The Department of Agriculture has submitted the following information collection requirement(s) to OMB for review and clearance under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13. Comments are requested regarding (1) whether the collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the information will have practical utility; (2) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of burden including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used; (3) ways to enhance the quality, utility and clarity of the information to be collected; and (4) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms of information technology.
Comments regarding this information collection received by February 22, 2016 will be considered. Written comments should be addressed to: Desk Officer for Agriculture, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget (OMB), New Executive Office Building, 725-17th Street NW., Washington, DC 20502. Commenters are encouraged to submit their comments to OMB via email to: OIRA_Submission@OMB.EOP.GOV or fax (202) 395-5806 and to Departmental Clearance Office, USDA, OCIO, Mail Stop 7602, Washington, DC 20250-7602. Copies of the submission(s) may be obtained by calling (202) 720-8958.
An agency may not conduct or sponsor a collection of information unless the collection of information displays a currently valid OMB control number and the agency informs potential persons who are to respond to the collection of information that such persons are not required to respond to the collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number.
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Title: Reporting Requirements for State Plans of Work for Agricultural Research and Extension Formula Funds.
OMB Control Number: 0524-0036.
Summary of Collection: Section 202 and 225 of the Agricultural Research, Extension, and Education Reform Act of 1998 (AREERA) which requires that a plan of work must be submitted by each institution and approved by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) before formula funds may be provided to the 1862 and 1890 land-grant institutions. The plan of work must address critical agricultural issues in the State and describe the programs and project targeted to address these issues using the NIFA formula funds. The plan of work also must describe the institution's multistate activities as well as their integrated research and extension activities.
NIFA is requesting to continue to collect an update to the 5-Year Plan of Work which began with the Fiscal Year 2007, and as a result no longer needs to collect the initial 5-Year Plan. Also, as required by the Food Conservation and Energy Act of 2008 (FCEA) (Pub. L. 110-246, Sec. 7505), NIFA is working with the university partners in extension and research to review and identify measures to streamline the submission, reporting under, and implementation of plan of work requirements.
Need and Use of the Information: Institutions are required to annually report to NIFA the following: (1) The actions taken to seek stakeholder input to encourage their participation; (2) a brief statement of the process used by the recipient institution to identify individuals or groups who are stakeholders and to collect input from them; and (3) a statement of how collected input was considered. NIFA uses the information to provide feedback to the institutions on their Plans of Work and Annual Reports of Accomplishments and Results in order for institutions to improve the conduct and the delivery of their programs. Failure to comply with the requirements may result in the withholding of a recipient institution's formula funds and redistribution of its share of formula funds to other eligible institutions.
Description of Respondents: Not-for-profit institutions; State, Local or Tribal Government.
Number of Respondents: 75.
Frequency of Responses: Reporting: Annually.
Total Burden Hours: 49.
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Title: Children, Youth, and Families at Risk (CYFAR) Year End Report.
OMB Control Number: 0524-0043.
Summary of Collection: Funding for the Children, Youth, and Families at Risk (CYFAR) is authorized under section 3(d) of the Smith-Lever Act (7 U.S.C. 341 et seq.), as amended and other relevant authorizing legislation, which provides jurisdictional basis for the establishment and operation of extension educational work for the benefit of youth and families in communities. The CYFAR funding program supports community-based programs serving children, youth, and families in at risk environments. CYFAR funds are intended to support the development of high quality, effective programs based on research and to document the impact of these programs on intended audiences which are children, youth, and families in at-risk environments.
Need and Use of the Information: The purpose of the CYFAR Year End Report is to collect the demographic and impact data from each community site in order to evaluate the impact of the programs on intended audiences. Data from the CYFAR annual reports is used to refine and improve program focus and effectiveness. The CYFAR data is also used to respond to requests for impact information from Congress, the White House, and other Federal agencies. Without the information NIFA would not be able to verify if CYFAR programs are reaching at risk, low-income audiences.
Description of Respondents: State, Local or Tribal Government.
Number of Respondents: 51.
Frequency of Responses: Reporting: Annually.
Total Burden Hours: 16,422.
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Title: Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP).
OMB Control Number: 0524-0044.
Summary of Collection: The Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) is a unique program that began in 1969 and is designed to reach limited resource audiences, especially youth and families with young children. EFNEP operates in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and in American Samoa, Guam, Micronesia, Northern Marianas, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. Extension professionals train and supervise paraprofessionals and volunteers who teach food and nutrition information and skills to limited resources families and youth.
Need and Use of the Information: NIFA will collect information using Web-Based Nutrition Education Evaluation and Reporting System (WebNEERS), which is an integrated database system that stores information on: (1) Adult program participants, their family structure and dietary practices; (2) youth group participants; and (3) staff, NEERS consists of separate software sub-systems for the County and the State levels (State also refers to U.S. Territories). Without the information it would be extremely difficult for the national office to compare, assess, and analyze the effectiveness and the impact of EFNEP without the annual collection of data.
Description of Respondents: State, Local or Tribal Government.
Number of Respondents: 75.
Frequency of Responses: Recordkeeping; Reporting: Annually.
Total Burden Hours: 86,826.
Ruth Brown,
Departmental Information Collection Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. 2016-01262 Filed 1-21-16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-09-P