SUPPORTING STATEMENT FOR REQUEST FOR OMB APPROVAL
Under the Paperwork Reduction Act and 5 CFR 1320
Corporation for National and Community Service's
Voucher and Payment Request Form
JUSTIFICATION
The National and Community Service Act of 1990, as amended, requires that individuals who complete a term of national service in an approved national service position be granted a national service education award. These education awards can be used to repay qualified student loans and to pay for the cost of attending qualified post-secondary educational institutions and approved School-to-Work programs. The attached form is to be used to collect the information necessary for disbursing payments to qualified organizations, as detailed in 42 U.S.C. §12602 through §12604. The Corporation for National and Community Service's Voucher and Payment Request Form is the official document that an AmeriCorps member uses to authorize and request such payments. This submission is to slightly revise an existing form in order to enhance clarity and ease of use.
Need for Data Collection
The Voucher and Payment Request Form serves three purposes: 1) the AmeriCorps member uses it to request and authorize a specific payment to be made from his or her education award account, 2) the school or loan company uses it to indicate the amount for which the individual is eligible, and 3) the school or loan holder and the member both certify that the payment meets various legislative requirements. When the Corporation receives a voucher it is processed and the U.S. Treasury issues a payment to the loan holder or school on behalf of the AmeriCorps member.
Use of Information to be Collected
The form, or its electronic equivalent, will be used to make a payment, as described above. Prior to making the payment, the Corporation will review information from the form and compare it to information taken from the AmeriCorps member's education award account to ensure that the payment meets the requirements of the law.
Use of Improved Technology to Reduce Burden
Currently, about half of the education award payments are requested and processed electronically. The Corporation expects the use of paper forms to decrease significantly over the next few years.
The Corporation has the US Treasury make all payments from the National Service Trust (approximately half of the payments, at this time, by paper check); however, the Corporation intends to continue promoting payments through Electronic Funds Transfers (EFTs).
4. Efforts to Identify Duplication
This information is not being requested by any other means.
5. Burden on Small Entities
Only AmeriCorps members and their schools or student loan holders fill out this form. The form requests only the most pertinent information not available to the Trust elsewhere. The schools and loan holders complete the forms in order to receive payments.
While some of these organizations may fall under OMB's definition of small entities, completing the form should not have a significant impact on a substantial number of small entities.
6. Consequences of Less Frequent or No Data Collection
AmeriCorps members use the form to request payments. If this data were not collected, the Corporation would not know how or where to disburse AmeriCorps members' payments.
7. Special Circumstances
No special circumstances exist with respect to this form.
8. Federal Register Publication and Comments Received
On August 10, 2007, a notice was placed in the Federal Register for a 60-day pre-clearance public comment period. The Corporation received no responses to the notice.
9. Provisions of Payments or Gifts
No payments or gifts are provided.
10. Assurance of Confidentiality
Confidentiality of information supplied by respondents is ensured by the Privacy Act. A Privacy Act notice appears on the form.
11. Sensitive Questions
No sensitive questions are included on the form.
12. Estimate of Hour Burden of the Collection of Information
The estimate of burden hours for respondents to complete the form is a total of 3750 hours.
1/2 minute for AmeriCorps members to complete their section x 45,000 forms = 34,500 minutes or 375 hours
4 1/2 minutes for schools or loan holders to complete their portion x 45,000 forms = 310,500 minutes or 3,375 hours
13. Estimate of Total Annual Cost
There will be zero annual cost.
14. Annualized Cost to Federal Government.
There will be no additional costs to the federal government.
15. Reasons for Program Changes or Adjustments
The burden for this collection is decreasing. Based on historical records, we now have better estimates on how many people complete the form and how long it takes. Our new electronic system for processing vouchers makes the time for responses a little faster, as some information is pre-populated on each form in the system. We also have been able to look back at records to determine the actual submissions in recent times, and have made adjustments in the burden accordingly.
16. Outline of Plans for Tabulation and Publication
There will be no publication of the data from the forms. Total payment amounts are kept by the Corporation for reports to Congress and for planning, accounting, and auditing purposes.
17. Display of Expiration Date
The Corporation requests that the expiration date not be displayed. OMB approved a similar request the last time the Corporation revised this form.
Several years ago, when a prior version did include the expiration date, the Corporation faced a sea of confused AmeriCorps members, schools, and lenders. By law, AmeriCorps members can take up to seven years to use their education awards. The Corporation was contacted by hundreds of members whose awards were not due to expire for several years because they thought the form's expiration date was the date their award expired. We have not had this confusion with the current version of the form, which does not include the expiration date.
18. Exception to Certification Statement
No exceptions are requested
B. COLLECTION OF INFORMATION EMPLOYING STATISTICAL METHODS
Statistical methods will not be used.
| File Type | application/msword |
| File Title | SUPPORTING STATEMENT FOR REQUEST FOR OMB APPROVAL |
| Author | Levon Buller |
| Last Modified By | LaMonica Shelton |
| File Modified | 2007-12-28 |
| File Created | 2007-12-28 |