[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 5 (Friday, January 8, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 1528-1529]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-00078]



[[Page 1528]]

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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for OMB 
Review; Comment Request, Job Corps Evidence Building Portfolio, New 
Collection

AGENCY: Office of the Assistant Secretary for Policy, Chief Evaluation 
Office, Department of Labor.

ACTION: Notice of information collection; request for comment.

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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). 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 Job 
Corps Evidence Building Portfolio. 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 March 9, 2021.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by either one of the following 
methods:
    Email: [email protected]; Mail or Courier: Jessica 
Lohmann, 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. Comments, 
including any personal information 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: Jessica Lohmann by email at 
[email protected] or by phone at (202)693-5087.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    The Chief Evaluation Office (CEO) of the U.S. Department of Labor 
(DOL) intends to design and conduct an evaluation to assess the 
implementation and outcomes of three Job Corps demonstration pilots. 
The goals of the implementation and outcomes evaluation are to 
understand who the pilots enroll, what services they provide, how these 
services are implemented, and how the pilots compare with traditional 
Job Corps. The evaluation will also assess outcomes of participants in 
the demonstration pilots, as well as identify any best practices. The 
project also includes impact feasibility assessments of each of the 
demonstration pilots to assess the potential for conducting an impact 
evaluation of the pilot's effectiveness or similar future pilots. This 
Federal Register Notice provides the opportunity to comment on proposed 
data collection instruments that will be used in the implementation and 
impact feasibility evaluation: Semi-structured program staff and 
stakeholder interview topic guide, participant interview or focus group 
topic guide, program survey of Job Corps centers and demonstration 
pilot grantees, and impact feasibility topic guide.
    1. Semi-structured interviews with program staff and staff from 
selected community partner organizations topic guide. Interviews will 
be conducted over the phone or video or during in-person site visits in 
2022. Each of the pilot demonstration projects draw on a range of staff 
and partners that deliver services; thus, interviews may include pilot 
staff, partner staff, employers, and training and education providers. 
We estimate that approximately 175 interviews will be conducted across 
all pilots. We will also observe program activities, either in person 
or virtually via phone or video, to help us describe key program 
components and participant engagement. The observations will not 
involve additional burden.
    2. Participant interviews or focus group topic guide. We will also 
interview demonstration pilot participants through one-on-one 
interviews or focus groups. Focus groups or interviews will be 
conducted with approximately 25 interviewees to 175 interviewees across 
all pilots. These interviews or focus groups may be conducted in 
person, online, or over the phone.
    3. Program survey of Job Corps centers and demonstration pilot 
grantees. The project will field a program survey to each of the Job 
Corps centers and demonstration pilots to gather information about 
program implementation, service offerings, and staffing. The survey 
will be fielded to 131 Job Corps centers, and up to 30 pilot 
demonstration sites in spring 2022.
    4. Impact feasibility assessment interviews with demonstration 
pilot staff topic guide. In addition to the implementation and outcome 
study, the evaluation will gather information from select grantee staff 
about topics related to feasibility of conducting an impact study of 
the demonstration pilot. The team will conduct phone, video or in 
person interviews with grantee staff who are involved in management, 
enrollment, and program services in fall 2021/winter 2022. The project 
will conduct 25 interviews across the three pilots.

II. Desired Focus of Comments

    Currently, the Department of Labor is soliciting comments 
concerning the above data collection for the Job Corps Evidence 
Building Project. 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
     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 semi-structured program and partner staff topic guide, participant 
interview and focus group topic guide, grantee program survey, and 
impact feasibility study topic guide.
    Type of Review: New information collection request.
    OMB Control Number: 1290-0NEW.
    Affected Public: Job Corp centers and demonstration pilots, 
partners and participants.
    Comments submitted in response to this request will be summarized 
and-or included in the request for Office of

[[Page 1529]]

Management and Budget approval of the information collection request; 
they will also become a matter of public record.

                                                              Estimated Annual Burden Hours
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                                                                                  Number of                          Average  burden
           Type of Instrument  (form-activity)                 Number of        responses per     Total  number of      time  per      Estimated  burden
                                                              respondents         respondent         responses       response (hours)         hours
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Semi-structured interview with staff, partners, and                      175                  1                175                1.5              262.5
 stakeholders topic guide................................
Participant interview or focus group protocol............                175                  1                175                1.5              262.5
Program survey of JC Centers and pilots..................                161                  1                161                  2                322
Impact feasibility topic guide...........................                 30                  1                 30                1.5                 45
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    Total................................................                541  .................                541  .................                892
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Christina Yancey,
Chief Evaluation Officer, U.S. Department of Labor.
[FR Doc. 2021-00078 Filed 1-7-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-HX-P