[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 7 (Tuesday, January 12, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 1446-1448]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-00460]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR


Comment Request for Information Collection for the Evaluation of 
the Disability Employment Initiative Round 5 and Future Rounds

AGENCY: Office of Disability Employment Policy, Department of Labor.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Labor, 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 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 is properly assessed. Currently, 
the Department of Labor is soliciting comments concerning the 
collection of data about the Evaluation of the Disability Employment 
Initiative Round 5 and Future Rounds. A copy of the proposed 
Information Collection Request (ICR) can be obtained by contacting the 
office listed in the addressee section of this notice.

DATES: Written comments must be submitted to the office listed in the 
addressee's section below on or before February 11, 2016.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by either one of the following 
methods: Email: [email protected]; Mail or Courier: Office of 
Disability Employment Policy, U.S. Department of Labor, Room S-1303, 
200 Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20210, Attention: Cherise 
Hunter.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Cherise Hunter by telephone at 202-
693-4931 (this is not a toll-free number) or by email at 
[email protected]. Copies of this notice may be obtained in 
alternative formats (Large print, Braille, Audio Tape, or Disc), upon 
request by calling (202) 693-7880 (this is not a toll-free number). 
TTY/TTD callers may dial (202) 693-7881 to obtain information or to 
request materials in alternative formats.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    The proposed information collection activities described in this 
notice will provide data for an impact and implementation evaluation of 
the Disability Employment Initiative Round 5 and future rounds (DEI 
R5FR). The DEI was first funded by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), 
Employment and Training Administration (ETA) and Office of Disability 
Employment Policy (ODEP) in 2010. DEI was designed to improve 
educational, training and employment opportunities and outcomes of 
youth and adults with disabilities who are unemployed, underemployed 
and/or receiving Social Security Disability Income (SSDI), by refining 
and expanding already identified successful public workforce 
strategies; improving coordination and collaboration among employment 
and training and asset development programs implemented at state and 
local levels, including the expansion of the public workforce 
investment system's capacity to serve as Ticket to Work (TTW) 
Employment Networks (ENs) under the Social Security Administration's 
(SSA) TTW Program; and build effective community partnerships that 
leverage public and private resources to better serve individuals with 
disabilities and improve employment outcomes.
    Thirty-one grants in Rounds 1-4 were awarded from September 2010 to 
September 2014 to state government agencies which distributed the funds 
to their local workforce investment areas' (LWIAs) American Job Centers 
(AJCs) to implement these activities. In 2014, ETA and ODEP provided 
$14,837,785 to six Round 5 grantees. Round 6 grantees were awarded 
cooperative agreements in October 2015. Since 2010, the Department of 
Labor has awarded over $95 million in grants to state workforce 
agencies. DEI Rounds 1-4 focused on the implementation of strategic 
service delivery strategies including integrated resource teams, 
blending and braiding of resources, use of the Guideposts for Success 
(youth grantees only), customized employment, self-employment and asset 
development strategies. R5FR will add career pathways to the DEI 
service package.
    The DEI R5FR impact study will use two distinct quasi-experimental 
design (QED) study designs to determine the impact of DEI interventions 
on participant outcomes. The first study design is a matched comparison 
group design, with the treatment and comparison conditions established 
at the LWIA level. The second design will match similar participants 
within the Round 5 grantee treatment LWIAs, with the only primary 
difference being enrollment in the career pathways component versus 
enrollment in other programs and services. The implementation study 
will examine the context in which each grant is being implemented; 
grantee customer characteristics; implementation of the DEI 
requirements; what the grantee's DEI strategies are; program 
implementation challenges; and systems change.
    This Federal Register Notice provides the opportunity to comment on 
three proposed data collection instruments that will be used in the DEI 
evaluation:
    (1) Site visit/interviews protocols. Site visits will occur at 
three points in time and will collect information on the current status 
at baseline and change in grantees' workforce development system at 
follow-up; grantee customer characteristics; implementation of the 
grant requirements and strategies; program implementation challenges; 
and system change.
    (2) Participant tracking system. For the purposes of tracking 
individual DEI Round 5 participants and collecting information that is 
not collected by Workforce Investment Act Standardized Record Data 
(WIASRD) or Wagner-Peyser (W-P), a Participant Tracking System (PTS) 
that is independent of the WIASRD and W-P systems will be used. The PTS 
will provide DEI customer tracking information from participating

[[Page 1447]]

AJCs, such as participation in specific DEI Round 5 service delivery 
strategies. It will also allow for the identification of the DEI 
participants from each state and LWIA. Additionally, it will provide a 
way for DEI grantees to collect information without modifying their 
existing WIASRD or W-P systems.
    (3) Survey on Disability Type, Activities of Daily Living and 
Selected Outcomes Related to Career Pathways will provide a descriptive 
picture of the range of disabilities that participants disclose, but 
will also provide a more accurate match across treatment and comparison 
groups in both impact analyses in terms of disability type and 
severity. It will also provide more accurate information on outcomes, 
particularly on academic outcomes that are currently difficult to 
access through existing administrative databases.

II. Review Focus

    Currently, DOL is soliciting comments concerning the above data 
collection for the evaluation of DEI R5FR. DOL is particularly 
interested in comments that do the following:
     Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is 
necessary for the proper performance functions of the agency, including 
whether the information will have practical utility;
     Evaluate the accuracy of the agency's burden estimate of 
the proposed information collection, 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 (for example, 
permitting electronic submissions of responses).

III. Current Actions

    Agency: Department of Labor, Office of Disability Employment 
Policy.
    Title: Evaluation of the Disability Employment Initiative Round 5 
and Future Rounds.

Annual Site Visits

    Total Respondents: Approximately 444. On-site or telephone 
interviews will be conducted with the DEI state lead, DRC, WIB 
directors, AJC managers, AJC staff members, and agency partners and 
employers. A site visit to one comparison LWIA and AJC in close 
proximity to each treatment LWIA will also be conducted. In treatment 
and comparison LWIAs, approximately eight to ten AJC DEI participants 
will be asked to participate in a customer focus group.
    Frequency: Site visits will occur in the first, second year and 
third years to collect baseline (year 1), mid-term (year 2) and follow-
up (year 3) data.
    Average Time per Response: Partners and employers from small 
entities will participate in interviews that are 45 minutes in 
duration. All other interviews will be 60 minutes in duration.
    Estimated Total Burden Hours: The cumulative hours of burden due to 
the site visits to DEI grantees for the entire project period is 1,143.

                                                      Estimated Hours of Burden Due to Site Visits
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                          State                             California     Kansas      Illinois   Massachusets   Minnesota    South Dakota      Total
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DEI State Lead
    # of Res.............................................            1            1            1             1            1               1            6
    Hrs/Res..............................................            2            2            2             2            2               2           12
DRC
    # of Res.............................................            5            4            4             4            2               2           21
    Hrs/Res..............................................            2            2            2             2            2               2           12
AJC Staff
    # of Res.............................................           15           16           10            14           14               6           75
    Hrs/Res..............................................           .5           .5           .5            .5           .5              .5            3
Parents & Employers
    # of Res.............................................            4            4            4             4            4               4           24
    Hrs/Res..............................................          .75          .75          .75           .75          .75             .75          4.5
WIB Director
    # of Res.............................................            6            6            4             6            6               2           30
    Hrs/Res..............................................            1            1            1             1            1               1            6
Focus Groups
    # of Res.............................................           48           48           48            48           48              48          288
    Hrs/Res..............................................          1.5          1.5          1.5           1.5          1.5             1.5            9
        Total Hours......................................        100.5           99           94            98           94              86        571.5
            Cumulative Total Hours.......................          201          198          188           196          188             172         1143
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Participant Tracking System

    Frequency: Two times for treatment group customers and staff.
    Total Responses: 2050 respondents.
    Average Time per Response: 4.8 minutes for Participant Tracking 
System and 7.4 minutes for Survey of Disability Type, Activities of 
Daily Living and Selected Outcomes.
    Estimated Total Burden Hours: 658.75 hours.

Survey of Disability Type, Activities of Daily Living and Selected 
Outcomes

    Frequency: The survey will be administered on a quarterly basis 
(four times a year).
    Total Responses: 2,050 respondents.
    Average Time per Response: 7.4 minutes.
    Estimated Total Burden Hours: 505.65 hours.

[[Page 1448]]



Estimated Total Burden Hours Due to the Participant Tracking System and Survey of Disability Type, Activities of
                                       Daily Living and Selected Outcomes
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                                                                  Average burden
                                                     Number of       time per      Total burden    Total burden
                      State                         respondents      response     hours per year       hours
                                                                     (minutes)
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                                           Participant Tracking System
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California......................................             620            4.82             100          199.23
Kansas..........................................             260            4.82              42           83.55
Illinois........................................             515            4.82              83          165.49
Massachusetts...................................             305            4.82              49           98.01
Minnesota.......................................             275            4.82              44           88.37
South Dakota....................................              75            4.82              12           24.10
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                  Survey of Disability Type, Activities, of Daily Living and Selected Outcomes
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California......................................             620            7.40              76          152.93
Kansas..........................................             260            7.40              32           64.13
Illinois........................................             515            7.40              64          127.03
Massachusetts...................................             305            7.40              38           75.23
Minnesota.......................................             275            7.40              34           67.83
South Dakota....................................              75            7.40               9           18.50
                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------
    Total.......................................            2050  ..............             582          1164.4
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    Comments submitted in response to this comment request will be 
summarized and/or included in the request for Office of Management and 
Budget approval of the information collection request; they will also 
become a matter of public record.

    Dated: January 5, 2016.
Jennifer Sheehy,
Deputy Assistant Secretary, Office of Disability Employment Policy, 
U.S. Department of Labor.
[FR Doc. 2016-00460 Filed 1-11-16; 8:45 am]
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