Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; Comment Request-Serving SNAP Applicants and Participants With Limited English Proficiency (LEP)

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Published

July 11, 2022

Issuing agencies

Agriculture DepartmentFood and Nutrition Service

Abstract

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice invites the general public and other public agencies to comment on this proposed information collection. This is a new information collection for the contract Serving Supplementation Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Applicants and Participants with Limited English Proficiency (LEP). The purpose of the Servicing SNAP LEP study is to provide FNS with a comprehensive understanding of the language landscapes in which SNAP and Nutrition Assistance Program (NAP) agencies operate, as well as the LEP policy and operations landscapes.

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<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 131 (Monday, July 11, 2022)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 131 (Monday, July 11, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 41101-41106]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-14662]

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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Food and Nutrition Service

Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection;
Comment Request--Serving SNAP Applicants and Participants With Limited
English Proficiency (LEP)

AGENCY: Food and Nutrition Service (FNS), USDA.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this
notice invites the general public and other public agencies to comment
on this proposed information collection. This is a new information
collection for the contract Serving Supplementation Nutrition
Assistance Program (SNAP) Applicants and Participants with Limited
English Proficiency (LEP). The purpose of the Servicing SNAP LEP study
is to provide FNS with a comprehensive understanding of the language
landscapes in which SNAP and Nutrition Assistance Program (NAP)
agencies operate, as well as the LEP policy and operations landscapes.

DATES: Written comments must be received on or before September 9,
2022.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be sent to: Eric Williams, Food and Nutrition
Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1320 Braddock Place, 5th
Floor, Alexandria, VA 22314. Comments may also be submitted or via
email to <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#1570677c763b627c79797c74786655606671743b727a63"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="ff9a8d969cd188969393969e928cbf8a8c9b9ed1989089">[email&#160;protected]</span></a>. Comments will also be accepted through
the Federal eRulemaking Portal. Go to <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">http://www.regulations.gov</a>, and
follow the online instructions for submitting comments electronically.
All responses to this notice will be summarized and included in the
request for Office of Management and Budget approval. All comments will
be a matter of public record.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or
copies of this information collection should be directed to Eric
Williams at 703-305-2640.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 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 of the proposed collection of
information, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions
that were 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
use of appropriate automated, electronic, mechanical, or other
technological collection techniques or other forms of information
technology.
Title: Serving SNAP Applicants and Participants with Limited
English Proficiency (LEP).
Form Number: N/A.
OMB Number: 0584-NEW.
Expiration Date: Not yet determined.
Type of Request: New collection.
Abstract: The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)
provides a monthly benefit to eligible households

[[Page 41102]]

to spend on food so that households and individuals with low incomes
have access to enough nutritious food to lead healthy, active lives.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service
(FNS) administers SNAP in partnership with 53 State agencies (the 50
States, the District of Columbia [DC], Guam, and the U.S. Virgin
Islands [USVI]). In three U.S. Territories--American Samoa, the
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), and Puerto Rico--
nutrition assistance to low-income individuals and households is
provided through the Nutrition Assistance Program (NAP).
As Federally assisted programs, both SNAP and NAP are required to
comply with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VI) and its
implementing regulations for the USDA at 7 CFR 15. (U.S. Department of
Justice Civil Rights Division n.d.). Title VI prohibits entities that
receive Federal financial assistance from discriminating against or
otherwise excluding individuals on the basis of race, color, or
national origin. In order to avoid discrimination against LEP persons
on the ground of national origin, administrators of Federal financial
assistance programs must take reasonable steps to ensure that LEP
persons receive the language assistance necessary to afford them
meaningful access to SNAP or NAP as applicable, free of charge. LEP
individuals are defined as those who do not speak English as their
primary language and have a limited ability to read, speak, write, or
understand English (USDA 2014, p. 70775). Meaningful access requires
that State agencies provide language assistance services that allow
equal participation in and access to the benefits of a given program.
To support meaningful access, language assistance must be provided at a
time and place that avoids the effective denial of the service,
benefit, or right at issue or the imposition of an undue burden on or
delay in important rights, benefits, or services to the LEP person
(USDA 2014, p. 70779-70780).
As the agency responsible for providing oversight and monitoring
for both SNAP and NAP, it is critical that FNS understands whether and
how SNAP and NAP agencies are complying with LEP requirements. The LEP
study will provide FNS with actionable insights about how States and
Territories operate language access policies and requirements. The
study will gather detailed data from all 53 State SNAP agencies via a
web-based survey, the three Territories that operate NAP via in-depth
interviews, and will conduct case studies in four States. The study
will provide FNS with a comprehensive summary of findings on policies
and practices related to LEP access. It will increase FNS'
understanding of SNAP LEP access policies and practices across the
nation, including how States make decisions about these policies and
practices, how they train staff on them, and their perceptions of
Federal regulations. The findings from the study will help inform
policymakers efforts to provide more meaningful access to SNAP and NAP.
Affected Public: Members of the public affected by the data
collection include State, Local, and Tribal Governments from 53 State
agencies and three Territories. Respondent groups identified include:
(1) State or local agency directors/managers; (2) NAP directors (3)
Local agency frontline staff.
Estimated Number of Respondents: The total estimated number of
unique respondents is 100, with zero nonrespondents. This includes: 53
State or territory SNAP directors; 3 NAP directors, 12 local SNAP
agency directors; 12 local SNAP office managers, and 20 local SNAP
agency frontline staff. The State or territory SNAP agency directors
include respondents from 53 U.S. States and territories, (50 U.S.
States, the District of Columbia, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Guam).
These respondents will respond to a web survey. The NAP directors
include three U.S. Territory NAP agencies (American Samoa, Commonwealth
of the Northern Mariana Islands, and Puerto Rico). The three NAP agency
directors will participate in an in-depth interview (IDI). Four States
will be selected for the case study. Here is a summary of the
respondents for the case study:

<bullet> 4 State SNAP directors (one from each of the four States)
<bullet> 12 local SNAP agency directors (three from each of the four
States)
<bullet> 12 local SNAP office managers (three from each of the four
States)
<bullet> 20 local SNAP agency frontline staff (5 from each of the four
States). Twelve of these staff will participate in in-depth interviews
and 8 of these staff will participate in simulations.

Estimated Number of Responses per Respondent: Across all
respondents, the average number of responses is 7.56. State or
territory SNAP directors will respond once to a web-based survey with
eight modules. State or territory SNAP directors will receive a FNS
State outreach email to notify them about the web survey. Mathematica
will then email the States a study description and invitation to
complete the web survey. State or territory SNAP directors who have not
completed the survey will be emailed biweekly to complete the survey
(for a total of five possible emails). Those who have not completed in
the last four weeks of data collection will receive an urgent survey
reminder email every week (for a total of four possible emails). State
or territory SNAP directors will be asked to submit documents related
to their language access procedures via the survey. If they do not
submit their documents then they will be sent reminder emails (for a
total of nine possible emails). Starting in week six of data
collection, State or territory SNAP directors will receive reminder
phone calls.
One NAP director from each of three selected Territory NAP agencies
will be asked to complete one IDI. The NAP directors will be provided
with a definitions handout to assist in answering the questions during
the IDI. Prior to the IDI, Mathematica will administer one pre-
interview questionnaire that will allow the IDI protocol to be tailored
to their respective territory. We may break the interviews into
multiple sessions to reduce the burden of the IDI. The IDI will focus
on understanding the development and implementation of language access
policies. NAP directors will receive an email from FNS to notify them
about the IDI. Mathematica will then send an email to NAP directors to
invite them to do the IDI. Following the invitation email, Mathematica
will send another email that coordinates the scheduling of the IDI. NAP
directors that have not scheduled their IDI will be sent a reminder
email (for a total of two possible emails). NAP directors will be asked
to submit documents related to their language access procedures. If
they do not submit their documents then they will be sent reminder
emails (for a total of two possible document reminder emails).
Lastly, four State SNAP agencies that participated in the initial
survey will be selected in collaboration with FNS for a case study. The
case study will involve interviews with four State SNAP directors, 12
local SNAP agency directors, 12 local SNAP office managers, and 12
local SNAP agency frontline staff. Eight local SNAP agency frontline
staff will complete a participant experience simulation. The State or
territory SNAP directors will receive an initial email from FNS
notifying them about the case studies. Following that, an email will
come from the research team introducing them to the case studies and
asking to schedule a call with them to discuss the case studies. State
SNAP directors that do not respond to this initial email will

[[Page 41103]]

receive a reminder email. The State SNAP directors will then
participate in a one hour call to discuss the case study. They will be
provided with an email template to use to reach out to three local
areas in their State. The research team will then follow up with the
local agencies by email to schedule their portions of the site visit.
Estimated Total Annual Responses: 756.
Estimated Time per Response: The estimated time of response varies
from 0.03 hours for activities related to reading email reminders for
the survey, case studies, and in-depth interivews to 2.5 hours for
completing the survey and document request, as well as, the NAP agency
interview protocol and document request. Variation of response time is
dependent on the respondent group, as shown in the attached table, with
an average estimated time of 18.9 minutes (0.315 hours).
Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: The total estimated
burden on respondents is 14,308.2 minutes (238.47 hours). See the table
attached for estimated total annual burden for each type of respondent.

[[Page 41104]]

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Respondents Non-respondents Grand
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- total
Sample annual
Affected public Type of respondents Instruments size Number of Frequency Total Hours per Annual Number of Frequency Total Hours per Annual burden
respondents of annual response burden non- of annual response burden estimate
response responses (hours) respondents response responses (hours) (hours)
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State, local, and Tribal government..... State or territory SNAP Survey.................... 53 53 1 53 2.50 132.50 0 0 0 0 0 132.50
director.
State or territory SNAP Survey FNS State outreach 53 53 1 53 0.07 3.53 0 0 0 0 0 3.53
director. email.
State or territory SNAP Survey study team outreach 53 53 1 53 0.10 5.30 0 0 0 0 0 5.30
director. email with study
description.
State or territory SNAP Survey biweekly survey 53 47 1 47 0.03 1.57 0 0 0 0 0 1.57
director. reminder email #1.
State or territory SNAP Survey biweekly survey 53 41 1 41 0.03 1.37 0 0 0 0 0 1.37
director. reminder email #2.
State or territory SNAP Survey biweekly survey 53 35 1 35 0.03 1.17 0 0 0 0 0 1.17
director. reminder email #3.
State or territory SNAP Survey biweekly survey 53 29 1 29 0.03 0.97 0 0 0 0 0 0.97
director. reminder email #4.
State or territory SNAP Survey biweekly survey 53 23 1 23 0.03 0.77 0 0 0 0 0 0.77
director. reminder email #5.
State or territory SNAP Urgent survey reminder 53 17 1 17 0.03 0.57 0 0 0 0 0 0.57
director. email #1.
State or territory SNAP Urgent survey reminder 53 11 1 11 0.03 0.37 0 0 0 0 0 0.37
director. email #2.
State or territory SNAP Urgent survey reminder 53 5 1 5 0.03 0.17 0 0 0 0 0 0.17
director. email #3.
State or territory SNAP Urgent survey reminder 53 1 1 1 0.03 0.03 0 0 0 0 0 0.03
director. email #4.
State or territory SNAP Survey document reminder 53 47 1 47 0.03 1.57 0 0 0 0 0 1.57
director. email #1.
State or territory SNAP Survey document reminder 53 41 1 41 0.03 1.37 0 0 0 0 0 1.37
director. email #2.
State or territory SNAP Survey document reminder 53 35 1 35 0.03 1.17 0 0 0 0 0 1.17
director. email #3.
State or territory SNAP Survey document reminder 53 29 1 29 0.03 0.97 0 0 0 0 0 0.97
director. email #4.
State or territory SNAP Survey document reminder 53 23 1 23 0.03 0.77 0 0 0 0 0 0.77
director. email #5.
State or territory SNAP Survey document reminder 53 17 1 17 0.03 0.57 0 0 0 0 0 0.57
director. email #6.
State or territory SNAP Survey document reminder 53 11 1 11 0.03 0.37 0 0 0 0 0 0.37
director. email #7.
State or territory SNAP Survey document reminder 53 5 1 5 0.03 0.17 0 0 0 0 0 0.17
director. email #8.
State or territory SNAP Survey document reminder 53 1 1 1 0.03 0.03 0 0 0 0 0 0.03
director. email #9.
State or territory SNAP Survey reminder call 53 53 1 53 0.08 4.42 0 0 0 0 0 4.42
director. script.
State or territory SNAP FNS case study outreach 4 4 1 4 0.07 0.27 0 0 0 0 0 0.27
director. email.
State or territory SNAP Study team case study 4 4 1 4 0.03 0.13 0 0 0 0 0 0.13
director. outreach email.
State or territory SNAP Case study reminder email. 4 4 1 4 0.03 0.13 0 0 0 0 0 0.13
director.
State or territory SNAP Case study call script.... 4 4 1 4 1.00 4.00 0 0 0 0 0 4.00
director.
State or territory SNAP Case study site visit 4 4 3 12 1.00 12.00 0 0 0 0 0 12.00
director. protocol.
Local SNAP agency director Case study outreach email. 12 12 1 12 0.03 0.40 0 0 0 0 0 0.40

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Local SNAP agency director Case study reminder email. 12 12 1 12 0.03 0.40 0 0 0 0 0 0.40
Local SNAP agency director Case study site visit 12 12 1 12 1.00 12.00 0 0 0 0 0 12.00
protocol.
Local SNAP office manager. Case study site visit 12 12 1 12 1.00 12.00 0 0 0 0 0 12.00
protocol.
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Subtotal of State, territory or local agency SNAP 77 77 9.17 706 0.28 201.02 0 0 0 0 0.00 201.02
director/manager
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NAP director.............. FNS interview email to 3 3 1 3 0.03 0.10 0 0 0 0 0 0.10
Territory NAP agency.
NAP director.............. Study team interview 3 3 1 3 0.10 0.30 0 0 0 0 0 0.30
outreach email
toTerritory NAP agency.
NAP director.............. Interview scheduling to 3 3 1 3 0.08 0.25 0 0 0 0 0 0.25
Territory NAP agency.
NAP director.............. Interview reminder email 3 3 1 3 0.08 0.25 0 0 0 0 0 0.25
to Territory NAP agency
#1.
NAP director.............. Interview reminder email 3 3 1 3 0.08 0.25 0 0 0 0 0 0.25
to Territory NAP agency
#2.
NAP director.............. NAP agency document 3 3 1 3 0.03 0.10 0 0 0 0 0 0.10
reminder email #1.
NAP director.............. NAP agency document 3 3 1 3 0.03 0.10 0 0 0 0 0 0.10
reminder email #2.
NAP director.............. NAP agency pre-interview 3 3 1 3 0.17 0.50 0 0 0 0 0 0.50
questionnaire.
NAP director.............. NAP agency interview 3 3 1 3 2.50 7.50 0 0 0 0 0 7.50
protocol.
NAP director.............. NAP agency interview 3 3 1 3 0.03 0.10 0 0 0 0 0 0.10
definitions handout.
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Subtotal of NAP director 3 3 10.00 30 0.32 9.45 0 0 0 0 0.00 9.45
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Local SNAP agency Case study site visit 12 12 1 12 1.50 12.00 0 0 0 0 0 12.00
frontline staff. protocol.
Local SNAP agency Case study simulation 8 8 1 8 2.00 16.00 0 0 0 0 0 16.00
frontline staff. guide.
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Subtotal of local agency frontline staff 20 20 1.00 20 1.40 28.00 0 0 0 0 0.00 28.00
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subtotal unique State, local, and Tribal government 100 100 7.56 756 0.315 238.47 0 0 0 0 0.00 238.47
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Grand total 100 100 7.56 756 0.315 238.47 0 0 0 0 0.00 238.47
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Cynthia Long,
Administrator, Food and Nutrition Service.
[FR Doc. 2022-14662 Filed 7-8-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-30-P

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