[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 7 (Friday, January 10, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 1482-1483]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-527]


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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 
insure 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 on respondents can be properly assessed. Currently, the 
Employment and Training Administration (ETA) is soliciting comments 
concerning the proposed new collection of administrative and survey 
data on the Individual Training Account (ITA) experiment. A copy of the 
proposed information collection request (ICR) can be obtained by 
contacting the office listed below in the address section of this 
notice.

DATES: Written comments must be submitted to the office listed in the 
addressee section below on or before March 11, 2003.

ADDRESSES: Janet Javar, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and 
Training Administration/Office of Policy and Research, Rm. N-5637, 200 
Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20210, (202) 693-3677 (this is 
not a toll-free number); [email protected]; Fax: (202) 693-2766 (this 
is not a toll-free number).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

I. Background

    The Individual Training Account (ITA) experiment is designed to 
test different approaches to managing customer choice in the 
administration of Individual Training Accounts (ITAs). Established 
under the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) of 1998, ITAs are intended to 
empower U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) customers to choose the training 
services they need.
    WIA allows state and local offices a great deal of flexibility in 
deciding how much guidance and financial support they will provide to 
ITA recipients. The ITA experiment will test three approaches that 
differ widely in both the resources made available to customers and the 
involvement of local counselors to guide customer choice. The three ITA 
approaches range from a highly structured model to a pure voucher 
model:
    [sbull] In Approach 1, local counselors steer their customers to 
training that is expected to yield a high return (in the form of 
increased earnings) relative to the resources invested in training. 
Moreover, counselors can approve or disapprove customers' program 
selections and set the value of the ITA to fund approved selections.
    [sbull] In Approach 2, customers receive a fixed ITA award. Local 
counselors then help customers select training that seems appropriate 
and feasible, given customers' skills and their fixed ITA awards and 
other financial resources they have available to pay for training.
    [sbull] In Approach 3, customers are offered a fixed ITA award, but 
they are allowed to choose any state-approved training option and to 
formulate their program selections independently if they so desire.
    Each of the local sites that participates in the study will operate 
all three of these ITA approaches. Local customers that need training 
and are determined eligible for an ITA will be randomly assigned to one 
of the approaches.
    The evaluation of the ITA experiment will include two parts. The 
first part will be an analysis of the implementation and operation of 
the three ITA approaches. This analysis will be based on data collected 
during three rounds of visits to the six sites participating in the 
experiment. During these visits, researchers will examine the 
implementation and operation of the three ITA approaches from various 
perspectives, including those of state and local administrators, one-
stop counselors, customers, and training providers. The experiment is 
being conducted in Des Plaines, IL; Charlotte, NC; Atlanta, GA; 
Phoenix, AZ; Bridgeport, CT; and Jacksonville, FL.
    The second component of the evaluation will be an analysis of 
customer outcomes and the returns on the investment in training.
    This analysis will focus on the differences in customer outcomes, 
such as training choices, employment, and earnings, generated by the 
three ITA approaches. Data for this analysis will be drawn from 
Unemployment Insurance (UI) wage records and other administrative 
records, a computer-based Study Tracking System (STS) developed 
specifically for the experiment, and a follow-up survey of customers 
approximately 15 months after random assignment.

II. Review Focus

     The Department of Labor is particularly interested in comments 
which:
    [sbull] 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;
    [sbull] 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;
    [sbull] Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected; and
    [sbull] 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 data for the analysis of customer outcomes and the returns on 
the investment in training will come from three primary sources: (1) UI 
wage

[[Page 1483]]

records, (2) UI program data, and (3) the 15-month follow-up survey of 
customers. UI wage records will be the primary source of employment and 
earnings data. The UI program data system will provide information on 
UI eligibility and receipt. The UI wage records and program data will 
be collected from the six states in which the study sites are located 
and up to two neighboring states in which participants in the 
experiment are likely to file for UI benefits or jobs.
    The follow-up survey will collect data items unavailable from 
administrative records. It will provide more detailed information on 
employment outcomes--such as wage rates and fringe benefits--than UI 
wage records and more detailed information on household composition and 
other demographic characteristics. The follow-up survey will be the 
only source for data on: Perceptions of and attitudes toward the 
services and levels of customer choice provided by each ITA approach, 
job search behavior after random assignment, and characteristics of 
post-training jobs.
    Type of Review: New.
    Agency: Employment and Training Administration.
    Title: The Evaluation of the Individual Training Account 
Experiment.
    Agency Number: 1205-0NEW.
    Affected Public: Individuals, state government.
    Cite/Reference:

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                                         Total                                Average time per        Burden
          Cite/reference              respondents         Frequency               response            (hours)
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State administrative data request.               8  Two times............  8 hours..............             128
ITA Follow-up survey..............           3,762  One time.............  30 min...............           1,881
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        Totals....................           3,770  .....................  .....................           2,009
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    Total Burden Cost: $1,167,183.
    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 request; they will also become a 
matter of public record.

    Dated: January 3, 2003.
Gerard F. Fiala,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 03-527 Filed 1-9-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-30-P