Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Request and Comment Request

SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION

Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Request and

Comment Request

In compliance with Public Law 104-13, the Paperwork Reduction Act

of 1995, the Social Security Administration (SSA) is providing notice

of its information collections that require submission to the Office of

Management and Budget (OMB). 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 on ways to minimize burden on respondents, including the use of

automated collection techniques or other forms of information

technology.

I. The information collections listed below will be submitted to

OMB within 60 days from the date of this notice. Therefore, comments

and recommendations regarding the information collections would be most

useful if received by the Agency within 60 days from the date of this

publication. Comments should be directed to the SSA Reports Clearance

Officer at the address listed at the end of this publication. You can

obtain a copy of the collection instruments by calling the SSA Reports

Clearance Officer on (410) 965-4145, or by writing to him at the

address listed at the end of this publication.

1. Request for Information--0960-NEW. The information collected on

this form will be used by SSA's Office of the Inspector General (OIG)

to conduct periodic eligibility reviews of beneficiaries residing in

foreign countries. The form is designed to replace the current time-

consuming and expensive method of conducting these reviews by selecting

sample cases and conducting in person interviews. The form will permit

OIG to review all beneficiary residents of the foreign country under

study, thereby narrowing the scope of the beneficiaries requiring in

person visits to those who do not respond or to those who provide

questionable evidence. The respondents are Social Security

beneficiaries residing in foreign countries.

Number of Respondents: 900.

Frequency of Response: 1.

Average Burden Per Response: 30 minutes.

Estimated Annual Burden: 450 hours.

2. Application for Parent's Insurance Benefits--0960-0012. The

information collected on form SSA-7 is used by the Social Security

Administration to determine entitlement of an individual to parent's

insurance benefits. The respondents are parents who were dependents on

the worker for at least one-half of their support.

Number of Respondents: 1,400.

Frequency of Response: 1.

Average Burden Per Response: 15 minutes.

Estimated Annual Burden: 350 hours.

3. 0960-NEW. State Partnership Initiative (SPI) Cooperative

Agreements. Executive Order 13078 dated March 13, 1998, Increasing

Employment of Adults With Disabilities, orders that a National Task

Force be established to create a coordinated and aggressive national

policy to bring adults with disabilities into gainful employment at a

rate that is as close as possible to that of the general adult

population. E.O. 13078 specifies that the Task Force ``evaluate and,

where appropriate, coordinate and collaborate on, research and

demonstration priorities of Task Force member agencies related to

employment of adults with disabilities.''

To comply with the EO, SSA released cooperative agreement

announcements in 1998 to approximately 650 State agencies nationwide to

conduct demonstration projects that assist States in developing service

delivery models that increase the rates of gainful employment of people

with disabilities. Eighteen State agencies have been selected to

participate in the demonstration projects.

SSA has employed a monitoring and technical assistance contractor

to collect information from the State awardees' databases on behalf of

SSA. The Contractor will use the information to evaluate whether and to

what extent the service delivery models achieve the overall goals of

the demonstration projects and will report project results to SSA. SSA

will use the results to conduct a net outcome evaluation to determine

the long-term effectiveness of the interventions.

Following is a table that outlines the public reporting burden of

the 18 State agencies for this project:

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Estimated

Title of collection Number of annual Frequency of Average burden per annual burden

responses response response (hours)

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Demonstration Site Form......... 16 (electronic).... One Time........... 1 minute........... .3

2 (manual)......... One Time........... 1 minute........... .1

Participant Demographic Data 3,080 (electronic). One Time........... 15 minutes......... 770

Form. 300 (manual)....... One Time........... 20 minutes......... 100

[[Page 28853]]

Participant Employment Data Form 3,080 (electronic). One Time........... 5 minutes.......... 257

300 (manual)....... One Time........... 7 minutes.......... 35

Participant Update Form......... 12,320 (electronic) Quarterly.......... 4 minutes.......... 821

1,200 (manual)..... Quarterly.......... 5 minutes.......... 100

Change in Employment Status..... 1,540 (electronic). Completed only if 3 minutes.......... 77

150 (Manual)....... employment changes. 4 minutes.......... 10

State Quarterly................. 72................. Quarterly.......... 15 minutes for each 18

report.

State Semiannual................ 36................. Semiannual......... ................... 9

Annual Reports.................. 18................. Annual............. ................... 4.5

Stakeholder Interviews.......... 50................. Varies per 10 minutes......... 8.3

Stakeholder.

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Total....................... ................... ................... ................... 2,210.2

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II. The information collections listed below have been submitted to

OMB for clearance. Written comments and recommendations on the

information collections would be most useful if received within 30 days

from the date of this publication. Comments should be directed to the

SSA Reports Clearance Officer and the OMB Desk Officer at the addresses

listed at the end of this publication. You can obtain copies of the OMB

clearance packages by calling the SSA Reports Clearance Officer on

(410) 965-4145, or by writing to him.

1. Current Rule Regarding Continuation of Full Benefit Standard for

Persons Institutionalized--0960-0516. The information collected by the

Social Security Administration will be used to determine if a recipient

of Supplemental Security Income benefits, who is temporarily

institutionalized, is eligible to receive a full benefit. The

respondents will be such recipients and their physicians.

Number of Respondents: 60,000.

Frequency of Response: 1.

Average Burden Per Response: 5 minutes.

Estimated Average Burden: 5,000 hours.

2. Request for Review of Hearing Decision/Order--0960-0277. The

information collected on form HA-520 is needed to afford claimants

their statutory right under the Social Security Act to request review

of a hearing decision. The data will be used to determine the course of

action appropriate to resolve each issue. The respondents are claimants

denied or dissatisfied with a decision made regarding their claim.

Number of Respondents: 103,932.

Frequency of Response: 1.

Average Burden Per Response: 10 minutes.

Estimated Average Burden: 17,322 hours.

3. Statement Regarding Date of Birth and Citizenship--0960-0016.

The information collected on form SSA-702 is used by the Social

Security Administration in conjunction with other evidence to establish

a claimant's age or citizenship when better proofs are not available.

The respondents are individuals who have knowledge of the birth and

citizenship of the applicant.

Number of Respondents: 1,200.

Frequency of Response: 1.

Average Burden Per Response: 10 minutes.

Estimated Average Burden: 200 hours.

4. Disability Update Report--0960-0511. The Social Security Act

requires a periodic review of the disabled status of recipients whose

benefits are based on disability to determine whether they continue to

be eligible for these benefits. SSA uses the information collected on

the SSA-455 to identify those beneficiaries who have medically improved

and/or returned to work and have substantial earnings, and to decide

whether a full medical continuing disability review should be conducted

or deferred to a later date. The respondents are recipients of

supplemental security income and/or social security disability

benefits.

Number of Respondents: 900,000.

Frequency of Response: 1.

Average Burden Per Response: 15 minutes.

Estimated Annual Burden: 225,000 hours.

(SSA Address)

Social Security Administration, DCFAM, Attn: Frederick W.

Brickenkamp, 6401 Security Blvd., 1-A-21 Operations Bldg., Baltimore,

MD 21235.

(OMB Address)

Office of Management and Budget, OIRA, Attn: Lori Schack, New

Executive Office Building, Room 10230, 725 17th St., NW, Washington,

D.C. 20503.

Dated: May 20, 1999.

Frederick W. Brickenkamp,

Reports Clearance Officer, Social Security Administration.

[FR Doc. 99-13246 Filed 5-26-99; 8:45 am]

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