Notice2024-22178
Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Request
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
September 27, 2024
Issuing agencies
Social Security Administration
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 188 (Friday, September 27, 2024)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 188 (Friday, September 27, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 79328-79330]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-22178]
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SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION
[Docket No: SSA-2024-0033]
Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Request
The Social Security Administration (SSA) publishes a list of
information collection packages requiring clearance by the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) in compliance with Public Law 104-13, the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, effective October 1, 1995. This notice
includes a request for a new information collection.
SSA is soliciting comments on the accuracy of the agency's burden
estimate; the need for the information; its practical utility; ways to
enhance its quality, utility, and clarity; and ways to minimize burden
on respondents, including the use of automated collection techniques or
other forms of information technology. Mail, email, or fax your
comments and recommendations on the information collection(s) to the
OMB Desk Officer and SSA Reports Clearance Officer at the following
addresses or fax numbers.
(OMB) Office of Management and Budget, Attn: Desk Officer for SSA
You may submit your comments online through <a href="https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain">https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain</a>, referencing Docket ID Number [SSA-2024-0033].
(SSA) Social Security Administration, OLCA, Attn: Reports Clearance
Director, Mail Stop 3253 Altmeyer, 6401 Security Blvd., Baltimore, MD
21235, Fax: 833-410-1631, Email address: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#f6b9a4d8a4938699848285d8b59a93978497989593b6858597d8919980"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="7d322f532f180d120f090e533e11181c0f1c131e183d0e0e1c531a120b">[email protected]</span></a>
Or you may submit your comments online through https://www.reginfo.gov/
public/do/PRAmain by clicking on Currently under Review--Open for
Public Comments and choosing to click on one of SSA's published items.
Please reference Docket ID Number [SSA-2024-003] in your submitted
response.
The information collections below are pending at SSA. SSA will
submit them to OMB within 60 days from the date of this notice. To be
sure we consider your comments, we must receive them no later than
November 26, 2024. Individuals can obtain copies of the collection
instruments by writing to the above email address.
1. Developing Opportunities for ABLE Owners (DO-ABLE)--0960-NEW.
Background
SSA is requesting clearance to collect data necessary to evaluate
the Developing Opportunities for ABLE Owners (DO-ABLE) under the
Interventional Cooperative Agreement Program (ICAP). On May 6, 2021,
the Social Security Administration (SSA) announced a new funding
opportunity, the Interventional Cooperative Agreement Program (ICAP),
in the Federal Register, 86 FR 24427. ICAP allows SSA to partner with
various non-federal groups and organizations to advance interventional
research connected to the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Social
Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) programs. On September 28, 2023,
SSA awarded a cooperative agreement to the University of Chicago's
Inclusive Economy Lab (IEL) through the Interventional Cooperative
Agreement Program (ICAP). Through the cooperative agreement, IEL will
conduct the Developing Opportunities for Achieving a Better Life
Experience Owners (DO-ABLE) demonstration project.
[[Page 79329]]
DO-ABLE Project Description
DO-ABLE intends to promote take-up and use of ABLE accounts among
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipients in Illinois and Wisconsin
through a three-phased randomized controlled trial (RCT). ABLE accounts
are tax-advantaged savings accounts, which offer people with
disabilities the opportunity to accumulate assets and use funds for a
broad range of expenses without threatening SSI benefits eligibility.
Up to $100,000 saved in an ABLE account is exempt from the SSI resource
limit.\1\ Regardless of the benefits ABLE accounts offer to SSI
recipients, very few people have accounts. To be eligible for ABLE, one
must have a disability that (1) meets SSA's definition of disability;
and (2) started before age 26. Our study will therefore include current
adult SSI recipients in Illinois and Wisconsin who are ages 18 to 59
who first received SSI before age 26, all of whom are eligible for ABLE
accounts. We will exclude existing ABLE account owners from the study.
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\1\ SSI cash benefits are suspended if ABLE account balances
exceed this $100,000 threshold; however, ABLE account balances do
not affect Medicaid eligibility.
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The DO-ABLE evaluation uses a three-phased randomized controlled
trial (RCT) to promote take-up and use of ABLE accounts. We designed
each of the three phases of the proposed RCT to address and engage with
a key barrier identified through our previous research as preventing
uptake of ABLE accounts: (1) limited knowledge of the program; (2)
administrative burden associated with opening and using the accounts;
(3) limited resources to save. To collect this information, we will
first send letters to approximately 85,000 of the roughly 100,000
eligible SSI recipients in Illinois and Wisconsin. Eligible SSI
recipients are those actively receiving SSI payments who are ages 18 to
59 who first received SSI before age 26. This outreach will be Phase 1
of the intervention. In addition to providing information encouraging
people to sign up for an ABLE account, these letters will invite people
to participate in an intake survey. For people who agree to
participate, we will collect three different types of data:
<bullet> Intake Survey: We will send a link to this online survey
in the initial letter we send. This survey will contain four parts:
[cir] Consent Form: This form will ask respondents for their
consent to participate in the study.
[cir] Program-specific Modules: These will gather information on
participants' perceptions of ABLE accounts and will also cover metrics
related to employment intentions and financial well-being.
[cir] Short Informational Video: This video will highlight the
advantages of ABLE accounts for SSI recipients and will include closed
captions for those who require them.
[cir] Random Assignment for Second Phase: After people complete the
consent form, we will randomly assign them to either a seeding group
(in which case they would be eligible for $250 to be placed into a
newly opened ABLE account) or the no seeding group. At the end of the
survey, we will inform people to which group they are assigned.
<bullet> Follow-up Survey: The DO-ABLE evaluation team will
administer a follow-up survey to everyone who provided informed consent
(regardless of whether they completed the full intake survey, and
regardless of their assignment status for phases two and three) two
years after their enrollment date. The survey will collect information
about similar topics as the intake survey to allow us to assess changes
over time, as well as more comprehensive measures of work activity and
general well-being. These data will help offer a comprehensive
assessment of how the intervention and participation in ABLE affects
participants' self-sufficiency and well-being.
<bullet> Qualitative Interviews: To offer additional context on the
overall process, we will conduct two waves of semi-structured
qualitative interviews. Each round will include 40 unique individuals,
including a mix of people with disabilities and their supporters,
caregivers, and loved ones. We expect the interviews to last about 45
minutes, and will explore respondents' planned use of their ABLE
accounts, including contributions and uses of funds. We will also
explore key facilitators and barriers to opening and using ABLE
accounts that are difficult to assess through surveys and
administrative data. In addition, for individuals who did not sign up
for an account, we will examine the barriers that prevented them from
opening an account and what would need to change for them to sign up.
We expect these interviews will assess participants' initial
expectations of the value of ABLE accounts in promoting employment,
independence, and well-being, and explore how these expectations
compare to the participants' actual experience of using ABLE accounts.
SSA is partnering with the University of Chicago's IEL and the
Illinois State Treasurer's Office (ILSTO) to implement and evaluate DO-
ABLE. The evaluation will provide empirical evidence on (1) the
barriers that currently prevent people from opening ABLE accounts; and
(2) the impacts of opening and saving money in an ABLE account. We are
primarily interested in impacts on financial security, self-
sufficiency, and, ultimately, employment. The respondents are current
SSI recipients (or their guardians) who are ages 18 to 59 who first
received SSI before age 26, and who are thus eligible to open an ABLE
account.
Type of Request: Request for a new information collection.
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Average Average wait
Average burden Estimated theoretical time for Total annual
Modality of completion Number of Frequency of per response total annual hourly cost teleservice opportunity cost
respondents response (minutes) burden (hours) amount centers (dollars) ***
(dollars) * (minutes) **
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Intake survey--Online................ 4,760 1 15 1,190 * $31.48 .............. *** $37,461
Intake survey--Telephone............. 2,040 1 15 510 * 31.48 ** 19 *** 36,391
Follow-up survey--Online............. 2,856 1 15 714 * 31.48 .............. *** 22,477
Follow-up survey--Telephone.......... 1,224 1 15 306 * 31.48 ** 19 *** 21,847
Qualitative interviews............... 80 1 45 60 * 31.48 ** 19 *** 2,676
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Totals........................... 10,960 .............. .............. 2,780 .............. .............. *** 120,852
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* We based this figure on the average U.S. worker's hourly wages, as reported by Bureau of Labor Statistics data (<a href="https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_nat.htm">https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_nat.htm</a>).
** We based this figure by averaging the average FY 2024 wait times for teleservice centers, based on SSA's current management information data.
*** This figure does not represent actual costs that SSA is imposing on recipients of Social Security payments to complete this application; rather,
these are theoretical opportunity costs for the additional time respondents will spend to complete the application. There is no actual charge to
respondents to complete the application.
[[Page 79330]]
Dated: September 24, 2024.
Naomi Sipple,
Reports Clearance Officer, Social Security Administration.
[FR Doc. 2024-22178 Filed 9-26-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4191-02-P
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