Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) Wave 4 of the 2000 Panel

ACTION:

Proposed collection; comment request.

SUMMARY:

The Department of Commerce, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on proposed or continuing information collections, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13 (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)).

DATES:

Written comments must be submitted on or before September 11, 2000.

ADDRESSES:

Direct all written comments to Linda Engelmeier, Departmental Forms Clearance Officer, Department of Commerce, Room 6086, 14th and Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20230 (or via the Internet at LEngelme@doc.gov).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Requests for additional information or copies of the information collection instrument(s) and instructions should be directed to Judith H. Eargle, Census Bureau, FOB 3, Room 3379, Washington, DC 20233-0001, (301) 457-3819.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

The Census Bureau conducts the SIPP which is a household-based survey designed as a continuous series of national panels. New panels are introduced every few years with each panel usually having durations of 1 to 4 years. Respondents are interviewed at 4-month intervals or “waves” over the life of the panel. The survey is molded around a central “core” of labor force and income questions that remain fixed throughout the life of the panel. The core is supplemented with questions designed to address specific needs, such as obtaining information on taxes, the ownership and contributions made to an Individual Retirement Account, Keogh and 401K plans, examining patterns in respondent work schedules, and child care arrangements. These supplemental questions are included with the core and are referred to as “topical modules.”

The SIPP represents a source of information for a wide variety of topics and allows information for separate topics to be integrated to form a single, unified database so that the interaction between tax, transfer, and other government and private policies can be examined. Government domestic-policy formulators depend heavily upon the SIPP information concerning the distribution of income received directly as money or indirectly as in-kind benefits and the effect of tax and transfer programs on this distribution. They also need improved and expanded data on the income and general economic and financial situation of the U.S. population. The SIPP has provided these kinds of data on a continuing basis since 1983 permitting levels of economic well-being and changes in these levels to be measured over time.

The 2000 Panel is currently scheduled for just over one year and will include 3 waves of interviewing. We are considering extending the panel to include 9 waves. A request for OMB clearance of the core questions and Wave 4 topical modules will be submitted if the panel is extended. Approximately 11,500 households are in the 2000 Panel. We estimate that each household will contain 2.1 persons, yielding 24,150 interviews in each wave. Interviews take 30 minutes on average. If the 2000 Panel is extended, three waves of interviewing would occur in the 2000 Panel during FY 2001. The total annual burden for 2000 Panel SIPP interviews would be 36,255 hours in FY 2001.

The topical modules for the 2000 Panel Wave 4 would collect information about:

• Annual Income and Retirement Accounts
• Child Care
• Work Schedule
• Taxes
• Children's Well-Being

Wave 4 interviews would be conducted from February 2001 through May 2001.

A 10-minute reinterview of 750 persons is conducted at each wave to ensure accuracy of responses. Reinterviews would require an additional 375 burden hours in FY 2001.

An additional 1,050 burden hours is requested in order to continue the SIPP Methods Panel testing which will be conducted during the period of Wave 4 interviewing. The test targets SIPP Wave 1 items and sections that require thorough and rigorous testing in order to improve the quality of core data.

II. Method of Collection

The SIPP is designed as a continuing series of national panels of interviewed households that are introduced every few years with each panel having durations of 1 to 4 years. All household members 15 years old or over are interviewed using regular proxy-respondent rules. During the 2000 panel, respondents are interviewed at 4-month intervals making the SIPP a longitudinal survey. Sample people (all household members present at the time of the first interview) who move within the country and reasonably close to a SIPP primary sampling unit will be followed and interviewed at their new address. Individuals 15 years old or over who enter the household after Wave 1 will be interviewed; however, if these individuals move, they are not followed unless they happen to move along with a Wave 1 sample individual.

III. Data

OMB Number: 0607-0865.

Form Number: SIPP/CAPI Automated Instrument.

Type of Review: Regular.

Affected Public: Individuals or Households.

Estimated Number of Respondents: 24,150 persons per wave.

Estimated Time Per Response: 30 minutes per person on average.

Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 37,650.

Estimated Total Annual Cost: The only cost to respondents is their time.

Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.

Legal Authority: Title 13, United States Code, Section 182.

IV. Request for 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 shall have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden (including hours and cost) of the proposed collection of information; (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 or included in the request for the Office of Management and Budget approval of this information collection; they also will become a matter of public record.