[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 93 (Monday, May 13, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 22068-22069]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-11846]



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DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT
[Docket No. FR-3917-N-77]

Office of the Assistant Secretary for Policy Development and 
Research; Notice of Proposed Information Collection for Public Comment

AGENCY: Office of the Assistant Secretary for Policy Development and 
Research, HUD.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The proposed information collection requirement described 
below will be submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
for review, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act. The Department 
is soliciting public comments on the subject proposal.

DATES: Comments due: July 12, 1996.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments regarding 
this proposal. Comments should refer to the proposal by name or OMB 
Control Number and should be sent to: Reports Liaison Officer, Office 
of Policy Development and Research, Department of Housing and Urban 
Development, 451 7th Street, SW., Room 8226, Washington, DC 20410.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
David Chase, Economist, Office of Policy Development and Research--
telephone (202) 708-4504 (this is not a toll-free number).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Department will submit the proposed 
information collection to OMB for review, as required by the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35, as amended).
    This Notice is soliciting comments from members of the public and 
affected agencies concerning the proposed collection of information to: 
(1) Evaluate 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; (2) 
Evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the 
proposed collection of information; (3) Enhance the quality, utility, 
and clarity of the information to be collected; and (4) Minimize the 
burden of the collection of information on those who are to respond; 
including through the use of appropriate automated collection 
techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g. permitting 
electronic submission of responses.
    This notice also lists the following information:
    Title of Proposal: Evaluation of Home Ownership Counseling 
Initiatives.
    OMB Control Number, if applicable: 2528-.
    Description of the need for the information and proposed use: The 
information is being collected to determine the feasibility of setting 
a long-term mechanism for the collection of data to evaluate the 
efficacy of home ownership counseling. Evaluating counseling programs 
has been hampered by two methodological reasons: (1) Differences in 
programs goals complicate any type of performance comparison; and (2) 
the counseling industry encounters very

[[Page 22069]]

different market conditions in different areas.
    HUD's involvement with the counseling dates back to the 1960s. With 
the passage of the 1968 Housing and Urban Development Act, HUD was 
authorized to contract with public and private organizations to provide 
counseling to mortgagors in the Section 235 and 237 Programs. Between 
1988 and 1993, HUD gave some operating support to over 300 agencies. To 
ensure that this support is being provided in a cost-effective manner, 
HUD proposes to undertake a preliminary investigation of the 
feasibility of a long-term evaluation. This investigation will include 
identifying key data requirements and pre-testing a baseline data 
collection form to gather the required information from counseling 
recipients.
    Agency form numbers, if applicable: None.
    Members of affected public: New participants in three counseling 
programs will be asked to participate in this data collection activity. 
It is expected that at most 200 participants in each program will be 
evaluated.
    Estimation of the total number of hours needed to prepare the 
information collection including number of respondents, frequency of 
response, and hours of response: Information will be collected by one-
time interviews with at most 600 participants in counseling programs. 
These interviews will take approximately thirty minutes each. This 
means a total of 300 hours of response for the information collection.
    Status of the proposed information collection: Pending OMB 
clearance.

    Authority: Section 3506 of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 
44 U.S.C. Chapter 35, as amended.

    Dated: April 30, 1996.
Michael A. Stegman,
Assistant Secretary, Office of Policy Development and Research.
[FR Doc. 96-11846 Filed 5-10-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4210-62-M