[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 38 (Tuesday, February 26, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13086-13088]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-04391]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Office of the Secretary


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for OMB 
Review; Comment Request; Job Clubs Study

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Labor (DOL), 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 required 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.
    A copy of the proposed ICR can be obtained by contacting the office 
listed below in the addressee section of this notice or by accessing: 
http://www.doleta.gov/OMBCN/OMBControlNumber.cfm.

DATES: Written comments must be submitted to the office listed in the 
addressee section below on or before March 28, 2013.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by either one of the following 
methods:

[[Page 13087]]

Email: [email protected]; Mail or Courier: Center for Faith-Based and 
Neighborhood Partnerships, U.S. Department of Labor, Room S-2521, 200 
Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20210. Instructions: Please 
submit one copy of your comments by only one method. All submissions 
received must include the agency name and Control Number identified 
above for this information collection. Because we continue to 
experience delays in receiving mail in the Washington, DC area, 
commenters are strongly encouraged to transmit their comments 
electronically via email or to submit them by mail early. Comments, 
including any personal information provided, become a matter of public 
record. They will also be summarized and/or included in the request for 
OMB approval of the information collection request.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ben Seigel by telephone at 202-693-
6032 (this is not a toll-free number) or by email at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    Over the past several decades, job search support groups, commonly 
referred to as ``job clubs'' have evolved into one of several important 
activities used by the public workforce system and community-based 
organizations to enhance worker readiness and employability, as well as 
to provide ongoing support to unemployed and underemployed individuals 
as they search for jobs. While many job clubs are formally run through 
the public workforce system--including at Department of Labor funded 
American Job Centers--they have especially expanded in recent years 
through faith-based organizations, such as church ministries; 
volunteer-run networking groups that meet at coffee shops or public 
libraries; and online networking sites such as LinkedIn.
    There have been past evaluations of the effects of job clubs 
sponsored by the public sector on job placement, but there has been 
little assessment and/or empirical study of volunteer-run job clubs and 
job search support groups sponsored by faith-based and community-based 
organizations. For example, during the 1980s, there was a great deal of 
interest in job clubs to help a wide variety of unemployed workers, 
including older workers, welfare recipients, and formerly incarcerated 
individuals. A number of evaluations found that job clubs had a large 
and significant impact on speeding up participants' return to work. 
While it would seem likely that volunteer-run job clubs and those 
offered through faith-based and community-based organizations could 
have similar effects in terms of speeding the return to work for 
unemployed individuals, there have been few (if any) rigorous empirical 
research studies completed on this subject. There have, however, been 
some qualitative studies completed on the role of community-based and 
faith-based organizations in providing employment and training 
services. For example, a 2001 study for the Department of Labor 
documented and assessed the role of faith-based organizations in 
providing employment and training services, based in part on interviews 
conducted by telephone with faith-based organizations. This study 
broadly assessed the role of these organizations in delivering such 
services, with a focus on the role of faith-based organizations in 
providing job readiness workshops, job clubs, and other types of 
assistance to help unemployed individuals find jobs.
    Site visits to six organizations sponsoring job clubs is the focus 
of this ICR aimed at: (1) Systematically describing the key 
characteristics of the volunteer-run groups and other new types of job 
clubs being offered across a range of communities; (2) documenting how 
they differ from and are similar to the job clubs operated by publicly-
funded workforce agencies (such as the American Job Centers); and (3) 
identifying promising practices that might warrant more rigorous formal 
evaluation of individual impacts and effectiveness. The proposed data 
collection effort is necessary to fill a gap in existing knowledge 
about the extent, characteristics, and effectiveness of volunteer-led 
and faith-based and community-based organizations' sponsorship of job 
clubs for unemployed and underemployed workers.
    The period of performance of this effort is 12 months, ending 
September 13, 2013. The overall budget is $299,784.44. The contractor 
is Capital Research Corporation with a subcontract to George Washington 
University.

II. Desired Focus of Comments

    Currently, the Department of Labor is soliciting comments 
concerning the above data collection for the Job Clubs Study. Comments 
are requested 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 information collection on those who 
are to respond, including 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.

II. Current Actions

    At this time, the Department of Labor is requesting clearance for 
Job Clubs site visits.
    Type of review: New information collection request.
    OMB Number: None.
    Affected Public: Employees, volunteers, and/or members associated 
with six job clubs and their partner organizations.
    Cite/Reference/Form/etc.: The Center for Faith-Based and 
Neighborhood Partnerships and its activities are guided by Executive 
Order 13279 (December 12, 2002), ``Equal Protection of the Laws for 
Faith-Based and Community Organizations'' and Executive Order 13559 
(November 17, 2010), ``Fundamental Principles and Policymaking Criteria 
for Partnerships with Faith-Based and Other Neighborhood 
Organizations.''
    For the Job Clubs site visits:
    Frequency: Once.
    Total Responses: 48.
    Average Time per Response: 3 hours.
    Estimated Total Burden Hours: 144 hours.
    Total Burden Cost: $3,355(144 hours at $23.30* per hour).
    Note that, due to rounding, the numbers for the totals may differ 
from the sum of the component numbers.

    *U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Table B-
3. Average hourly and weekly earnings of all employees on private 
nonfarm payrolls by industry sector, seasonally adjusted (accessed 
from the following Web site as of September 2012: http://www.bls.gov/webapps/legacy/cesbtab3.htm))

    Comments submitted in response to this request will be summarized 
and/or included in the request for Office of Management and Budget 
approval; they will also become a matter of public record.


[[Page 13088]]


    Signed at Washington, DC, this 21st day of February 2013.
Irasema Garza,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Policy, U.S. Department of Labor.
[FR Doc. 2013-04391 Filed 2-25-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-23-P