[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 37 (Friday, February 23, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8108-8110]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-03762]
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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for OMB
Review; Comment Request; Evaluation of Strategies Used in TechHire and
Strengthening Working Families Initiative (SWFI) Grant Programs
AGENCY: Office of the Assistant Secretary for Policy, Chief Evaluation
Office, Department of Labor.
ACTION: Notice of information collection; request for comment.
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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). 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, DOL is soliciting comments concerning the collection of
data about the Evaluation of Strategies Used in TechHire and SWFI 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 April 24, 2018.
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. Comments,
including any personal information 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 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 learning about approaches to serving populations
and individuals who have traditionally faced barriers to training and
employment opportunities 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 SFWI grant
programs. The impact study will consist of both a randomized controlled
trial (RCT) and a quasi-experimental design (QED) evaluation.
Approximately five grantees will be selected to participate in an RCT.
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 wage record data.
It will also use data from the implementation study (described below)
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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, and
conduct semi-structured telephone interviews with grantees and
partners. Additionally, for the 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.
In January 2018, OMB approved the baseline data collection for this
evaluation (OMB 1290-0014), which includes a baseline information form
(BIF), a 6-month follow-up participant survey, a participant tracking
form, and a first round of site visit interviews. This Federal Register
Notice provides the opportunity to comment on the following proposed
data collection instruments that will be used in the implementation
component of the evaluation:
* 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.
* Partner Contact Information Form. Contact information and level
of involvement for each partner will be collected from grantees in a
partner contact information form. This information will be used to
build the list of partners and their contact information for the
partner survey.
* Partner Survey. The survey will be administered to all partners
of all 53 TechHire and SWFI grantees in 2018. The survey will explore
the strength of relationships between the partners in the TechHire and
SWFI grant programs. The survey will collect information on partner
roles and responsibilities, sustainability plans, and implementation
challenges and lessons learned.
* Telephone Interview With Grantees. Within approximately 6 months
after the grantee survey, the evaluation team will conduct semi-
structured 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.
* Telephone Interview With Partners. Within approximately 6 months
after the partner survey, the evaluation team will conduct semi-
structured telephone interviews partners of a subset of grantees. 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 Interviews for Second Round of Site Visits. During a
second round of implementation site visits to the grantees in the RCT,
the evaluation team will conduct in-depth interviews with program staff
and partners. The site visit interview guide will collect information
on implementation status, changes in implementation during random
assignment, and degree of coordination. The site visit interview guide
will be modular and collect information based on the grantee and/or
partner staff knowledge and role.
II. Desired Focus of Comments
Currently, DOL is soliciting comments concerning the above data
collection for the Evaluation of Strategies Use 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 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.
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 submission of responses.
III. Current Actions
At this time, DOL is requesting clearance for the implementation
site visit protocols, the focus group protocols, and a grantee survey.
A future information collection request will include an 18-month
participant follow-up survey.
Type of Review: New information collection request.
OMB Control Number: 1290--0NEW.
Affected Public: TechHire and SWFI grantees and partners.
Estimated Burden Hours
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Average burden
Total number Annual number Number of time per Estimated
Information collection of respondents of respondents responses per response annual burden
respondent (hours) hours
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Grantee survey.................. 53 18 1 1 18
Grantee telephone interview \a\. 159 53 1 1 53
Partner contact information form 53 18 1 1 18
Partner survey \b\.............. 960 320 1 .5 160
Partner telephone interview \c\. 106 35 1 1 35
Site visit interview guide for 90 30 1 1 30
second round of site visits \d\
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Total....................... 1,421 474 .............. .............. 314
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\a\ Assumes 53 grantees and 3 respondents per grantee for (53 x 3) = 159 total respondents and (159/3) = 53
annual respondents.
\b\ Assumes 1,200 partners and an 80 percent response rate for (1,200/.80) = 960 total respondents and (960/3) =
320 annual respondents.
\c\ Assumes 53 partners and 2 respondents per partner for (53 x 2) = 106 total respondents and (53/2) = 35.33
annual respondents.
\d\ Assumes 5 grantees and 10 grantee staff and 8 partner staff for each grantee for (5 x (10 + 8)) = 90 total
respondents and (90/3) = 30 annual respondents.
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.
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Dated: February 16, 2018.
Molly Irwin,
Chief Evaluation Officer, U.S. Department of Labor.
[FR Doc. 2018-03762 Filed 2-22-18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-HX-P