PSOEA JUSTIFICATION 2007 Revised[1]

SUPPORTING STATEMENT

Public Safety Officers Educational Assistance

A. JUSTIFICATION

1. Necessity of Information: The Office of Justice Programs Bureau of Justice Assistance has been authorized to administer the Public Safety Officers= Educational Assistance (PSOEA) Program. Under the PSOEA Act of 1998, Public Law 104-238, Section 1213(a), a person seeking educational benefits through this program must submit an application containing information that is reasonably required. This form, OJP FORM 1240/20, Application for Public Safety Officers= Educational Assistance, has been designed to meet this need. Respondents who complete the application may be spouses or eligible children of public safety officers who were killed or permanently and totally disabled in the line of duty.

2. Purpose for Use: BJA=s Public Safety Officers= Benefits (PSOB) division will use the PSOEA application information to confirm the eligibility of applicants to receive PSOEA benefits. Eligibility is dependent on several factors, including the applicant having received or being eligible to receive a portion of the PSOB Death Benefit, or having a family member who received the PSOB Disability Benefit. Also considered are the applicant=s age and the schools being attended. In addition, information to help BJA identify an individual is collected, such as Social Security number and contact numbers and e-mail addresses. The changes to the application form have been made in an effort to streamline the application process and eliminate requests for information that is either irrelevant or already being collected by other means.

3. Use of Information Technology: The Public Safety Officers= Educational Assistance application form OJP FORM 1240/20, is accessible by the Internet at the Bureau of Justice Assistance’s web site: http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/BJA/grant/psob/psob_educstmnt.html

The PSOEA application is also available via mail and/or fax by contacting;

Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Assistance

Public Safety Officers’ Educational Assistance

810 Seventh Street, NW

Washington, DC., 20531

1-888-744-6513 Toll free

202-616-0314 Fax

4. Identification of Duplication: This is the only Federal program providing this assistance. The PSOEA application is the only form that asks the information required to determine if an individual is eligible for PSOEA benefits.

5. Impact on Small Businesses or Other Entities: The information collection requirements do not impact small businesses or other entities as described in the instructions for completing OMB Form 83-I.

6. Consequences if Collection is not Conducted: A completed PSOEA application need only to be submitted once by each applicant. The information collected on the form is necessary to confirmthat the applicant is eligible for the PSOEA benefits. Without the needed information, eligibility cannot be determined and consequently no educational assistance payment(s) will be given.

7. Special Circumstances: None.

8. Publication: A 60-day and 30-day notice was published in the Federal Register in order to

solicit comments from the public. No comments were received.

9. Payment to Respondents: The completion and successful processing of this application will

entitle the applicant, as a beneficiary of a public safety officer who was killed or permanently and totally disabled in the line of duty, to receive up to $827.00 per month/$ 9,924.00 a year, for educational expenses (i.e. tuition, room and board, books, rent, supplies, etc…).

10. Assurance of Confidentiality: All information on the form is collected in accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended. OJP is compliant with 28CFR22 which protects

confidentiality of identifiable and statistical information and is committed to keeping a system of records that is consistent with the regulations of the Privacy Act.

11. Questions of a Sensitive Nature: The questions that may be considered sensitive are those requesting the names of officers killed or permanently disabled in the line of duty, as well as the dates of their deaths/injuries and the names and locations of their public safety agencies. This information, however, is necessary to confirm the eligibility of the applicant under the PSOEA Program.

12. Estimate of the Hour Burden: Annual Hour Burden

1. Number of Respondents: 78

2. Number of applications submitted per respondent: 1 application

3. Total annual applications: 78 x 1 = 78

4. Hours per application: 20 minutes

5. Total Annual Reporting Burden: 78 x 20 minutes per application = 1560 minutes / by 60 minutes per hour = 26 hours.

13. Estimate of the Total Annual Cost Burden: There is no capital or start up costs associated with information collection under this program. The minimal cost to the respondents is the time (approximately 20 minutes) spent gathering the information and the transmission of the two-page form.

14. Estimate of Annualized Cost to the Federal Government: The assigned program manager for this program is paid at an annual rate of a GS-13/5 at $ 87,664 per year, plus $ 19,286 (or 22% in fringe benefits) = $ 106,950 /52 weeks/40 hours per week equal an hourly rate of $ 51.41. Each application review takes approximately 10 minutes or 6 applications per hour. 78 applications x $ 8.57 ($51.41/6 = $ 8.57 per application) = $ 668.44.

15. Program Changes or Adjustments: The changes to the application form have been made in an effort to streamline the application process and eliminate requests for information that is either irrelevant or already being collected by other means.

16. Publishing Information: The information collected will not be published.

17. Approval to not Displaying the OMB Approval: The present information collection request does not seek such an approval.

18. Certification for Paperwork Reduction Act Submission: See attached Certification Statement.

B. STATISTICAL METHODS

This information collection does not employ the use of statistical collection methods.