[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 44 (Thursday, March 6, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10754-10756]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-5270]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Employment and Training Administration


Proposed Collection; Comment Request

ACTION: Notice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

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 Administration is soliciting comments 
concerning the proposed extension with change of the Standard Job Corps 
Center Request for Proposal and Related Contracting Information 
Reporting Requirements. A copy of the proposed information 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 
addressee section below on or before May 5, 2003.

ADDRESSES: Renee Evans, Office of Job Corps, 200 Constitution Avenue, 
Room N-4464, Washington, DC 20210. E-mail address: [email protected]; 
Telephone number: (202) 693-3091 (This is not a toll-free number); Fax 
number: (202) 693-2767.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: I. Background: The Job Corps is an 
intensive, residential training program for economically challenged 
young people aged 16 to 24 who are out of school and out of work. Job 
Corps is authorized by Title I, Subtitle C, of the Workforce Investment 
Act (WIA) of 1998. WIA provides that up to 20 percent of the 
individuals enrolled in the Job Corps may be nonresidential 
participants. The program is principally carried out through a 
nationwide network of 118 Job Corps centers. The centers are located at 
facilities either owned or leased by the Federal Government. The 
Department has a direct role in the operation of Job Corps, and does 
not serve as a pass-through agency for this program. It is the 
Department's responsibility to establish Job Corps centers and to 
select operators for them. Of the 118 current centers, 28 are operated 
through interagency agreements by the Departments of Agriculture and 
Interior. These centers are located on Federal lands controlled by 
these two agencies. The remaining 90 centers are managed and operated 
by large and small corporations and nonprofit organizations selected by 
the Department in accordance with the Federal Acquisition Regulations, 
and in most cases through a competitive procurement process. Many of 
the current contractors manage and operate more than one center.
    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,

[[Page 10755]]

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 Request for Proposal (RFP) provides 
potential offerors with the Government's expectations for the 
development of proposals to operate Job Corps Centers. The proposals 
developed by offerors in response to the RFP are evaluated in terms of 
technical factors and costs. These proposals serve the principal basis 
for selection of a successful offeror. The operation of the Job Corps 
program is such that many activities required of contractors must be 
coordinated with organizations, both Federal and nonfederal. Most of 
the information collection requirements of Job Corps Center operators 
stem directly from operational needs or are necessary to ensure 
compliance with Federal requirements and the terms of the contract. 
Statistical reports are normally generated from source documents 
directly by the Federal Government, not contractors. During the last 
two years, several paper forms have been automated, and in many 
instances, eliminated. Data is entered directly into a database and 
reports are generated as a result of the data. Examples of these are 
ETA Forms 2110 (Center Financial Report), 2181 & 2181A (Center 
Operations Budget), 6-127 (Job Corps Utilization Summary), 6-131A 
(Disciplinary Discharge), 6-131B (Review Board Hearings), 6-131C 
(Rights to Appeal), 6-40 (Student Profile), 6-61 (Notice of 
Termination) and 3-38 (Property Inventory Transcription). In addition, 
several forms are now provided in Portable Data File (PDF) format. 
These forms are the 6-125 (Job Corps Health Staff Activity), 6-128 (Job 
Corps Health Annual Service Costs), 6-112 (Immunization Record), 6-135 
(CM Health Record Envelope), 6-136 (CM Health Record Folder), 6-37 
(Inspection Residential & Educational Facilities), 6-38 (Inspection 
Water Supply Facilities), and 6-39 (Inspection of Waste Treatment 
Facilities Costs.)
    Type of Review: Revision.
    Agency: Employment and Training Administration.
    Title: Standard Center Job Corps Request for Proposal and Related 
Contractor Information Gathering Reporting Requirements.
    OMB Number: 1205-0219.
    Recordkeeping: Center operators are required to keep accurate 
records on each Job Corps student. All records are required to be 
maintained on Center for five years.
    Affected Public: Business, for profit and not-for-profit 
institutions, and Tribal Governments.
    Burden Summary: I. The annual burden hours estimated for the 
preparation of the Standard Center Job Corps Request for Proposal 
submitted by new and experienced contractors is 15,300 hours.
    II. Data collection for the Center Financial and the Center 
Operations Budget Reports is made more than quarterly, and is essential 
to ensure contractor financial compliance with contractual requirements 
and to ensure orderly operations of the program (1,462 hours).

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                       Number of                               Total annual     Hours per   Total burden
          Required activity                     ETA form No.          respondents     Submissions per year      submissions    submission       hours
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Center Financial Report..............  2110.........................          118  90 at 12/year............            1192             1          1192
                                                                                   28 at 4/year.............
Center Operations Budget.............  2181/-2181/A.................           90  3........................             270             1           270
                                      --------------------------------
    Total............................  .............................  ...........  .........................  ..............  ............         1,462
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    III. Data previously collected on the forms listed below is now 
being collected in an electronic information system (347 hours). Data 
is entered utilizing a personal computer that transmits the data 
electronically to a centralized database. From this database many 
management and performance reports are created. Previously the burden 
for preparing these forms manually was approximately 8,181 hours.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                Number of    Submissions per   Total annual     Hours per   Total burden
             Required activity                        ETA form No.             respondents         year         submissions    submission       hours
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Job Corps Utilization Summary..............  6-127.........................             118               12            1416       0.01875            27
                                                                                                                                (1 minute)
Disciplinary Discharge.....................  6-131A........................            1500                1            1500       0.01875            28
Review Board Hearings......................  6-131B........................            1500                1            1500       0.01875            28
Rights to Appeal...........................  6-131C........................            1500                1            1500       0.01875            28
Student Profile............................  6-40..........................            1500                1            1500       0.01875            28
Notice of Termination......................  6-61..........................            1500                1            1500       0.01875            28
Property Inventory Transcription...........  3-28..........................             126               52            6552        0.0275           180
                                                                                                                               (3 minutes)
                                            ---------------------------------
    Total..................................  ..............................  ..............  ...............  ..............  ............           347
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Student personnel requirements such as: Student payroll 
information, student training and education courses received, student 
leave, disciplinary actions and medical information is also being 
collected in an electronic information system. The total burden hours 
last reported for processing these requirements were 46,720 burden 
hours. However, due to the fact that identical information is being 
collected for multiple purposes, the burden for additional data entry 
has been reduced. The initial data entry is maintained in the national 
database and used for multiple reporting purposes, therefore reducing 
the need to enter the data more than once. As a result, the burden 
hours

[[Page 10756]]

have been reduced from 46,720 to a total of 20,000 hours. The total 
burden associated with the input of data to data screens is 20,347 
hours.
    IV. Major record keeping and operational forms listed below that 
pertain to student and facility administrative matters are not provided 
in Portable Data Files or PDF forms. The total burden for processing 
these forms is 22,300 hours.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                               Number of    Submissions per   Total annual     Hours per    Total burden
             Required activity                       ETA form No.             respondents         year         submissions    submission       hours
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Job Corps Health Staff Activity...........  6-125.........................             118                1             118          0.25           29.5
                                                                                                                                 (25 min)
Job Corps Health Annual Service Costs.....  6-128.........................             118                1             118          0.25           29.5
Immunization Record.......................  6-112.........................           71000                1           71000          0.05         3550
                                                                                                                                  (5 min)
CM Health Record Envelope.................  6-135.........................           71000                1           71000         0.125         8875
                                                                                                                                 (13 min)
CM Health Record Folder...................  6-136.........................           71000                1           71000         0.125         8875
Inspection of Residential & Educational     6-37..........................             118                4             472           0.5          236
 Facilities.
Inspection of Waste Treatment Facilities    6-39..........................              23                4              92          1.25          115
 Costs.                                                                                                                         (1 hr. 25
                                                                                                                                     min)
Inspection Water Supply Facilities........  6-38..........................             118                4             472          1.25          590
                                           ---------------------------------
    Total.................................  ..............................  ..............  ...............  ..............  ............       22,300
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    V. A total of 7,302 burden hours are estimated for the preparation 
of the Center Operating Plans listed below that are required for the 
operation of a Job Corps center.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                               Number of    Submissions per   Total annual     Hours per    Total burden
             Required activity                       ETA form No.             respondents         year         submissions    submission       hours
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Center Operation Plan.....................  ..............................              90                1              90            30         2700
Maintenance...............................  ..............................             118                1             118             5          590
C/M Welfare...............................  ..............................             118                1             118             2          236
Annual VST................................  ..............................             118                1             118            24         2832
Annual Staff Training.....................  ..............................             118                1             118             1          118
Energy Conservation.......................  ..............................             118                1             118             5          590
Outreach..................................  ..............................             118                1             118             2          236
                                           ---------------------------------
    Total.................................  ..............................  ..............  ...............  ..............  ............        7,302
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Total Estimated Burden: 66,711 hours.
    Total Burden Cost (Capital/Startup): The Office of Job Corps has 
automated the data collection process for its Centers. The Center 
Information System allows all centers to directly input data into a 
national database. As a result, the burden hours associated with the 
preparation of forms has decreased significantly. The maintenance cost 
associated with the system is estimated to be $2.7 million a year for 
hardware and software.
    Total Burden Cost (Operating/Maintaining): The costs to contractors 
for accomplishing record keeping requirements is contracted and 
computed by the Federal government annually. While precise costs cannot 
be identified, at the present time and based on past experience, the 
annual and related costs for contractor staff are estimated to be 
$955,458, which represents an average cost of $14.00 per hour.
    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: February 27, 2003.
Richard C. Trigg,
Administrator, Office of Job Corps.
[FR Doc. 03-5270 Filed 3-5-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-30-M