[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 69 (Monday, April 11, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-8585]
[[Page Unknown]]
[Federal Register: April 11, 1994]
7 CFR Part 273
[Amendment No. 352]
Food Stamp Program: Performance Standards for the Employment and
Training Program
AGENCY: Food and Nutrition Service, USDA.
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: This final rule amends Food Stamp Program regulations as a
result of the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act Amendments
of 1991, enacted December 13, 1991. Section 907(b) of the Act mandates
that the performance standard for the Food Stamp Employment and
Training (E&T) Program, meaning the percent of persons subject to the
work requirements of the Food Stamp Act who must be served by a State's
E&T Program, shall not exceed 10 percent in each of Fiscal Years 1992
and 1993, and 15 percent in each of Fiscal Years 1994 and 1995. This
final rule sets the performance standard at 10 percent through Fiscal
Year 1995. This change, pursuant to Congressional mandate, is expected
to result in more targeted E&T Programs, improved quality of services
provided and enhanced coordination among Federal employment programs.
DATES: Effective September 30, 1991.
In accordance with Section 1101(d)(3) of the Food, Agriculture,
Conservation, and Trade Act Amendments of 1991 (Pub. L. 102-237), the
program modifications set forth in this rule were effective September
30, 1991. State agencies were subsequently instructed through a Food
and Nutrition Service (FNS) directive dated December 31, 1991, to
implement such modifications.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions regarding this final rule
should be directed to Ellen Henigan, Supervisor, Work Program Section,
Food Stamp Program, Food and Nutrition Service, USDA, 3101 Park Center
Drive, Room 716, Alexandria, Virginia 22302. The telephone number is
(703) 305-2762.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Classification
Executive Order 12866
This final rule is issued in conformance with Executive Order
12866.
Executive Order 12372
The Food Stamp Program is listed in the Catalog of Federal Domestic
Assistance under No. 10.551. For the reasons set forth in the final
rule and related notice to 7 CFR part 3015, subpart V (48 FR 29115,
June 24, 1983), this program is excluded from the scope of Executive
Order No. 12372 which requires intergovernmental consultation with
State and local officials.
Executive Order 12778
This final rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12778,
Civil Justice Reform. This rule is intended to have preemptive effect
with respect to any State or local laws, regulations or policies which
conflict with its provisions or which would otherwise impede its full
implementation. This rule is not intended to have retroactive effect
unless so specified in the Dates section of this preamble. Prior to any
judicial challenge to the provisions of this rule or the application of
its provisions, all applicable administrative procedures must be
exhausted. In the Food Stamp Program the administrative procedures are
as follows:
(1) For program benefit recipients--State administrative procedures
issued pursuant to 7 U.S.C. 2020(e)(10) and 7 CFR 273.15;
(2) For State agencies--administrative procedures issued pursuant
to 7 U.S.C. 2023 set out at 7 CFR 276.7; and
(3) For program retailers and wholesalers--administrative
procedures issued pursuant to 7 U.S.C. 2023 set out at 7 CFR 278.8.
Regulatory Flexibility Act
This action has also been reviewed with regard to the requirements
of the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601-12). The Administrator
of the Food and Nutrition Service has certified that this rule will not
have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small
entities. State and local welfare agencies will be affected to the
extent that they must administer their Employment and Training Programs
in a manner that meets the minimum performance standard, which will be
revised pursuant to this rulemaking.
Paperwork Reduction Act
The provisions of this final rule do not contain new or additional
reporting or recordkeeping requirements subject to approval by the
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under the Paperwork Reduction Act
of 1980 (44 U.S.C. 3507). The provisions at 7 CFR 273.7(c)(6) relating
to the submission of the Form FNS-583, Employment and Training (E&T)
Program Report, are currently approved under OMB No. 0584-0339. Public
reporting burden for Form FNS-583 is estimated to be 231,827 hours
annually, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching
existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and
completing and reviewing the collection of information. Comments
regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection
of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, should
be sent to Department of Agriculture, Clearance Officer, OIRM, room
404-W, Washington, DC 20251; and to the Office of Information and
Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, room 3208, New
Executive Office Building, Washington, DC 20503, Attn: Laura Oliven,
Desk Officer for FNS.
Public Participation and Effective Date
This action codifies legislative mandates contained in section
907(b) of Public Law 102-237, which became effective September 30,
1991. State agencies were instructed through a Food and Nutrition
Service directive dated December 31, 1991, to implement the changes set
forth in the legislation. As a result, for each of Fiscal Years 1992
and 1993, the performance standards for the Food Stamp Employment and
Training Program were set at 10 percent for each State agency. State
agencies have already been notified that the 10 percent performance
standard will remain in effect for Fiscal Year 1994, and the
performance standard for Fiscal Year 1995, pursuant to this rule, will
remain at the 10 percent level. Neither at the time the original
instruction was issued, nor since that time, has the Food and Nutrition
Service received any adverse comments on the performance standards
established for the State agencies. During the two years these
performance standards have been in effect, the reduction from the
previously established 50 percent performance standard has been
noncontroversial and programmatically beneficial. Therefore, pursuant
to 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B), the Department has determined that good cause
exists to publish this final rule without prior public notice and
comment, as such publication would be unnecessary for the reasons
stated herein. For the same reasons, the Department has determined,
pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3), that good cause exists to forego
publication of this rule and solicitation of public comment thirty (30)
days before its effective date; instead making it effective upon
publication.
Background
As mandated by Section 6(d)(4)(K)(i) of the Food Stamp Act of 1977,
as amended (7 U.S.C. 2015(d)(4)(K)(i)), State agencies are required to
place a minimum number of eligible persons into their E&T Programs. To
ensure this requirement is met, the Department sets a minimum
performance standard for each year. For Fiscal Years (FYs) 1990 and
1991 the performance standard was set at 50 percent in keeping with
previous statutory requirements. In accordance with 7 CFR 273.7(p)(2),
sanctions may be invoked if a State agency fails to meet the standard
set by the Department.
In determining if a State agency had met the standard during FYs
1990 and 1991, FNS divided the number of E&T mandatory participants
placed in an E&T component (numerator) by the total number of E&T
mandatory participants eligible to be placed (denominator). The
denominator is the number of work registrants not exempted from E&T
under the approved State E&T Plan. If a State agency serves volunteers,
FNS added the number of volunteers placed to both the numerator and the
denominator.
Section 907 of the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act
Amendments of 1991 (Pub. L. 102-237) amended section 6(d)(4)(K)(i) of
the Food Stamp Act to lower the Food Stamp E&T Program performance
standard to a level not to exceed 10 percent in FYs 1992 and 1993, and
15 percent in FYs 1994 and 1995. This change allowed the State agencies
to serve fewer persons in FYs 1992 and 1993, thereby concentrating
limited resources on more intensive components.
A recent study of the Food Stamp E&T Program found that in FY 1988
E&T had no effect on participant's employment and earnings and only a
relatively small effect on average food stamp benefit levels. This
study, which was conducted for the Department by Abt Associates, Inc.
(Evaluation of the Food Stamp Employment and Training Program, 1990),
examined the E&T Program during its first full year of operation. At
that time, most participants (78 percent) were assigned to low-cost
components, such as job search and job search training. The evaluators
concluded that substantial revision of the program would be required to
increase its effectiveness and recommended greater emphasis on
targeting and service delivery, including increased use of more
intensive services.
Other research to date has not conclusively demonstrated that
intensive, long-term interventions to a limited number of people yield
greater success ratios than short-term interventions with larger
numbers in large caseload programs, such as the Food Stamp E&T Program.
According to Judith Gueron and Daniel Friedlander (``Are High-Cost
Services More Effective Than Low-Cost Services?,'' 1990, Manpower
Demonstration Research Corporation (MDRC)), the research suggests that
a program that provides primarily low-cost services to as many people
as possible may have the greatest aggregate impact on earnings or
welfare payments. On the other hand, using the same resources to serve
fewer people with higher cost components may produce lower aggregate
effects, but may help program enrollees achieve higher average
earnings.
Another study suggests, however, that low-cost approaches must
exceed a certain threshold level of intensity for these positive
impacts to occur. According to Judith Gueron and Edward Pauly (From
Welfare to Work, 1991, MDRC), research shows that employment and
earning impacts did not occur when resources per eligible individual
were so limited that staff could only process and sanction cases and
provide virtually no direct assistance, even in the job search
component. The study cited in From Welfare to Work evaluated the
Department of Health and Human Services' Work Incentive Program in Cook
County, Illinois in 1985, where the average cost per participant was
$157. In comparison, the evaluation of the Food Stamp E&T Program
reported an average cost per participant of $135 in FY 1988.
It is the Department's view that a meaningful program should reach
a reasonable number of persons. This rule requires State agencies to
serve no less than 10 percent of the E&T mandatory population beginning
in FY 1992. That is, at least 10 percent of the E&T mandatory
population would begin participation (i.e., be placed) in an E&T
component. A State agency that provides for voluntary participation in
the E&T Program would be credited by including the number of volunteers
placed in both the numerator and denominator of the performance level
formula, just as is done currently.
The performance standard will remain at 10 percent through FY 1995.
Although the statute allows the Secretary to increase the level to no
more than 15 percent in FY 1994, it is the Department's view that an
increase would not be in the best interest of the State agencies, or
those individuals being served by the program. We anticipate that many
State agencies, in response to the lower performance standard, have
been and will continue to revamp their programs to offer more intensive
components. A corresponding decrease in broad-based services is also
expected.
Lowering the performance standard to 10 percent for FYs 1992-1995
allows State agencies greater flexibility in designing and operating
their E&T Programs. Placing 10 percent of eligibles into components is
a minimum level of performance and State agencies are free to exceed
that level as they see fit. This change enables State agencies to
target their program to the appropriate population. State agencies,
that choose to do so, could provide a broader spectrum of services
covering a larger portion of the population.
The Department recognizes the importance of State flexibility in
the design of programs that are best suited to meet the needs of each
State's E&T population; however, the Department also wants to encourage
the State agencies to provide E&T services to as many work registrants
as possible. We invite the State agencies to design programs that would
assist an even higher percentage of E&T eligibles than 10 percent,
while effectively meeting the objectives of the E&T Program.
The Department retains the current provisions at 7 CFR 273.7(o)(8)
concerning variations in performance standards with some necessary
modifications to the current language. A performance standard below 10
percent may be approved if determined to be warranted by the
Department.
However, the Department retains the current provision at 7 CFR
273.7(o)(8)(ii) which establishes a minimum percentage of persons
placed below which no State agency may fall, regardless of the
intensity of program components offered or the type of persons served.
Specifically, no State agency may receive approval for a plan that
provides for a performance standard which would be more than 40 percent
below the nationwide standard. For example, with the nationwide
performance standard at 10 percent, the Department will not approve any
State E&T plan with anticipated performance levels lower than 6
percent.
The Department also retains the current provisions at 7 CFR
273.7(p) concerning a State agency's failure to meet the established
performance standard. State agencies which fail to meet their
established performance standard may be subject to a disallowance of
funds. The sanction provisions at 7 CFR 273.7(p) have also been
clarified to include a cross reference to the current provision at 7
CFR 273.7(d)(1)(i)(B) which stipulates that a State agency shall not
receive performance-based funding for a given fiscal year if it did not
meet its performance standard (as established prospectively) for the
second preceding fiscal year.
Implementation
In accordance with section 1101(d)(3) of Public Law 102-237, the
program modifications set forth in this rule were effective September
30, 1991. State agencies were subsequently instructed through a Food
and Nutrition Service directive dated December 31, 1991, to implement
such modifications. The provisions of this final rule, therefore, are
effective upon publication.
List of Subjects
7 CFR Part 272
Alaska, Civil rights, Food stamps, Grant programs--social programs,
Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.
7 CFR Part 273
Administrative practice and procedure, Aliens, Claims, Food stamps,
Fraud, Grant programs--social programs, Penalties, Reporting and
recordkeeping requirements, Social Security, Students.
Accordingly, 7 CFR parts 272 and 273 are amended as follows:
1. The authority citation for parts 272 and 273 continues to read
as follows:
Authority: 7 U.S.C. 2011-2032.
PART 272--REQUIREMENTS FOR PARTICIPATING STATE AGENCIES
2. In Sec. 272.1, a new paragraph (g)(133) is added to read as
follows:
Sec. 272.1 General terms and conditions.
* * * * *
(g) * * *
(133) Amendment No. 352. The provisions of this amendment are
effective April 11, 1994.
PART 273--CERTIFICATION OF ELIGIBLE HOUSEHOLDS
3. In Sec. 273.7:
a. Paragraph (o)(7) is revised;
b. Paragraph (o)(8)(i) is amended by revising the first sentence;
c. A new paragraph (p)(4) is added.
The addition and revisions read as follows:
Sec. 273.7 Work requirements.
* * * * *
(o) * * *
(7) Percentage of persons to be placed. Beginning in Fiscal Year
1992, 10 percent of the number of mandatory E&T participants, plus
volunteers who participated, shall be placed in an E&T Program. This
performance standard shall remain in effect through Fiscal Year 1995.
(8) Variations in performance standards. (i) The Department will
adjust the performance standard for an individual State agency if the
State agency can show, prospectively, that the components it plans to
offer or the type of participant it plans to serve will require
significantly higher levels of service. * * *
* * * * *
(p) * * *
(4) In addition to the disallowance described in paragraph (p)(2)
of this section, a State agency shall not receive performance-based
funding for a given fiscal year in accordance with paragraph
(d)(1)(i)(B) of this section, if the State agency does not meet its
performance standard (as establish prospectively) for the second
preceding fiscal year.
Dated: March 29, 1994.
William E. Ludwig,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 94-8585 Filed 4-8-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-30-U
