agency

statements of organization and functions are

examples of documents appearing in this

section.

Notices Federal Register

28144

Vol. 66, No. 99

Tuesday, May 22, 2001

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. 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 intention

to request approval for a new

information collection from School

Food Authorities (SFAs) and state and

county welfare and food stamp agencies.

The study will collect information on

the National School Lunch Program

(NSLP) and direct certification for free

school meals from SFA directors or

other key staff and administrative

records data from state and county

welfare and food stamp agencies.

DATES: Comments on this notice must be

received by July 27, 2001 to be assured

of consideration.

ADDRESSES: Address all comments

concerning this notice to Joshua

Winicki, Food Assistance and Rural

Economy Branch, Food and Rural

Economics Division, Economic Research

Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture,

1800 M Street, NW., Room S–2091,

Washington, DC 20036–5831, 202–694–

5448. Submit electronic comments to

jwinicki@ers.usda.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Title: Direct Certification and Its

Impact on Errors in the National School

Lunch Program.

OMB Number: Not yet assigned.

Expiration Date: N/A.

Type of Request: Approval for new

data collection from School Food

Authorities and state and county

welfare and food stamp agencies.

Abstract: ERS needs to learn more

about the influence of direct

certification on three objectives of

USDA’s provision of benefits under the

NSLP: (1) Providing free or reducedprice meals to intended recipients while

not providing them to children who do

not qualify; (2) keeping down the costs

of gathering and processing data to

administer the program, and (3)

ensuring ease of access to program

benefits for the intended recipients.

Direct certification was designed to

address the second and third of these

objectives, by improving access to the

program and streamlining the

administrative process. However,

emphasizing these objectives could

compromise the first objective by

directing benefits to some students who

do not qualify for them. The Study of

Direct Certification will contribute new

information to USDA as it reexamines

the appropriate balance among these

goals.

The last study of direct certification

was based on data from 1996. However,

the 1996 study collected no information

on the verification process, by which

school districts determine the rate at

which students are certified for free

meals in error. Thus, the previous study

could not assess the degree to which the

NSLP provides meals to intended

recipients while not providing them to

children who do not qualify.

Furthermore, two recent trends have

made the need for up-to-date

information on direct certification even

more pressing. First, the policy of direct

certification was first introduced in the

early 1990s and is believed to have

expanded rapidly since that time. Thus,

information on the prevalence of direct

certification collected in 1996 may no

longer be accurate. Second, there is

evidence that the number of children

certified in error has grown in recent

years. Data from the Current Population

Survey indicate that the number of

children receiving free meals exceeds

the number of children identified as

income eligible to qualify for free meals,

and that this ratio has been growing. In

1993, the number of children estimated

to be receiving free lunches was about

equal to the number estimated to be

income-eligible for this benefit. By 1997,

the number of certified children was

118 percent of the number of incomeeligible children.

The Study of Direct Certification is

being undertaken at this time for greater

understanding of how direct

certification works and how it affects

both certification to receive free and

reduced-price meals and the actual

receipt of these benefits. The study will

also gauge the levels of error in the

program and the impacts of direct

certification on these error rates. In

particular, the study will have three

primary objectives:

• Estimate the prevalence of direct

certification and the different methods

used to implement it.

• Measure the incidence of errors in

certification for free and reduced-price

meals.

• Estimate the impacts of direct

certification on rates of certification,

participation, and certification errors.

The main data source to be used to

address these will be a survey of School

Food Authorities operating in public

school districts within the 50 states and

the District of Columbia. This survey

will be conducted in the winter and

spring of early 2002. Supplemental

administrative data will be collected

from state and county welfare and food

stamp agencies.

The sample frame of public school

districts for the SFA survey will be the

list of local education agencies (school

districts) obtained from the National

Center for Education Statistics (NCES)

Common Core of Data (CCD): Local

Education Agency Universe, 1998–1999

(or 1999–2000, if available). A sample of

1,547 public school districts will be

selected to obtain approximately 1,200

SFA interviews. This sample will be

nationally representative and selected

with probability proportional to size,

with the measure of size being the

square root of the number of lowincome children enrolled in the district.

Before conducting the survey,

advance letters will be sent to the Chief

State School Offices in the states in

which sampled districts are located, as

well as to the states’ representatives to

the Education Information Advisory

Committee (EIAC) and the districts’

superintendents. Next, advance letters

will be sent to the SFA directors, along

with a fact sheet for them to complete

prior to the survey to facilitate the

process of conducting the interview.

The interviews with approximately

Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 99 / Tuesday, May 22, 2001 / Notices 28145

1,200 SFAs will be conducted by

telephone, using computer-assisted

telephone interviewing (CATI).

Respondent burden will be

minimized for the SFA survey by using

CATI methods to streamline the

interviewing process, and by carefully

training interviewing staff on survey

procedures. To minimize the number of

open-ended questions asked on the

survey, responses to open-ended

questions from the 1996 SFA

questionnaire were examined and used

to develop closed-ended questions on

this questionnaire. Pretest interviewing

results indicated that respondents

wanted more survey items to be

included on the fact sheet, thus

minimizing the time to look up answers

while on the telephone with the

interviewer. Responses will be

voluntary and confidential. To ensure

confidentiality, data will be reported

only in tabular form, with analysis cells

large enough to prevent identification of

individual agencies. The data will not

be used to evaluate or assess the

performance of individual school

districts or of the districts within

individual states. SFAs will be notified

of these confidentiality assurances in

their advance letters.

In addition to the SFA survey,

administrative data will be collected

from state and county welfare or food

stamp agencies. First, the agency in each

state that assists SFAs in determining

the students eligible or potentially

eligible for direct certification will be

identified. Next, these agencies will be

sent a letter informing them of the study

and of the data request. Following this,

the agencies will be contacted by phone

and asked to provide administrative

record data containing two key pieces of

information for districts within their

state selected for the SFA survey

sample: (1) A list of students in the

district who were determined to be

eligible or potentially eligible for direct

certification just prior to the 2001–2002

school year; and (2) a list of students in

these districts who would have been

eligible or potentially eligible for direct

certification as of December 15, 2001.

To reduce burden on these agencies,

they will be asked to provide this

information in whatever form is most

convenient for them. Either electronic

files or hard copy lists of students will

be accepted.

Estimate of Burden: For the SFA

survey, burden on respondents will

consist of two parts. First, they will

have to complete the fact sheet in

preparation for the interview. This will

take about 90 minutes (1.5 hours)

depending on district size and level of

computerization. Second, they will have

to take the time to complete the

interview. This takes 30 minutes (.5

hours). For the administrative-records

data collection from state or county

welfare and food stamp agencies, a 4

hour burden for the respondent is

estimated. We anticipate 75 entities will

supply this information (49 states,

Washington DC, and 25 California

counties).

Respondents: Key staff members of

SFAs representing public school

districts in the 50 states and the District

of Columbia; officials designated by the

state or county welfare or food stamp

office as the most appropriate to supply

the files.

Estimated Number of Respondents:

1,275 in total; including 1,200 SFAs,

and 75 state or county welfare or food

stamp offices.

Estimated Total Annual Burden on

Respondents: 2,700 hours total.

Comments

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,

including the validity of the

methodology and the 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

technology. Comments should be sent to

the address in the preamble. All

responses to this notice will be

summarized and included in the request

for Office of Management and Budget

(OMB) approval. All comments will also

become a matter of public record.

Dated: April 17, 2001.

Susan E. Offutt,

Administrator, Economic Research Service.

[FR Doc. 01–12845 Filed 5–21–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–18–P

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service

Southwest Washington Provincial

Advisory Committee Meeting Notice

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of meeting.

SUMMARY: The Southwest Washington

Provincial Advisory Committee will

meet on Wednesday, May 30, 2001, at

the Wind River Training Center, located

at 1262 Hemlock Road, Carson,

Washington. The meeting will begin at

10 a.m. and continue until 4 p.m. The

purpose of the meeting is to: (1) Discuss

fish passage and habitat restoration at

Hemlock Dam, and (2) Provide for a

Public Open Forum. All Southwest

Washington Provincial Advisory

Committee meetings are open to the

public. Interested citizens are

encouraged to attend. The ‘‘open forum’’

provides opportunity for the public to

bring issues, concerns, and discussion

topics to the Advisory Committee. The

‘‘open forum’’ is scheduled as part of

agenda item (2) for this meeting.

Interested speakers will need to register

prior to the open forum period. The

committee welcomes the public’s

written comments on committee

business at any time.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Direct questions regarding this meeting

to Linda Turner, Public Affairs

Specialist, at (360) 891–5195, or write

Forest Headquarters Office, Gifford

Pinchot National Forest, 10600 NE. 51st

Circle, Vancouver, WA 98682.

Dated: May 14, 2001.

Lynn Burditt,

Deputy Forest Supervisor.

[FR Doc. 01–12772 Filed 5–21–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–11–M

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Natural Resources Conservation

Service

Lower Tillamook Bay Watershed Plan

and Environmental Assessment,

Tillamook, Oregon

AGENCY: Natural Resources

Conservation Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of a Finding of No

Significant Impact.

SUMMARY: Pursuant to section 102(2)(c)

of the National Environmental Policy

Act of 1969; the Council on

Environmental Quality Regulations (40

CFR part 1500); and the Natural

Resources Conservation Service

Regulations (7 CFR part 650); the

Natural Resources Conservation Service,

U.S. Department of Agriculture, gives

notice that an environmental impact

statement is not being prepared for the

Lower Tillamook Bay Watershed Plan

and Environmental Assessment,

Tillamook, Oregon.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bob

Graham, State Conservationist, Natural

Resources Conservation Service, 101

SW Main, Suite 1300, Portland, Oregon

97204, telephone 503–414–3200.