[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 222 (Thursday, November 17, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 81172-81174]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-27681]
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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Office of the Secretary
Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for OMB
Review; Comment Request; Evaluation of Strategies Used in TechHire and
Strengthening Working Families Initiative Grant Programs
AGENCY: Office of the Assistant Secretary for Policy, Chief Evaluation
Office, Department of Labor.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The Department of Labor (DOL), as part of its continuing
effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, conducts a
preclearance 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 is properly assessed.
Currently, the Department of Labor is soliciting comments
concerning the collection of data about the Evaluation of Strategies
Used in TechHire and Strengthening Working Families Initiative Grant
Programs. 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 January 17, 2017.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by either one of the following
methods: Email: [email protected]; Mail or Courier:
Christina Yancey, Chief Evaluation Office, OASP, U.S. Department of
Labor, Room S-2312, 200 Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20210.
Instructions: Please submit one copy of your comments by only one
method. All submissions received must include the agency name and OMB
Control Number 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 email or to submit them by mail
early. Comments, including any personal information
[[Page 81173]]
provided, become a matter of public record. They will also be
summarized and/or included in the request for OMB approval of the
information collection request.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Christina Yancey by email at
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background: The Chief Evaluation Office (CEO), in collaboration
with the Employment and Training Administration (ETA), of the U.S.
Department of Labor (DOL) seeks to build evidence about effective
approaches to prepare Americans with skills and connect them to well-
paying, middle- and high-skilled, and high growth jobs in H-lB
industries (such as IT, healthcare, advanced manufacturing, financial
services, and broadband). There is a particular interest in special
populations and individuals who have traditionally faced barriers to
training and employment opportunities and in learning about approaches
to serving these populations and addressing barriers they may face,
such as youth and young adults, parents with childcare needs,
individuals with disabilities, individuals with limited English
proficiency, and individuals with criminal records. The evaluation will
advance the evidence on innovative approaches being used to meet these
goals in the TechHire Partnership (TechHire) and Strengthening Working
Families Initiative (SWFI) grant programs. The evaluation will include
two components, an implementation study and an impact study.
The goal of the impact study is to provide rigorous evidence on the
effectiveness of strategies used in the TechHire and SWFI grant
programs. The impact study will consist of both a randomized controlled
trial (RCT) and a quasi-experimental design (QED) evaluation. Six
grantees will be selected to participate in an RCT. Eligible program
applicants will be randomly assigned to either a program group that is
offered the program or a control group that is not. The RCT will
collect baseline data on key demographics and other characteristics
through a random assignment intake form, employment and earnings
outcomes through unemployment insurance (UI), wage record data from the
National Directory of New Hires (NDNH), or, as needed, UI records from
state agencies, and follow up surveys of study participants at about 6
and 18 to 24 months after random assignment. The follow up surveys will
provide additional outcome measures such as employment stability and
quality, completion of training, and involvement with the criminal
justice system.
The QED will include all 53 TechHire and SWFI grantees and use the
pooled RCT control group as the comparison group using propensity score
matching. The QED will collect data from an existing MIS and UI wage
record data from NDNH and/or state agencies. It will also use data from
the implementation study (described below) in an effort to analyze how
variation in program impacts correlates with implementation factors.
A key goal of the implementation study is to provide systematic
information on all of the grantees and link the findings to impacts.
For all 53 grantees, the implementation study will review grantee
applications, conduct web-based surveys with grantees and partners,
conduct semi-structured telephone interviews with grantees and
partners, and collect data on individual participants through an
existing grantee quarterly reports MIS. Additionally, for the 6
grantees in the RCT, the implementation study will include two rounds
of field visits involving a mix of observations, interviews, and case
file reviews. This will provide critical context for understanding the
impact findings from the RCT.
This Federal Register Notice provides the opportunity to comment on
proposed data collection instruments that will be used in the
evaluation:
* Random assignment intake form. The random assignment process will
begin with a short baseline form that collects electronically key
demographic and other individual characteristics and contact
information for follow-up.
* 6 Month Participant Follow-up Survey. The survey will be
administered 6 months after random assignment to the treated and
control groups. To better understand the contrast between the treated
and control groups 6 months after random assignment, this relatively
brief survey will collect information on service receipt, employment,
and job placement.
* 18 Month Participant Follow-up Survey. The survey will be
administered 18 months after random assignment to the treated and
control groups. The purpose of the survey is to collect information on
outcomes not available in existing data. These include current and past
employment situation, hours worked, wages, shift work, employer
benefits, job search activities, job satisfaction, promotion, education
and training participation, criminal justice involvement, and child
care.
* Grantee Survey. The survey will be administered to all 53
TechHire and SWFI grantees in 2018. The purpose of the survey is to
collect uniform information on implementation status and a variety of
program characteristics to support implementation analysis of the grant
programs. These data will allow us to examine whether there is a
correlation between program characteristics and impacts.
* Partner Survey. The survey will be administered to all partners
of all 53 TechHire and SWFI grantees. The survey will explore the
strength of relationships between the partners in the TechHire and SWFI
grant programs. The survey will collect information on select elements
of partner interactions (frequency of communication, level of
collaboration, and service referrals).
* Protocol for In-depth Telephone Interview with Grantees. Within 6
months after the grantee survey, the evaluation team will conduct in-
depth telephone interviews with each grantee. The protocol will be used
to learn about challenges, successes, and barriers to implementation
that are difficult to obtain using a survey.
* Protocol for In-depth Telephone Interview with Partners. Within 6
months after the partner survey, the evaluation team will conduct in-
depth telephone interviews with one partner for each grantee. The
protocol will be used to learn about the degree of engagement and
successful strategies that are difficult to obtain using a survey.
* Site Visit Protocols. During two rounds of implementation site
visits to the 6 grantees in the RCT, the evaluation team will conduct
in-depth interviews with program staff and partners. The site visit
protocols will be tailored to each grantee and collect information on
implementation status, changes in implementation during random
assignment, and degree of coordination.
II. Desired Focus of Comments: Currently, the Department of Labor
is soliciting comments concerning the above data collection for the
Evaluation of Strategies Used in the TechHire and SWFI programs. DOL is
particularly interested in comments that do the following:
* Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is
necessary for the proper performance functions of the agency, including
whether the information will have practical utility;
* evaluate the accuracy of the agency's burden estimate of the
proposed information collection, including the validity of the
methodology and assumptions;
* enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to
be collected; and
[[Page 81174]]
* 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--for example, permitting
electronic submissions of responses.
III. Current Actions: At this time, the Department of Labor is
requesting clearance for the implementation site visit protocols, the
focus group protocols, and a survey.
Type of Review: New information collection request.
OMB Control Number: 1290-0NEW.
Affected Public: TechHire and SWFI program applicants, grantees,
and partners.
Estimated Total Burden Hours
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Average
Estimated Number of burden time Estimated
Respondents total responses per per response total burden
respondents respondent (hours) (hours)
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Impact Study
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Baseline Intake Form............................ 4,800 1 .50 2,400
Participant Survey at 6-months.................. * 3,840 1 .50 1,920
Participant Survey at 18-24 months.............. * 3,840 1 .75 2,880
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Implementation Study
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Web-based survey of grantees.................... 53 1 .50 26.50
Web-based survey of partners.................... \a\ 530 1 .50 265
Semi-structured telephone interviews with 53 1 .75 39.75
grantees.......................................
Semi-structured telephone interviews with 53 1 .75 39.75
partners.......................................
Implementation site visits
Program staff............................... 120 1 .50 60.0
Partners.................................... 96 1 .50 48.0
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Total................................... \b\ 5,705 .............. .............. 7,679
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* Assumes a sample of 4,800 with an 80 percent response rate.
\a\ Assumes 10 partners per grantee.
\b\ So as not to double-count participants who complete the baseline intake form and then also complete the
follow-up participant surveys, this total only counts the 4,800 from the baseline intake form. However, all
hours are calculated for the total burden.
Comments submitted in response to this request will be summarized
and/or included in the request for Office of Management and Budget
approval of the information collection request; they will also become a
matter of public record.
Dated: November 3, 2016.
Sharon Block,
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy, U.S. Department of
Labor.
[FR Doc. 2016-27681 Filed 11-16-16; 8:45 am]
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