[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 142 (Wednesday, July 24, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44600-44602]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-17762]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Employment and Training Administration


Comment Request for Information Collection for Veterans 
Retraining Assistance Program Participant (VRAP) Outreach Reporting, 
Extension Without Changes

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 public and Federal 
agencies with an opportunity to comment on proposed and/or continuing 
collections of information in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction 
Act (PRA) 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 collection of 
data about ``Veterans Retraining Assistance Program Participant 
Outreach Reporting'' which is a request for an extension without 
changes to the data collection from State Workforce

[[Page 44601]]

Agencies (SWA), collected on a quarterly basis. We will use this 
information collection to ensure that VRAP participants are offered 
employment services after they complete the program as required in the 
VOW to Hire Heroes Act of 2011.

DATES: Written comments must be submitted to the office listed in the 
addresses section below on or before September 23, 2013.

ADDRESSES: Submit written comments to Andrew Ridgeway, Office of 
Workforce Investment, Room S-4203, Employment and Training 
Administration, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue NW., 
Washington, DC 20210. Telephone number: 202-693-3536 (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 1-877-889-5627 (TTY/TDD). Fax: 
202-693-3817. Email: [email protected]. A copy of the proposed 
information collection request (ICR) can be obtained by contacting the 
office listed above.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    ETA seeks extension without changes for its approval (OMB Control 
Number: 1205-0511) of the collection of quarterly outreach reports from 
SWA on VRAP, which is part of the VOW to Hire Heroes Act of 2011 (Pub. 
L. 112-56). VRAP is a new training program for eligible veterans funded 
by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The program requires DOL to 
offer employment placement services to each veteran who participated in 
the VRAP within 30 days of their completion or termination. VA, in 
collaboration with DOL, is required to submit a report to Congress by 
July 1, 2014, on the outcomes of the program. The statutorily required 
report must include the total number of eligible veterans who 
participated, the associates degrees or certificates awarded (or other 
similar evidence of the completion of the program of education or 
training earned), and data related to the employment status of eligible 
veterans who participated in the program. The program was authorized to 
enroll up to 45,000 veterans in Fiscal Year 2012, from July 1, 2012 
through September 30, 2012, and up to 54,000 additional veterans from 
October 1, 2012, through October 1, 2013, with all training to conclude 
no later than March 31, 2014.
    VRAP provides up to 12 months of full-time retraining assistance 
(currently $1,564 per month) in a ``high demand'' occupation to 
eligible veterans at a VA approved community college or technical 
school. VRAP provides the benefit to veterans who fulfill the following 
eligibility criteria: as of date of application, is at least 35 years 
old and less than 60; discharged from active duty under conditions 
other than dishonorable; is unemployed as of date of application; is 
not eligible to receive other educational assistance from the VA; is 
not in receipt of compensation for a service-connected disability rated 
totally disabling by reason of unemployability; was not and is not 
enrolled in any Federal or State job training program within the 
previous 180 days; and, the application must be submitted not later 
than October 1, 2013.
    Once the veteran has terminated or completed the VRAP, the VA 
transmits a secure participant report to DOL so that employment 
services can be offered to the participant and program outcomes can be 
reported. DOL will transmit a report to each State on VRAP participants 
within that State who terminated or completed VRAP. DOL will transmit 
each State's file on a weekly basis using a secure File Transfer 
Protocol site. Each State will be able to access only its file so that 
it can disseminate the participant information securely to the 
appropriate American Job Center (AJC) staff in the participant's local 
area enabling the AJC to offer employment services to the veteran.
    To ensure employment services are being offered and outcomes are 
being tracked for all participants, ETA is proposing to collect 
quarterly reports from the States, with a 45-day reporting period 
following each quarter, on the outreach offered to VRAP participants. 
In order to reduce the amount of participant information being 
transferred, ETA is proposing to add two data fields to the participant 
report it sends to the States. The report will be in Microsoft Excel 
format and will include a ``unique identifier'' field (not personally 
identifiable information), assigned by ETA and an ``Employment 
Assistance'' field which will be blank. The collection instrument is 
included as an attachment in the ICR package. The SWA tracking the 
outreach offered to each VRAP participant will complete the 
``Employment Assistance'' field. ETA is seeking an extension without 
changes of its approval from OMB to collect from each State the 
``unique identifier'' field and the ``Employment Assistance'' field on 
a quarterly basis.
    This information collection is subject to PRA. A Federal agency 
generally cannot conduct or sponsor a collection of information, and 
the public is generally not required to respond to an information 
collection, unless it is approved by the OMB under the PRA and displays 
a currently valid OMB Control Number. In addition, notwithstanding any 
other provisions of law, no person shall generally be subject to 
penalty for failing to comply with a collection of information if the 
collection of information does not display a valid OMB Control Number. 
See 5 CFR 1320.5(a) and 1320.6.

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: Extension without changes.
    Title: Veterans Retraining Assistance Program Participant Outreach 
Reporting.
    OMB Number: 1205-0511.
    Affected Public: State Workforce Agency staff and American Job 
Center staff.
    Form(s): Participant Dissemination Form and Quarterly Report Form.
    Total Annual Burden Cost for Respondents: 0.

[[Page 44602]]



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                                                                                   Average time
    Data collection activity         Number of       Frequency         Total       per response    Burden hours
                                    respondents                      responses     (in minutes)
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Participant Contact List                      54              52           2,808              60           2,808
 Dissemination..................
Contacting VRAP Participant.....          44,500               1          44,500              10           7,417
Quarterly Report Preparation....              54               4             216              90             324
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    Total.......................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............          10,549
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    Comments submitted in response to this comment request will be 
summarized and/or included in the request for OMB extension of approval 
of the ICR; they will also become a matter of public record.

    Dated: July 16, 2013.
Gerri Fiala,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Employment and Training, Labor.
[FR Doc. 2013-17762 Filed 7-23-13; 8:45 am]
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