OMB Supporting Statement 2013 Extension

PART A - JUSTIFICATION

Question 1. Necessity of the Information Collection

The Census Bureau requests approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for an extension of the generic clearance for a number of activities it plans to conduct to update its Master Address File (MAF) and maintain the linkage between the MAF and the Topologically Integrated Geographic Encoding and Referencing (TIGER) database of address ranges and associated geographic information. The Census Bureau plans to use the MAF for post-Census 2010 evaluations, various pre-2020 census tests, and as a sampling frame for the American Community Survey and our other demographic current surveys. In the past, the Census Bureau has built a new address list for each decennial census. The MAF built during Census 2000 will be updated thereafter, eliminating the need to assemble a completely new address list for future censuses and surveys. The TIGER is a geographic system that maps the entire country in Census Blocks with applicable address ranges of living quarter location information. Linking MAF and TIGER allows us to assign each address to the appropriate Census Block, produce maps as needed and publish results at the appropriate level of geographic detail.

The generic clearance for the past three years has proved to be very beneficial to the Census Bureau. The generic clearance allowed us to utilize our limited resources on actual operational planning and development of procedures. The extension will be especially beneficial over the upcoming three years by enabling us to focus on the efforts to improve procedures for future Dress Rehearsals, and to continue updating the MAF.

We will follow the protocol of past generic clearances: 30 days before the scheduled start date of each census activity, we will provide OMB with a detailed background on the activity, estimates of respondent burden and samples of pertinent forms. After the close of each fiscal year, we will also file a year-end summary report with OMB, presenting the results of each activity conducted.

The following sections describe the categories of activities to be included under the clearance. The Census Bureau has conducted these activities (or similar ones) previously and the respondent burden remains relatively unchanged from one time to another.

Demographic Area Address Listing (DAAL)

The Demographic Area Address Listing (DAAL) program encompasses the geographic area updates for the Community Address Updating System (CAUS) and the area and group quarters frame listings for many ongoing demographic surveys (the Current Population Survey, the Consumer Expenditures Survey, etc.). The CAUS program is designed to address quality concerns relating to areas with high concentrations of noncity-style addresses, and to provide a rural counterpart to the update of city-style addresses the MAF receives from the U.S. Postal Services’s Delivery Sequence File. The ongoing demographic surveys, as part of the 2000 Sample Redesign Program, used the MAF as one of several sources of addresses from which they selected their samples. In fiscal year 2010, the DAAL operation will also be used to assess a job aid used in the 2010 Address Canvassing operation to identify units in small multi-unit structures. The DAAL program is a cooperative effort among many divisions at the Census Bureau; it includes automated listing software, systems, and procedures that will allow us to conduct listing operations in a dependent manner based on information contained in the MAF.

The DAAL operations will be conducted on an ongoing basis in potentially any county across the country. Field Representatives (FRs) will canvass selected Census 2000 tabulation blocks to improve the address list in areas where substantial address changes may have occurred that have not been added to the MAF through regular update operations, and/or in blocks in the area or group quarters frame sample for the demographic surveys. FRs will update existing address information, and, when necessary, contact individuals to collect accurate location and mailing address information. In general, contact will occur only when the FR is adding a unit to the address list, and/or the individual's address is not posted or visible to the FR. There is no pre-determined or scripted list of questions asked as part of this listing operation. If an address is not posted or visible to the FR, the FR will ask about the address of the structure, the mailing address, and, in some instances, the year the structure was built. If the occupants of these households are not at home, the FR may attempt to contact a neighbor to determine the best time to find the occupants at home and/or to obtain the correct address information. At group quarters, a facility manager is usually contacted to collect information concerning the facility.

DAAL is an ongoing operation. Listing assignments are distributed quarterly with the work conducted throughout the time period. We expect that DAAL listing operation will be conducted throughout the entire time period of the extension.

American Housing Survey (AHS) Screening Operation

The Census Bureau plans a screening operation to add housing units in independent living facilities to the American Housing Survey (AHS) sample. We define an independent living facility as a building with 5 or more housing units whose residents live independently and are generally self-sufficient but are able to get help with services like meals, transportation, and managing finances, as well as personal care such as bathing, eating, or dressing. The residents tend to be elderly but also include the disabled of all ages.

We plan on placing a flag on the MAF to identify the independent living units added to the AHS by this operation. AHS is the first current survey to attempt to identify independent living units. If the operation is successful, other current surveys will use the criteria developed to identify such units for inclusion in their samples and will also flag these units on the MAF. Having these units identified on the MAF increases its functionality. Independent living is one of the fastest growing types of housing. The Census Bureau needs to begin the process of identifying units in these facilities.

Depending on the sponsor’s FY10 budget, there are an estimated 180 to 600 units in sample for the 2011 AHS-Metropolitan survey, we will screen from all 12 Regional Offices October 12 - December 10, 2010. We would need to do this again in late 2012 for the 2013 AHS survey. The Regional Office Supervisors will telephone the facility contacts to confirm the status of the units. We will never contact the housing unit itself for this information. We expect the screening questions to take about 6 minutes once a contact person is located which equates to total respondent burden of 60 hours.

All information that identifies individuals will be held in strict confidence according to the provisions of Title 13, United States Code, Section 9. When contact is made, the Regional Office Supervisor will read the Confidentiality Notice that provides information on the confidential nature of Census Bureau data. This notice explains that any information given to the Census Bureau will be held in strict confidence. None of the questions asked during the screening are of a sensitive nature and there is no cost to facilities other than that of staff time to respond.

The list above is not exhaustive of all activities, which may be performed under this generic clearance. We will follow the approved procedure when submitting any additional activities not specifically listed here.

The activities to be conducted under this clearance are authorized by Title 13 United States Code, Sections 141 and 193.

Question 2. Needs and Uses

All activities described above directly support the Census Bureau’s efforts to update the MAF and the TIGER database on a regular basis so that they will be available for use in conducting and evaluating statistical programs the Census Bureau undertakes on a monthly, annual or periodic basis.

Information quality is an integral part of the pre-dissemination review of the information disseminated by the Census Bureau (fully described in the Census Bureau’s Information Quality Guidelines). Information quality is also integral to the information collections conducted by the Census Bureau and is incorporated into the clearance process required by the Paperwork Reduction Act.

Question 3. Use of Information Technology

Laptops are used by the listers in collecting responses or data in some of the activities we conduct.

Question 4. Efforts to Identify Duplication

These activities do not duplicate information collected by any other agency. Further, there is no similar current information available that could be used or modified for these purposes.

Question 5. Minimizing Burden

Using the Delivery Sequence File provided by the U.S. Postal Service, along with address information provided by state, local and tribal governments, to update the MAF will allow us to verify existing information in appropriate areas instead of collecting all the information from the respondent, thereby reducing respondent burden. The interviews at individual households are very short and most often require only the address or physical location, plus householder name and telephone number for some operations.

Question 6. Consequences of Less Frequent Collections

Response to each of these activities is on a one-time basis. However, the activities will be conducted periodically in conjunction with census tests, dress rehearsals, and other interim census efforts to maintain a current and accurate list of addresses and geographic features. If these activities were not conducted, the accuracy of the MAF and the TIGER database would suffer, resulting in increased costs for, and problems in, conducting the decennial census and other Census Bureau statistical programs.

Question 7. Special Circumstances

There are no special circumstances preventing the meeting of all guidelines.

Question 8. Consultations Outside the Agency

While planning for the mid-decade activities and the 2020 census, we have had consultations with outside parties, including the U.S. Postal Service. Consultations specific to the activities described above generally are not deemed necessary because the methodologies are well proven.

The Census Bureau published a notice in the Federal Register on October 13, 2009 soliciting comments on our plans to submit this request (74 FR, pg. 52449 – 52451). We received a reply dated December 14, 2009 from the Brookings Institution in support of the request to extend the generic clearance for MAF and TIGER update activities over the next three fiscal years.

Question 9. Paying Respondents

Respondents will not be paid or provided with gifts.

Question 10. Assurance of Confidentiality

All information tending to identify individuals will be held in strict confidence according to the provisions of Title 13, United States Code, Section 9. The Census Bureau staff on site will give a notice to each person contacted. See Attachment 1 for an example of the confidentiality form that will be used. This notice explains that any information given to the Census Bureau will be held in strict confidence. P.L. 103-430 allows the Census Bureau to share its address information with state/local/tribal government officials designated as “Census Liaisons,” but requires these officials to maintain the strict confidentiality provisions of Title 13. Section 214 of Title 13 imposes strict penalties for unauthorized disclosures of census information.

Specific forms will be provided to OMB in advance of each activity conducted under the generic clearance. The OMB number, expiration date, mandatory reporting requirements, respondent burden and other required disclosures will be provided to respondents; and to OMB in advance of each operation.

Question 11. Justification for Sensitive Questions

None of the questions asked during the activities described above are of a sensitive nature and they should not pose any problem for respondents in that respect.

Question 12. Estimate of Hour Burden

The following table shows the calculation of estimated burden for FYs 2010, 2011 and 2012.

Activity	FY 2010 Respondents	FY 2011 Respondents	FY 2012 Respondents	Average Hours per Respondent	Responses Per Respondent	FY 2010 Burden Hours	FY 2011 Burden Hours	FY 2012 Burden Hours
DAAL AHS	CAUS 45,000 HHs 624 GQs SMALL MULTIs 1,000 HHs CURRENT SURVEYS 19,300 HHs 670 GQs	CAUS 48,000 HHs 665 GQs SMALL MULTIs 1,000 HHs CURRENT SURVEYS 21,543 HHs 1,473 GQs 600 GQs	CAUS 48,000 HHs 665 GQs SMALL MULTIs 1,000 HHs CURRENT SURVEYS 22,236 HHs 1,116 GQs	3 min/HH 10 min/GQ 3 min/HH 3 min/HH 10 min/GQ 6 min/GQ	1 1 1 1 1	2,250 hrs 104 hrs 50 hrs 965 hrs 112 hrs	2,400 hrs 111 hrs 50 hrs 1,077 hrs 245 hrs 60 Hrs	2,400 hrs 111 hrs 50 hrs 1,112 hrs 186 hrs
Totals	65,300 HH 1,294 GQs	70,543 HH 2,738 GQs	71,236 HHs 1,781 GQs	3 min HH/ 10 min GQ	1 1	3,265 hrs 216 hrs 3,481 Total	3,527 hrs 416 hrs 3,943 Total	3,562 hrs 297 hrs 3,859 Total

All estimates of burden per response are derived from the Census Bureau’s experience conducting the same or similar activities previously.

Question 13. Estimate of Cost Burden

There are no costs to respondents other than that of their time to respond. For government entities, the information requested is of the type and scope normally carried in records and no special hardware or accounting software or system is necessary to provide answers to this information collection. Therefore, respondents are not expected to incur any capital and start-up costs or system maintenance costs in responding. Further, purchasing of outside accounting or information collection services, if performed by the respondent, is part of usual and customary business practices and not specifically required for this information collection.

Question 14. Cost to Federal Government

The annual cost to the Federal Government associated with each activity will be provided in the letter to the OMB that will precede the activity.

Question 15. Reason for Change in Burden

The numerous activities we conduct each fiscal year directly cause fluctuations in the burden hours we report.

Question 16. Project Schedule

The table in Question 12 and the description of each activity in Question 1 give an approximate time frame for each activity. A schedule for completing each activity will be provided in the letter to the OMB that will precede the activity.

Question 17. Request Not to Display Expiration Date

We will display the expiration date on the “Your Answers are Confidential” form given to respondents (see Attachment 1).

Question 18. Exceptions to the Certification

There are no exceptions.

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