[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 135 (Thursday, July 15, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38244-38245]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-18003]



[[Page 38243]]

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Part II





Department of Labor





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Employment and Training Administration



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Developing USDOL/ETA's Five-Year Research Plan for 2000-2004; Notice

  Federal Register / Vol. 64, No. 135 / Thursday, July 15, 1999 / 
Notices  

[[Page 38244]]



DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Employment and Training Administration


Developing USDOL/ETA's Five-Year Research Plan for 2000-2004

AGENCY: Employment and Training Administration, Labor.

ACTION: Notice of development of USDOL/ETA's Five-Year Research Plan; 
request for comment; and notice of research symposium.

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SUMMARY: Notice is given on the development of the U.S. Department of 
Labor, Employment and Training Administration's (USDOL/ETA) Five-Year 
Research Plan for 2000-2004, which plan is required under the Workforce 
Investment Act (WIA) of 1998, Section 171. The Research Plan will 
identify the potential research and evaluation efforts that will most 
assist USDOL/ETA in carrying out workforce development programs under 
the WIA. Comments on draft Research Plans are requested as part of the 
iterative process for developing the final Research Plan, which must be 
transmitted to Congress by July 1, 2000. Notice of the Workforce 
Development Research Symposium is also given, which is part of USDOL/
ETA's broad efforts to obtain public input on the draft Research Plan, 
including suggestions on areas where future research is needed in 
employment and training. To obtain additional information on the 
Research Plan and Research Symposium, and to provide comments, visit 
the website at the following address: http://www.heldrich.rutgers.edu/
USDOL-ETA-ResearchPlan.

DATES: A. An initial July 6, 1999 draft of the Research Plan is 
currently available for comment, and a revised draft will be available 
for comment on September 30, 1999. Comments on the July 6, 1999 draft 
must be received by August 30 for incorporation into the September 30, 
1999 draft. Comments on the September 30, 1999 draft must be received 
by October 30 for incorporation into the final draft of the Research 
Plan.
    B. The National Workforce Development Research Symposium will be 
held on Tuesday, July 27, 1999, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

ADDRESSES: A. All written comments on the USDOL/ETA Research Plan 
should be sent by mail to USDOL/ETA Research Plan, c/o Heldrich Center 
for Workforce Development, Rutgers University, 33 Livingston Avenue, 
5th Floor, New Brunswick, NJ 08901; by fax at (732) 932-3454, by e-mail 
to [email protected]; or through the Internet at the website address 
http://www.heldrich.rutgers.edu/USDOL-ETA-ResearchPlan. B. The National 
Workforce Development Research Symposium will be held at the Capitol 
Hilton Hotel, 16th and K Streets, NW, Washington, DC 20036. All 
interested parties are encouraged to attend. There is no registration 
fee, but prior registration is required. Seating is limited to 100 
attendees, and will be available on a first-come, first-served basis. 
Instructions for registration are provided below under the 
supplementary information.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: A. For information related to the 
Research Plan, contact Janet Javar, USDOL/ETA, Office of Policy and 
Research, N-5637, 200 Constitution Ave., NW, 20210; fax: (202) 219-
5455; e-mail: [email protected]. B. For information related to the 
Research Symposium, contact Aaron Fichtner, Heldrich Center for 
Workforce Development at Rutgers University, USDOL/ETA Research Plan, 
c/o Heldrich Center for Workforce Development, Rutgers University, 33 
Livingston Avenue 5th Floor, New Brunswick, NJ 08901; fax: (732) 932-
3454; e-mail: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

A. Why Is the U.S. Department of Labor/Employment and Training 
Administration (USDOL/ETA) Developing a Five-Year Research Plan?

    Under the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) of 1998, Section 171, the 
Secretary of Labor is required to prepare a Five-Year Research Plan 
every two years. The first Research Plan under the WIA must be 
published in the Federal Register and transmitted to Congress by July 
1, 2000. By requiring such a plan, the WIA has given USDOL/ETA the 
unique opportunity to conduct a literature review of previous 
employment and training studies and the research methodologies used for 
these studies, and to propose an agenda for the next five years 
(beginning July 2000) for pilots, demonstrations, research, and 
evaluation studies in areas related to workforce development programs 
and policies.

B. What Is the Purpose of the Research Plan, and How Is It 
Structured?

    The Five-Year Research Plan will identify the potential research 
and evaluation efforts that will most assist USDOL/ETA in carrying out 
workforce development programs under WIA. The Research Plan will focus 
primarily on proposing an agenda for applied research and demonstration 
topic areas in employment and training that endeavor to test new 
approaches, and describe the most successful and best practices, with 
the aim of providing a learning opportunity for policy-makers and 
practitioners.
    The Research Plan will consist of the following sections:

--A review of relevant literature in employment and training research, 
such as research sponsored by USDOL, research by individuals and 
research institutions, and related research by the U.S. Department of 
Health and Human Services (HHS), the U.S. Department of Education 
(DoEd), and other federal agencies;
--An analysis of alternative research methodologies that should be used 
for various types of employment and training research;
--A presentation of potential research topics and evaluations that 
might be conducted in the next five years; and
--Recommendations for high priority topic areas which should be 
initiated over the next several years.

C. What Is the Process for Developing the Research Plan?

    The John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers 
University is providing staff assistance to USDOL/ETA in developing the 
Research Plan, including preparing drafts of the plan. Available drafts 
of the Research Plan are for discussion only, and not for reproduction 
or quotation. These drafts are being developed by the Heldrich Center, 
and thus do not necessarily represent the official policies or 
positions of the U.S. Department of Labor. The USDOL/ETA has the 
responsibility for revising the submitted draft Research Plan into a 
final Research Plan, formally clearing the final Research Plan, 
publishing the final version of the plan in the Federal Register, and 
transmitting the final plan to Congress, as required by WIA.
    The Research Plan is being developed through the input of a wide 
range of individuals and organizations, including research and policy 
offices of the USDOL, program offices of ETA, research departments of 
other Federal agencies, State and local levels of workforce development 
agencies, members of an Expert Panel, and other stakeholders in 
employment and training. In addition to publishing in the Federal 
Register, efforts to obtain input include establishing a website and 
convening the National Workforce Development Research Symposium.

D. What Is the National Workforce Development Research Symposium?

    On July 27, 1999, the U.S. Department of Labor/Employment and 
Training

[[Page 38245]]

Administration and the Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at 
Rutgers University will convene a National Workforce Development 
Research Symposium in Washington, DC. This one-day symposium will bring 
together a variety of individuals with expertise in research in 
employment and training. The goal of the Research Symposium is to 
identify, through structured discussion, priorities for future research 
in employment and training. Concurrent sessions will focus on topic 
areas such as understanding the labor market, interventions to assist 
in-school and out-of-school youth, interventions to assist dislocated 
workers, interventions to assist adults (including welfare recipients 
and disadvantaged adults), interventions to assist individuals with 
disabilities and other special populations, unemployment insurance, new 
tools in employment and training (including reemployment incentives and 
self-employment/ microenterprise development), alternative 
methodologies for employment and training research, and national 
datasets needed for employment and training research.
    Individuals interested in attending the Research Symposium should 
register by July 16, 1999. There is no registration fee, but prior 
registration is required. Seating is limited to 100 attendees, and will 
be available on a first-come, first-served basis. Persons with 
disabilities, needing special accommodations, should contact Aaron 
Fichtner of the Heldrich Center by July 16, 1999.
    You can register for the Research Symposium by the following:
    Mail: Mail your name, e-mail address, organization, telephone 
number, address, fax number, city, state, and zip code to USDOL/ETA 
Research Plan, 
c/o Heldrich Center for Workforce Development, Rutgers University, 33 
Livingston Avenue 5th Floor, New Brunswick, NJ 08901.
    Fax: Fax your name, e-mail address, organization, telephone number, 
address, fax number, city, state, and zip code to the Heldrich Center 
for Workforce Development at Rutgers University at (732) 932-3454.
    Internet: Visit the Research Plan website at http://
www.heldrich.rutgers.edu/USDOL-ETA-ResearchPlan to register online.
    You will receive confirmation of your registration by mail, fax, or 
e-mail; the method will correspond to your registration method. 
Background materials for the Research Symposium, including the agenda 
for the day, is currently available on the Research Plan website.

E. To Contribute to the Development of the Research Plan

    To make a suggestion, offer a comment, or request a written copy of 
an early draft of the Research Plan, please contact the Heldrich Center 
by mail at USDOL/ETA Research Plan, c/o Heldrich Center for Workforce 
Development, Rutgers University, 33 Livingston Avenue 5th Floor, New 
Brunswick, NJ 08901, by fax at (732) 932-3454, or by e-mail to 
[email protected]. You can also visit http://
www.heldrich.rutgers.edu/USDOL-ETA-ResearchPlan. This website was 
developed by the Heldrich Center to allow a wide variety of individuals 
to provide input into the Research Plan as it is being developed.

Review an Early Draft of the Research Plan

    An early draft of the Research Plan is currently available for your 
review. You can request this draft to be mailed to you or you can 
download it directly from the website. This early draft contains the 
first two parts of the plan:

--Section I: Review of Recent Research, Evaluation and Demonstration 
Initiatives and Identification of Needs, and
--Section II: Review of Alternative Methodologies for Employment and 
Training Research.

Section III (List of Potential Research Topics/Subject Areas) and 
Section IV (Recommendations for High-Priority Subject Areas) will be 
developed during the summer and fall of 1999, based upon further input 
from the U.S. Department of Labor, other Federal agencies, the Expert 
Panel, and the larger stakeholder community.

Comment on the Drafts of the Research Plan

    Please submit your written comments on various drafts of the 
Research Plan by mail, fax, e-mail, or through the website. Include 
your name, address and contact information with your comments.

Suggest Areas Where Future Research Is Needed in Employment and 
Training

    Section III of the Research Plan--List of Potential Research 
Topics/Subject Areas, and Section IV--Recommendations for High Priority 
Subject Areas--will be developed based upon extensive public input. 
Please submit your written suggestions for areas where you think future 
research is needed in employment and training by mail, fax, e-mail, or 
through the website. Include your name, address and contact information 
with your comments.

    Signed at Washington, DC, this 9th day of July, 1999.
Gerard F. Fiala,
Administrator, Office of Policy and Research.
[FR Doc. 99-18003 Filed 7-14-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-30-P