[Federal Register: October 9, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 197)]
[Notices]               
[Page 59596-59597]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr09oc08-48]                         

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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

 
Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

    The Department of Commerce will submit to the Office of Management 
and Budget (OMB) for clearance the following proposal for collection of 
information under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 
U.S.C. chapter 35).
    Agency: U.S. Census Bureau.
    Title: Field Representative/Decennial Field Staff/Coverage 
Measurement Exit Questionnaire.
    Form Number(s): BC-1294, BC-1294(D), BC-1294(CM).
    OMB Control Number: 0607-0404.

[[Page 59597]]

    Type of Request: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Burden Hours: 393.
    Number of Respondents: 2,500.
    Average Hours Per Response: BC-1294--7 minutes; BC-1294(D) and BC-
1294(CM)--10 minutes.
    Needs and Uses: Retention of trained field interviewing staff is a 
major concern for the Census Bureau because of both the monetary costs 
associated with employee turnover, as well as the potential impact on 
data quality. Therefore, in a continuous effort to devise policies and 
practices aimed at reducing turnover among interviewers, the Census 
Bureau collects data on the reasons interviewers leave their Census 
Bureau jobs.
    The exit questionnaires are the instruments used to collect 
turnover data from a sample of former current survey interviewers 
(field representatives) and decennial census interviewers (enumerators 
and listers). The goal or purpose of the exit questionnaires is to 
determine the reasons for interviewer turnover and what the Census 
Bureau might have done, or can do, to influence interviewers not to 
leave. Thus the exit questionnaires seek reasons interviewers quit, 
inquires about motivational factors that would have kept interviewers 
from leaving, attempts to identify training program strengths and 
weaknesses and their impacts on turnover, and explores the impact of 
pay, working conditions and supervisory styles on employees' reasons 
for quitting.
    As the environment in which surveys take place, the demographics of 
our labor force, and the way surveys are conducted continues to change, 
it is important that we continue to examine the interviewers' concerns 
about their job. Information provided by respondents to the exit 
questionnaire provides insight on the measures the Census Bureau might 
take to decrease turnover, and is useful in helping us determine if the 
reasons for interviewer turnover appear to be systemic or localized. 
The exit questionnaires have been shown to be useful and, therefore, we 
believe it is important to continue to use them to effect program 
planning and management.
    Forms BC-1294 and BC-1294(D) are the instruments we currently use 
to collect turnover data from a sample of former current survey 
interviewers and decennial census interviewers, respectively. We are 
adding the BC-1294(CM) to this clearance to collect turnover data from 
Census Coverage Measurement (CCM) listers and interviewers. CCM 
operations are conducted to determine the number of people and housing 
units missed or counted more than once in the Census of the United 
States and Puerto Rico.
    In addition to the new form BC-1294(CM), we plan to implement 
changes to the BC-1294 and BC-1294(D) which reflect Census Bureau 
policy and procedural changes to current survey and decennial 
operations since the last request for clearance. For example, on the 
current survey side, field staff have reported an increased concern for 
safeguarding Personally Identifiable Information (PII) and Census 
Bureau confidential data on laptops, which has resulted in the use of 
multiple passwords and data encryption software. Thus, changes have 
been made to the BC-1294 to determine if the Census Bureau's increased 
security concerns, for the accountable property (laptops) and the 
increased security requirements pertaining to the restricted data 
contained on the laptops, are impacting FR turnover.
    Recent changes in 2010 decennial operations have also made it 
necessary to revise the BC-1294(D). For example, the 2010 Nonresponse 
Followup (NRFU) operation that was originally going to involve 
computer-assisted data collection will revert to being a paper-based 
operation. That is, a paper instrument or questionnaire will be used to 
collect respondent data instead of a hand-held computer. Thus we are 
making changes to the BC-1294(D) to remove questions about the use and 
impact of automation on the retention of NRFU enumerators. In addition, 
the proposed revisions to the BC-1294(D) reflect the redesign of the 
2010 Address Canvassing operation from what was done in the 2006 Census 
Test and the lessons learned during the 2008 Dress Rehearsal.
    The information collected via the three Exit Questionnaires will 
help the Census Bureau develop plans to reduce turnover in its current 
survey, decennial and coverage measurement interviewing staff. This, in 
turn, will allow for better informed decisions regarding the field 
workforce and implementation of more effective pay plans, selection 
procedures, interviewer training, and retention strategies for all 
interviewers.
    Affected Public: Individuals or households.
    Frequency: One-time.
    Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.
    Legal Authority: Title 5 U.S.C. Section 3101 and Title 13 U.S.C. 
Section 23.
    OMB Desk Officer: Brian Harris-Kojetin, (202) 395-7314.
    Copies of the above information collection proposal can be obtained 
by calling or writing Diana Hynek, Departmental Paperwork Clearance 
Officer, (202) 482-0266, Department of Commerce, Room 6625, 14th and 
Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20230 (or via the Internet at 
dHynek@doc.gov).
    Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information 
collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of this notice 
to Brian Harris-Kojetin, OMB Desk Officer, either by fax (202-395-7245) 
or e-mail (bharrisk@omb.eop.gov).

    Dated: October 3, 2008.
Gwellnar Banks,
Management Analyst, Office of the Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. E8-23890 Filed 10-8-08; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510-07-P