[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 143 (Monday, July 27, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44399-44400]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-18315]
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LEGAL SERVICES CORPORATION
Agricultural Worker Population Data for Basic Field--Migrant
Grants
AGENCY: Legal Services Corporation.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The Legal Services Corporation (LSC) provides special
population grants to effectively and efficiently fund civil legal aid
services to address the legal needs of agricultural workers and their
dependents through grants entitled ``Basic Field--Migrant.'' The
funding for these grants is based on data regarding the eligible client
population to be served. LSC has obtained from the U.S. Department of
Labor new data regarding this population that are more current than the
data LSC has been using and that better reflect the population to be
served. On February 3, 2015, LSC sought comments on the use of that
data for grants beginning in January 2016 and related issues. Based on
the comments received, LSC will not use the data for 2016 grants. LSC
will make public additional information underlying the new data,
contract with the Department of Labor for assistance addressing issues
raised in the comments, consider development of revised data, and seek
public comment on any revised data and a revised implementation plan.
Implementation would begin January 2017.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mark Freedman, Senior Assistant
General Counsel, Legal Services Corporation, 3333 K St. NW.,
Washington, DC 20007; 202-295-1623 (phone); 202-337-6519 (fax);
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Legal Services Corporation (``LSC'' or
``Corporation'') was established through the LSC Act ``for the purpose
of providing financial support for legal assistance in noncriminal
matters or proceedings to persons financially unable to afford such
assistance.'' 42 U.S.C. 2996b(a). LSC performs this function primarily
through distributing funding appropriated by Congress to independent
civil legal aid programs that provide legal services to low-income
persons throughout the United States and its possessions and
territories. 42 U.S.C. 2996e(a)(1)(A). LSC designates geographic
service areas and structures grants to support services to the entire
eligible population in a service area or to a specified subpopulation
of eligible clients. 45 CFR 1634.2(c) and (d), 1634.3(b). LSC awards
these grants through a competitive process. 45 CFR part 1634. Congress
has mandated that LSC ``insure that grants and contracts are made so as
to provide the most economical and effective delivery of legal
assistance to persons in both urban and rural areas.'' 42 U.S.C.
2996f(a)(3).
Throughout the United States and U.S. territories, LSC provides
Basic Field--General grants to support legal services for eligible
clients. LSC provides funding for those grants on a per-capita basis
using the poverty population as determined by the U.S. Census Bureau
every three years. Sec. 501(a), Public Law 104-134, 110 Stat. 1321,
1321-50, as amended by Public Law 113-6, div. B, title IV, 127 Stat.
198, 268 (LSC funding formula adopted in 1996, incorporated by
reference in LSC's appropriations thereafter, and amended in 2013).
Since its establishment in 1974, LSC has also provided subpopulation
grants to support legal services for the needs of agricultural workers
through Basic Field--Migrant grants under the authority of the LSC Act
to structure grants for the most economic and effective delivery of
legal assistance. 42 U.S.C. 2996f(a)(3). Congress amended the LSC Act
in 1977 to require that LSC conduct a study of the special legal needs
of various subpopulations, including migrant or seasonal farm workers,
and develop and implement appropriate means of addressing those needs.
42 U.S.C. 2996f(h). LSC's study, issued in 1979, concluded that
specialized legal expertise and knowledge were needed to address the
distinctive ``unmet special legal problems'' that migrant and seasonal
farmworkers shared because of their status as farmworkers. Legal
Services Corporation, Special Legal Problems and Problems of Access to
Legal
[[Page 44400]]
Services of Veterans, Migrant and Seasonal Farm Workers, Native
Americans, People, with Limited English-Speaking Ability, and
Individuals in Sparsely Populated Areas, 1979.
LSC provides funding for Basic Field--Migrant grants on a per-
capita basis by determining the size of the subpopulation and
separating that population from the overall poverty population for the
applicable geographic area or areas. LSC expects programs receiving
these grants to serve the legal needs of a broad range of eligible
agricultural workers and their dependents who have specialized legal
needs that are most effectively and efficiently served through a
dedicated grant program. LSC currently uses data regarding migrant and
seasonal farmworkers, and their families, from the early 1990s, with
some adjustments based on changes in the general poverty population.
These data are no longer current and do not reflect the entire
population served by these grants.
The United States Department of Labor, Employment and Training
Administration (ETA), collects data regarding agricultural workers for
federal grants serving the needs of the American agricultural worker
population. The U.S. Census Bureau does not maintain data regarding
agricultural workers. LSC has contracted with ETA to obtain more
current data regarding the agricultural worker population served by
these grants. ETA has provided LSC with these data, including state-by-
state breakdowns. The changes in data will result in changes in funding
levels for these grants.
In January of 2015, LSC management (Management) proposed to the LSC
Board of Directors (Board) that LSC seek comments on using the new data
for these grants as follows:
(1) Implementing the new data for calculation of these grants
beginning in January 2016;
(2) phasing in the funding changes to provide intermediate funding
halfway between the old and new levels for 2016 and to fully implement
the new levels for 2017; and
(3) updating the data every three years on the same cycle as LSC
updates poverty population data from the U.S. Census Bureau for the
distribution of LSC's Basic Field--General grants.
Upon approval by the Board's Operations and Regulations Committee
(Committee) on January 22, 2015, and the Board on January 24, 2015, LSC
published a notice for comment on this proposal in the Federal Register
on February 3, 2015, 80 FR 5791. LSC extended the comment period to
April 20, 2015, via notice in the Federal Register on March 19, 2015,
80 FR 14413. Management's proposal, related documents and the comments
submitted are available at: http://www.lsc.gov/about/mattersforcomment.php.
LSC received eleven comments from ten individuals or organizations.
The National Legal Aid and Defender Association (NLADA) submitted two
comments--one from the NLADA Civil Policy Group and one from the NLADA
Farmworker Section.
The comments all supported the proposal to use more current data
for apportioning funding to and among these grants. Some comments
raised concerns about the source data and the methodology used. In
particular, concerns were raised about the types of state groupings
used for distribution of the data among the states. Those comments
stated that the groupings did not accurately reflect the patterns of
employment and residence for low-income agricultural workers and their
dependents. Some comments identified additional sources of data for
determining the relevant populations in some states. Comments also
sought additional access to the source data and methodology used by the
Department of Labor. Other issues raised by the comments included the
scope of the definition of ``agricultural worker,'' implementation over
two or three years, and adjustments to the data for aliens eligible
under federal law for LSC services based on sexual abuse, domestic
violence, trafficking, or other abusive or criminal activities. See 45
CFR 1626.4--Aliens eligible for assistance under anti-abuse laws.
Based on these comments, Management proposed to the Committee that
LSC further investigate improvements to the data, postpone prospective
implementation until January 2017, seek additional comments on revised
options, and publish this notice. On July 16, 2015, the Committee
approved Management's proposal. On July 18, 2015, the Board adopted the
recommendation of Management and the Committee.
Management has contracted with ETA to obtain expert review of the
issues regarding source data and methodology raised by the comments.
Management will publish on the Matters for Comment page of www.lsc.gov
additional information regarding the source data and methodology.
Management will also determine whether ETA can provide revised data
based on some of the considerations raised in the comments. Based on
this review and any other relevant information, LSC will publish for
comment any revised data and a proposal for implementation.
Implementation would begin January 2017.
Dated: July 22, 2015.
Stefanie K. Davis,
Assistant General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2015-18315 Filed 7-24-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7050-01-P