[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 78 (Thursday, April 23, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20215-20217]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-10838]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Employment and Training Administration


Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) Standardized Program 
Information Reporting (SPIR) System; Comment Request

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The 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 Employment and Training Administration (ETA) is 
soliciting comments concerning the proposed revision and extension of 
the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) individual-level reporting 
system: Standardized Program Information Reporting (SPIR). A copy of 
the proposed information reporting system 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 June 20, 1998. 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 the use of appropriate electronic 
reporting mechanisms.
ADDRESSEE: U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training 
Administration, Office of Policy and Research, Rm. N5637, 200 
Constitution Ave, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20210, ATTN: Douglas Scott, 
Telephone: (202) 219-5487 ex. 111, fax: (202) 219-5455 (these are not 
toll-free numbers), Internet: [email protected]

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    The JTPA at Section 165 requires that all state and local agencies 
operating programs funded under Titles II-A (services to disadvantaged 
adults), II-C (services to disadvantaged youth), Section 204(d) 
(services to older workers) and Title III (services to dislocated 
workers) of the Act maintain standardized participant records and 
report this information in a manner prescribed by the Secretary. States 
report on participants' demographic and labor force characteristics, 
services received, and educational and labor force status before and 
after program participation. Uniform data are maintained on those who 
have participated in JTPA programs during a given year and who have 
left the programs. This information is used for public information and 
program evaluation, as well as to monitor program performance and to 
assess regulatory compliance.
    The complete SPIR data base allows the Department to set levels for 
national performance standards required in the law. The Department also 
uses these data to provide States with regression-based local 
adjustment factors and models for setting benchmarks and assessing how 
well local programs achieve good results in a broad range of 
employment-related and skill enhancing outcomes. SPIR data are 
necessary for the Department's performance monitoring consultations 
with local and State JTPA programs. The data also support requirements 
in the Government Performance and Results Act requiring federal 
agencies to evaluate the impact and results of government investment in 
job training and employment programs.
    Reinstatement will enable DOL to continue this reporting system and 
to enhance it to accommodate changes and developments in the employment 
and training system that have occurred since the SPIR data base was 
originally established. Enhancements will also allow States to use 
administrative data (earnings records) currently collected by the 
Unemployment Insurance (UI) program to track the labor force experience 
of program participants in order to gauge program results more 
accurately and efficiently. Further enhancements are to clarify the 
linkages

[[Page 20216]]

between enrollees in JTPA programs and other programs, such as the new 
Welfare-to-Work program and Worker Profiling and Reemployment Services, 
and to implement technical corrections, such as the expansion of date 
fields to accommodate Year 2000 reporting.

II. Current Actions

    The SPIR data base provides standardized information on job 
training and placement programs operated by all States and 640 sub-
state service delivery organizations. The SPIR data base serves a 
number of essential functions required by JTPA and other laws and 
regulations. For example, data in the SPIR system are used by the 
Department to evaluate State and local program operations in relation 
to performance standards established by the Department in consultation 
with its partners. Local programs which are exceeding standards are 
eligible to receive monetary performance incentives, and programs which 
do not meet standards are subject to corrective action, including 
technical assistance.
    The SPIR data base is an integral part of the national JTPA 
program. The purposes of changes and enhancements proposed in this 
submission are to:
    1. Enhance the ability of the data base system to track 
participants who are also receiving services under other programs;
    2. To identify individuals who were referred to JTPA through 
integrated workforce development programs operated at the State or 
local level;
    3. To allow States to track the post-program experience of 
individuals through the use of administrative data (earnings records) 
collected by State UI programs;
    4. To increase the frequency of data transfers from yearly to 
quarterly in order to improve the timeliness of program information; 
and
    5. To implement technical requirements such as the revision of 
certain program names, and changing the format of date fields to be 
Year 2000 compliant.
    Type of Review: Reinstatement with changes.
    Agency: Employment and Training Administration.
    Title: Standardized Program Information Reporting (SPIR).
    OMB Number: 1205-0321.
    Affected Public: State governments, local service delivery areas 
(SDAs), and local sub-state areas (SSAs).
    Cite/Reference/Form/etc.: Authority to collect this information is 
provided in three Sections of the JTPA legislation:

Section 106--Performance Standards

    This Section directs the Secretary to prescribe standards for adult 
programs under the Titles included in the SPIR system. Establishing 
standards and monitoring performance requires data on performance 
levels. This Section also makes provision for Governors to vary 
standards for local-level programs with reference to local economic 
factors, the characteristics of the population being served, and the 
types of services being provided.

Section 165--Reports, Record keeping, and Investigations

    This Section requires federal grant recipients to maintain records 
and report information regarding program performance and fiscal 
management as specified by the Secretary. It also specifically requires 
recipients ``to maintain standardized records for all individual 
participants and provide to the Secretary a sufficient number of such 
records to provide for an adequate analysis.''

Section 169--Administrative Provisions

    The Secretary is directed at (d)(1) to submit an annual report to 
Congress summarizing the achievements of the program. This report 
includes data on program performance.
    The collection instrument is the Standardized Program Information 
Reporting (SPIR) instructions and report format specifications. The 
SPIR itself is an electronic computer file in a specified form which is 
submitted by respondents via diskette, modem, electronic tape, or the 
Internet.
    Total Respondents: 52--the States, District of Columbia and Puerto 
Rico.
    Frequency: Quarterly.
    Total Responses: We receive one data set from each of the 52 
reporting units. Each of these sets contains one record for each 
individual who has terminated from participation in a JTPA program 
included in SPIR reporting requirements during the reporting period. 
Thus, the number of records in each set varies depending on the number 
of individuals served under JTPA. The total report submission for the 
most recent reporting period (Program Year 1996) consisted of 589,806 
individual records.
    The following table documents changes in the burden hours 
associated with the proposed SPIR revisions. (Note: the most recent 
SPIR authorization referenced a burden hours estimate of 20,140 hours. 
This was, in fact, the increase over the original SPIR authorization 
bringing the authorized burden hours to 439,365. For this reason the 
table used the 439,365 estimate as the departure point for burden hours 
estimates.)

         Change in Burden Hours.--First Interim Year of Revision        
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                               Average  
                                     Affected     Average       burden  
             Activity              respondents   hours per      hours   
                                                    year      (national)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Currently Authorized.............  ...........  ...........      439,365
Change in Record Volume +11%.....           52          310      455,485
Move to Quarterly Reporting......           52           30      457,045
New and Revised Data Elements....           52           80      461,205
Start-up Requirements for Wage                                          
 Records.........................            5          100      461,705
Routine Data Gathering for Wage                                         
 Records.........................            5           50      461,955
Decrease in Reporting Burden                                            
 Associated with Move to Wage                                           
 Records.........................            5        -1203      455,940
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Net Change in Reporting Burden, 1st Year: +16,575.
    Burden hours calculation refers to the first year after 
implementation of changes. For example, if the increase over the three 
year period in volume of records is 11%, then 439,365 hours will 
increase to 487,695 hours--a net increase of 48,330 hours attributable 
to change in volume of records processed. This is an average increase 
of 16,110 per year, as reflected in the table.
    Average Time per Response: 8,768 total hours per reporting unit 
(State) to compile and transmit electronic records for JTPA terminees 
included in the data transfer. The actual time per response varies 
widely depending on the number

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of individuals served in the State's programs.
    Total Burden Cost (capital/startup): All respondents are currently 
operating production-status SPIR reporting systems. Estimated average 
marginal costs to implement changes described in this Notice: $7,500.
    Total Burden Cost (operating/maintaining): All respondents maintain 
management information systems required to operate their JTPA programs. 
Satisfying SPIR reporting requirements is one of a number of functions 
these systems perform. The costs of operating and maintaining these 
systems vary widely, ranging from States with only a single Service 
Delivery Area (e.g., Delaware) to California which has 52 Service 
Delivery Areas within the State.
    Estimated Total Burden Hours: 455,940.
    Change from Prior Authorization: Increase of 16,575 hours.
    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 collection request; they will also 
become a matter of public record.

    Dated: April 15, 1998.
Gerri Fiala,
Director, Office of Policy and Research.
[FR Doc. 98-10838 Filed 4-22-98; 8:45 am]
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