Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

AGENCY:

Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection.

ACTION:

Notice and request for comment.

SUMMARY:

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (Bureau) is requesting to renew the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval for an existing information collection titled, “Evaluation of Financial Empowerment Training Program.”

DATES:

Written comments are encouraged and must be received on or before August 31, 2016 to be assured of consideration.

ADDRESSES:

You may submit comments, identified by the title of the information collection, OMB Control Number (see below), and docket number (see above), by any of the following methods:

• Electronic: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
• OMB: Office of Management and Budget, New Executive Office Building, Room 10235, Washington, DC 20503 or fax to (202) 395-5806. Mailed or faxed comments to OMB should be to the attention of the OMB Desk Officer for the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection.

Please note that comments submitted after the comment period will not be accepted. In general, all comments received will become public records, including any personal information provided. Sensitive personal information, such as account numbers or Social Security numbers, should not be included.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Documentation prepared in support of this information collection request is available at www.reginfo.gov (this link becomes active on the day following publication of this notice). Select “Information Collection Review,” under “Currently under review, use the dropdown menu “Select Agency” and select “Consumer Financial Protection Bureau” (recent submissions to OMB will be at the top of the list). The same documentation is also available at http://www.regulations.gov. Requests for additional information should be directed to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, (Attention: PRA Office), 1700 G Street NW., Washington, DC 20552, (202) 435-9575, or email: CFPB_PRA@cfpb.gov. Please do not submit comments to this email box.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Title of Collection: Evaluation of Financial Empowerment Training Program.

OMB Control Number: 3170-XXXX (Formerly, 3170-0038).

Type of Review: Extension with change of a currently approved collection.

Affected Public: Government social services entities, and not-for-profit institutions.

Estimated Number of Respondents: 15,750.

Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 10,338.

Abstract: The Bureau's Office of Financial Empowerment (Empowerment) is responsible for developing strategies to improve the financial capability of low-income and economically vulnerable consumers, such as consumers who are unbanked or underbanked, those with thin or no credit file, and households with limited savings. To address the needs of these consumers, Empowerment has developed the Your Money, Your Goals toolkit and training program. These resources equip frontline staff and volunteers in a range of organizations to provide relevant and effective information, tools, and technical assistance designed to improve the financial outcomes and capability of these vulnerable consumers. The Bureau seeks to renew approval of the information collection plan (ICP) to collect qualitative data related to evaluating the effectiveness of this toolkit, collateral materials, and training program. The proposed collections will focus on evaluating: (1) Your Money, Your Goals training practices, toolkit, and collateral materials in enhancing the ability of frontline staff and volunteers to inform and educate low-income consumers about managing their finances; (2) and to assess the scope of workshop participants' use of the resources with the people they serve. The Bureau expects to collect qualitative data through paper-based and web-based surveys.

Request for Comments: The Bureau issued a 60-day Federal Register notice on May 16, 2016 (81 FR 30256). This request is to obtain approval to renew the OMB approval for the forms approved under OMB control number 3170-0038. However, since the Bureau is converting this OMB approval from a generic PRA approval to a standard PRA approval, OMB has requested that the Bureau obtain a new OMB control number for these forms. Upon OMB approval of this request, OMB No. 3170-0038 will be discontinued. Comments were solicited and continue to be invited on: (a) Whether the collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the Bureau, including whether the information will have practical utility; (b) The accuracy of the Bureau's estimate of the burden of the collection of information, including the validity of the methods 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 respondents, including through the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology. Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized and/or included in the request for OMB approval. All comments will become a matter of public record.