[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 125 (Friday, June 30, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Page 29933]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-13750]



[[Page 29933]]

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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Employment and Training Administration


Employment and Training Administration Program Year (PY) 2017; 
Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) Section 167, National 
Farmworker Jobs Program (NFJP) Allocations

AGENCY: Employment and Training Administration, Labor.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: This Notice announces allocations for Program Year (PY) 2017 
for the WIOA Title I Section 167 National Farmworker Jobs Program 
(NFJP) program as required under Section 182(d) of the Workforce 
Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2014.
    The NFJP allocations are distributed to the state service areas by 
a formula that estimates, by State, the relative demand for NFJP 
services. The formula factors used to allocate funds for the NFJP were 
published in the Federal Register on May 19, 1999. The notice explained 
the purpose of the formula; i.e., distributing funds geographically by 
State service area on the basis of each area's relative share of 
farmworkers who are eligible for enrollment in the NFJP. The data used 
in the formula are comprised of a combination of data sets that were 
selected to yield the relative share distribution across States of 
eligible farmworkers. While the data factors used in the formula remain 
unchanged since their development in 1999, the data sets were last 
updated in 2005 with data from the 2000 Census, the 2003 National 
Agricultural Workers Survey (NAWS), and the 2002 Census of Agriculture.

DATES: The PY 2017 NFJP allocations become effective for the program 
year beginning on July 1, 2017.

ADDRESSES: Questions on the allocations can be submitted to the 
Employment and Training Administration, Office of Financial 
Administration, 200 Constitution Ave. NW., Room N-4702, Washington, DC 
20210, Attention: Ms. Anita Harvey, (202) 693-3958 (phone), (202) 693-
2859 (fax), or email: [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Laura Iba[ntilde]ez, Unit Chief (202) 
693-3645 or Steven Rietzke, Division Chief (202) 693-3912. Individuals 
with hearing or speech impairments may access the telephone numbers 
above via TTY by calling the toll-free Federal Information Relay 
Service at 1-877-889-5627 (TTY-TDD).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Department of Labor (DOL or Department) 
is announcing final PY 2017 allocations for the NFJP. This notice 
provides information on the amount of funds available during PY 2017 to 
State service areas awarded grants through the PY 2016 Funding 
Opportunity Announcement (FOA) for the National Farmworker Jobs Program 
(NFJP) Employment and Training and Housing Assistance Grants. The 
allocations are based on the funds appropriated in the Consolidated 
Appropriations Act, 2017, Public Law 115-31, May 5, 2017 (from this 
point forward, referred to as ``the Act''). In appropriating these 
funds, Congress provided $75,885,000 for Employment and Training 
Grants; $5,517,000 for Housing Assistance Grants; and $494,000 for 
Technical Assistance and Training. The Act, Division H, Title I, sec. 
106(b), allows the Secretary to set aside up to 0.5 percent of each 
discretionary appropriation for activities related to program 
integrity. For 2017, the Department set aside the full 0.5 percent of 
most discretionary appropriations, including migrant and seasonal 
farmworker program formula grants and housing. This reduced the amount 
available for NFJP Employment and Training grants to $75,505,575 and 
Housing Assistance grants to $5,489,415. The amount appropriated for 
discretionary purposes (technical assistance and training) was not 
adjusted. Included below is the table listing the PY 2017 allocations 
for the NFJP Employment and Training Grants, as well as the sub-
allocation table for California. California is the only State service 
area with more than one grant; the current sub-allocation formula for 
California was developed in collaboration with the existing grantees. 
Individual grants are awarded for Housing Assistance as a result of the 
grants competition and are further distributed according to language in 
the appropriations law requiring that of the total amount available, 
not less than 70 percent shall be allocated to permanent housing 
activities, leaving not more than 30 percent to temporary housing 
activities.

PY 2017 Formula Allocation for NFJP

    The calculation of the PY 2017 formula allocation distribution 
incorporates the state-by-state relative shares of eligible farmworkers 
developed for the PY 2005 formula allocations using the updated 
datasets described above, with various adjustments applied since that 
time. The PY 2005 calculation adjusted those state-by-state relative 
shares by ``hold-harmless'' and ``stop-loss''/''stop-gain'' limits due 
to the introduction of the updated data. The following year, the PY 
2006 formula allocations were proportionately based on the PY 2005 
formula allocations and further adjusted by an additional $3.8 million 
appropriated by Congress for States whose PY 2005 allocation had been 
reduced as a result of the updated data used for the PY 2005 formula 
allocation distribution. Detailed descriptions of the formula 
methodology for PY 2005 and PY 2006 formula allocations were provided 
in the applicable Federal Register announcements. The PY 2007 
appropriation for the WIA Section 167 formula program was $470 less 
than the corresponding PY 2006 appropriation. To maintain stability of 
funding for the program and consistency with the PY 2006 congressional 
directions to the Department, the Department distributed the PY 2007 
formula funding among all States in the same proportion as the 
distribution of the PY 2006 formula allocations. In all subsequent 
appropriations, including PY 2017, the Department continued to 
distribute the formula funding amount in the same proportion as the 
distribution of the prior year's formula amounts.

State Combinations

    There will be a single plan of service for operating the PY 2017 
NFJP in the State service areas of Delaware and Maryland and the State 
service areas of Rhode Island and Connecticut. The sub-allocations for 
multiple sub-state service areas in California were discussed earlier 
in this Notice.

PY 2018 Formula Allocation for NFJP

    In February and April 2017, the Employment and Training 
Administration (ETA) hosted a national online dialogue to gather ideas 
from NFJP grantees, research analysts, economists, and other 
professionals on revising the existing formula and its databases to 
ensure incorporation of the latest available data, as required under 
WIOA Section 182(a). The ideas suggested by the multiple stakeholders 
who participated in the national online dialogue helped inform the 
proposed formula for PY 2018. ETA will publish the PY 2018 proposed 
allocation formula for comment in the fall of 2017.

Byron Zuidema,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Employment and Training.
[FR Doc. 2017-13750 Filed 6-29-17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-FN-P