[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 140 (Tuesday, July 22, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42536-42537]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-17224]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for OMB 
Review; Comment Request; Opportunities for Youth Demonstration and 
Evaluation Participant Tracking System

AGENCY: Office of the Assistant Secretary for Policy, Chief Evaluation 
Office, Labor

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. The 
Department is soliciting comments concerning its proposal to collect 
information from program participants through a participant tracking 
system (PTS).

DATES: Written comments must be submitted to the office listed in the 
addressee section below on or before September 22, 2014.

ADDRESSES: A copy of this information collection request, with 
applicable supporting documentation; including a description of the 
likely respondents, proposed frequency of response, and estimated total 
burden may be obtained free of charge contacting Jonathan Simonetta, 
Chief Evaluation Office, U.S. Department of Labor, Room S-2312, 200 
Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20210.
    You may submit comments by one of the following methods: Email: 
[email protected]; Mail or Courier: Jonathan Simonetta, 
Chief Evaluation Office, U.S. Department of Labor, Room S-2312, 200 
Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20210. Instructions: Please 
submit one copy of your comments by only one method. 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.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jonathan Simonetta, Chief Evaluation 
Office, 200 Constitution Avenue NW., Frances Perkins Bldg., Room S2312, 
Washington, DC 20210, by telephone at 202-693-5959 (this is not a toll-
free number) or by email at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    1. Background: The Opportunities for Youth project has three 
primary goals: (1) To develop and pilot promising intervention(s) to 
improve the employment outcomes of disconnected youth, (2) to conduct a 
formative evaluation of the implementation of the intervention, and (3) 
to design and assess an implementation analysis, and an assessment of 
systemic factors that are necessary to successfully implement the 
intervention. Disconnected youth are defined as young people between 
the ages of 16 and 24 who are not currently in school or employed. This 
is the first time DOL will focus on evaluation specifically on 
disconnected youth.
    The proposed interventions fill gaps in services and expand on 
current services in two pilot sites, Boston's Mayor's Office of Jobs & 
Community Services (MOJCS) and Baltimore's Mayor's Office of Employment 
Development (MOED). In Boston, the proposed intervention fills a gap in 
services by providing career training for youth who have completed 
their GED or high school degree. In Boston, according to MOJCS, 
educational programs aimed at young people steer them toward a four-
year college degree, while career training is geared toward adults. 
Boston's MOJCS currently provides programs that aim to get youth a high 
school degree. A career training program to serve youth who have 
completed their high school degree would fill an important gap in 
services. In Baltimore, the proposed intervention primarily expands on 
current services for disconnected youth who do not have a high school 
degree. The proposed intervention developed with Baltimore is designed 
to keep youth without a high school degree engaged in an academic and 
career training program until they receive their certification and 
degree and to provide financial support during that process. The 
proposal would expand on the current services provided for these youth 
in Baltimore by creating an integrated job training program for them.
    Underpinning both of these proposals will be the provision of a 
caring adult who will help participants navigate their respective 
education and training programs. These caring adults will take the form 
of a career navigator or case manager who will meet frequently with 
participants as they go through their respective programs and provide 
consistent support to these disconnected youth as they traverse their 
education and training.
    To gauge the efficacy of the services provided to participants in 
these two cities, a participant tracking system (PTS) will be developed 
to measure youth outcomes, program implementation, and relevant 
contextual (systemic) factors of every participant who enters the two 
respective programs. The data collection effort with this group will 
gather information about participants' demographic backgrounds; their 
education and training as they go through their respective programs; 
their employment and wages before, during, and after program 
completion; the

[[Page 42537]]

supports they receive; and their interactions with their assigned 
caring adult.
    This tracking system will provide critical information to 
Department policymakers on whether participants are effectively 
receiving education and training services, as well as the dosage and 
length of the caring adult model services. Data collection tasks 
include: (1) Design and test the PTS; and (2) execute the PTS, and (3) 
analyze the data and report the results. The period of performance of 
this evaluation ends in March 2016. The overall budget for the 
evaluation is $3,000,000. The evaluation contractor is The Urban 
Institute.
    2. Desired Focus of Comments: Interested parties are encouraged to 
provide comments to the contact shown in the ADDRESSES section. 
Comments must be written to receive consideration, and they will be 
summarized and included in the request for OMB approval of the final 
ICR. In order to help ensure appropriate consideration, comments should 
mention the name of the Information Collection.
    Submitted comments will also be a matter of public record for this 
ICR and posted on the Internet, without redaction. Comments received 
will also be summarized and addressed in the request submitted for 
Office of Management and Budget approval. DOL encourages commenters not 
to include personally identifiable information, confidential business 
data, or other sensitive statements/information in any comments.
    DOL is particularly interested in comments that:
     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.
    3. Current Actions: Pursuant to the PRA implementing regulations at 
5 CFR Sec.  1320.8(d)(1), this notice requests comments on the proposed 
information collection request discussed above in the Background 
section of this notice. Interested parties are encouraged to provide 
comments as described in the ADDRESSES section above.
    Agency: Office of the Assistant Secretary for Policy.
    Type of Review: New Collection.
    Title of Collection: Opportunities for Youth Demonstration and 
Evaluation Participant Tracking System.
    OMB Control Number: 1290-0NEW.
    Affected Public: Individuals or Households.
    Total Estimated Number of Respondents (Unduplicated): 250.
    Total Estimated Number of Responses (Unduplicated): 250.
    Estimated Time per Response: .25 hours.
    Total Estimated Annual Time Burden: 62.5 hours.
    Estimated Other Costs per Response: $0.
    Total Estimated Annual Other Costs Burden: $0.

    Dated: July 16, 2014.
James H. Moore, Jr.,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy, Office of the Assistant 
Secretary for U.S. Department of Labor.
[FR Doc. 2014-17224 Filed 7-21-14; 8:45 am]
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