[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 87 (Thursday, May 5, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 25723-25725]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-10938]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Employment and Training Administration


Proposed Information Collection for Growing America Through 
Entrepreneurship (GATE) II Evaluation; Comment Request

AGENCY: Employment and Training Administration, 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 
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 and Training Administration (ETA) is 
soliciting comments on a new data collection for the GATE II 
Evaluation. A copy of the proposed information collection 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 July 5, 2011.

[[Page 25724]]


ADDRESSES: Richard Muller, Office of Policy Development and Research, 
U.S. Department of Labor, Room N-5641, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW., 
Washington, DC 20210. Telephone (202) 693-3680 (this is not a toll-free 
number), fax number (202) 693-2766 or e-mail: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    Many individuals have the motivation and skills to develop small 
businesses but lack business expertise and training. Recognizing this 
untapped potential, ETA created and evaluated a demonstration program 
designed to assist individuals interested in self-employment to develop 
their businesses--Project GATE. In helping individuals develop 
businesses, Project GATE promoted both workforce and economic 
development. Project GATE was an experimental design demonstration that 
investigated the impact of providing entrepreneurship training services 
to individuals interested in starting or growing a business. The 
cornerstone of the evaluation was random assignment. A total of 4,198 
applicants to GATE were randomly assigned to either a program group or 
a control group. The project was implemented in both rural and urban 
locations in Maine, Pennsylvania, and Minnesota from 2002 to 2009.
    In Project GATE, treatment group members were offered an assessment 
of their business needs, classroom training, one-on-one technical 
assistance, and assistance in applying for business financing. A 
telephone survey of participants and control group members was 
conducted to collect three waves of data at approximately six months 
after random assignment, 18 months after random assignment, and 60 
months after random assignment. A process evaluation as well as an 
impact evaluation of the effectiveness of the GATE model were conducted 
utilizing site visits, surveys, and administrative data.
    The early impacts of Project GATE services were reported to ETA in 
July 2008 (see Benus, J., McConnell, S., Bellotti, J., Shen, T., 
Fortson, K., & Kahvecioglu, D. ``Growing America Through 
Entrepreneurship: Findings from the Evaluation of Project GATE'' U. S. 
Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration, 2008). The 
positive findings in this report led the Department to issue a 
Solicitation for Grant Applications (SGA) for States to implement the 
GATE model of entrepreneurship services targeted at older and rural WIA 
dislocated workers. That is, unlike the first Project GATE 
demonstration, which was available to all applicants, services under 
this new demonstration (known as GATE II) were targeted towards 
dislocated workers.
    An evaluation of the GATE II grants is necessary for policymakers 
and program developers to determine whether the model can be 
successfully implemented for dislocated workers. A follow-up survey, as 
envisioned in the GATE II evaluation design, is the only way to collect 
information on self-employment experiences, receipt of microenterprise 
services, and household income.
    GATE II will be evaluated using an experimental design. Individuals 
that submitted an application for GATE II in each site and who met 
minimal eligibility criteria are being randomly assigned to either a 
program group or a control group. Members of the program group are 
eligible to receive GATE II services, while members of the control 
group are not eligible to receive GATE II services, although they will 
not be prohibited from receiving self-employment services from other 
sources.
    As noted above, unlike the first Project GATE demonstration, which 
was available to all applicants, services under GATE II are targeted 
towards WIA dislocated workers. In June 2008 grants were awarded to 
implement GATE II in four states--Alabama, Minnesota, North Carolina, 
and Virginia. Two states, Alabama and North Carolina, were selected to 
target services to dislocated workers in rural areas, while the two 
other States, Minnesota and Virginia, were selected to target 
dislocated workers 45 years old and older.
    The evaluation will address the following key questions:
    (1) What are the impacts of GATE II on participants' labor market 
and self-employment outcomes?
    (2) Does the program increase the use of self-employment services?
    (3) Does the program lead to an increase in the completion of 
business plans and applications and receipt of loans?
    (4) Does the program increase the likelihood of self-employment?
    (5) Does the program promote employment and other aspects of 
economic development?
    (6) Does the program increase employment, earnings, and 
satisfaction with employment and reduce the receipt of Unemployment 
Insurance (UI) and public assistance?
    (7) Is GATE II effective in rural areas and for older workers?
    (8) Does the effectiveness of the program vary by population 
subgroup?
    Addressing these questions will involve conducting process and 
impact analyses. The process evaluation is based on information 
collected during two rounds of site visits to each site, during which 
detailed information will be collected on the implementation of the 
program from interviews with program staff, observations of services, 
and focus groups with program participants. Data will also be collected 
using a Participant Tracking System developed specifically for the 
study. The impact evaluation will involve comparing outcomes of members 
of the program group with outcomes of members of the control group. 
Data on these outcomes will be collected from UI benefit records and 
quarterly wage records, and a follow-up survey that will occur 
approximately 18 months after random assignment.

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

    The follow-up survey, which is the subject of this notice, will be 
conducted by telephone approximately 18 months following random 
assignment. The survey will collect data unavailable from 
administrative records. The survey is designed to collect detailed 
information about sample members' participation and experiences in 
receiving self-employment services, their experiences starting a 
business, their experiences in jobs working for someone else, their 
receipt of public assistance, and some background data on their socio-
economic and demographic characteristics. It is also designed to 
collect their experiences in self-employment and developing small

[[Page 25725]]

businesses, their experiences in jobs working for someone else, and 
their income and receipt of public assistance.
    Type of Review: New
    Agency: Employment and Training Administration
    Title: Partnership for Self-Sufficiency: Growing America Through 
Entrepreneurship
    OMB Control No.: 1205-0NEW
    Affected Public: Individuals

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                                      Total                            Total      Average time per      Burden
                                   respondents       Frequency       responses       respondent        (hours)
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GATE II FOLLOW-UP SURVEY.........        1,584  Once..............        1,584  30 minutes........          792
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    Totals.......................  ...........  ..................        1,584  ..................          792
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    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 request; they will also become a 
matter of public record.

    Dated: April 29, 2011.
Jane Oates,
Assistant Secretary for Employment and Training Administration.
[FR Doc. 2011-10938 Filed 5-4-11; 8:45 am]
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