Supporting Statement--0474

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Supporting Statement for the SSA-4162

Child-Care Dropout Questionnaire

20 CFR 404.211(e)(4)

OMB No. 0960-0474

A. Justification

1. Section 215(b)(2)(A) of the Social Security Act and 20 CFR 404.211(e)(4) of the Code of Federal Regulations permit the exclusion of years from the computation period during which an individual was living with his/her own (or the spouse's) child under age 3 and has zero earnings in the benefit computation years. This child-care dropout exclusion applies to disability benefit computations.

2. The Social Security Administration (SSA) needs the information collected on the SSA‑4162 to determine if the individual qualifies for the additional exclusion of years in the computation period. Respondents are applicants for disability benefits.

3. There are very few applicants who use Form SSA-4162, so automation is not cost effective at this time. Also, given the low volume of respondents for this form, SSA has given it a low priority designation, as higher volume forms take precedence for electronic implementation.

3. The nature of the information being requested and the manner in which it is collected preclude duplication. There is no other form used by SSA that collects data similar to that collected on Form SSA-4162.

5. The collection of information does not involve small businesses or other small entities.

6. If this information were not collected, SSA would not be able to accurately determine which years to use in the computation period and which years are to be excluded from the computation as childcare dropout years. Since this information is only necessary in the specific case listed in #1 above, this form could not be used less frequently. There are no technical or legal obstacles that prevent burden reduction.

6. There are no special circumstances that would cause this information collection to be conducted in a manner that is not consistent with 5 CFR 1320.5.

8. The 60-day advance Federal Register Notice was published on May 9, 2007 at 72 FR 26443, and SSA has received no public comments. The second Notice was published on August 6, 2007 at 72 FR 43674. There have been no outside consultations with members of the public.

9. SSA provides no payment or gifts to the respondents

10. The information requested on this form is protected and held confidential in accordance with 42 U.S.C. 1306, 20 CFR 401 and 402, 5 U.S.C. 552 (Freedom of Information Act), 5 U.S.C. 552a (Privacy Act of 1974) and OMB Circular A-130.

11. The information collection does not contain any questions of a sensitive nature.

11. Form SSA-4162 will be used by approximately 2,000 respondents annually. The estimated average response time is 5 minutes, for a total of 167 burden hours. The total burden is reflected as burden hours, and no separate cost burden has been calculated.

11. There is no known cost burden to the respondents.

14. The annual cost to the Federal Government is approximately $3,080. This estimate is a projection of printing and distribution costs for the information collection.

15. There have been no program changes or adjustments in this form, and there is no change in the public reporting burden.

16. The results of the information collected will not be published.

17. OMB has granted SSA an exemption from the requirement that the expiration date for OMB approval be printed on is program forms. SSA produces millions of public-use forms, many of which have a life cycle longer than that of an OMB clearance. SSA does not periodically revise and reprint its public-use forms, (e.g., on an annual basis). This exemption was granted so that otherwise useable editions of forms would not be taken out of circulation because the expiration date had been reached. In addition, government waste has been avoided because stocks of forms will not have to be destroyed and reprinted.

18. SSA is not requesting an exception to the certification requirements.

B. Collections of Information Employing Statistical Methods

Statistical methods are not used for this information collection.

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