[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 97 (Thursday, May 19, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31664-31666]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-11847]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Office of the Secretary


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for OMB 
Review; Comment Request; National Evaluation of the Performance 
Partnership Pilots for Disconnected Youth (P3) Program

AGENCY: Office of the Assistant Secretary for Policy, Chief Evaluation 
Office, Department of 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 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 National Evaluation of the 
Performance Partnership Pilots for Disconnected Youth (P3) [ED-GRANTS-
112414-001]. A copy of the proposed Information Collection Request 
(ICR) 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 July 18, 2016.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by either one of the following 
methods: Email: [email protected]; Mail or Courier: 
Christina Yancey, Chief Evaluation Office, OASP, 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. 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.

[[Page 31665]]


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Contact Christina Yancey by email at 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    The information collection activities described in this notice will 
provide data for a systems analysis, as well as implementation and 
outcome evaluation of the Performance Partnership Pilots for 
Disconnected Youth (P3) Program. Through the first cohort of P3 
grantees, five partnering Federal agencies--the Departments of 
Education (DOE), Labor (DOL), and Health and Human Services (HHS), 
along with the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNS) and 
the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS)--are testing 
innovative, cost-effective, and outcome-focused strategies for 
improving results for disconnected youth. Disconnected youth are 
defined as low-income youth between the ages of 14 and 24 and are 
either homeless, in foster care, involved in the juvenile justice 
system, unemployed, or not enrolled in or at risk of dropping out of 
school. The Federal partners hope to learn more about whether allowing 
states, localities, and Indian tribes greater flexibility to pool funds 
and waive programmatic requirements will help them overcome significant 
hurdles they face in providing effective services to and improving 
outcomes for disconnected youth. In October 2015, nine competitively-
awarded grantees were announced as the first cohort of P3. They 
received up to $700,000 in start-up funds and the flexibility to blend 
or braid existing discretionary funds from across programs to improve 
the outcomes of disconnected youth.
    This information collection covers the systems analysis, as well as 
implementation and outcomes study which will address four main research 
questions: (1) How do the pilots use the flexibility offered by P3 to 
implement P3 models and interventions to improve the outcomes of 
disconnected youth? (2) How has each pilot structured its P3 system and 
work across partners to provide effective services to disconnected 
youth? (3) What system change resulted from P3? and (4) Who are the 
youth who participate in P3, what services do they receive, and what 
are their outcomes? This Federal Register Notice provides the 
opportunity to comment on three proposed data collection instruments 
that will be used in the P3 implementation evaluation:
     Site visit protocols. The two site visits, anticipated to 
occur in 2017 and 2018, will include semi-structured interviews with 
grantee and partners administrators and staff and observations of 
program activities. Field researchers will use a modular interview 
guide, organized by major topics that can be adapted based on the 
respondent's knowledge base, to prompt discussions on topics of 
interest to the study.
     Focus group protocols. During each implementation study 
visit, the evaluation team will conduct three focus groups per site. 
Each round of site visits will also include focus groups with youth 
participants. The protocol will be used to learn about P3 participants, 
including their initial interest and enrollment in P3, their 
experiences in the program, and their expectations for the future.
     Partner Survey. The survey will be administered during the 
two site visits to those partners working with the grantees. To better 
understand relationships of the partner entities within the pilot, the 
survey, a brief targeted tool, will explore the strength of 
relationships between the key entities (partners) involved in the P3 
pilot. The short survey will systematically collect information on 
select elements of partner interactions (frequency of communication, 
level of collaboration, and service referrals).

II. Desired Focus of Comments

    Currently, the Department of Labor is soliciting comments 
concerning the above data collection for the P3 program. 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;
     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

    At this time, the Department of Labor is requesting clearance for 
the implementation site visit protocols, the focus group protocols, and 
a survey.
    Type of Review: New information collection request.
    OMB Control Number: 1205-0NEW.
    Affected Public: Staff of state and local government agencies, for-
profit institutions, and not-for-profit institutions; and youth 
participants. Respondent groups identified include (1) administrators 
and staff of grantees and partners organizations and (2) youth 
participants.

                                          Estimated Total Burden Hours
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                                                                                  Average burden
                                                     Estimated       Number of       time per        Estimated
                   Respondents                         total       responses per     response      total burden
                                                    respondents     respondent        (hours)         (hours)
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                                           Semi-structured Interviews
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Round 1                                           ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
P3 Administrators/Staff.........................             135               1            1.25          168.75
Round 2                                           ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
P3 Administrators/Staff.........................             135               1            1.25          168.75
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                                                   Site Visit
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Round 1                                           ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
P3 Youth........................................              72               1               1              72
Round 2                                           ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............

[[Page 31666]]

 
P3 Youth........................................              72               1               1              72
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                                                 Partner Survey
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Round 1                                           ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
P3 Administrators/Staff.........................              90               1             .25            22.5
Round 2                                           ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............
P3 Administrators/Staff.........................              90               1             .25            22.5
                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------
    Total.......................................             594  ..............  ..............           526.5
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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 of the information collection request; they will also become a 
matter of public record.

    Dated: May 11, 2016.
Sharon Block,
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy, U.S. Department of 
Labor.
[FR Doc. 2016-11847 Filed 5-18-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4510-HX-P