[Federal Register: May 30, 2003 (Volume 68, Number 104)]
[Notices]
[Page 32549-32556]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr30my03-110]
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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Employment and Training Administration
Workforce Investment Act; Lower Living Standard Income Level
AGENCY: Employment and Training Administration, Labor.
ACTION: Notice of determination of lower living standard income level.
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SUMMARY: Under Title I of the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) of 1998
(Pub. L. 105-220), the Secretary of Labor annually determines the Lower
Living Standard Income Level (LLSIL) for uses described in the Law. WIA
defines the term ``Low Income Individual'' as one who qualifies under
various criteria, including an individual who received income for a
six-month period that does not exceed the higher of the poverty line or
70 percent of the LLSIL. This issuance provides the Secretary's annual
LLSIL for 2003 and references the current 2003 Health and Human
Services (HHS) ``Poverty Guidelines.''
EFFECTIVE DATE: This notice is effective on May 30, 2003.
ADDRESSES: Send written comments to: Mr. Haskel Lowery, Employment and
Training Administration, Department of Labor, Room N-4464, 200
Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20210.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Haskel Lowery, Telephone 202-693-
3608; Fax 202-693-3532 (these are not toll-free numbers).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: It is the purpose of the Workforce
Investment Act of 1998 ``to provide workforce investment activities,
through statewide and local workforce investment systems, that increase
the employment, retention, and earnings of participants, and increase
occupational skill attainment by participants, and, as a result,
improve the quality of the workforce, reduce welfare dependency, and
enhance the productivity and competitiveness of the Nation.''
The LLSIL is used for several purposes under WIA: Specifically, WIA
Section 101(25) defines the term ``low income individual'' for
eligibility purposes; and sections 127(b)(2)(C) and 132(b)(1)(IV)
define the terms ``disadvantaged adult'' and ``disadvantaged youth'' in
terms of the poverty line or LLSIL for purpose of State formula
allotments. The Governor and state/local Workforce Investment Boards
use the LLSIL for determining eligibility for youth, eligibility for
employed adult workers for certain services, and for the Work
Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC), reauthorized until 2004. We encourage
the Governors and state/local Workforce Investment Boards to consult
WIA and its Regulations and Preamble at 20 CFR parts 652, 660-671
(published at 65 FR 49294 (Aug. 11,
[[Page 32550]]
2000)) et al., for more specific guidance in applying the LLSIL to
program requirements. The HHS published the annual 2003 update of the
poverty-level guidelines in the Federal Register at 68 FR 6456 (Feb. 7,
2003). The HHS 2003 Poverty guidelines may also be found on the
Internet at: http://www.aoa.gov/network/2003/2003povguidetable.html.
The Employment and Training Administration (ETA) plans to have the
2003 LLSIL available on its Web site at: http://wdsc.doleta.gov/llsil/llsil2003.asp
.
WIA Section 101(24) defines the LLSIL as ``that income level
(adjusted for regional, metropolitan, urban, and rural differences and
family size) determined annually by the Secretary [of Labor] based on
the most recent lower living family budget issued by the Secretary.''
The most recent lower living family budget was issued by the Secretary
of Labor in the Fall of 1981.
The four-person urban family budget estimates, previously published
by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), provided the basis for the
Secretary to determine the LLSIL. BLS terminated the four-person family
budget series in 1982, after publication of the fall 1981 estimates.
Currently BLS provides data to ETA, from which it develops the LLSIL
tables.
The ETA published the 2002 updates to the LLSIL in the Federal
Register of April 8, 2002, at 67 FR 16961. This notice again updates
the LLSIL to reflect cost of living increases for 2002, by applying the
percentage change in the December 2002 Consumer Price Index for All
Urban Consumers (CPI-U), compared with the December 2001, CPI-U, to
each of the April 8, 2002 LLSIL figures. Those updated figures for a
family-of-four are listed in Table 1 below by region for both
metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas.
Figures in all of the accompanying tables are rounded up to the
nearest ten. Since ``low income individual, ``disadvantaged adult,
``and ``disadvantaged youth'' may be determined by family income at 70
percent of the LLSIL, pursuant to WIA Sections 101(25) (B),
127(b)(2)(C) and 132(b)(1)(B)(v)(IV), respectively, those figures are
listed below as well.
Jurisdictions included in the various regions, based generally on
Census Divisions of the U.S. Department of Commerce, are as follows:
Northeast
Connecticut
Maine
Massachusetts
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New York
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
Vermont
Virgin Islands
Midwest
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Michigan
Minnesota
Missouri
Nebraska
North Dakota
Ohio
South Dakota
Wisconsin
South
Alabama
American Samoa
Arkansas
Delaware
District of Columbia
Florida
Georgia
Northern Marianas
Oklahoma
Palau
Puerto Rico
South Carolina
Kentucky
Louisiana
Marshall Islands
Maryland
Micronesia
Mississippi
North Carolina
Tennessee
Texas
Virginia
West Virginia
West
Arizona
California
Colorado
Idaho
Montana
Nevada
New Mexico
Oregon
Utah
Washington
Wyoming
Additionally, separate figures have been provided for Alaska,
Hawaii, and Guam as indicated in Table 2 below.
For Alaska, Hawaii, and Guam, the year 2003 figures were updated
from the April 8, 2002, ``State Index'' based on the ratio of the urban
change in the State (using Anchorage for Alaska and Honolulu for Hawaii
and Guam) compared to the West regional metropolitan change, and then
applying that index to the West regional metropolitan change.
Data on 23 selected Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) are also
available. These are based on semiannual CPI-U changes for a 12-month
period ending in December 2002. The updated LLSIL figures for these
MSAs and 70 percent of the LLSIL are reported in Table 3 below.
Table 4 below lists each of the various figures at 70 percent of
the updated 2003 LLSIL for family sizes of one to six persons. For
families larger than six persons, an amount equal to the difference
between the six-person and the five-person family income levels should
be added to the six-person family income level for each additional
person in the family. Where the poverty level for a particular family
size is greater than the corresponding LLSIL figure, the figure is
indicated in parentheses. Table 5, 100 percent of LLSIL, is used to
determine self-sufficiency under WIA Section 134d(3)(A)(ii), as noted
at 20 CFR 663.230.
Use of These Data
Governors should designate the appropriate LLSILs for use within
the State from Tables 1 through 3. Tables 4 and 5 may be used with any
of the levels designated. The Governor's designation may be provided by
disseminating information on MSAs and metropolitan and nonmetropolitan
areas within the State, or it may involve further calculations. For
example, the State of New Jersey may have four or more LLSIL figures:
for Northeast metropolitan, for Northeast nonmetropolitan, for portions
of the State in the New York City MSA, and for those in the
Philadelphia MSA. If a workforce investment area includes areas that
would be covered by more than one figure, the Governor may determine
which is to be used.
Under 20 CFR 661.110 and 661.120, a State's policies and measures
for the workforce investment system will be accepted by DOL to the
extent that they are consistent with the WIA and the WIA regulations
and DOL guidance.
Disclaimer on Statistical Uses
It should be noted that the publication of these figures is only
for the purpose of meeting the requirements specified by WIA as defined
in the law and regulations. BLS has not revised the lower living family
budget since 1981, and has no plans to do so. The four-person urban
family budget estimates series has been terminated. The CPI-U
adjustments used to update the LLSIL for this publication are not
precisely comparable, most notably because certain tax items were
included in the 1981 LLSIL, but are not in the CPI-U. Thus, these
figures should not be used for any statistical purposes, and are valid
only for those purposes under the
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WIA as defined in the law and regulations.
Signed at Washington, DC, this 22nd day of May 2003.
Lorenzo D. Harrison,
Administrator, Office of Youth Services.
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[FR Doc. 03-13523 Filed 5-29-03; 8:45 am]
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