[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 103 (Wednesday, May 29, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 24819-24822]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-11104]
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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Employment and Training Administration
Notice Requesting Public Comment on Three Proposed Reemployment-
Related Performance Measures Adopted by the Unemployment Insurance (UI)
Program That Will Align With the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity
Act (WIOA) Requirements
AGENCY: Office of Unemployment Insurance (OUI), Employment and Training
Administration (ETA), Department of Labor (DOL).
ACTION: Request for public comment.
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SUMMARY: The Department of Labor (Department) is seeking public comment
on the following proposed performance measures:
[ssquf] Reemployment Rate for all UI Eligible Individuals after the
2nd Quarter of Program Exit (a Core Measure);
[[Page 24820]]
[ssquf] Reemployment Rate after the 2nd Quarter of Program Exit for
Reemployment Service and Eligibility Assessment (RESEA) Program
participants (a Program Performance Measure); and
[ssquf] Median Wage in the 2nd Quarter after Program Exit for RESEA
Program Participants (a Program Performance Measure).
These measures are designed to align with the common performance
measures for other workforce programs authorized by WIOA and will
assist ETA in overseeing states' performance related to reemployment of
UI claimants.
This notice also informs states of the Department's discontinuance
of the UI Facilitate Reemployment Core Measure.
DATES: Submit written comments to the office listed in the addresses
section below on or before June 28, 2019.
ADDRESSES: Questions or comments in response to this notice can be
submitted electronically to [email protected] or via postal mail,
commercial delivery, or hand delivery.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Rhonda Cowie, Office of
Unemployment Insurance, Room S-4524, Employment and Training
Administration, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue NW,
Washington, DC 20210 at 202 693-3821 (this is not a toll-free number),
TTY 1-877-889-5627 (this is not a toll-free number). Due to security-
related concerns, there may be a significant delay in the receipt of
submissions by United States mail. You must take this possible delay
into consideration when preparing to meet the deadline for submitting
comments. The Department will respond to comments directly as
necessary. The Department recommends that comments not include personal
information such as social security number, personal address, telephone
number, email address, or confidential business information in the
event comments are publically published. It is the responsibility of
the commenter to determine what is personal or confidential business
information.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Historically, it has been a goal of the UI system, the Wagner-
Peyser Employment Service, and other workforce programs, to support
reemployment of UI claimants as quickly as possible. Doing so helps the
claimant quickly reestablish earning power and also saves state UI
trust funds from paying more benefits than necessary. The relatively
recent enactments of both the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act
of 2014 (Pub. L. 113-128) and the Bi-Partisan Budget Act of 2018 (Pub.
L. 115-123), which permanently authorized the RESEA program, reinforce
this goal. In addition, WIOA provides for the common performance
outcomes for public workforce programs broadly.
The proposed performance measures for the overall UI program and
for the RESEA program provide standardized metrics that align with the
WIOA common performance measures and enable state workforce agencies to
assess their efforts to secure positive employment outcomes for UI
claimants.
I. WIOA and Reemployment of UI Claimants
WIOA was signed into law on July 22, 2014, and is designed to help
job seekers access employment, education, training, and support
services to succeed in the labor market and match employers with the
skilled workers they need to compete in the global economy. Section 116
of WIOA requires states that operate core programs of the publicly-
funded workforce system to comply with common performance
accountability requirements. The vision of WIOA is that all workforce
programs will adopt these measures as appropriate. The UI program is a
mandatory partner in the publicly-funded workforce system and, as such,
it is logical and appropriate for both the regular UI program and the
RESEA program to adopt and align performance measures related to
reemployment of UI claimants with the WIOA measures.
Under WIOA, states are required to submit common performance data
to demonstrate that specified performance levels are achieved. States
currently collect and report the data needed for calculating these
proposed measures through the Workforce Integrated Performance System
(WIPS). WIPS is an electronic performance reporting system for the
Department's employment and training grants. Since September 30, 2016,
states have been submitting individual record data through WIPS as part
of the state quarterly and annual performance reporting process using
the Participant Individual Record Layout (PIRL) (ETA 9172). The PIRL
provides a standardized set of data elements, definitions, and
reporting instructions used to describe the characteristics,
activities, and outcomes of WIOA participants.
The WIOA performance indicators (performance measures) incorporate
a statistical adjustment model, developed by the Department to
establish performance year targets. The model is based on the actual
economic conditions and characteristics of WIOA participants and is
updated and refined with ongoing use and application as WIOA outcome
data become available. ETA intends to use this previously established
statistical adjustment model to establish performance year targets for
the proposed Core Measure.
II. Reemployment Service and Eligibility Assessment Program (RESEA)
The RESEA program was permanently authorized by the Bipartisan
Budget Act of 2018, adding a new Section 306 to the Social Security
Act. One of the key goals of the RESEA program is to improve employment
outcomes of individuals that receive unemployment compensation and to
reduce average duration of receipt of such compensation through
reemployment. A second key goal is to promote alignment with the WIOA
vision of increased program integration and service delivery. Using the
WIOA common measures to evaluate the states' RESEA program will
effectively promote both of these goals.
To promote greater integration of the RESEA program into the
workforce system through the alignment with the WIOA common measures
and to support calculation of the measures, ETA requires that RESEA
participants be co-enrolled in Wagner-Peyser-funded Employment Services
as part of the initial RESEA session. This co-enrollment requirement
was implemented in Fiscal Year 2017. As part of this enrollment, RESEA
participants must be appropriately documented in Wagner-Peyser case
management and performance reporting systems. The co-enrollment
requirement enables implementation of the proposed Program Performance
Measures to be done without any new reporting burden for states.
III. Discontinuance of the UI Facilitate Reemployment Measure for All
UI Claimants
Effective October 1, 2019, ETA is discontinuing the UI Facilitate
Reemployment Core Measure and the requirement that states quarterly
submit to ETA the ETA 9047 (Reemployment of UI Benefits Recipients)
report. The ETA 9047 report collects data based on the prior Workforce
Innovation Act (WIA) requirement that reemployment be measured in the
quarter after a claimant began receiving UI benefits. The sole
explanatory variable used in the statistical adjustment model for this
measure was the Total Unemployment Rate and, during a declining
economy,
[[Page 24821]]
it was an effective indicator for reemployment. However, as the economy
improved, this indicator became less effective leading to the measure
failing to adequately capture state performance. Additionally, based on
its WIA format, this measure was not aligned with WIOA standards. The
proposed Reemployment Rate Core Measure for all UI eligible individuals
and the proposed Reemployment Rate Program Performance Measure for
RESEA program participants align with WIOA standards, and are more
effective measures of UI claimants' reemployment. Implementation of
these proposed measures will streamline state reporting since both the
Workforce and UI programs will use the same data source and method of
assessment.
IV. Proposed Core Measure and Program Performance Measures
To support reemployment goals for UI claimants and the vision of
WIOA for common performance measurement across workforce programs, ETA
proposes the following measures to assess UI program performance in the
reemployment of claimants:
A. Reemployment Rate for All UI Eligible Individuals After the 2nd
Quarter of Program Exit
This proposed Core Measure captures the percentage of UI eligible
individuals who are in unsubsidized employment during the second
quarter after this same group exits from the WIOA program.
Methodology: This proposed Core Measure calculates the number of UI
eligible individuals who exited during the reporting quarter who are
found to be employed, either through direct UI wage record match,
Federal or military employment records, or supplemental wage
information, in the second quarter after the exit quarter DIVIDED by
the total number of UI eligible participants who exited during the
reporting period, and expressed as a percentage. This is reflected in
the following equation:
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN29MY19.005
B. Reemployment Rate After the 2nd Quarter of Program Exit for RESEA
Program Participants
This proposed Program Performance Measure captures the percentage
of RESEA participants (a sub-set of UI participants) who are in
unsubsidized employment during the second quarter after this same group
exits from the WIOA program.
Methodology: This proposed measure calculates the number of RESEA
participants who exited during the reporting quarter who are found to
be employed, either through direct UI wage record match, Federal or
military employment records, or supplemental wage information, in the
second quarter after the exit quarter DIVIDED by the total number of
RESEA participants who exited during the reporting period, and
expressed as a percentage. This is reflected in the following equation:
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN29MY19.006
C. Median Earnings in 2nd Quarter After Exit Quarter for RESEA
Participants
This proposed Program Performance Measure captures the wage amount
that is at the midpoint of all the wages (PIRL element 1704) between
the highest and lowest wage earned in the second quarter after exit for
all RESEA participants who exited a core program. Wages are currently
reported as a data element in the PIRL.
Methodology: To determine the midpoint, the 2nd quarter after exit
wages recorded in PIRL element 1704 are sorted from lowest to highest.
If an odd number of unique records have been reported, the mid-point
value is defined as the value of the (n+1)/2 record where n is the
total unique records with 2nd quarter after exit wages. Thus if 99 wage
records are reported in the 2nd quarter after exit, the midpoint is the
50th record in the array [(99 + 1) / 2 = 50]. If an even number of
unique records has been reported, then the mid-point is the arithmetic
mean of the two midmost wage values. Therefore, if 100 wage records are
in the 2nd quarter after exit, the mid-point is (100 + 1)/2 = 50.5 and
the median is the mean of the two midmost values is defined as the
value of the sum of the 50th and 51st record divided by 2.
These proposed measures support the role of the UI program,
including RESEA, as a one-stop partner in American Job Centers by
recognizing and measuring the UI programs' effectiveness in
contributing to the reemployment of UI claimants;
[[Page 24822]]
promoting greater program integration through common metrics across
programs; and increasing alignment with the broader vision of WIOA.
V. Application of the WIOA Statistical Adjustment Model To Establish
Targets
Targets for the proposed Reemployment Rate for All Eligible
Individuals after the 2nd Quarter of Program Exit Core Measure will be
based on the performance targets established for Wagner-Peyser program
participants in the WIOA Performance Negotiation Tool. This tool is
intended to facilitate the process for setting performance targets,
which are based on the Statistical Adjustment Model. The Statistical
Adjustment Model is required by Sec. 116(b)(3)(viii), of WIOA, and
established by the Department as an objective statistical regression
model to be used to make adjustments to the state negotiated levels of
performance for actual economic conditions and the characteristics of
participants served at the end of the program year. It also is a key
factor to be used in arriving at mutual agreement on state negotiated
levels of performance. State-level actual performance outcomes are a
function of (a) the characteristics of the participants being served,
and (b) the labor market conditions in which those participants are
being served. WIOA specifically requires that both of these factors be
accounted for, and the use of a statistical model enables accounting
for variations as a result of both factors when negotiating performance
targets.
More detailed information is available for both the WIOA
Performance Negotiation Tool and the Statistical Adjustment Model at
the Department website: https://www.doleta.gov/performance/guidance/negotiating.cfm.
Note: No performance targets will be set for the first
performance period following implementation of the proposed
Reemployment Rate for all UI eligible individuals after the 2nd
Quarter of Program Exit Core Measure. State baseline data collected
in the first performance period will inform performance targets in
subsequent performance periods based on the Wagner-Peyser targets as
established in the WIOA Performance Negotiation Tool. The
Statistical Adjustment Model does not apply to the Reemployment Rate
after the 2nd Quarter of Program Exit for RESEA Program Participants
and Median Wage in the 2nd Quarter after Program Exit for RESEA
Program Participants Program Performance Measures, and no
performance targets will be established for these two measures.
VI. Data Source
As noted above, the data to support the proposed performance
measures will come from the PIRL (ETA 9172). The PIRL framework allows
states to organize data in a standardized format within WIPS using the
various elements or data points. The following PIRL elements are used
in the calculation of the measures described in Section IV above:
[ssquf] Date of Program Exit--The quarter in which 90 days has
passed and a WIOA participant has not received staff assisted services
and is exited from the program (Data Element 901).
[ssquf] UI Eligible Status--A WIOA participant who meets
Unemployment Compensation (UC) Eligible Status Criteria by receiving or
exhausting UI benefits (also called a UI Eligible Participant) (Data
Element 401).
[ssquf] RESEA Participants--Meets UC Eligible Status Criteria (Data
Element 401=1, RESEA).
[ssquf] Employed In 2nd Quarter after Exit Quarter (Data Element
1602).
[ssquf] Other Reasons for Exit Criteria (Data Element 923).
[ssquf] Wages in 2nd Quarter After the WIOA program Exit Quarter
(Data Element 1704).
Additional information on the above PIRL elements can be found at
the link below: https://www.doleta.gov/performance/pfdocs/ETA_9172_DOL_PIRL_062816.pdf.
There is no additional reporting burden to states as a result of
implementing these measures since ETA will use data that is currently
collected and reported via the PIRL (ETA 9172).
VII. Performance Period
The performance period for these measures is the one-year period
ending March 31 of the performance year.
VIII. Data Collection Costs
Because these proposed measures use data currently collected
through the ETA 9172 report (OMB Control #1205-0521--Workforce
Innovation and Opportunity Act Performance Accountability, Information,
and Reporting System), there will be no data collection start-up costs
or any costs in addition to the current reporting requirements
associated with the ETA 9172 report.
Signed in Washington, DC.
Molly Conway,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Employment and Training.
[FR Doc. 2019-11104 Filed 5-28-19; 8:45 am]
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