The agency is reminded that the cost burden to be reported for the IC is the burden to the respondents, not to the Federal government. Federal government burden is reported as ICR data. The agency must also review its Federal Enterprise Architecture Line of Business.
table that charts list comparision
Inventory as of this Action
Requested
Previously Approved
10/31/2007
6 Months From Approved
10,000
0
0
5,325
0
0
0
0
0
1. The Peace Corps Office of Domestic Programs builds awareness of the continuing benefits that former Peace Corps Volunteers bring back to the United States after their service. The Office of Domestic Programs activities and publications support section 2 of the Peace Corps Act, which states that one of the agencyÂs missions is to Âpromote a better understanding of other peoples on the part of all Americans. Coverdell World Wise Schools was established in 1989 in order to bring the cross-cultural experience of Peace Corps Volunteers into the classrooms of the United States. Within the purview of Coverdell World Wise Schools, the Correspondence Match program connects an educator with a Peace Corps Volunteer serving overseas. The correspondence between the Volunteer, the educator, and his or her students is used to foster classroom activities and learning experiences relating to the VolunteerÂs country of service and the Peace Corps. In order to participate in the program and be matched with a Volunteer, the educator must complete the Correspondence Match Enrollment Form.
2. The Correspondence Match Enrollment Form is the first point of contact with the participating educator. It is the World Wise Schools fundamental source of information from educators. Information to be collected includes educator name, school name, school address (including street number, city, state, and zip code), school phone, home phone, e-mail address, grade taught, subject area taught, number of students to participate in the program, educators preferences (including specific Volunteer name and country of service and geographic region of service), composition of school student body, description of school, and permission to release information. Respondents include educators interested in promoting global education in the classroom. The information is used to make a suitable match between the educator and a Peace Corps Volunteer. The information will be collected by mail. The information will be collected annually on a continuous basis and with permission may be shared with the media, Congress, returned Volunteer groups, educational institutions, and other government agencies.
3. Currently there is no accessible information technology available that would reduce the collection burden.
4. The collection of information does not impact small businesses or other small entities.
5. This information cannot be collected less frequently than annually, nor does similar information exist, since each year a substantially different groups of educators may participate in the program.
6. There are no special circumstances. Collection will be conducted in a consistent manner with CFR 1320.6 guidelines.
a. The collection does not require respondents to report information to the agency more often than quarterly.
b. The collection does not require respondents to prepare a written response in fewer than 30 days after receipt.
c. The collection does not require respondents to submit more than an original or facsimile copy of the form.
d. The collection does not require respondents to retain records for more than three years.
e. The collection is not designed to produce valid and reliable results that can be generalized to the universe of study.
f. The collection does not require the use of a statistical data classification that has not been reviewed and approved by the Office of Management and Budget.
g. The collection does not include a pledge of confidentiality.
h. The collection does not require respondents to submit proprietary trade secrets or other confidential information.
7. There has been no decision to provide any payment or gift to respondents.
8. There is no assurance of confidentiality provided to respondents.
9. Affected public: Primary
10. Obligated to respond: Voluntary
11. Number of Respondents: 10,000
Peace Corps and the Office of Management have undergone significant changes (i.e., departure of Designated/Delegated Approval Officials for Paperwork Reduction Act Submissions, cancellation of yearly activities, and large transitions of employees out of Peace Corps), that have profoundly affected many programs, staff activities, employees, and protocol of services.
The re-assignment of the Director of Peace Corps left many OMB Information Collection submissions at a standstill. The DirectorÂs approval, forewords and
welcome statements are standard and required on several Peace Corps Volunteer brochures, applications, and surveys, prior to disbursing.
Due to uncertainty as to when a replacement for the Director would be named, all correspondence requiring his approval and signature was suspended.
The Office of Management, and its supporting staff/activities (i.e., Administrative Services; Records/Forms Management Programs and OMB Information Collections, etc.), have been profoundly affected by a shortage of employees, and the abrupt departures of both the Associate Director for Management, and the Chief of the Administrative Services Division. The Office of Management was left without the Delegated/Designated Approval Official for the approval and signature of all Federal Register Notices and Information Collection Packages prior to submission. The Administrative Services Division suffered a loss of the Staff Assistant to the Records Management Officer; who also oversees and manage all facets of the Records and Forms Management Programs, and holds the position of the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) Officer, for submission of OMBs Information Collections.
Compliance reports (i.e., IG Audit, NARAÂs E-Gov Initiatives, etc.), further delayed routine activities. The records, forms and PRA programs are solely managed by the Records Officer. The management of these programs was performed by the Records Officer, in addition to the requirement to train all in-coming new employees, and individual staff activities on record keeping requirements.
Todate, a new Associate Director for Management has been hired, a new Chief of Administrative Services is due to assume his duties in early February, and a new staff assistant for the records/forms management programs has been hired.
Efforts are being made to come into compliance with OMB and other agency requirements. With full leadership and the additional hiring of employees in Administrative Services, efficient and timely efforts will be put forth to get Peace Corps into full compliance with OMB requirements for submission and approval of Information Collection Requests.
Therefore, I am requesting that an emergency approval for a continuous three (3) year expiration date be granted. I request a three year expiration date, as opposed to the routine short-term date for emergency requests, due to the cost of reproducing this ICR. This enrollment package will be outsourced to a printing vendor and mailed to over 10,000 educators. This service is very expensive, and having a short-term expiration date will not be cost effective.
In accordance with the requested approval date of February 5, 2007, all required documents (i.e., 60 and 30 days Federal Register Notices), are provided.
Burden decrease is due to changes in the program, management leadership, and shortage of employees to continue the enrollment processes for this program.
On behalf of this Federal agency, I certify that the collection of information encompassed by this request complies with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR 1320.8(b)(3).
The following is a summary of the topics, regarding the proposed collection of information, that the certification covers:
(i) Why the information is being collected;
(ii) Use of information;
(iii) Burden estimate;
(iv) Nature of response (voluntary, required for a benefit, or mandatory);
(v) Nature and extent of confidentiality; and
(vi) Need to display currently valid OMB control number;
If you are unable to certify compliance with any of these provisions, identify the item by leaving the box unchecked and explain the reason in the Supporting Statement.
0420-0513 Supporting Statement1.doc
Correspondence Match Enrollment Form