[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 87 (Thursday, May 5, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 25723-25725]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-10938]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Employment and Training Administration
Proposed Information Collection for Growing America Through
Entrepreneurship (GATE) II Evaluation; Comment Request
AGENCY: Employment and Training Administration, Labor.
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Department of Labor (Department), as part of its
continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, conducts a
pre-clearance consultation program to provide the general public and
federal agencies with an opportunity to comment on proposed and or
continuing collections of information in accordance with the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA95) [44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)]. This program
helps to ensure that requested data can be provided in the desired
format, reporting burden (time and financial resources) is minimized,
collection instruments are clearly understood, and the impact of
collection requirements on respondents can be properly assessed.
Currently, the Employment and Training Administration (ETA) is
soliciting comments on a new data collection for the GATE II
Evaluation. A copy of the proposed information collection request (ICR)
can be obtained by contacting the office listed below in the addressee
section of this notice.
DATES: Written comments must be submitted to the office listed in the
addressee section below on or before July 5, 2011.
[[Page 25724]]
ADDRESSES: Richard Muller, Office of Policy Development and Research,
U.S. Department of Labor, Room N-5641, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW.,
Washington, DC 20210. Telephone (202) 693-3680 (this is not a toll-free
number), fax number (202) 693-2766 or e-mail: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
Many individuals have the motivation and skills to develop small
businesses but lack business expertise and training. Recognizing this
untapped potential, ETA created and evaluated a demonstration program
designed to assist individuals interested in self-employment to develop
their businesses--Project GATE. In helping individuals develop
businesses, Project GATE promoted both workforce and economic
development. Project GATE was an experimental design demonstration that
investigated the impact of providing entrepreneurship training services
to individuals interested in starting or growing a business. The
cornerstone of the evaluation was random assignment. A total of 4,198
applicants to GATE were randomly assigned to either a program group or
a control group. The project was implemented in both rural and urban
locations in Maine, Pennsylvania, and Minnesota from 2002 to 2009.
In Project GATE, treatment group members were offered an assessment
of their business needs, classroom training, one-on-one technical
assistance, and assistance in applying for business financing. A
telephone survey of participants and control group members was
conducted to collect three waves of data at approximately six months
after random assignment, 18 months after random assignment, and 60
months after random assignment. A process evaluation as well as an
impact evaluation of the effectiveness of the GATE model were conducted
utilizing site visits, surveys, and administrative data.
The early impacts of Project GATE services were reported to ETA in
July 2008 (see Benus, J., McConnell, S., Bellotti, J., Shen, T.,
Fortson, K., & Kahvecioglu, D. ``Growing America Through
Entrepreneurship: Findings from the Evaluation of Project GATE'' U. S.
Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration, 2008). The
positive findings in this report led the Department to issue a
Solicitation for Grant Applications (SGA) for States to implement the
GATE model of entrepreneurship services targeted at older and rural WIA
dislocated workers. That is, unlike the first Project GATE
demonstration, which was available to all applicants, services under
this new demonstration (known as GATE II) were targeted towards
dislocated workers.
An evaluation of the GATE II grants is necessary for policymakers
and program developers to determine whether the model can be
successfully implemented for dislocated workers. A follow-up survey, as
envisioned in the GATE II evaluation design, is the only way to collect
information on self-employment experiences, receipt of microenterprise
services, and household income.
GATE II will be evaluated using an experimental design. Individuals
that submitted an application for GATE II in each site and who met
minimal eligibility criteria are being randomly assigned to either a
program group or a control group. Members of the program group are
eligible to receive GATE II services, while members of the control
group are not eligible to receive GATE II services, although they will
not be prohibited from receiving self-employment services from other
sources.
As noted above, unlike the first Project GATE demonstration, which
was available to all applicants, services under GATE II are targeted
towards WIA dislocated workers. In June 2008 grants were awarded to
implement GATE II in four states--Alabama, Minnesota, North Carolina,
and Virginia. Two states, Alabama and North Carolina, were selected to
target services to dislocated workers in rural areas, while the two
other States, Minnesota and Virginia, were selected to target
dislocated workers 45 years old and older.
The evaluation will address the following key questions:
(1) What are the impacts of GATE II on participants' labor market
and self-employment outcomes?
(2) Does the program increase the use of self-employment services?
(3) Does the program lead to an increase in the completion of
business plans and applications and receipt of loans?
(4) Does the program increase the likelihood of self-employment?
(5) Does the program promote employment and other aspects of
economic development?
(6) Does the program increase employment, earnings, and
satisfaction with employment and reduce the receipt of Unemployment
Insurance (UI) and public assistance?
(7) Is GATE II effective in rural areas and for older workers?
(8) Does the effectiveness of the program vary by population
subgroup?
Addressing these questions will involve conducting process and
impact analyses. The process evaluation is based on information
collected during two rounds of site visits to each site, during which
detailed information will be collected on the implementation of the
program from interviews with program staff, observations of services,
and focus groups with program participants. Data will also be collected
using a Participant Tracking System developed specifically for the
study. The impact evaluation will involve comparing outcomes of members
of the program group with outcomes of members of the control group.
Data on these outcomes will be collected from UI benefit records and
quarterly wage records, and a follow-up survey that will occur
approximately 18 months after random assignment.
II. Review Focus
The Department is particularly interested in comments which:
Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is
necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency,
including whether the information will have practical utility;
Evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the
burden of the proposed collection of information, including the
validity of the methodology and assumptions used;
Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the
information to be collected; and
Minimize the burden of the collection of information on
those who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate
automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection
techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting
electronic submissions of responses.
III. Current Actions
The follow-up survey, which is the subject of this notice, will be
conducted by telephone approximately 18 months following random
assignment. The survey will collect data unavailable from
administrative records. The survey is designed to collect detailed
information about sample members' participation and experiences in
receiving self-employment services, their experiences starting a
business, their experiences in jobs working for someone else, their
receipt of public assistance, and some background data on their socio-
economic and demographic characteristics. It is also designed to
collect their experiences in self-employment and developing small
[[Page 25725]]
businesses, their experiences in jobs working for someone else, and
their income and receipt of public assistance.
Type of Review: New
Agency: Employment and Training Administration
Title: Partnership for Self-Sufficiency: Growing America Through
Entrepreneurship
OMB Control No.: 1205-0NEW
Affected Public: Individuals
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total Total Average time per Burden
respondents Frequency responses respondent (hours)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
GATE II FOLLOW-UP SURVEY......... 1,584 Once.............. 1,584 30 minutes........ 792
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Totals....................... ........... .................. 1,584 .................. 792
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Comments submitted in response to this comment request will be
summarized and/or included in the request for Office of Management and
Budget approval of the information request; they will also become a
matter of public record.
Dated: April 29, 2011.
Jane Oates,
Assistant Secretary for Employment and Training Administration.
[FR Doc. 2011-10938 Filed 5-4-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-FN-P