[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 12 (Thursday, January 19, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6651-6652]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-01069]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Employment and Training Administration

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION


Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education; Rehabilitation 
Services Administration; Agency Information Collection Activities; 
Comment Request; Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) Common 
Performance Reporting

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Labor (DOL), Employment and Training 
Administration (ETA) and the Department of Education (ED) (jointly 
referred to as ``the Departments'') are soliciting comments concerning 
a proposed extension for the authority to conduct the information 
collection request (ICR) titled, ``Workforce Innovation and Opportunity 
Act (WIOA) Common Performance Reporting.'' This comment request is part 
of continuing Departmental efforts to reduce paperwork and respondent 
burden in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), 44 
U.S.C. 3501 et seq.

DATES: Consideration will be given to all written comments received by 
March 20, 2017.

ADDRESSES: Comments submitted in response to this notice should be 
submitted electronically through the Federal eRulemaking Portal at 
http://www.regulations.gov by selecting Docket ID number ETA-2017-0001 
or via postal mail, commercial delivery, or hand delivery. A copy of 
the 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 http://www.regulations.gov or by contacting Karen Staha by telephone at 202-
693-2917 (this is not a toll-free number) or by email at 
[email protected]. Individuals with hearing or speech impairments may 
access the telephone number above via TTY by calling the toll-free 
Federal Information Relay Service at 1-877-889-5627 (TTY/TDD). Fax: 
202-693-2766.
    Mail and hand delivery/courier: Send written comments to Karen 
Staha, Office of Policy Development and Research, Room N5641, 
Employment and Training Administration, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 
Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20210. Due to security-related 
concerns, there may be a significant delay in the receipt of 
submissions by United States Mail. You must take this into 
consideration when preparing to meet the deadline for submitting 
comments.
    Comments submitted in response to this comment request will become 
a matter of public record and will be summarized and included in the 
request for Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval of the final 
ICR. In addition, comments regardless of the delivery method, will be 
posted without change on the http://www.regulations.gov Web site; 
consequently, the Departments recommend commenters not include personal 
information such as a Social Security Number, personal address, 
telephone number, email address, or confidential business information 
that they do not want made public. It is the responsibility of the 
commenter to determine what to include in the public record.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: Contact Karen Staha by telephone at 202-693-
2917 (this is not a toll-free number) or by email at 
[email protected].

    Authority: 44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A).


SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The DOL, as part of continuing efforts to 
reduce paperwork and respondent burden, conducts a pre-clearance 
consultation program to provide the general public and Federal agencies 
an opportunity to comment on proposed and/or continuing collections of 
information before submitting them to the OMB for final approval. This 
program helps to ensure 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 can be properly assessed.
    The data collections in this ICR fulfill requirements in WIOA 
sec.116(d)(1) for the development of report templates for the State 
Performance Report for WIOA core programs, the Local Area Performance 
Report, and the Eligible Training Provider (ETP) Report. The 
Departments propose to amend the information collection by adding new 
information collection requirements for WIOA Statewide performance 
reporting. In particular, the Departments propose to add: (1) Data 
elements related to training program information to the ETP Performance 
Report, and (2) a new information collection requirement, i.e., an 
Annual Statewide Performance Report Narrative. This additional 
information would be helpful in the implementation and evaluation of 
the workforce development covered programs, and may include 
descriptions of such items as promising program practices, employer 
metrics, sector strategies, state evaluations, and rapid response 
activities. Also, a few adjustments made to the WIOA Annual Statewide 
Performance Report and Local Area Performance Report Template 
specifications that will align report specifications and the resulting 
values with the intent and requirements outlined in WIOA, and final 
rule. For example, the numerator specification of the Measurable Skill 
Gains Indicator was revised to ensure only a single gain per reporting 
period could be counted for each individual.
    Section 116 of WIOA (29 U.S.C. 3141) requires States and Local 
Areas that operate the six core programs of the public workforce 
development system to comply with common performance accountability 
requirements for those programs, which are: The Adult, Dislocated 
Worker, and Youth programs (authorized under WIOA title I, administered 
by DOL); the Employment Service program authorized under the Wagner-
Peyser Act, as amended by WIOA title III (administered by DOL); the 
Adult Education and Family Literacy Act (AEFLA) program (authorized 
under WIOA title II, administered by ED); and the Vocational 
Rehabilitation (VR) program authorized under title I of the 
Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended by WIOA title IV (administered 
by ED). As such, States and Local Areas that operate core programs must 
submit common performance data to demonstrate that specified 
performance levels are achieved. States and Local Areas report the 
common performance data through the ``Workforce Innovation and 
Opportunity Act (WIOA) Common Performance Reporting'' ICR (OMB Control 
No. 1205-0526).
    In addition, and in accordance with WIOA sec. 122(b)(2), training 
providers

[[Page 6652]]

that are eligible to receive funds from Adult and Dislocated Worker 
programs authorized under title I of WIOA (also known as ``eligible 
training providers'' or ETPs) must report data on outcomes achieved 
under those programs to the State(s) in which they are listed on the 
State ETP list. States then report the information submitted by ETPs to 
DOL. The information collection requirements applicable to ETPs are 
also contained in the ``Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) 
Common Performance Reporting'' ICR.
    Section 116(d)(1) of WIOA mandates that the Secretaries of Labor 
and Education develop a template for performance reports to be used by 
States, Local Boards, and ETPs for reporting on outcomes achieved by 
participants in the six core programs. Corresponding regulations for 
these data collection requirements, including which primary performance 
indicators apply for each core program, have been issued jointly by the 
Departments. See 81 FR 55792 (Aug. 19, 2016). The WIOA regulations 
became effective on October 18, 2016. These joint performance 
regulations can be found at: (1) 20 CFR part 677 (which covers the 
Adult and Dislocated Worker programs (20 CFR part 680), the Youth 
program (20 CFR part 681), and the Wagner-Peyser Act Employment Service 
program (20 CFR part 652)); (2) 34 CFR part 463, subpart I (which 
covers the AEFLA program); and (3) 34 CFR part 361, subpart E (which 
covers the VR program).
    The data collection instruments covered in this ICR are necessary 
to meet the requirements of sec. 116 of WIOA. These information 
collection instruments were developed jointly by the Departments, and 
include: (1) The Joint Participant Individual Record Layout (PIRL), 
which provides a standardized set of data elements, definitions, and 
reporting instructions for use by States and local entities 
administering WIOA core programs; (2) the Statewide Performance Report 
Template, to be used for the reporting of data by State entities that 
administer WIOA core programs; (3) the Local Area Performance Report 
Template, to be used for the reporting of data by local entities that 
administer WIOA core programs; (4) the ETP Performance Report 
specifications and definitions, to be used for the reporting of data by 
eligible providers of training services under WIOA title I Adult and 
Dislocated Worker programs; and (5) the Annual Statewide Performance 
Report Narrative, a new information collection requirement to be used 
for providing information on the status and progress of workforce 
development program performance.
    This 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 that 
does not display a valid Control Number. See 5 CFR 1320.5(a) and 
1320.6.
    Interested parties are encouraged to provide comments to the 
contact shown in the ADDRESSES section. In order to help ensure 
appropriate consideration, comments should mention Workforce Innovation 
and Opportunity Act (WIOA) Common Performance Reporting, OMB control 
number 1205-0526.
    The DOL 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;
     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-ETA.
    Type of Review: Revision.
    Title of Collection: Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act 
(WIOA) Common Performance Reporting.
    Forms: WIOA Statewide and Local Performance Report Template, ETA 
9169; WIOA PIRL, ETA 9170; ETP Definitions, ETA 9171.
    OMB Control Number: 1205-0526.
    Affected Public: State, Local, and Tribal Governments; Private 
Sector--businesses or other for-profits and not-for-profit 
institutions.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 19,113,825.
    Frequency: Annual for each form.
    Total Estimated Annual Responses: 38,216,056.
    Estimated Average Time per Response: Varies.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 9,863,065 hours.
    Total Estimated Annual Other Cost Burden: $30,957,760.

Portia Wu,
Assistant Secretary for Employment and Training, Department of Labor.
Johan Uvin,
Acting Assistant Secretary for the Office of Career, Technical, and 
Adult Education, Department of Education.
Sue Swenson,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative 
Services, delegated the authority to perform the functions and duties 
of the Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative 
Services.
[FR Doc. 2017-01069 Filed 1-18-17; 8:45 am]
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