[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 190 (Monday, October 1, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 59984-59985]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-24084]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Employment and Training Administration


Comment Request for Information Collection for Placement 
Verification and Follow-Up of Job Corps Participants; Extension Without 
Revisions

AGENCY: Employment and Training Administration (ETA), Department of 
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 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 [44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)].
    This program helps 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 
extension of data collection regarding the Placement Verification and 
Follow-up of Job Corps Participants, using post-center surveys of Job 
Corps graduates and former enrollees (OMB Control Number 1205-0426), 
which expires November 30, 2012.
    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 November 30, 2012.

ADDRESSES: Submit written comments to Lawrence Lyford, Office of Job 
Corps, Room N-4507, Employment and Training Administration, U.S. 
Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20210. 
Telephone number: 202-693-3121(this is not a toll-free number). 
Individuals with hearing or speech impairments may access the telephone 
number above via TTY by calling the toll-free Federal Information Relay 
Service at 877-889-5627 (TTY/TDD). Fax: 202-693-3113. Email: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    Job Corps is an intensive, residential training program for at-risk 
youth ages 16 through 24. It addresses multiple barriers to employment 
faced by youth throughout the United States. Job Corps is authorized by 
Title I, Subtitle C, of the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) of 1998. The 
program is principally carried out through a nationwide network of 125 
Job Corps centers. The centers are located at facilities either owned 
or leased by the federal government.
    The Department has a direct role in the operation of Job Corps, and 
does not serve as a pass-through agency for this program. It is the 
Department's responsibility to establish Job Corps centers and to 
select operators for them. Of the 125 current centers, 28 are operated 
by the United States Department of Agriculture, through an interagency 
agreement. The remaining 97 centers are managed and operated by large 
and small corporations, and nonprofit organizations selected by the 
Department in accordance with the Federal Acquisition Regulations, and 
in most cases, through a competitive procurement process. Many of the 
current contractors manage and operate more than one center.

II. Review Focus

    The Department is particularly interested in comments which:
     Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is 
necessary for an agency to properly performs its functions, including 
whether the information will have practical utility;
     Evaluate the agency's accuracy in estimating 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

[[Page 59985]]

     Minimize the burden of information collection on those who 
are to respond--including that obtained through 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

    This submission requests comments on three primary and two 
secondary data collection instruments that will be used to collect 
follow-up data about individuals who are no longer actively 
participating in Job Corps. These youths either graduated from Job 
Corps or stayed in the program at least 60 days but left before 
completing graduation requirements (former enrollees). These data 
collection activities will be conducted with the following groups of 
recent Job Corps participants:
     Former enrollees who were placed in a job or school 
program; this group will be contacted 90 days after separation.
     Graduates who were placed in a job or school program; this 
group will be contacted 90 days after initial placement;
     Graduates who were placed in a job or school program; this 
group will be contacted 6 months after initial placement;
     Graduates who were placed in a job or school program; this 
group will be contacted 12 months after initial placement.
    The data collection instrument for graduates 90 to 120 days after 
their initial placement is called Interim Checkpoint for Eligibility 
(ICFE). Administration of the ICFE at this time will facilitate the key 
data collection at 6 and 12 months. This submission also requests 
approval for two brief questionnaires (one for employers and one for 
schools or training institutions) that will be used to collect re-
verification data about initial placement for the subset of placed 
graduates and former enrollees that cannot be contacted directly.
    To maximize the comparability of the data collected from the 
different subgroups of students, the ICFE, the 90-day follow-up for 
former enrollees, and the 6-month and 12-month follow-up sections of 
the data collection instruments use modules with identical sets of 
questions on the same topics.
    The questions are designed to obtain:
     Data to re-verify the initial job or school placements of 
placed graduates and former enrollees (only in the instruments 
administered at 90 days and the ICFE).
     Information about employment experiences in the previous 
week.
     Information about educational experiences in the previous 
week.
     Summary information about the work, school, and job search 
activities of those who were neither working nor in school the previous 
week.
     Information about satisfaction with the services provided 
by Job Corps.
    Type of Review: Extension without changes.
    Title: Placement Verification and Follow-up of Job Corps 
Participants.
    OMB Number: 1205-0426.
    Affected Public: Individuals or households and Business/Education 
for profit institutions.
    Total Annual Burden Cost for Respondents: N/A.

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                                                                                   Average time
    Data collection activity         Number of       Frequency         Total       per response    Burden hours
                                    respondents                      responses        (hours)
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Placed Former Enrollees at 90              1,596               1           1,596            0.25             399
 days...........................
Placed graduates at 90-120 days.          16,924               1          16,924            0.25           4,231
Placed Graduates at Six Months..          16,098               1          16,098            0.20           3,220
Placed Graduates at 12 Months...          13,660  ..............          13,660            0.20           2,732
Employer/Institution Re-                   5,045               1           5,045            0.17             858
 verification...................
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    Total.......................          53,323  ..............          53,323  ..............          11,440
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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 ICR; they will also become a matter of public 
record.

    Signed in Washington, DC, this 24th day of September, 2012.
Jane Oates,
Assistant Secretary for Employment and Training, Labor.
[FR Doc. 2012-24084 Filed 9-28-12; 8:45 am]
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