Collection Justification for Schools of National Service

SUPPORTING STATEMENT FOR PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT SUBMISSIONS

 

A. Justification

A1. Need for Information Collection

The Corporation for National and Community Service doing business as AmeriCorps (AmeriCorps) awards grants to states, institutions of higher education, non-profit organizations, Indian tribes, and U.S. Territories to operate AmeriCorps State, AmeriCorps National, AmeriCorps NCCC, AmeriCorps VISTA, and Senior Corps programs. This information collection comprises the Schools of National Service Collection Form.

A2. Indicate how, by whom, and for what purpose the information is to be used.

Institutions that wish to provide educational benefits to AmeriCorps members and alumni would complete this form to describe the benefits they will provide. AmeriCorps members and alumni will use the information provided by the institutions to (in part) inform their decision about institutions they plan to attend.

 

 A3. Minimize Burden: Use of Improved Technology to Reduce Burden

AmeriCorps will be eliciting and accepting response to these questions electronically via the AmeriCorps website.

A4. Non-Duplication

There are no other sources of information by which AmeriCorps can meet the purposes described in A2 (above).

 

A5. Minimizing for economic burden for small businesses or other small entities.

This collection of information does not significantly impact small businesses or small entities because responses are purely voluntary and take a very brief time to complete. There is no economic burden to any other small entities beyond the cost of staff time to report their information. This is minimized to the degree possible by only asking for the information necessary to accomplish its purpose outlined in A2 (above).

A6. Consequences of the collection if not conducted, conducted less frequently, as well as any technical or legal obstacles to reducing burden.

 

The Corporation will be unable to evaluate its effectiveness in coordinating its legislatively mandated support for the promotion of AmeriCorps and benefits that accrue to members and alumni.

A7. Special circumstances that would cause information collection to be collected in a manner requiring respondents to report more often than quarterly; report in fewer than 30 days after receipt of the request; submit more than an original and two copies; retain records for more than three years; and other ways specified in the Instructions focused on statistical methods, confidentially, and proprietary trade secrets.

There are no special circumstances that would require the collection of information in these ways.

A8. Provide copy and identify the date and page number of publication in the Federal Register of the Agency’s notice. Summarize comments received and actions taken in response to comments. Specifically address comments received on cost and hour burden.

The 60 day Notice soliciting comments was published on Thursday, September 2, 2021 on page 49318. No comments were received.

 

 A9. Payment to Respondents

There are no payments or gifts to respondents

  

A10. Assurance of Confidentiality and its basis in statute, regulation, or agency policy.

Your responses to this information collection will be disclosed as appropriate unless prohibited by law. Statute governing the information collection is 42 U.S.C. 12653(i) & 12653(k).

A11. Sensitive Questions

 

The information collection does not include questions of a sensitive nature.

 

A12. Hour burden of the collection

We expect approximately 200 respondents to use the Schools of National Service Commitment Form to submit commitments that accrue educational benefits to AmeriCorps members and alumni. The frequency of response will not be greater than annually (unless the institution chooses to modify its commitment) and should not exceed .5 hours of effort per respondent. There is no estimated annual hour burden outside of the customary and usual business practices.

 A13. Respondent Burden and its Labor Costs

The estimated respondent burdens and labor costs are shown in the following table.

Estimation of Respondent Burden
Number of respondents	200
Responses per respondent	1
Number of responses	200
Hours per response	0.50
Total estimated hours (number of responses multiplied by hours per response)	100
Cost per hour (hourly wage)	$45.14
Annual public burden (estimated hours multiplied by cost per hour)	$4514.00

Note: The cost per hour is based on the average of eight 2021 OPM GS hourly rates (base + locality) for a GS-11, step 1 employee living in our eight regions of operation, plus the 36.25% civilian personnel full fringe benefit rate from OMB memorandum M-08-13. The average cost per hour is $33.13 (average hourly rate) + $12.01 ($33.13 average hourly rate x 36.25% fringe) = $45.14/hour (rounded to the nearest penny).

The 2021 GS-11, step 1 hourly rates for the eight regions of operation are as follows: Austin, TX ($31.57), Atlanta, GA ($32.64), Columbus, OH ($32.06), Concord, NH ($34.49), Denver, CO ($33.96), Kansas City, MO ($31.29), Los Angeles, CA ($35.37) and Philadelphia, PA ($33.67). The average hourly rate is the sum of these hourly rates divided by eight = $33.13/hour (rounded to the nearest penny).

A14. Respondent Costs Other Than Burden Hour Costs

AmeriCorps does not estimate any annual cost burden apart from the hourly burden in Item A13 above.

 

A15. Cost to Government

The estimated cost to the Government is shown in the following table. It is estimated that it will take the Government x hour(s) to review and verify the information contained in each response. This estimate was developed by staff involved in the management of current activity.

Estimation of Cost to the Government
Number of responses	200
Hours per response	1.0
Total estimated hours (number of responses multiplied by hours per response)	200
Cost per hour (hourly wage)	$45.14
Annual burden (estimated hours multiplied by cost per hour)	$9,028.00

Note: The cost per hour is based on the average of eight 2021 OPM GS hourly rates (base + locality) for a GS-11, step 1 employee living in our eight regions of operation, plus the 36.25% civilian personnel full fringe benefit rate from OMB memorandum M-08-13. The average cost per hour is $33.13 (average hourly rate) + $12.01 ($33.13 average hourly rate x 36.25% fringe) = $45.14/hour (rounded to the nearest penny).

The 2021 GS-11, step 1 hourly rates for the eight regions of operation are as follows: Austin, TX ($31.57), Atlanta, GA ($32.64), Columbus, OH ($32.06), Concord, NH ($34.49), Denver, CO ($33.96), Kansas City, MO ($31.29), Los Angeles, CA ($35.37) and Philadelphia, PA ($33.67). The average hourly rate is the sum of these hourly rates divided by eight = $33.13/hour (rounded to the nearest penny).

A16. Reasons for program changes

There are no proposed program changes. There are changes in the form layout, but not the information collected.

 

 A17. Publication of results

The commitments will be published on the AmeriCorps website. 

 

A18. Explain the reason for seeking approval to not display the expiration date for OMB approval of the information collection.

Not applicable.

 

 A19. Exceptions to the certification statement

There are no exceptions to the certification statement.

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