[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 195 (Friday, October 8, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54914-54916]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-26362]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Employment and Training Administration


Proposed Collection; 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 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 can be properly assessed. 
Currently, the Employment and Training Administration is soliciting 
comments concerning the proposed consolidation and renewal of Job Corps 
applicant forms. 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 
Addresses section below on or before December 7, 1999.

ADDRESSES: June P. Veach, Office of Job Corps, 200 Constitution Avenue 
N.W., Room N-4507, Washington, D.C. 20210. E-Mail Internet Address: 
J[email protected]; Telephone number: (202) 219-5556, ext. 129 (This is 
not a toll-free number); Fax number: (202) 501-5457 (This is not a 
toll-free number).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    The Job Corps program is designed to serve low-income young women 
and men, 16 through 24, who are in need of additional vocational, 
educational and social skills training, and other support services in 
order to gain meaningful employment, return to school or enter the 
Armed Forces. Authorized by the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) of 1998. 
Job Corps is operated by the Department of Labor through a nationwide 
network of 118 Job Corps centers. The program is primarily a 
residential program operating 24 hours per day, 7 days per week, with 
non-resident enrollees limited by legislation to 20 percent of national 
enrollment. These centers presently accommodate more than 40,000 
students. To ensure that the centers are filled with youth who are low-
come, as well as capable of and committed to doing the work necessary 
to achieve the benefits of Job Corps, certain eligibility requirements 
have been established by the legislation.
    The purpose of this collection is to gather information from 
applicants to the program in order to determine their eligibility for 
Job Corps. These forms are critical to the screening process. They are 
the initial forms completed by the Job Corps admissions counselors for 
each applicant.
    The ETA 652, Job Corps Data Sheet, is used to obtain information 
for screening and enrollment purposes to determine eligibility for the 
Job Corps program in accordance with the requirements of the Workforce 
Investment Act. It is prepared electronically by an admissions 
counselor for each applicant. It also provides demographic 
characteristics for program reporting purposes. Data for the form are 
collected by interview. The information collected determines 
eligibility in regard to age, legal U.S. residency, family income/
welfare status, school status, behavioral problems (if any), parental 
consent, and child care needs of each applicant.
    The ETA 655, Statement from Courts or Other Agencies, and ETA 655A, 
Statement from Institution, collect essential information for 
determining an applicant's eligibility. They are used to document past 
behavior problems for all applicants, as well as provide a basis for 
projecting future behavior. If this

[[Page 54915]]

information were not obtained, serious problems could result from 
enrolling potentially harmful or disruptive individuals in Job Corps, 
which is a residential program. This could have legal implications for 
the Federal government.
    The ETA 682, Child Care Certification, is used to certify an 
applicant's arrangements for care of a dependent child(ren) while the 
applicant is in Job Corps.

II. Review Focus

    The Department of Labor 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 through the use of appropriate automated, 
electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or 
other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting electronic 
submissions of responses.

III. Current Actions

    The following Job Corps application forms have expired. It was 
anticipated that the change to electronic collection would be completed 
much more quickly than has happened. The final version was not 
completed until October 1998. In addition, the anticipation and 
introduction of the Workforce Investment Act created an additional 
delay because of changes in Job Corps eligibility requirements mandated 
by that Act. Job Corps has continued to collect application data 
because it was necessary to the application process that youth 
receiving training on Job Corps centers be eligible for the benefits 
provided. No harm has been done while the forms were expired. No 
outreach and admissions reports have been submitted and/or developed 
for Congress during the period.
    Job Corps has now implemented electronic collection of data during 
the Job Corps application process and the changes required by the WIA 
have been incorporated in the collection. We request that the following 
forms used in the application process be reinstated and consolidated 
under OMB 1205-0025:
     ETA 652, Job Corps Data Sheet (1205-0025);
     ETA 655, Statement from Court or Other Agency (1205-
0026);
     ETA 655A, Statement from Institution (1205-0026); and
     ETA 682, Child Care Certification (1205-0033).
    The ETA 682 was previously included with the ETA 653, Health 
Questionnaire, in 1205-0033, but was removed from that collection by 
OMB at Job Corps' request. In addition, several items from the ETA 660, 
Request for Readmission, in 1205-0031, have been moved to the ETA 652. 
The remainder of the information on the form is duplicated on other 
forms or is not necessary to the application process and we request 
that the ETA 660 be canceled as a separate form.
    The overall result of these actions will be a reduction in 
paperwork burden hours and a streamlined electronic application. One 
other application form used to collect data for determining eligibility 
to Job Corps is the ETA 653, Health Questionnaire, which has previously 
been approved under 1205-0033. This will remain as a separate 
collection for OMB approval purposes, although it is collected 
electronically with the above forms at the time of application.
    Type of Review: Reinstatement with change.
    Agency: Employment and Training Administration.
    Title: Application Data Collection.
    OMB Numbers: 1205-0025.
    Agency Numbers: ETA 652, ETA 655, ETA 655A, and ETA 682.
    Recordkeeping: The applicant is not required to retain records; 
admissions counselors or contractor main offices are required to retain 
records of applicants who enroll in the program for 3 years from the 
date of application.
    Affected Public: Individuals who apply to Job Corps; business or 
other for-profit/not-for-profit institutions; State, Local or Tribal 
Government.

                                             Cite/Reference/Form/etc
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                                          Total                                  Average time per
                Title                  respondents         Frequency                respondent          Burden
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Job Corps Application: ETA 652.......      103,000  1/person...............  25 minutes.............      40,291
Statement from Court: ETA 655........      103,000  1/person...............  5 minutes..............       8,608
Statement from Institution: ETA 655A.       10,300  On occasion............  5 minutes..............         861
Child Care Certification: ETA 682....        7,000  On occasion............  5 minutes..............         584
      Total..........................  ...........  .......................  .......................      50,334
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    Total Burden Cost (capital/startup): When the electronic system was 
initially piloted and implemented in 1996, the start-up costs totaled 
$2,680,000, including $2,000,000 for 925 computer workstations, 
$480,000 for training Job Corps admissions counselors and center staff 
and, in 1997, $200,000 for replacements and memory upgrades. These were 
one-time-only costs.
    Total Burden Cost (operating/maintaining): Operating and 
maintenance services associated with these forms are contracted yearly 
by the Federal government with outreach and admissions contractors, 
according to designated recruiting areas. This is one of the many 
functions the contractors perform for which precise costs cannot be 
identified. Based on past experience of recruitment contractors, 
however, the annual cost for contractor staff and related costs is 
estimated to be about $771,750. An additional cost of $80,138 is added 
for the value of applicant time, making a total cost of $851,888. For 
the approximately 70 percent of Job Corps applicants who have never 
worked, no value is determined. For the remaining 30 percent of 
applicants who have been in the work force previously for any length of 
time, whether full-time or less, the current minimum wage of $5.15 is 
used to determine the value of applicant time (ETA 652, including the 
ETA 660: $66,744, ETA 655: $13,208, ETA 655A: $111; and ETA 682: $75).
    Comments submitted in response to this comment request will be 
summarized and/or included in the request for Office of Management and

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Budget approval of the information collection request; they will also 
become a matter of public record.

    Dated: October 4, 1999.
Mary H. Silva,
National Director, Job Corps.
[FR Doc. 99-26362 Filed 10-7-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-30-P