[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 222 (Thursday, November 17, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 81172-81174]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-27681]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Office of the Secretary


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for OMB 
Review; Comment Request; Evaluation of Strategies Used in TechHire and 
Strengthening Working Families Initiative Grant Programs

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 Evaluation of Strategies 
Used in TechHire and Strengthening Working Families Initiative Grant 
Programs. 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 January 17, 2017.

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

[[Page 81173]]

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: Christina Yancey by email at 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    I. Background: The Chief Evaluation Office (CEO), in collaboration 
with the Employment and Training Administration (ETA), of the U.S. 
Department of Labor (DOL) seeks to build evidence about effective 
approaches to prepare Americans with skills and connect them to well-
paying, middle- and high-skilled, and high growth jobs in H-lB 
industries (such as IT, healthcare, advanced manufacturing, financial 
services, and broadband). There is a particular interest in special 
populations and individuals who have traditionally faced barriers to 
training and employment opportunities and in learning about approaches 
to serving these populations and addressing barriers they may face, 
such as youth and young adults, parents with childcare needs, 
individuals with disabilities, individuals with limited English 
proficiency, and individuals with criminal records. The evaluation will 
advance the evidence on innovative approaches being used to meet these 
goals in the TechHire Partnership (TechHire) and Strengthening Working 
Families Initiative (SWFI) grant programs. The evaluation will include 
two components, an implementation study and an impact study.
    The goal of the impact study is to provide rigorous evidence on the 
effectiveness of strategies used in the TechHire and SWFI grant 
programs. The impact study will consist of both a randomized controlled 
trial (RCT) and a quasi-experimental design (QED) evaluation. Six 
grantees will be selected to participate in an RCT. Eligible program 
applicants will be randomly assigned to either a program group that is 
offered the program or a control group that is not. The RCT will 
collect baseline data on key demographics and other characteristics 
through a random assignment intake form, employment and earnings 
outcomes through unemployment insurance (UI), wage record data from the 
National Directory of New Hires (NDNH), or, as needed, UI records from 
state agencies, and follow up surveys of study participants at about 6 
and 18 to 24 months after random assignment. The follow up surveys will 
provide additional outcome measures such as employment stability and 
quality, completion of training, and involvement with the criminal 
justice system.
    The QED will include all 53 TechHire and SWFI grantees and use the 
pooled RCT control group as the comparison group using propensity score 
matching. The QED will collect data from an existing MIS and UI wage 
record data from NDNH and/or state agencies. It will also use data from 
the implementation study (described below) in an effort to analyze how 
variation in program impacts correlates with implementation factors.
    A key goal of the implementation study is to provide systematic 
information on all of the grantees and link the findings to impacts. 
For all 53 grantees, the implementation study will review grantee 
applications, conduct web-based surveys with grantees and partners, 
conduct semi-structured telephone interviews with grantees and 
partners, and collect data on individual participants through an 
existing grantee quarterly reports MIS. Additionally, for the 6 
grantees in the RCT, the implementation study will include two rounds 
of field visits involving a mix of observations, interviews, and case 
file reviews. This will provide critical context for understanding the 
impact findings from the RCT.
    This Federal Register Notice provides the opportunity to comment on 
proposed data collection instruments that will be used in the 
evaluation:
    * Random assignment intake form. The random assignment process will 
begin with a short baseline form that collects electronically key 
demographic and other individual characteristics and contact 
information for follow-up.
    * 6 Month Participant Follow-up Survey. The survey will be 
administered 6 months after random assignment to the treated and 
control groups. To better understand the contrast between the treated 
and control groups 6 months after random assignment, this relatively 
brief survey will collect information on service receipt, employment, 
and job placement.
    * 18 Month Participant Follow-up Survey. The survey will be 
administered 18 months after random assignment to the treated and 
control groups. The purpose of the survey is to collect information on 
outcomes not available in existing data. These include current and past 
employment situation, hours worked, wages, shift work, employer 
benefits, job search activities, job satisfaction, promotion, education 
and training participation, criminal justice involvement, and child 
care.
    * Grantee Survey. The survey will be administered to all 53 
TechHire and SWFI grantees in 2018. The purpose of the survey is to 
collect uniform information on implementation status and a variety of 
program characteristics to support implementation analysis of the grant 
programs. These data will allow us to examine whether there is a 
correlation between program characteristics and impacts.
    * Partner Survey. The survey will be administered to all partners 
of all 53 TechHire and SWFI grantees. The survey will explore the 
strength of relationships between the partners in the TechHire and SWFI 
grant programs. The survey will collect information on select elements 
of partner interactions (frequency of communication, level of 
collaboration, and service referrals).
    * Protocol for In-depth Telephone Interview with Grantees. Within 6 
months after the grantee survey, the evaluation team will conduct in-
depth telephone interviews with each grantee. The protocol will be used 
to learn about challenges, successes, and barriers to implementation 
that are difficult to obtain using a survey.
    * Protocol for In-depth Telephone Interview with Partners. Within 6 
months after the partner survey, the evaluation team will conduct in-
depth telephone interviews with one partner for each grantee. The 
protocol will be used to learn about the degree of engagement and 
successful strategies that are difficult to obtain using a survey.
    * Site Visit Protocols. During two rounds of implementation site 
visits to the 6 grantees in the RCT, the evaluation team will conduct 
in-depth interviews with program staff and partners. The site visit 
protocols will be tailored to each grantee and collect information on 
implementation status, changes in implementation during random 
assignment, and degree of coordination.
    II. Desired Focus of Comments: Currently, the Department of Labor 
is soliciting comments concerning the above data collection for the 
Evaluation of Strategies Used in the TechHire and SWFI programs. 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

[[Page 81174]]

    * 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: 1290-0NEW.
    Affected Public: TechHire and SWFI program applicants, grantees, 
and partners.

                                          Estimated Total Burden Hours
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                                                                                      Average
                                                     Estimated       Number of      burden time      Estimated
                   Respondents                         total       responses per   per response    total burden
                                                    respondents     respondent        (hours)         (hours)
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                                                  Impact Study
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Baseline Intake Form............................           4,800               1             .50           2,400
Participant Survey at 6-months..................         * 3,840               1             .50           1,920
Participant Survey at 18-24 months..............         * 3,840               1             .75           2,880
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                                              Implementation Study
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Web-based survey of grantees....................              53               1             .50           26.50
Web-based survey of partners....................         \a\ 530               1             .50             265
Semi-structured telephone interviews with                     53               1             .75           39.75
 grantees.......................................
Semi-structured telephone interviews with                     53               1             .75           39.75
 partners.......................................
Implementation site visits
    Program staff...............................             120               1             .50            60.0
    Partners....................................              96               1             .50            48.0
                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------
        Total...................................       \b\ 5,705  ..............  ..............           7,679
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* Assumes a sample of 4,800 with an 80 percent response rate.
\a\ Assumes 10 partners per grantee.
\b\ So as not to double-count participants who complete the baseline intake form and then also complete the
  follow-up participant surveys, this total only counts the 4,800 from the baseline intake form. However, all
  hours are calculated for the total burden.

    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: November 3, 2016.
Sharon Block,
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy, U.S. Department of 
Labor.
[FR Doc. 2016-27681 Filed 11-16-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4510-HX-P