[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 193 (Tuesday, October 6, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60407-60408]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-25429]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Office of the Secretary


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for OMB 
Review; Comment Request; Demonstration and Evaluation of Community 
College Interventions for Youth and Young Adults With Disabilities

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.
    A copy of the proposed Information Collection Request 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 December 7, 2015.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by either one of the following 
methods: Email: [email protected]; Mail or Courier: Celeste 
Richie, Chief Evaluation Office, U.S. Department of Labor, Room S-2218, 
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 OMB 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: Contact Celeste Richie by email at 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    I. Background: In June 2014, ODEP announced the availability of 
funds for two cooperative agreements to conduct pilot projects to 
research, develop, test and, in coordination with DOL, evaluate 
innovative systems models for providing inclusive integrated education 
and career development services to youth and young adults with 
disabilities. In September of 2014, ODEP competitively selected 
Onondaga Community College and Pellissippi State Community College for 
the Pathways to Careers Grant Program. The program models are designed 
to (1) increase credential and job attainment of students with 
disabilities, (2) increase their job placement, and (3) decrease the 
wage earning differential between students with and without 
disabilities, and between students with different types of 
disabilities.
    The grantees are expected to design approaches that work to shift 
practice and policy across the institution. This involves transforming 
the entire college's approach for providing services, as opposed to a 
single division, and enlisting support from and engagement of 
administrators, deans, department chairs, faculty, student services, 
and other divisions that have a role in ensuring students' success. It 
is expected that grantees will leverage their partnerships and 
relationships with national affiliates, association members or business 
organizations, and a variety of other entities including the public 
workforce system. Grantees are also required to capture and use data to 
assess and manage their program performance, and to participate in an 
independent evaluation.
    ODEP has oversight responsibility for the Pathways to Careers Grant 
Program. The Chief Evaluation Office of DOL is conducting the 
evaluation of the Pathways to Careers Grant Program. The evaluation 
consists of an implementation study and a descriptive outcomes study. 
The implementation study will document the institutional change at the 
two colleges; assess the fidelity of the implemented programs to the 
intended program model; assess the models for replicability and 
scalability; and determine the extent to which the grantees used 
Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles and the Guideposts for 
Success in the development and operation of their programs. The 
outcomes study will document PTC participant outcomes, examine the 
extent to which the

[[Page 60408]]

grantees meet target goals, and conduct predictive analyses to identify 
participant characteristics associated with particular outcomes.
    The evaluation will involve the collection of data through in-depth 
interviews of community college administrators, faculty and staff and 
partner organizations; focus groups of faculty and students with 
disabilities who participate in the Pathways to Careers Grant Program; 
and web-based surveys with telephone follow-up for student 
participants. The interviews with college administrators, faculty and 
staff will provide information on how the program interventions were 
implemented, challenges to implementation, and promising practices. 
Interviews will focus on program design, strengths and weaknesses of 
infrastructure and logistics, clarity of communication, effectiveness 
of enrollment, intake, and orientation, impressions of program 
delivery, and access to support services.
    Focus groups with Pathways to Careers participants will collect 
information about career planning activity engagement, perceptions of 
the availability of career planning supports, satisfaction with and 
perceived importance of career planning, and the extent to which 
personal challenges influence this process and career choices. Focus 
groups with faculty who teach the career tracks of the Pathways to 
Careers program will focus on initial experience and perspectives, and 
availability of and involvement in professional development.
    The survey will collect information from Pathways to Careers 
participants about their college experience, self-advocacy and self-
determination, and employment and earnings during and after college. 
The survey will provide data to assess short-term and longer-term 
outcomes associated with student participation in the Pathways to 
Careers program.
    II. Desired Focus of Comments: Currently, the Department of Labor 
is soliciting comments concerning the above data collection as part of 
the evaluation of the Pathways to Careers Grant Program. 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.
    III. Current Actions: At this time, the Department of Labor is 
requesting clearance for data collection for the evaluation of the 
Pathways to Careers Grant Program via in-depth interviews with 
community college administrators, faculty, staff, and partner 
organizations of the program; focus groups with faculty and students 
with disabilities who participate in the Pathways to Careers Grant 
Program; and an online survey with telephone follow-up for student 
participants.
    Type of review: New information collection request.
    OMB Control Number: XXXX--0NEW
    Affected Public: Community colleges (participating in the Pathways 
to Careers Grant Program); private sector-businesses or other for 
profits and not for profit institutions (partners organizations 
involved with the Pathways to Careers Grant Program); students with 
disabilities (participating in the Pathways to Careers Grant Program at 
the two colleges).

                                             Estimated Burden Hours
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                                                                                   Average time      Estimated
        Form/activity           Estimated total     Frequency          Total       per response    total burden
                                  respondents                        responses        (hours)          hours
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Participant survey...........  150 (enrolled in  Three times....             450             0.5             225
                                2015-2016
                                school year).
                               200 (enrolled in  Two times......             400             0.5             200
                                2016-2017
                                school year).
In-depth interviews..........  28..............  Three times....              84             1.0              84
Faculty focus groups.........  16..............  Two times......              32             1.0              32
Student focus groups.........  32..............  Two times......              64             1.0              64
                              ------------------                 -----------------------------------------------
    Totals...................  426.............  ...............           1,030  ..............             605
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    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.

    Signed: at Washington, DC, this 17th day of September 2015.
Mary Beth Maxwell,
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy, U.S. Department of 
Labor.
[FR Doc. 2015-25429 Filed 10-5-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4510-HX-P