[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 118 (Monday, June 20, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35915-35918]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-15297]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Office of Disability Employment Policy
Proposed Information Collection Request
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Labor, 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 Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) of the
Department of Labor (DOL) is soliciting comments concerning the
proposed collection of information for the Evaluation of the Employment
and Training Administration/Office of Disability Employment Policy
Disability Employment Initiative (DEI).
A copy of the proposed information collection request (ICR) can be
obtained by contacting the office listed below in the ADDRESSES section
of this notice.
DATES: Submit comments on or before August 19, 2011.
ADDRESSES: Submit written comments to the Office of Disability
Employment Policy, Room S-1303, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW.,
Washington, DC 20210, Attention: Richard Horne, Director, Division of
Policy Planning and Research.
Telephone number: (202) 693-7880.
Fax: (202) 693-7888.
E-mail: [email protected].
Instructions: Please submit one copy of your comments by only one
method. All submissions received must include the agency name and
collection name identified above for this information collection.
Because we continue to experience delays in receiving mail in the
Washington, DC area, commenters are strongly encouraged to transmit
their comments electronically via e-mail or to submit them by mail
early. Comments, including any personal information provided, become a
matter of public record. They will be summarized and/or included in the
request for Office of Management and Budget approval of the information
collection request.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Richard Horne, Director, Division of
Policy Planning & Research, Office of Disability Employment Policy,
U.S. Department of Labor, Room S-1303, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW.,
Washington, DC 20210; telephone (202) 693-7880 (this is not a toll free
number). Copies of this notice may be obtained in alternative formats
(Large print, Braille, Audio Tape, or Disc), upon request by calling
(202) 693-7880 (this is not a toll-free number). TTY/TTD callers may
dial (202) 693-7881 to obtain information or to request materials in
alternative formats.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
The Combined Appropriation Act of 2010, Division D of Public Law
111-117, includes $12 million in funds to DOL's Employment and Training
Administration (ETA) and $12 million to ODEP to develop and implement a
plan for improving effective and meaningful participation of persons
[[Page 35916]]
with disabilities in the workforce and to evaluate the impact of the
DEI. At present, the employment rate of people with disabilities is
just 21 percent, compared with a rate of 70 percent among individuals
without disabilities (DOL, Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2010). The DEI
is designed to reduce this discrepancy by helping states: (1) Improve
educational, training, and employment opportunities and outcomes of
youth and adults with disabilities who are unemployed, underemployed,
and/or receiving Social Security disability benefits; and (2) help
individuals with disabilities find a path to the middle class through
exemplary and model service delivery by the public workforce system
(DOL, 2010).
In September 2010, Alaska, Arkansas, Delaware, Illinois, Kansas,
Maine, New Jersey, New York and Virginia received three-year grants to
implement the DEI in randomly assigned local workforce investment areas
(LWIAs). The DEI grantees are required to implement five program
requirements: (1) Hire a State DEI Project Lead; (2) hire a Disability
Resource Coordinator (DRC) at each DEI site; (3) maintain One-Stop
Career Center accessibility; (4) have each DEI site participate in the
Ticket to Work program as an Employment Network; and (5) plan for
sustaining DEI activities after the three-year grant period. In
addition, grantees are required to incorporate at least two of the
following seven program design strategies: (1) Integrated resource
teams; (2) integrated resources; (3) customized employment; (4) self-
employment; (5) implementation of the Guideposts for Success; (6) asset
development strategies; and (7) partnerships and collaboration.
The purpose of the DEI evaluation is to understand and assess DEI
program start-up and implementation, DEI program efforts to create
system change in the workforce development system, and measures of DEI
program impact and customer outcomes. DEI evaluation findings will be
shared with ODEP, ETA, and other entities within DOL; DEI grantees; and
other organizations involved in disability employment policy and
practice to help them: (1) Make ``mid-stream'' adjustments during the
grant period; (2) replicate successful program strategies and
approaches used by DEI grantees; and (3) support improvements in the
workforce development system nationwide. DEI evaluation findings will
also be used to improve program activities and services to customers
and support DEI grantees and their partners in the development of
systems that increase access and availability to employment and
employment preparation services for customers with disabilities,
including Ticket to Work participants and other Social Security
disability beneficiaries.
Data collection for this evaluation includes two types of data
collection activities: (1) Annual site visits to the nine DEI grantees
and (2) implementation of the DEI data system. For the Annual Site
Visits, the DEI Evaluation Team will make two visits to each of the
nine DEI grantees, one in 2012 and one in 2013. Interviews will be
conducted with the DEI state lead, Disability Resource Coordinators,
Workforce Investment Board (WIB) directors, One-Stop Career Center
managers, One-Stop staff members, and agency partners and employers.
Additionally, eight to ten One-Stop customers will be asked to
participate in a customer focus group. The domains to be investigated
include: The current status at baseline and change in grantees'
workforce development system at follow-up; grantee customer
characteristics; implementation of the five grant requirements;
implementation of the grantee's selected program design strategies;
program implementation challenges; and systems change. The second data
collection activity, the DEI data system, is designed to collect
information not contained in the Workforce Investment Act Standardized
Record Data (WIASRD) and Wagner-Peyser administrative data systems,
including additional demographic, outcome and service utilization data.
Data for the DEI data system will be collected according to each
grantee's preferred mode of data collection and reporting, and will be
integrated with their usual data collection processes. Uploading of DEI
data system data from DEI grantees will occur on a quarterly basis.
II. Review Focus
DOL is interested in comments that:
* Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is
necessary, and 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.
III. Current Actions
Agency: Department of Labor, Office of Disability Employment
Policy.
Title: Evaluation of the Employment and Training Administration/
Office of Disability Employment Policy Disability Employment Initiative
(DEI)
Annual Site Visits
Total Respondents: Approximately 542. As shown in the table below,
the number of respondents per grantee depends on the number of LWIAs
participating in the DEI evaluation. Each DEI State Lead, DRC and WIB
Director will be interviewed in each state and two One-Stop and
partners/employers will be interviewed per Local Workforce Investment
Board (LWIB). In states that have one LWIB, one customer focus group
will be conducted; in the states with more than one LWIB, three focus
groups will be conducted.
Frequency: The DEI Evaluation Team will make two visits to each of
the nine DEI grantees, one in 2012 and one in 2013.
Average Time per Response: Partners and employers from small
entities will participate in interviews that are 45 minutes in
duration. All other interviews will be 60 minutes in duration.
Estimated Total Burden Hours: The cumulative hours of burden due to
the site visits to DEI grantees for the entire project period is 1,228
for two annual rounds of site visits.
Estimated Annual Hours of Burden Due to Site Visits
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DEI state lead DRC One-stop staff Partners & employers*
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
State
of resp. Hrs/resp. of resp. Hrs/resp. of resp. Hrs/resp. of resp. Hrs/resp.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alaska.......................................... 1 2 5 2 2 0.5 2 0.75
Arkansas........................................ 1 2 4 2 16 0.5 16 0.75
Delaware........................................ 1 2 4 2 2 0.5 2 0.75
Illinois........................................ 1 2 4 2 8 0.5 8 0.75
Kansas.......................................... 1 2 2 2 8 0.5 8 0.75
[[Page 35917]]
Maine........................................... 1 2 4 2 6 0.5 6 0.75
New Jersey...................................... 1 2 6 2 16 0.5 16 0.75
New York........................................ 1 2 20 2 40 0.5 40 0.75
Virginia........................................ 1 2 8 2 18 0.5 18 0.75
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total....................................... 9 18 57 18 116 4.5 116 6.75
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Estimated Annual Hours of Burden Due to Site Visits (Continued)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
WIB director Focus groups
---------------------------------------------------------------- Total hours Cumulative
State of of per year total over 2
resp. Hrs/resp. resp. Hrs/resp. years
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alaska.................................................. 1 1 9 1.5 29 58
Arkansas................................................ 8 1 24 1.5 74 148
Delaware................................................ 1 1 9 1.5 27 54
Illinois................................................ 4 1 24 1.5 60 120
Kansas.................................................. 4 1 24 1.5 56 112
Maine................................................... 3 1 24 1.5 56.5 113
New Jersey.............................................. 8 1 24 1.5 78 156
New York................................................ 20 1 24 1.5 148 296
Virginia................................................ 9 1 24 1.5 85.5 171
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total............................................... 58 9 186 13.5 614 1,228
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DEI Data System
Total Respondents: To determine the number of customers with
disabilities from whom data will be collected via the DEI data system,
the numbers of FY 2009 WIASRD and Wagner-Peyser services users were
obtained from the DEI grant applications for the LWIAs selected to
participate in the DEI evaluation. These numbers were then reduced by
11 percent (based on information reported in Livermore & Coleman 2010)
to obtain an approximate unduplicated count of customers with
disabilities, for a total of 43,756 respondents.
Frequency: Because the DEI evaluation includes baseline and follow-
up data collection, burden on customers and staff will occur twice.
Average Time per Response: For each data collection point,
customers with disabilities and staff will spend on average 4.8 minutes
completing the DEI data collection form per point of contact (baseline
or follow-up), as determined by a pilot test with 9 One-Stop customers.
Estimated Total Burden Hours: The burden estimate for the DEI data
system for the entire study period is 12,352 hours.
DEI Data System Burden Estimates
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Time to
of complete the
customers with 2 CWD contact 2 staff DEI data Total hours Total hours
State disabilities points contact points system at burden per burden per
(CWD) in FY intake & year study period
2009 outcome
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alaska.................................................. 5,471 2 2 4.82 193 387
Arkansas................................................ 893 2 2 4.82 32 63
Delaware................................................ 317 2 2 4.82 11 22
Illinois................................................ 3,465 2 2 4.82 122 245
Kansas.................................................. 997 2 2 4.82 35 70
Maine................................................... 3,098 2 2 4.82 110 219
New Jersey.............................................. 3,950 2 2 4.82 140 279
New York................................................ 17,835 2 2 4.82 630 1,261
Virginia................................................ 7,730 2 2 4.82 273 546
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total............................................... 45,756 .............. .............. .............. 1,547 3,093
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* The 11% assumption is based on a comparison of unduplicated and total counts of Social Security disability program beneficiaries who used WIA and
Wagner Peyser services in 2005 and 2006 in three states, as shown in Livermore, Gina, and Silvie Colman. ``Use of One-Stops by Social Security
Disability Beneficiaries in Four States Implementing Disability Program Navigator Initiatives.'' Washington, DC: Mathematica Policy Research, May
2010.
Frequency: Twice.
Total Responses: 43,756 respondents.
Average Time per Response: 4.8 minutes.
Estimated Total Burden Hours: 12,352 hours.
Total Burden Cost: $0.
Note that, due to rounding, the numbers for the totals may differ
from the sum of the component numbers.
[[Page 35918]]
Comments submitted in response to this Notice will be summarized
and/or included in the request for Office of Management and Budget
approval of the ICR; they will also become a matter of public record.
Signed: at Washington, DC, this 26th day of May, 2011.
Kathleen Martinez,
Assistant Secretary, Office of Disability Employment Policy.
[FR Doc. 2011-15297 Filed 6-17-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-27-P