[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 194 (Tuesday, October 7, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 57931-57932]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-25376]


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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 
ADDRESSES section of this notice.

DATES: Written comments must be submitted to the office listed in the 
Addresses section below on or before December 8, 2003.

ADDRESSES: Gayle Cody, Office of Job Corps, 200 Constitution Avenue 
NW., Room N-4507, Washington, DC 20210. E-Mail Internet address: 
[email protected]; Telephone number: (202) 693-3105. (This is not a 
toll-free number); Fax number: (202) 693-3113 (This is not a toll-free 
number).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    The Job Corps program authorized by the Workforce Investment Act 
(WIA) of 1998, 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. 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-
income, 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 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 (Sec.  145 Recruitment, Screening, Selection and 
Assignment of Enrollees). It is prepared electronically by an 
admissions counselor for each applicant. It also provides demographic 
characteristics for program reporting purposes. Data for the forms 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 Court or Other Agency, 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 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:
    [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

    Data previously collected on the following Job Corps application 
forms are now being collected from data input screens that 
electronically transmit data to a Center Information System (CIS). 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.
    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 
data used in the application process be extended under OMB 1205-0025:
    ETA 652, Job Corps Data Sheet,
    ETA 655, Statement from Court or Other Agency, and ETA 682, Child 
Care Certification.
    The deletion of these forms and electronic collection of the 
information will result in a reduction in paperwork burden hours and a 
streamlined electronic application.
    Type of Review: Extension.
    Agency: Employment and Training Administration.
    Title: Application Data Collection.
    OMB Number: 1205-0025.
    Agency Numbers: ETA 652, ETA 655, 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

[[Page 57932]]

who enroll in the program for 3 years from the date of application.
    Affected Public: Individuals; business or other for-profit/not-for-
profit institutions; State, Local or Tribal Government.

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                                   Total                                      Average time per          Burden
             Title              respondents           Frequency                  respondent             hours
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Job Corps Application: ETA 652      102,833  1/person..................  10 minutes................       17,139
Statement from Court or Other       102,833  1/person..................  1 minute..................        1,714
 Agency: ETA 655.
Child Care Certification: ETA         4,886  On occasion...............  30 seconds................           41
 682.
                               --------------
      Total Burden Hours......  ...........  ..........................  ..........................       18,894
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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 this data collection 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 $821,399. An additional cost of $29,191 
is added for the value of applicant time, making a total cost of 
$850,590. 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: $26,480, ETA 
655: $2,648, and ETA 682: $63).
    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.

David Dye,
Deputy Assistant Secretary, Employment and Training Administration.
[FR Doc. 03-25376 Filed 10-6-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-23-M