[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 133 (Thursday, July 11, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 33087-33090]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-14731]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Employment and Training Administration


Program Year (PY) 2019 Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act 
(WIOA) Section 167, National Farmworker Jobs Program (NFJP) Grantee 
Allotments

AGENCY: Employment and Training Administration (ETA), Labor.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: This Notice announces allotments for Program Year (PY) 2019 
for the WIOA Title I Section 167 National Farmworker Jobs Program, as 
required under Section 182(d) of the Workforce Innovation and 
Opportunity Act of 2014. The Department of Defense and Labor, Health 
and Human Services, and Education Appropriations Act, 2019, and 
Continuing Appropriations Act, 2019, enacted September 28, 2018, 
provides $82,447,000 for formula grants and another $5,922,000 for 
migrant and seasonal farmworker housing (of which not less than 70 
percent shall be for permanent housing). Another $527,000 will be set 
aside for discretionary purposes.
    The formula was developed for the purpose of distributing funds 
geographically by State service area, on the basis of each State 
service area's relative share of persons eligible for the program. The 
formula's methodology was described in a notice published in the 
Federal Register on May 19, 1999 (64 FR 27390). That information is 
accessible at https://www.federalregister.gov/.
    Beginning with PY 2018, ETA incorporated two modifications to the 
allotment formula, with the goal of providing more accurate estimates 
of each State service area's relative share of persons eligible for the 
program. The formula also used updated data from each of the four data 
files serving as the basis of the formula since 1999. Based on the new 
estimates, the Department of Labor (DOL or Department) instituted a 
hold-harmless provision for PY 2018 and two following years. The hold-
harmless provision is designed to provide a staged transition from old 
to new funding levels for State service areas and minimize the impact 
on those states incurring significant change.

DATES: The PY 2019 NFJP allotments become effective July 1, 2019 
through June 30, 2020.

ADDRESSES: Questions on this notice can be submitted to the Employment 
and Training Administration, Office of Workforce Investment, 200 
Constitution Ave. NW, Room C4510, Washington, DC

[[Page 33088]]

20210, Attention: Laura Iba[ntilde]ez, Unit Chief, (202) 693-3645 or 
Steven Rietzke, Division Chief at (202) 693-3912, or at [email protected]. 
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: This notice is published pursuant to Section 
182(d) of the WIOA, Prompt Allotment of Funds.

I. Background

    The Department is announcing final PY 2019 allotments for the NFJP. 
This notice provides information on the amount of funds available 
during PY 2019 to State service areas awarded grants through the PY 
2016 Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) for the NFJP Career 
Services and Training and Housing Assistance Grants. The allotments are 
based on the funds appropriated in the Department of Defense and Labor, 
Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations Act, 2019, and 
Continuing Appropriations Act, 2019, Public Law 115-245, enacted 
September 28, 2018, (from this point forward, referred to as ``the 
Act''). In appropriating these funds, Congress provided $82,447,000 for 
Career Services and Training Grants; $5,922,000 for Housing Assistance 
Grants; and $527,000 for discretionary purposes. Included below is the 
table listing the PY 2019 allotments for the NFJP Career Services and 
Training Grants, as well as the sub-allocation table for the state of 
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.

II. Description of Updated Data Files and Proposed Modifications to the 
Allotment Formula

    As with all State planning estimates since 1999, the PY 2019 
estimates are based on four data sources: (1) State-level, 2012 hired 
farm labor expenditure data from the United States Department of 
Agriculture's (USDA) Census of Agriculture (COA); (2) regional-level, 
2012 average hourly earnings data from the USDA's Farm Labor Survey; 
(3) regional-level, 2006-2014 demographic data from the ETA's National 
Agricultural Workers Survey (NAWS); and, (4) 2010-2014 (5-year file) 
Lower Living Standard Income Level data from the United States Census 
Bureau's American Community Survey. A detailed description of how each 
data source is used within the formula is in the May 19, 1999 FRN 
(pages 27396 to 27399).
    Two modifications were incorporated into the formula in PY 2018, 
and the formula for PY 2019 retains those modifications. `Back-out' 
adjustments were made to the COA hired labor expenditures (Wage Bill) 
to account for: (1) Unemployment Insurance (UI) payroll tax payments 
made on behalf of farm workers; and (2) expenditures on H-2A workers. 
The modifications allowed DOL to more accurately estimate each State's 
share of the NFJP-eligible population. The first modification removed 
non-wages from COA farm labor expenditures. UI payroll tax payments, 
which vary by State, are not wages. The second modification removed 
labor expenditures on H-2A workers from COA farm labor expenditures to 
align the allotment formula with the NFJP-eligible population. H-2A 
workers may only be provided emergency services. Additional information 
regarding these modifications is located in the May 23, 2018 FRN 83 
(pages 23937 to 23940) and the July 11, 2018 FRN 83 (pages 32151 to 
32155).

III. Description of the Hold-Harmless Provision

    For PY 2019 and 2020, the Department will continue the hold-
harmless provision to the allotment formula in order to allow a staged 
transition from the application of the previous formula to the modified 
formula. The hold-harmless provision provides for a stop loss/stop gain 
limit to transition to the use of the updated data. Due to the length 
of time between updates, there were significant changes for a few 
states, necessitating the stop loss/stop gain approach. This approach 
is based on a State service area's previous year's allotment percentage 
share, which is its relative share of the total formula allotments. The 
staged transition of the hold-harmless provision is proposed 
specifically as follows:
    (1) In PY 2018, State service areas received an amount equal to 95 
percent of their PY 2017 allotment percentage share, as applied to the 
PY 2018 formula funds available;
    (2) In PY 2019, State service areas will receive an amount equal to 
90 percent of their PY 2018 allotment percentage share, as applied to 
the PY 2019 formula funds available;
    (3) In PY 2020, State service areas will receive an amount equal to 
at least 85 percent of their PY 2019 allotment percentage share, as 
applied to the PY 2020 formula funds available.
    In PY 2019 and 2020, the hold-harmless provision also provides that 
no State service area will receive an amount that is more than 150 
percent of their previous year's allotment percentage share.

IV. Minimum Funding Provisions

    A State area which would receive less than $60,000 by application 
of the formula will, at the option of the DOL, receive no allotment or, 
if practical, be combined with another adjacent State area. Funding 
below $60,000 is deemed insufficient for sustaining an independently 
administered program. However, if practical, a State jurisdiction which 
would receive less than $60,000 may be combined with another adjacent 
State area.

V. Program Year 2019 Preliminary Planning Estimates

    For PY 2019, ETA based estimated funding on the funding levels 
provided for in the Department of Defense and Labor, Health and Human 
Services, and Education Appropriations Act for the migrant and seasonal 
farmworker program, of which $82,447,000 was allotted to career 
services and training grants and $5,922,000 was allotted to housing 
grants on the basis of the formula. The State service area allotment 
table shows the application of the second-year (90 percent) hold-
harmless and minimum funding provisions versus what was allotted in PY 
2018, followed by the difference in dollar amounts from PY 2018, and 
the total percentage change (positive or negative).

    Signed at Washington, DC.
Molly E. Conway,
Assistant Secretary, Employment and Training Administration.

[[Page 33089]]



    U.S. Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration National Farmworker Jobs Program--Career
            Services and Training Grants PY 2019 Impact To Grant Allotments With Stop Loss/Stop Gain
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                                          PY 2018 95% stop  PY 2019 90% stop
                  State                    loss/ 150% stop   loss/ 150% stop   Difference ($)    Difference (%)
                                                gain              gain
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Total...................................       $81,203,000       $82,447,000        $1,244,000              1.53
Alabama.................................           780,688           751,290          (29,398)             -3.77
Alaska..................................  ................  ................  ................              0.00
Arizona.................................         2,208,505         2,378,836           170,331              7.71
Arkansas................................         1,128,611         1,072,255          (56,356)             -4.99
California..............................        20,302,807        21,868,660         1,565,853              7.71
Colorado................................         1,172,108         1,262,507            90,399              7.71
Connecticut.............................           350,127           377,130            27,003              7.71
Delaware................................           135,621           146,081            10,460              7.71
District of Columbia....................  ................  ................  ................              0.00
Florida.................................         4,087,192         3,734,826         (352,366)             -8.62
Georgia.................................         1,510,489         1,566,766            56,277              3.73
Hawaii..................................           325,797           301,846          (23,951)             -7.35
Idaho...................................         1,546,823         1,666,122           119,299              7.71
Illinois................................         1,520,015         1,637,247           117,232              7.71
Indiana.................................           996,927         1,073,815            76,888              7.71
Iowa....................................         1,381,814         1,488,387           106,573              7.71
Kansas..................................         1,061,734         1,143,620            81,886              7.71
Kentucky................................         1,193,671         1,090,762         (102,909)             -8.62
Louisiana...............................           897,859           820,452          (77,407)             -8.62
Maine...................................           288,925           308,242            19,317              6.69
Maryland................................           357,371           362,410             5,039              1.41
Massachusetts...........................           317,464           341,568            24,104              7.59
Michigan................................         1,852,921         1,995,828           142,907              7.71
Minnesota...............................         1,418,215         1,527,595           109,380              7.71
Mississippi.............................         1,278,771         1,168,525         (110,246)             -8.62
Missouri................................           971,866           923,513          (48,353)             -4.98
Montana.................................           588,789           589,076               287              0.05
Nebraska................................         1,127,274         1,214,215            86,941              7.71
Nevada..................................           177,200           178,911             1,711              0.97
New Hampshire...........................           100,577           108,334             7,757              7.71
New Jersey..............................           686,369           627,196          (59,173)             -8.62
New Mexico..............................           933,298           983,177            49,879              5.34
New York................................         1,633,201         1,492,399         (140,802)             -8.62
North Carolina..........................         2,652,776         2,472,721         (180,055)             -6.79
North Dakota............................           720,475           776,042            55,567              7.71
Ohio....................................         1,242,028         1,328,722            86,694              6.98
Oklahoma................................         1,254,634         1,146,469         (108,165)             -8.62
Oregon..................................         2,129,586         2,293,830           164,244              7.71
Pennsylvania............................         1,522,968         1,392,650         (130,318)             -8.56
Puerto Rico.............................         3,014,964         2,755,037         (259,927)             -8.62
Rhode Island............................            52,828            56,902             4,074              7.71
South Carolina..........................           953,186           871,010          (82,176)             -8.62
South Dakota............................           611,453           572,272          (39,181)             -6.41
Tennessee...............................           845,253           838,575           (6,678)             -0.79
Texas...................................         6,578,359         6,011,223         (567,136)             -8.62
Utah....................................           406,255           437,588            31,333              7.71
Vermont.................................           188,091           174,107          (13,984)             -7.43
Virginia................................           914,652           939,663            25,011              2.73
Washington..............................         3,931,488         4,234,704           303,216              7.71
West Virginia...........................           193,552           176,865          (16,687)             -8.62
Wisconsin...............................         1,426,806         1,536,848           110,042              7.71
Wyoming.................................           230,617           230,181             (436)             -0.19
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U.S. Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration National
   Farmworker Jobs Program PY 2019 Career Services and Training Grant
                               Allotments
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                         State                                Total
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Total.................................................       $82,447,000
Alabama...............................................           751,290
Alaska................................................
Arizona...............................................         2,378,836
Arkansas..............................................         1,072,255
California............................................        21,868,660
Colorado..............................................         1,262,507
Connecticut...........................................           377,130
Delaware..............................................           146,081

[[Page 33090]]

 
District of Columbia..................................  ................
Florida...............................................         3,734,826
Georgia...............................................         1,566,766
Hawaii................................................           301,846
Idaho.................................................         1,666,122
Illinois..............................................         1,637,247
Indiana...............................................         1,073,815
Iowa..................................................         1,488,387
Kansas................................................        1,143 ,620
Kentucky..............................................         1,090,762
Louisiana.............................................           820,452
Maine.................................................           308,242
Maryland..............................................           362,410
Massachusetts.........................................           341,568
Michigan..............................................         1,995,828
Minnesota.............................................         1,527,595
Mississippi...........................................         1,168,525
Missouri..............................................           923,513
Montana...............................................           589,076
Nebraska..............................................         1,214,215
Nevada................................................           178,911
New Hampshire.........................................           108,334
New Jersey............................................           627,196
New Mexico............................................           983,177
New York..............................................         1,492,399
North Carolina........................................         2,472,721
North Dakota..........................................           776,042
Ohio..................................................         1,328,722
Oklahoma..............................................         1,146,469
Oregon................................................         2,293,830
Pennsylvania..........................................         1,392,650
Puerto Rico...........................................         2,755,037
Rhode Island..........................................            56,902
South Carolina........................................           871,010
South Dakota..........................................           572,272
Tennessee.............................................           838,575
Texas.................................................         6,011,223
Utah..................................................           437,588
Vermont...............................................           174,107
Virginia..............................................           939,663
Washington............................................         4,234,704
West Virginia.........................................           176,865
Wisconsin.............................................         1,536,848
Wyoming...............................................           230,181
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             California Career Services and Training Grants
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                        Grantee                               Total
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California Human Development Corporation..............         4,067,571
Proteus, Inc..........................................         4,439,338
Center for Employment Training, Inc...................         8,791,201
County of Kern, Employers Training Resource...........         2,493,027
Central Valley Opportunities Centers, Inc.............         2,077,523
                                                       -----------------
    Total.............................................        21,868,660
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[FR Doc. 2019-14731 Filed 7-10-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4510-FN-P