[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 86 (Thursday, May 4, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28614-28616]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-09491]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for OMB 
Review; Comment Request; Enhancing Registered Apprenticeship 
Initiatives, 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 
Enhancing Registered Apprenticeship Initiatives. 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 July 3, 2023.

[[Page 28615]]


ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by either one of the following 
methods:
    Email: [email protected]; Mail or Courier: Monica Mean, 
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: Monica Mean by email at 
[email protected] or by phone at (202) 693-6034.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: I. Background: The Chief Evaluation Office 
(CEO) of the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) intends to design and 
conduct evaluations of DOL-funded apprenticeship initiatives through 
the Enhancing Registered Apprenticeship Initiatives (ERAI) project. The 
purpose of the project is three-fold:
    (1) Design and conduct analyses that add to the evidence base on 
apprenticeship strategies and models through an evaluation of the 
Apprenticeship Building American (ABA) grants.
    (2) Conduct an impact and cost-benefit evaluability assessment of 
pre-registered apprenticeship programs that lead to registered 
apprenticeship programs (RAPs).
    (3) Coordinate across the portfolio of apprenticeship projects at 
CEO and beyond to facilitate sharing of findings, methods, and learning 
about apprenticeship broadly across research teams.
    DOL's CEO contracted with Urban Institute and its partners, 
Mathematica, and Social Policy Research Associates to conduct the study 
of these efforts. The ERAI will address the first purpose above by 
conducting three implementation studies based on the four categories of 
the ABA grants:

(1) Implementation study of the ABA State Apprenticeship System 
Building and Modernization grants (Category 1)
(2) Implementation study of the ABA Expansion of RAP Opportunities for 
Youth grants (Category 2) and ABA Ensuring Equitable RAP Pathways 
through Pre-Apprenticeship Leading to RAP enrollment and Equity 
Partnerships grants (Category 3)
(3) Implementation study of ABA registered apprenticeship Hubs grants 
(Category 4)

    This Federal Register Notice provides the opportunity to comment on 
proposed data collection instruments that will be used in the 
evaluations: grantee surveys for the three ABA implementation studies; 
surveys of pre-apprentice and apprentice participants; a focus group 
guide for apprentices and pre-apprentices; interview guides for ABA 
grantee program staff; interview guides for ABA grantee program 
partners, employers, and Hub customers; focus group guide for ABA 
apprentice and pre-apprentice participants; baseline survey and 
informed consent of ABA pre-apprenticeship participants; and related 
baseline survey and informed consent of ABA program staff.
    1-3. Surveys for ABA grantees. Three surveys to all ABA grantees 
for each of the three implementation studies listed above. There are 5 
grantees in the Study 1 survey, 19 grantees in the Study 2 survey, and 
15 grantees in the Study 3 survey. These will be fielded in spring 
2024.
    4-5. Surveys of ABA participants. A survey of Study 2 ABA 
apprentices and a survey of Study 2 ABA pre-apprentices.
    6. Focus group guide for ABA participants. A guide for focus groups 
conducted in Study 1 (5 total) and Study 2 (4 total) assuming 10 
participants per group.
    7-9. Interview guides for ABA program staff. During site visits, 
interviews with 5 program staff from ABA State grantees (study 1), 6 
ABA Youth or Pre-Apprenticeship grantees (study 2), and 5 ABA Hub 
grantees (study 3) will occur in the fall of 2024. During these site 
visits, we will conduct one-on-one or small-group semi-structured 
interviews with program staff.
    10-12. Interview guides for ABA program partners/employers. Also, 
as part of each of these site visits, we will conduct one-on-one or 
small-group semi-structured interviews with staff from program 
partners, including employers, training and education providers, and 
community stakeholders.
    13. Interview guide for ABA Hub grantee customers. In addition, 
during site visits for the Hub grantees (Category 4) we will interview 
customers for which that Hub has provided technical assistance.
    14. Baseline survey and informed consent of pre-apprenticeship 
participants. Survey of ABA pre-apprenticeship program participants to 
collect baseline information for potential future impact study.
    15. Baseline survey and informed consent of program staff. Survey 
of ABA pre-apprenticeship (grant categories 1 and 2) program staff, 
including supervisors, instructors, and counselors, to collect baseline 
information and informed consent.
    DOL will submit additional requests for future data collection for 
the overall study.
    II. Desired Focus of Comments: Currently, DOL is soliciting 
comments concerning the above data collection for Enhancing Registered 
Apprenticeship Initiatives. DOL is particularly interested in comments 
that do the following:
     Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is 
necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, 
including whether the information will have practical utility.
     Evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the 
burden of the proposed collection of information, including the 
validity of the methodology and assumptions used.
     Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected.
     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 submission of responses.
    III. Current Actions: At this time, DOL is requesting clearance for 
grantee surveys for the three ABA implementation studies; surveys of 
pre-apprentice and apprentice participants; a focus group guide for 
apprentices and pre-apprentices; interview guides for ABA grantee 
program staff; interview guides for ABA grantee program partners, 
employers, and Hub customers; focus group guide for ABA apprentice and 
pre-apprentice participants; baseline survey and informed consent of 
ABA pre-apprenticeship participants; and related baseline survey and 
informed consent of ABA program staff.
    Type of Review: New information collection request.
    OMB Control Number: 1290-0NEW.
    Affected Public: Program staff, program partners, and participants 
of the Apprenticeship Building America grants.
    Comments submitted in response to this request will be summarized 
and/or included in the request for Office of

[[Page 28616]]

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
                                                                Number of    responses      Total      burden per   Estimated     Average       Annual
                      Type of instrument                       respondents      per       number of     response      burden    hourly wage     burden
                                                                             respondent   responses    (in hours)     hours       ($) \1\       costs
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ABA Youth and Pre-Apprenticeship grantee survey..............       \2\ 19            1           19            3           57        36.92     2,104.44
ABA State grantee survey.....................................        \2\ 5            1            5          1.5          7.5        36.92       276.90
ABA Hub grantee survey.......................................       \2\ 15            1           15          1.5         22.5        36.92       830.70
ABA Pre-apprenticeship participant survey....................    \3\ 1,000            1        1,000            1        1,000         7.25        7,250
ABA Apprenticeship participant survey........................    \3\ 1,000            1        1,000            1        1,000         7.25        7,250
ABA participant focus group protocol.........................       \4\ 90            1           90          1.5          135         7.25       978.75
ABA Youth and Pre-Apprenticeship grantee staff interview            \5\ 24            1           24            1           24        36.92       886.08
 protocol....................................................
ABA Youth and Pre-Apprenticeship partner/employer interview         \5\ 18            1           18            1           18        36.92       664.65
 protocol....................................................
ABA State grantee staff/partner interview protocol...........       \6\ 30            1           30            1           30        36.92     1,107.60
ABA State employer interview protocol........................       \6\ 10            1           10            1           10        36.92       369.20
ABA Hub grantee staff interview protocol.....................       \7\ 20            1           20            1           20        36.92       738.40
ABA Hub partner interview protocol...........................       \7\ 20            1           20            1           20        36.92       738.40
ABA Hub customer interview protocol..........................       \7\ 15            1           15           .5          7.5        36.92       276.90
ABA Impact Baseline survey--pre-apprentices..................     \8\ 1000            1        1,000         0.33          330         7.25     2,392.50
ABA Impact Baseline survey and consent-program staff \3\.....       \9\ 40           25        1,000         0.33          330        36.92    12,183.60
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    Total....................................................        3,306           39        4,266        16.66      3,011.5       435.12    38,048.03
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Note: Each of the activities described in the table below, with the exception of the ABA Impact Baseline survey and consent appearing in last two rows,
  will take place within one calendar year so the annualized burden represents the total burden for the study. The ABA Impact Baseline survey for pre-
  apprentices and consent from administered by program staff represent annualized estimates for random assignment. We estimate these activities could
  cover up to three years.
\1\ Hourly wage for program staff and partners reflects the May 2021 mean hourly wage estimate for ``social and community service managers'' as reported
  by the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates, 2022, ``May 2021 National Occupational
  Employment and Wage Estimates United States,'' (accessed from the following website as of March 29, 2022: https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_nat.htm.
  For apprentices and pre-apprentices the hourly wage listed is the minimum wage.
\2\ Assumes each of the ABA grantees is surveyed.
\3\ This assumes that we survey roughly 3,000 apprentices and 3,000 pre-apprentices with a 33 percent response rate.
\4\ Assumes 5 focus groups (one per state) in study 1 and 4 focus groups in study 2. Assumes 10 participants per group.
\5\ Assumes 6 sites visited for study 2 and interview 4 program staff and 3 partners (including employers) per site.
\6\ Assumes 5 sites visited for study 1 and interview 4 grantee staff and 3 partners (other than employers) and 2 employers.
\7\ Assumes 5 sites visited for study 3 interviews with 4 grantee staff, 4 partners (including employers) and 3 customers.
\8\ Assumes 1,000 participants randomized every year.
\9\ The burden estimate for the program staff assumes they will help with collecting the baseline survey and consent form information from program
  participants. Assumes 40 staff assist in participant randomization every year, each serving 25 participants.


Karen Livingston,
Acting Chief Evaluation Officer, U.S. Department of Labor.
[FR Doc. 2023-09491 Filed 5-3-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-HX-P