[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 248 (Monday, December 28, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 80816-80818]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-32623]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Office of the Secretary


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for OMB 
Review; Comment Request; National Guard Youth ChalleNGe Job ChalleNGe 
Evaluation

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Labor (DOL) is submitting the information 
collection request (ICR) proposal titled, ``the National Guard Youth 
ChalleNGe Job ChalleNGe Evaluation'' to the Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB) for review and approval for use in accordance with the 
Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.). Public 
comments on the ICR are invited.

DATES: The OMB will consider all written comments that agency receives 
on or before January 27, 2016.

[[Page 80817]]


ADDRESSES: A copy of this ICR 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 
from the RegInfo.gov Web site at http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAViewICR?ref_nbr=201509-1291-002 (this link will only become active 
on the day following publication of this notice) or by contacting 
Seleda Perryman by telephone at 202-693-4131 (this is not a toll-free 
number) or by email at [email protected].
    Submit comments about this request by mail or courier to the Office 
of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Attn: OMB Desk Officer for DOL-
OASP, Office of Management and Budget, Room 10235, 725 17th Street NW., 
Washington, DC 20503; by Fax: 202-395-5806 (this is not a toll-free 
number); or by email: [email protected]. Commenters are 
encouraged, but not required, to send a courtesy copy of any comments 
by mail or courier to the U.S. Department of Labor-OASAM, Office of the 
Chief Information Officer, Attn: Departmental Information Compliance 
Management Program, Room N1301, 200 Constitution Avenue NW., 
Washington, DC 20210; or by email: [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Contact Seleda Perryman by telephone 
at 202-693-4131 (this is not a toll-free number) or by email at 
[email protected].

    Authority: 44 U.S.C. 3507(a)(1)(D).


SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This ICR seeks PRA authority for the 
National Guard Youth ChalleNGe Job ChalleNGe Evaluation information 
collection. The National Guard Youth ChalleNGe program is one of a 
handful of interventions that have demonstrated positive, sustained 
impacts on the educational attainment and labor market outcomes of 
youth who are not in school or the labor force. The goal of Youth 
ChalleNGe, a residential program, is to build confidence and maturity, 
teach practical life skills, and help youth obtain a high school 
diploma or GED. The program's numerous activities address its eight 
core pillars: leadership/followership, responsible citizenship, service 
to community, life-coping skills, physical fitness, health and hygiene, 
job skills, and academic excellence. To build on the success of Youth 
ChalleNGe, the Employment and Training Administration issued $12 
million in grants in early 2015 for three Youth ChalleNGe programs to: 
(1) expand the program's target population to include youth who have 
been involved with the courts and (2) add an occupational training 
component, known as Job ChalleNGe. The addition of the Job ChalleNGe 
component will expand the residential time by five months and offer the 
following activities: (1) Occupation skills training, (2) 
individualized career and academic counseling, (3) work-based learning 
opportunities, and (4) leadership development activities.
    The National Guard Youth ChalleNGe Job ChalleNGe Evaluation will 
help policymakers and program administrators determine the impacts of 
expanding Youth ChalleNGe to court-involved youth and adding the Job 
ChalleNGe component to the existing Youth ChalleNGe model. The study 
will evaluate how these program enhancements are implemented and how 
effective they are, both for youth overall and for court-involved youth 
in particular. The study will address four research questions: (1) How 
were the programs implemented?, (2) What impacts did Youth ChalleNGe 
and Job ChalleNGe have on the outcomes of participants?, (3) To what 
extent did participation in Job ChalleNGe change the overall impact of 
Youth ChalleNGe on program participants?, and (4) To what extent did 
impacts vary for selected subpopulations of participants? The first 
research question will be addressed through an implementation study of 
the three grantee demonstrations. The remaining three questions will be 
addressed through an impact study of the Youth ChalleNGe and Job 
ChalleNGe programs. For the impact study, the feasibility of using 
randomized controlled trials to estimate program effectiveness will be 
assessed; if needed, a comparison group of youth from Youth ChalleNGe 
sites that did not receive grants will be included in the study. Only 
youth who agree to participate in the study will be allowed to 
participate in the Youth ChalleNGe and Job ChalleNGe programs at the 
grantees included in the study; active consent will be obtained from 
youth 18 years of age or older and from a parent or guardian of youth 
under the age of 18.
    This ICR consists of two types of proposed data collection 
instruments to be used in the National Guard Youth ChalleNGe Job 
ChalleNGe evaluation. The first is a Baseline Information Form that 
will be included in the Youth ChalleNGe application packet and 
completed by youth. The form will collect demographic information as 
well as baseline measures of major outcome variables, including: 
current employment, past delinquency, expectations about future 
education, work experience and other topics, and detailed contact 
information. The second is a set of site visit protocols. Site visits 
will occur twice. The first will occur early in the study period and 
will collect information about grantees' plans and procedures, the 
backgrounds and experiences of youth served, the nature of employers' 
involvement in the programs, and other topics. The second visit will 
occur later in the grant and evaluation periods and will collect 
information on whether and how plans and activities for the Youth 
ChalleNGe and Job ChalleNGe programs have changed since the first 
visit. Workforce Investment Act section 171(c)(2) authorizes this 
information collection. See 29 U.S.C. 2916(c)(2). A future ICR will 
include an 18-month follow up survey of youth in the Job ChalleNGe 
treatment and control or comparison groups.
    This proposed information collection is subject to the 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 
Control Number. See 5 CFR 1320.5(a) and 1320.6. For additional 
information, see the related notice published in the Federal Register 
on July 23, 2015 (80 FR 43796).
    Interested parties are encouraged to send comments to the OMB, 
Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs at the address shown in 
the ADDRESSES section within thirty (30) days of publication of this 
notice in the Federal Register. In order to help ensure appropriate 
consideration, comments should mention OMB ICR Reference Number 201509-
1291-002. The OMB 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;

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     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 submission of responses.
    Agency: DOL-OASAM.
    Title of Collection: National Guard Youth ChalleNGe Job ChalleNGe 
Evaluation.
    OMB ICR Reference Number: 201509-1291-002.
    Affected Public: Individuals or Households and Private Sector--not-
for-profit institutions.
    Total Estimated Number of Respondents: 1769.
    Total Estimated Number of Responses: 1769.
    Total Estimated Annual Time Burden: 308 hours.
    Total Estimated Annual Other Costs Burden: $0.

    Dated: December 19, 2015.
Michel Smyth,
Departmental Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. 2015-32623 Filed 12-24-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4510-04-P?>