[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 33 (Wednesday, February 19, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8048-8050]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-3923]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Employment and Training Administration


Indian and Native American Welfare-to-Work Grant Program; 
Proposed Collection; Comment Request

AGENCY: Employment and Training Administration, Labor.

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 process 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 process helps to 
ensure that requested data can be provided in the desired format, 
reporting burdens are 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 
reinstatement of the previously-approved reporting system for the 
Indian and Native American Welfare-to-Work (INA WtW) Grant Program for 
three more years (October 1, 2001 to September 30, 2004), or until the 
expiration of the program if sooner. A copy of the previously-approved 
information collection request (ICR), especially the reporting forms 
and completion instructions, can be obtained by contacting the office 
listed

[[Page 8049]]

below in the address section of this notice.

DATES: Written comments must be submitted to the office listed in the 
addresses section below on or before April 21, 2003.

ADDRESSES: James C. DeLuca, Chief, Division of Indian and Native 
American Programs, Employment and Training Administration, U.S. 
Department of Labor, Room N-4641, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW., 
Washington, DC 20210. Telephone: (202) 693-3754 (VOICE) or (202) 693-
3818 (FAX) (these are not toll-free numbers) or Internet: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    I. Background: The Employment and Training Administration of the 
Department of Labor is requesting reinstatement of its previously-
approved reporting system for the Indian and Native American Welfare-
to-Work Grant Program for three more years (October 1, 2001 to 
September 30, 2004), or until the program expires. Current statutory 
authorization for the INA WtW program has technically expired, but 
grantees can continue to expend funds for up to five years ``after the 
date the funds are so provided.'' However, no current grantee may 
expend FY 1999 INA WtW funds after September 30, 2004. As a result of 
the statutory program amendments of 1999 and 2000, the Department has 
decided that the reporting system requires only relatively minor 
changes at this time.
    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 burden estimate for 
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 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 proposed renewal of this ICR will be a 
continuation of the previously-approved system that will be used by the 
approximately 34 different INA WtW grantees operating some forty (40) 
grants that have FY 1998 or FY 1999 funds remaining. It will be the 
primary reporting vehicle for enrolled individuals, their 
characteristics, training and services provided, outcomes, including 
job placement and wage data, as well as detailed financial data on 
program expenditures. The previously-approved paperwork burdens are 
covered under OMB Clearance No. 1205-0386 (expiration date 09/30/2001). 
However, because of the significant reduction in the number of grantees 
still operating INA WtW programs, those burden estimates have not been 
included in the following burden estimates. For ease of analysis, the 
following burden estimate is broken down into the two main components 
of INA WtW program operation: (1) Recordkeeping; and (2) reporting.
    Type of Review: Reinstatement.
    Agency: Employment and Training Administration.
    Title: Reporting system for Indian and Native American Welfare-to-
Work Grant Program.
    OMB Number: 1205-0386.
    Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number: 17.254.
    Recordkeeping Requirements: Grantees shall retain supporting and 
other documents necessary for the compilation and submission of the 
subject reports for three years after submission of the final financial 
report for the grant in question [29 CFR 97.42 and/or 29 CFR 95.53].
    Affected Public: Federally-recognized tribes, Alaska Native 
regional non-profit corporations, and/or consortia of any of the above.
    Total Estimated Burden: 2,880 hours (reporting); 19,800 hours 
(recordkeeping) Detailed breakdown of the above-estimated burden hour 
requirements for the INA WtW program are as follows: (It should be 
noted that the FY 1998 and FY 1999 INA WtW grants are funded 
separately, by law. Therefore, even though some grantees are still 
operating both programs, these burden estimates are done as if the 
tribe were two separate entities, since the two grants must be reported 
upon separately and separate records must be kept on expenditures and 
participants.)

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                                                                                       of    Responses      Total       Hours per      Total
               Required activity                          INA WtW form no.             respondents     per year    responses     response    burden hrs.
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Participant Recordkeeping......................  ..................................              40  ...........        6,600          3.00       19,800
(Reporting) Financial Status Report............  ETA 9069-1........................              40            4          160          9           1,440
Participation and Characteristics Rpt..........  ETA 9069..........................              40            4          160          9           1,440
                                                -------------------------------------
    Totals.....................................  ..................................              40            8        6,920         21          22,680
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    Note: Recordkeeping estimates are based on the estimated current 
INA WtW caseload times an estimated average of 3.00 hours per 
participant record. This is currently the approximate experience 
with actual INA WtW performance. Also, this burden estimate does not 
include those INA WtW grantees participating in the demonstration 
under Public Law 102-477. Any INA WtW burden estimate(s) for ``477 
grantees'' would be included under the Bureau of Indian Affairs' OMB 
Clearance Number 1076-0135. The individual time per response 
(whether plan, record, or report) varies widely depending on the 
degree of automation attained by individual grantees. Grantees also 
vary according to the numbers of individuals served in each fiscal 
year. If the grantee has a fully-developed and automated MIS, the 
response time is limited to one-time programming plus processing 
time for each response. It is the Department's desire to see as many 
INA WtW grantees as possible become computerized, so that response 
time for planning and reporting will eventually sift down to an 
irreducible minimum with an absolute minimum of human intervention.

Estimated Grantee Burden Costs

(There are no capital/start-up costs involved in any INA WtW 
activities)

    Recordkeeping: 19,800 hours times an estimated cost per grantee 
hour of $20.00 (including fringes) = $396,000.
    Reporting: 2,880 hours times $20.00 = $57,600 per year.
    Total estimated burden costs: $401,760 (nationwide).
    As noted, these costs will vary widely among grantees, from nearly 
no additional cost to some higher figure, depending on the state of 
automation attained by each grantee and the wages paid to the staff 
actually completing the various forms. All costs associated with the 
required submissions outlined

[[Page 8050]]

above, whether for recordkeeping or reporting purposes, are allowable 
grant expenses. Comments submitted in response to this comment request 
will be summarized and/or included in the request for Office of 
Management and Budget continuation of the information collection 
request; they will also become a matter of public record.

    Signed at Washington, DC, this 11th day of February, 2003.
Emily Stover DeRocco,
Assistant Secretary for Employment and Training Administration.
[FR Doc. 03-3923 Filed 2-18-03; 8:45 am]
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