[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 70 (Tuesday, April 14, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17215-17217]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-8414]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Bureau of Labor Statistics


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

[[Page 17216]]

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 Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) is soliciting comments 
concerning the proposed reinstatement of the ``National Longitudinal 
Survey of Youth 1979.'' A copy of the proposed information collection 
request (ICR) can be obtained by contacting the individual listed 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 June 15, 2009.

ADDRESSES: Send comments to Carol Rowan, BLS Clearance Officer, 
Division of Management Systems, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Room 4080, 
2 Massachusetts Avenue, NE., Washington, DC 20212, 202-691-7628. (This 
is not a toll free number.)

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Carol Rowan, BLS Clearance Officer, 
202-691-7628. (See ADDRESSES section.)

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background

    The National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 (NLSY79) is a 
representative national sample of persons who were born in the years 
1957 to 1964 and lived in the U.S. in 1978. These respondents were ages 
14 to 22 when the first round of interviews began in 1979; they will be 
ages 45 to 54 when the planned twenty-fourth round of interviews is 
conducted from December 2009 to March 2011. The NLSY79 was conducted 
annually from 1979 to 1994 and has been conducted biennially since 
1994. The longitudinal focus of this survey requires information to be 
collected from the same individuals over many years in order to trace 
their education, training, work experience, fertility, income, and 
program participation.
    In addition to the main NLSY79, the biological children of female 
NLSY79 respondents have been surveyed since 1986, when the National 
Institute of Child Health and Human Development began providing funding 
to the BLS to gather a large amount of information about the lives of 
these children. A battery of child cognitive, socio-emotional, and 
physiological assessments has been administered biennially since 1986 
to NLSY79 mothers and their children. Starting in 1994, children who 
had reached age 15 by December 31 of the survey year (the Young Adults) 
were interviewed about their work experiences, training, schooling, 
health, fertility, self-esteem, and other topics. The BLS contracts 
with the National Opinion Research Center (NORC) at the University of 
Chicago to conduct the NLSY79 and associated Child and Young Adult 
surveys.
    One of the goals of the Department of Labor (DOL) is to produce and 
disseminate timely, accurate, and relevant information about the U.S. 
labor force. The BLS contributes to this goal by gathering information 
about the labor force and labor market and disseminating it to 
policymakers and the public so that participants in those markets can 
make more informed, and thus more efficient, choices. Research based on 
the NLSY79 contributes to the formation of national policy in the areas 
of education, training, employment programs, and school-to-work 
transitions. In addition to the reports that the BLS produces based on 
data from the NLSY79, members of the academic community publish 
articles and reports based on NLSY79 data for the DOL and other funding 
agencies. To date, more than 1,500 articles examining NLSY79 data have 
been published in scholarly journals. The survey design provides data 
gathered from the same respondents over time to form the only data set 
that contains this type of information for this important population 
group. Without the collection of these data, an accurate longitudinal 
data set could not be provided to researchers and policymakers, thus 
adversely affecting the DOL's ability to perform its policy- and 
report-making activities.

II. Current Action

    The BLS seeks approval to conduct the round 24 interviews of the 
NLSY79 and the associated surveys of biological children of female 
NLSY79 respondents. The NLSY79 Child Survey involves three components:
     The Mother Supplement is administered to female NLSY79 
respondents who live with biological children under age 15. This 
questionnaire will be administered to about 635 women, who will be 
asked a series of questions about each child under age 15. On average, 
these women each have about 1.26 children under age 15, for a total of 
approximately 800 children.
     The Child Supplement involves aptitude testing of about 
720 children under age 15.
     The Child Self-Administered Questionnaire is administered 
to approximately 540 children ages 10 to 14.
    In addition to the main NLSY79 and Child Survey, the Young Adult 
Survey will be administered to approximately 6,140 youths ages 15 and 
older who are the biological children of female NLSY79 respondents. 
These youths will be contacted for an interview regardless of whether 
they reside with their mothers. The NLSY79 Young Adult Survey involves 
two components:
     The Young Adult Survey involves interviewing about 1,775 
youths ages 15 to 20.
     The Young Adult Survey, grant component, is administered 
to approximately 4,365 youths age 21 and older.
    During the field period, about 400 main NLSY79 interviews are 
validated to ascertain whether the interview took place as the 
interviewer reported and whether the interview was done in a polite and 
professional manner.
    The round 24 questionnaire reflects a number of content changes 
recommended by experts in various social science fields. The round 24 
main NLSY79 questionnaire includes a more extensive set of questions 
about volunteer activity and monetary donations to charitable 
organizations. The round 24 survey also will include retrospective 
questions on business ownership. This new section augments information 
previously collected in the survey by asking how many businesses 
respondents have owned since age 18 and collecting detailed information 
on the characteristics of up to ten businesses. Questions on estate 
planning and wills will be asked in round 24 to augment information 
previously obtained on health, asset accumulation, and retirement 
plans. Round 24 includes a series of questions on mortgage 
delinquencies and foreclosures. The questions cover the period since 
January 2007 and ask respondents whether they had been more than two 
months behind on mortgage payments, received a foreclosure notice, or 
lost property due to foreclosure. Round 24 includes a short series of 
questions on whether respondents were offered stock options by their 
employer, whether the option was offered before the respondent accepted 
the job, whether the option affected the respondent's decision to take 
the job, whether the option is tied to work performance, and whether 
the respondent has exercised or plans to exercise the option. Questions 
on assets will not be asked in this round. It was determined after 
Round 19 that an

[[Page 17217]]

extended series of questions on assets is not necessary every survey 
round. The questions on political involvement included in Round 23 are 
not included for Round 24.

III. Desired Focus of Comments

    The BLS is particularly interested in comments that:
     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.
     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.
    Type of Review: Reinstatement, with change, of a previously 
approved collection for which approval has expired.
    Agency: Bureau of Labor Statistics.
    Title: National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979.
    OMB Number: 1220-0109.
    Affected Public: Individuals or households.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                   Average time      Estimated
              Form                     Total         Frequency         Total       per response    total burden
                                    respondents                      responses       (minutes)        (hours)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NLSY79 round 24 pretest.........             100      Biennially             100              60             100
NLSY79 round 24 main survey.....           7,600      Biennially           7,600              60           7,600
Round 24 validation interviews..             400      Biennially             400               6              40
Mother supplement (mothers of            \1\ 635      Biennially             800              20             267
 children under age 15).........
Child supplement (under age 15).             720      Biennially             720              31             372
Child self-administered                      540      Biennially             540              30             270
 questionnaire (ages 10 to 14)..
Young adult survey (ages 15 to             1,775      Biennially           1,775              45           1,331
 20)............................
Young adult survey, grant                  4,365      Biennially           4,365              52           3,783
 component (age 21 and older)...
                                 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    TOTALS \2\..................          14,560  ..............          16,100  ..............          13,763
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ The number of respondents for the Mother Supplement (635) is less than the number of responses (800) because
  mothers are asked to provide separate responses for each of the biological children with whom they reside. The
  total number of responses for the Mother Supplement (800) is more than the number for the Child Supplement
  (720) because the number of children completing the Child Supplement is lower due to age restrictions and
  nonresponse.
\2\ The total number of 14,560 respondents across all the survey instruments is a mutually exclusive count that
  does not include: (1) The 400 reinterview respondents, who were previously counted among the 7,600 main survey
  respondents, (2) the 635 Mother Supplement respondents, who were previously counted among the main survey
  respondents, and (3) the 540 Child SAQ respondents, who were previously counted among the 720 Child Supplement
  respondents.

    Total Burden Cost (capital/startup): $0.
    Total Burden Cost (operating/maintenance): $0.
    Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized 
and/or included in the request for Office of Management and Budget 
approval of the information collection request; they also will become a 
matter of public record.

    Signed at Washington, DC, this 8th day of April 2009.
Cathy Kazanowski,
Chief, Division of Management Systems, Bureau of Labor Statistics.
 [FR Doc. E9-8414 Filed 4-13-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-24-P