[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 133 (Wednesday, July 13, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 40404-40405]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E5-3694]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Employment And Training Administration


Proposed Information Collection Request Submitted for Public 
Comment and Recommendations; Trade Act Participant Report (TAPR)

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. The 
Employment and Training Administration (ETA) is soliciting comments on 
revised reporting requirements for the Trade Adjustment Assistance 
(TAA) program. These changes are necessary to collect data to comply 
with the Trade Reform Act of 2002 and to be able to calculate a set of 
common performance measures of the outcomes achieved by the TAA 
program.

DATES: Submit comments on or before September 12, 2005.

ADDRESSES: Send comments to: Dr. Esther R. Johnson, Administrator, 
Performance and Technology Office, Employment and Training 
Administration, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW., 
Room S-5206, Washington, DC 20210; telephone: (202) 693-3420 (this is 
not a toll-free number); fax: (202) 693-3490; e-mail: 
[email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Karen A. Staha, Performance and 
Technology Office, Employment and Training Administration, U.S. 
Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW., Room S-5206, 
Washington, DC 20210; telephone: (202) 693-3420 (this is not a toll-
free number); fax: (202) 693-3490; e-mail: [email protected].
    Copies of the Paperwork Reduction Act Submission Package may be 
obtained directly at the Web site: http://www.doleta.gov/performance/guidance/ombcontrolnumber.cfm.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    On June 16, 1998, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
approved a Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) compliant 
performance and participant outcomes data system for the TAA Program; 
this system was revised in 2000 and is known as the Trade Act 
Participant Report (TAPR). States implemented use of the TAPR beginning 
with the first quarter of the fiscal year 1999 (October through 
December, 1998), and have continued to collect and report data every 
quarter since then.
    In 2001, under the President's Management Agenda, OMB and other 
Federal agencies developed a set of common performance measures to be 
applied to certain Federally-funded employment and training programs 
with similar strategic goals. As part of this initiative, ETA initially 
issued Training and Employment Guidance Letter (TEGL) 15-03 and has 
more recently issued TEGL 28-04, Common Measures Policy, which 
rescinded TEGL 15-03 and reflected updates to the policy. The value of 
implementing common measures is the ability to describe in a similar 
manner the core purposes of the workforce system--how many people found 
jobs; did they keep their jobs; and what were their earnings. Multiple 
sets of performance measures have burdened states and grantees as they 
are required to report performance outcomes based on varying 
definitions and methodologies. By minimizing the different reporting 
and performance requirements, implementing a set of common performance 
measures can facilitate the integration of service delivery, reduce 
barriers to cooperation among programs, and enhance the ability to 
assess the effectiveness and impact of the workforce investment system, 
including the performance of the system in serving individuals facing 
significant barriers to employment.
    The common measures are an integral part of ETA's performance 
accountability system, and ETA will continue to collect from grantees 
the data on program activities, participants, and outcomes that are 
necessary for program management and to convey full and accurate 
information on the performance of workforce programs to policymakers 
and stakeholders.

[[Page 40405]]

    This revision to the TAA program reporting system identifies a 
minimum level of information collection that is necessary to comply 
with Equal Opportunity requirements, holds states appropriately 
accountable for the Federal funds they receive, assesses progress 
against a set of common performance measures, and allows the Department 
to fulfill its oversight and management responsibilities.
    The Employment and Training Administration is proposing similar 
changes to the reporting requirements for the Workforce Investment Act 
(WIA) title 1B and Wagner-Peyser Act programs. Please note that ETA 
will seek comments regarding changes to information collection for 
these programs in separate Federal Register notices.
    The following three adult common performance measures apply to the 
TAA program:
     Entered Employment
     Employment Retention
     Six Months Earnings Increase
    States are currently required to submit data according to measures 
established under the GPRA, which include entered employment, 
retention, and wage replacement. While the GPRA measures for TAA were 
similar to the common measures, the data elements that are needed to do 
the calculations are slightly different, requiring modifications to the 
definitions and record layout of the TAPR. Changes to the TAPR include:
     Addition of a field that tracks employment status at 
participation, because the entered employment rate under the common 
performance measures is calculated only for those participants who were 
not employed when they began participating in the program.
     Addition of a field that tracks the reason the individual 
exited the program, because individuals who exited due to certain 
reasons, such as becoming institutionalized, are excluded from 
calculations of common measures.
     Addition of a field tracking whether the individual was 
employed in the second quarter after program exit, which is used to 
calculate the retention rate measure.
     Addition of fields for the state to specify the method 
used to determine the individual's employment status in each of the 
first, second, and third quarters after program exit.
     Change in definition in two fields that tracked wages in 
the second and third quarters prior to separation under the GPRA 
measures; these fields will be used to track wages in the second and 
third quarters prior to participation to be able to calculate the six 
months earnings increase measure.
     Change in the field that tracks receipt of a training 
waiver from a yes/no field to one where one of the allowable reasons 
for granting a training waiver under the Trade Act of 2002 is 
specified.
     Change from one field that tracks whether the individual 
received basic Trade Readjustment Allowance (TRA), additional TRA, or 
both, to three fields where the number of weeks of each type of TRA is 
tracked. These fields will allow a closer look at whether the 
additional weeks of TRA provided under the Trade Act of 2002 are being 
utilized and whether they improve participant outcomes.
     Change in reporting instructions to indicate that states 
are required to report whether co-enrollment in Workforce Investment 
Act (WIA) or other partner programs has occurred for TAA program 
participants.

II. Desired Focus of Comments

    Currently, the Department is soliciting comments concerning the 
revised information collection request for the TAA program in order to:
     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.
    A copy of the proposed ICR can be obtained by contacting the office 
listed above in the addressee section of this notice.

III. Current Actions

    Type of Review: Revision.
    Agency: Department of Labor, Employment and Training 
Administration.
    Title: Trade Act Participant Report (TAPR).
    OMB Number: 1205-0392.
    Recordkeeping: Three years for states.
    Affected Public: State, local or tribal governments.
    Cite/Reference/Form/etc: Trade Adjustment Assistance Reform Act of 
2002, see table below for list of forms.
    Total Respondents: 50 states.
    Frequency: Quarterly.
    Total Responses: 50 submissions annually--each state submits TAPR 
files each quarter.
    Average Time per Response: 2.8 hours.
    Estimated Total Burden Hours:

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                                                         Hours
            TAA burden               Annual national    per TAPR    Annual TAPR     Applicable      Annual TAPR
                                       participants      record    burden hours     hourly rate   burden dollars
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Data collection...................             30,000        0.3           9,000          $32.50        $292,500
TAPR submission...................                 50        2.5             500           32.50          16,250
                                   --------------------
    Total.........................  .................  .........  ..............  ..............         308,750
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    Total Burden Cost (capital/startup): $0.
    Total Burden Cost (operating/maintaining: $308,750.
    Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized 
and/or included in the request for OMB approval of the information 
collection request; they will also become a matter of public record.

    Signed in Washington, DC, on July 6, 2005.
Emily Stover DeRocco,
Assistant Secretary for Employment and Training.
[FR Doc. E5-3694 Filed 7-12-05; 8:45 am]
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