[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 89 (Tuesday, May 7, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38112-38113]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-09903]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[Docket No.: ED-2024-SCC-0068]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request; 
Subminimum Wage to Competitive Integrated Employment (SWTCIE) Program 
Evaluation

AGENCY: Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services 
(OSERS), Department of Education (ED).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, 
the Department is proposing a new information collection request (ICR).

DATES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before 
July 8, 2024.

ADDRESSES: To access and review all the documents related to the 
information collection listed in this notice, please use http://www.regulations.gov by searching the Docket ID number ED-2024-SCC-0068. 
Comments submitted in response to this notice should be submitted 
electronically through the Federal eRulemaking Portal at http://www.regulations.gov by selecting the Docket ID number or via postal 
mail, commercial delivery, or hand delivery. If the regulations.gov 
site is not available to the public for any reason, the Department will 
temporarily accept comments at [email protected]. Please include the 
docket ID number and the title of the information collection request 
when requesting documents or submitting comments. Please note that 
comments submitted after the comment period will not be accepted. 
Written requests for information or comments submitted by postal mail 
or delivery should be addressed to the Manager of the Strategic 
Collections and Clearance Governance and Strategy Division, U.S. 
Department of Education, 400 Maryland Ave. SW, LBJ, Room 6W203, 
Washington, DC 20202-8240.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For specific questions related to 
collection activities, please contact Diandrea Bailey, 202-987-0126.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Department, in accordance with the 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)), 
provides the general public and Federal agencies with an opportunity to 
comment on proposed, revised, and continuing collections of 
information. This helps the Department assess the impact of its 
information collection requirements and minimize the public's reporting 
burden. It also helps the public understand the Department's 
information collection requirements and provide the requested data in 
the desired format. The Department is soliciting comments on the 
proposed information collection request (ICR) that is described below. 
The Department is especially interested in public comment addressing 
the following issues: (1) is this collection necessary to the proper 
functions of the Department; (2) will this information be processed and 
used in a timely manner; (3) is the estimate of burden accurate; (4) 
how might the Department enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of 
the information to be collected; and (5) how might the Department 
minimize the burden of this collection on the respondents, including 
through the use of information technology. Please note that written 
comments received in response to this notice will be considered public 
records.
    Title of Collection: Subminimum Wage to Competitive Integrated 
Employment (SWTCIE) Program Evaluation.
    OMB Control Number: 1820-NEW.
    Type of Review: A new ICR.
    Respondents/Affected Public: Individuals and households.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 4,866.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 2,005.
    Abstract: The U.S. Department of Education's Rehabilitation 
Services Administration (RSA) requests clearance for new data 
collection activities to support the evaluation of the Disability 
Innovation Fund (DIF) Subminimum Wage to Competitive Integrated 
Employment (SWTCIE) program. The aim of this project is to increase 
transitions to competitive integrated employment (CIE) among people 
working in subminimum wage employment (SWE)--or considering doing so--
through innovative activities to build systemwide alternatives to 
subminimum wage employment. Advocacy, policy, and practice have evolved 
in recent decades toward a shift to CIE, as reflected in the Workforce 
Innovation and Opportunity Act and in the Consolidated Appropriations 
Act of 2021, which provides funding for the DIF SWITCIE program awarded 
in fiscal year 2022. This request covers primary data collection 
activities, including survey data, administrative data, site visits, 
and focus groups.
    RSA's Training and Services Program Division (TSPD) contracted with 
Mathematica to assist RSA in evaluating the Federal fiscal year (FFY) 
2022 DIF program. In September 2022, the RSA

[[Page 38113]]

awarded five-year grants for the DIF (Assistance Listing Number 
84.421D). The grants provide 14 State vocational rehabilitation (VR) 
agencies with funding to implement SWTCIE Innovative Model 
Demonstration projects to decrease SWE and increase CIE among people 
with disabilities currently employed in or contemplating SWE. To 
achieve this purpose, the projects will create innovative models for 
dissemination and replication to (1) identify strategies for addressing 
barriers associated with accessing CIE, (2) provide integrated services 
that support CIE, (3) support integration into the community through 
CIE, (4) identify and coordinate wraparound services for project 
participants who obtain CIE, (5) develop and disseminate evidence-based 
practices, and (6) provide entities holding section 14(c) certificates 
(which allows them to pay below the minimum wage for workers with 
disabilities that impair their productivity) with readily accessible 
transformative business models for adoption.

    Dated: May 2, 2024.
Juliana Pearson,
PRA Coordinator, Strategic Collections and Clearance, Governance and 
Strategy Division, Office of Chief Data Officer, Office of Planning, 
Evaluation and Policy Development.
[FR Doc. 2024-09903 Filed 5-6-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P