[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 45 (Tuesday, March 8, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12758-12760]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-5194]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Employment and Training Administration


Comment Request for Information Collection for the Evaluation of 
the Reintegration of Ex-Offenders--Adult Program (RExO), New Collection

AGENCY: Employment and Training Administration (ETA), Labor.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Labor (Department), 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, ETA is soliciting comments concerning the collection of 
data for the Evaluation of RExO. A copy of the proposed information 
collection request

[[Page 12759]]

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's section below on or before May 9, 2011.

ADDRESSES: Submit written comments to Bogdan Tereshchenko, Room N-5641, 
Employment and Training Administration, 200 Constitution Avenue NW., 
Washington, DC 20210. Telephone number: 202-693-3224 (this is not a 
toll-free number). Fax number: 202-693-2766. E-mail: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    More than two million people are incarcerated in Federal and State 
prisons and local jails, and over 600,000 people return from prisons to 
communities across the country each year. Released ex-offenders face 
multiple challenges, including difficulties with finding a job and 
housing and accessing social and health services, possible child 
support arrears, and family troubles. A study conducted for the Bureau 
of Justice Statistics showed that two-thirds of individuals released 
from prison in 1994 were rearrested and half returned to prison within 
three years. Recent research suggests that released offenders consider 
finding employment a high priority and that higher employment and 
earnings are associated with lower recidivism.
    Through RExO, the Department issued grants to urban faith-based and 
community organizations (FBCOs) to provide comprehensive employment-
centered services to nonviolent offenders recently released from 
prison. Building on the strengths that FBCOs bring, RExO's programs 
include mentoring and various supportive services and facilitate 
connections with providers of housing services. Since many of the 
grantees serve areas with high concentrations of returning prisoners, 
one of RExO's aims is to exercise a positive influence on the 
communities' broader social fabric.
    Under contract with ETA, Social Policy Research Associates is 
conducting a random assignment evaluation of 24 of RExO's first 
generation grants. Participants at each site are randomly assigned to 
either the program (60 percent) or the control (40 percent) group. The 
evaluation includes:
     An implementation component. This component involves 
documenting the processes, used by the grantee organizations to assign 
participants to either the program group, which was offered program 
services, or the control group, which was not; describing the 
characteristics of the program participants; examining the community 
contexts of the RExO grantee programs; and identifying the differences 
in the services provided to the program and control groups (the latter 
could access non-RExO services) as well as variations across grantees. 
By shedding light on the programmatic practices of RExO, this component 
will support the interpretation of impact findings. Information for it 
will come from site visits to the grantees and the program's management 
information system.
     An impact component. Comparing the two groups' employment-
related and recidivism outcomes will allow the research team to 
estimate the impacts of RExO services for eligible ex-offenders overall 
and for key subgroups. Outcome data will be obtained from telephone 
surveys of members of the RExO program and control groups conducted at 
12 and 36 months after random assignment.
    The RExO evaluation will rely on the following information sources 
for the implementation and impact components:
     Unstructured in-person interviews with program staff at 
each site. The research team will conduct a visit to each of the 24 
grantee sites. Interviews with grantee program staff, carried out 
during these visits, will yield detailed information on program 
operations, administrative issues, service delivery, and promising 
practices; and
     12-month and 36-month participant surveys. The survey 
questions will address employment and training services received from 
RExO and other sources; outcomes including employment, job 
characteristics (such as hourly wages, available fringe benefits, and 
occupations), earnings, and recidivism; as well as health status, 
receipt of public assistance, and housing. Responses to the survey will 
be the main data source for estimating the program impacts.

II. Review Focus

    The Department is particularly interested in comments, which:
     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.

III. Current Actions

    Type of Review: New collection.
    Title: Evaluation of the Reintegration of Ex-Offenders--Adult 
Program.
    OMB Number: 1205-0NEW.
    Affected Public: Individuals, Private sector, Not-for profit.
    Total Annual Respondents: 4,032.
    Annual Frequency: The survey will be administered twice (12 and 36 
months after enrollment), and the unstructured interviews will be 
conducted once.
    Total Annual Responses: 4,032.
    Average Time per Response: 30 minutes for the survey and 120 
minutes for each interview.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 3,984.
    Total Annual Burden Cost for Respondents: $47,280.

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                                                                                   Average time
   Information collection activity          Total              Frequency           per response    Burden hours
                                         respondents                                   (min)
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Impact component:
    12-month survey..................           3,840  Once.....................              30           1,920
    36-month survey..................           3,360  Once.....................              30           1,680
Implementation component:
    Unstructured interviews..........             192  Once.....................             120             384
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        Total........................  ..............  .........................  ..............           3,984
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                                                       Total       Annual burden   Average cost    Annual burden
         Information collection activity            respondents       (hours)        per hour          cost
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Impact component:
    12-month survey.............................           3,840           1,920             $10         $19,200
    36-month survey.............................           3,360           1,680             $11         $18,480
Implementation component:
    Unstructured interviews.....................             192             384             $25          $9,600
                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------
        Total...................................  ..............           3,984  ..............         $47,280
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    Comments submitted in response to this comment request will be 
summarized and/or included in the request for the Office of Management 
and Budget approval of the information collection request; they will 
also become a matter of public record.

    Dated: February 23, 2011.
Jane Oates,
Assistant Secretary, Employment and Training Administration.
[FR Doc. 2011-5194 Filed 3-7-11; 8:45 am]
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