[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 85 (Tuesday, May 3, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 26228-26229]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-09415]


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LEGAL SERVICES CORPORATION


Notice of Updated Population Estimates for Basic Field-
Agricultural Worker Grants

AGENCY: Legal Services Corporation.

ACTION: Notice of updated population estimates on which LSC will 
distribute Basic Field-Agricultural Worker Grants and availability of 
documentation supporting the estimates.

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SUMMARY: The Legal Services Corporation (LSC) announces revised, 
updated population estimates of agricultural workers that LSC uses to 
distribute funds among grants for providing civil legal services to 
those workers and their dependents. LSC provided a detailed background 
and discussion of why it needed to update these estimates; provided 
links to the preliminary updated estimates, estimation methodology and 
additional materials; and invited comments about the updated estimates 
in a notice for public comment published in the Federal Register. 86 FR 
70539 (Dec. 10, 2021).
    LSC contracted with the United States Department of Labor, 
Employment and Training Administration (ETA) to secure updated data 
regarding the agricultural worker population. LSC used the preliminary 
estimates that ETA provided for grant allocations starting January 1, 
2022. Information LSC

[[Page 26229]]

received indicated that the preliminary data ETA initially provided 
needed to be revised. This notice summarizes the revisions that LSC 
made in response to public comment.

DATES: Applicable May 3, 2022.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Stefanie K. Davis, Senior Associate 
General Counsel for Regulations and Ethics Officer, Legal Services 
Corporation, 3333 K St. NW, Washington, DC 20007; 202-295-1563 (phone); 
[email protected].

Summary of Comments and Revisions to the Preliminary Estimates and 
LSC's Response

    LSC received one comment during the comment period. The National 
Legal Aid and Defender Association (NLADA) and the NLADA Agricultural 
Worker Program Section (the Section) jointly submitted the comment. 
NLADA and the Section expressed no opposition to the preliminary 
estimates so that LSC's implementation of funding allocations based on 
updated population estimates would not be delayed past January 2022. 
They further indicated that NLADA had not fully analyzed the 
preliminary estimates and that it might request adjustments to the 2021 
estimates once its analysis was complete.
    After the comment period, the Section submitted questions about the 
data sets and methods used to estimate the population of H-2A 
Agricultural Workers and H-2B Forestry Workers. After reviewing the 
Section's comments, ETA determined that a revision of the estimation 
methodology could provide a more accurate estimate of the number of 
these H-2 workers. ETA proceeded to revise the methodology and provided 
a more accurate estimates of the H-2 worker population and the total 
agricultural worker population. The Section also requested additional 
information to enable its members to better understand the estimation 
methodology. ETA provided additional supplemental materials in response 
to this request. LSC is using ETA's revised estimates for 2022 grant 
allocations.
    LSC has updated the population estimates of agricultural workers 
based on the revised methods that ETA has used to estimate the 
population of H-2 workers and is using the revised estimates for its 
2022 grant allocations. The revised estimate of the number of H-2 
workers increased the estimate of the national agricultural worker 
population by .16% and resulted in small increases or decreases in 
state estimates. This revision will result in corresponding changes in 
2022 grant allocations for Agricultural Worker service areas. Because 
the initial grant allocations for 2022 were based on the preliminary 
estimates published in December 2021, LSC will adjust the grant 
allocations for the remainder of 2022 to ensure that total grant 
allocations for 2022 are based on the final estimates.
    LSC is publishing on its website the following documents regarding 
the final 2021 estimates. See https://www.lsc.gov/grants/basic-field-grant/lsc-service-areas/agricultural-worker-population-estimate-2021-update.
    Table: Final Estimates of the 2021 LSC Agricultural Worker Poverty 
Population, Summary Table. Provides ETA's final 2021 estimates 
nationally and by state of the LSC Agricultural Worker Poverty 
Population.
    Table: ``Final Estimates of the Number of H-2 Workers by State.'' 
Provides the updated estimates of the number of H-2 Workers by state 
and compares the updated estimates with the initial estimates.
    Memorandum: JBS International, ``Using Fiscal Year 2016, 2017 and 
2018 Data to Estimate the Number of 2017 H-2 Workers.'' Explains the 
methods used to develop revised estimates of H-2 workers with the data 
available from the Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC).
    Table: ``Top-Down State-Level Estimates of Active Farmworkers-
2021.'' Shows the data and calculations from which the figures in the 
November 5th memo, Appendix B, Table 1, Column B ``Total Number of 
Active Farmworkers in the State'' are derived.
    Memorandum: JBS International, ``Assessment of the Major Changes 
Between the 2021 and 2016 LSC Agricultural Poverty Population 
Estimates.'' Provides a high-level overview of farm labor market 
changes over the last decade that likely account for the changes in 
five components/factors in the 2021 and 2016 population estimates.
    Table: Data Sources and Calculations--Final Estimates of the 
Numbers of H-2A Agricultural Workers and H-2B Forestry Workers. This 
replaces Table III published in December 2021.
    Table: ``Comparison of the Preliminary and Final 2021 Estimates of 
the LSC Agricultural Worker Poverty Population.'' Shows the differences 
between the preliminary and final estimates of LSC Agricultural Worker 
Population by state.
    Table: ``Major Differences between 2021 and 2016 LSC Agricultural 
Worker Poverty Population Estimates.'' This replaces the table with the 
same name published in December 2021.
    Authority: 42 U.S.C. 2996g(e).

    Dated: April 27, 2022.
Jessica L. Wechter,
Special Assistant to the President, Legal Services Corporation.
[FR Doc. 2022-09415 Filed 5-2-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7050-01-P