[Federal Register: February 19, 2003 (Volume 68, Number 33)]
[Notices]
[Page 8048-8050]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr19fe03-123]
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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Employment and Training Administration
Indian and Native American Welfare-to-Work Grant Program;
Proposed Collection; Comment Request
AGENCY: Employment and Training Administration, Labor.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The Department of Labor, as part of its continuing effort to
reduce paperwork and respondent burden, conducts a preclearance
consultation process 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) [44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)]. This process helps to
ensure that requested data can be provided in the desired format,
reporting burdens are minimized, collection instruments are clearly
understood, and the impact of collection requirements on respondents
can be properly assessed. Currently, the Employment and Training
Administration (ETA) is soliciting comments concerning the
reinstatement of the previously-approved reporting system for the
Indian and Native American Welfare-to-Work (INA WtW) Grant Program for
three more years (October 1, 2001 to September 30, 2004), or until the
expiration of the program if sooner. A copy of the previously-approved
information collection request (ICR), especially the reporting forms
and completion instructions, can be obtained by contacting the office
listed
[[Page 8049]]
below in the address section of this notice.
DATES: Written comments must be submitted to the office listed in the
addresses section below on or before April 21, 2003.
ADDRESSES: James C. DeLuca, Chief, Division of Indian and Native
American Programs, Employment and Training Administration, U.S.
Department of Labor, Room N-4641, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW.,
Washington, DC 20210. Telephone: (202) 693-3754 (VOICE) or (202) 693-
3818 (FAX) (these are not toll-free numbers) or Internet:
jdeluca@doleta.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background: The Employment and Training Administration of the
Department of Labor is requesting reinstatement of its previously-
approved reporting system for the Indian and Native American Welfare-
to-Work Grant Program for three more years (October 1, 2001 to
September 30, 2004), or until the program expires. Current statutory
authorization for the INA WtW program has technically expired, but
grantees can continue to expend funds for up to five years ``after the
date the funds are so provided.'' However, no current grantee may
expend FY 1999 INA WtW funds after September 30, 2004. As a result of
the statutory program amendments of 1999 and 2000, the Department has
decided that the reporting system requires only relatively minor
changes at this time.
II. Review Focus: The Department of Labor is particularly
interested in comments which:
[sbull] 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;
[sbull] Evaluate the accuracy of the agency's burden estimate for
the proposed collection of information, including the validity of the
methodology and assumptions used;
[sbull] Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the
information to be collected; and
[sbull] Minimize the burden of the collection of information on
those who are to respond, including the use of appropriate automated,
electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or
other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting electronic
submissions of responses.
III. Current Actions: The proposed renewal of this ICR will be a
continuation of the previously-approved system that will be used by the
approximately 34 different INA WtW grantees operating some forty (40)
grants that have FY 1998 or FY 1999 funds remaining. It will be the
primary reporting vehicle for enrolled individuals, their
characteristics, training and services provided, outcomes, including
job placement and wage data, as well as detailed financial data on
program expenditures. The previously-approved paperwork burdens are
covered under OMB Clearance No. 1205-0386 (expiration date 09/30/2001).
However, because of the significant reduction in the number of grantees
still operating INA WtW programs, those burden estimates have not been
included in the following burden estimates. For ease of analysis, the
following burden estimate is broken down into the two main components
of INA WtW program operation: (1) Recordkeeping; and (2) reporting.
Type of Review: Reinstatement.
Agency: Employment and Training Administration.
Title: Reporting system for Indian and Native American Welfare-to-
Work Grant Program.
OMB Number: 1205-0386.
Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number: 17.254.
Recordkeeping Requirements: Grantees shall retain supporting and
other documents necessary for the compilation and submission of the
subject reports for three years after submission of the final financial
report for the grant in question [29 CFR 97.42 and/or 29 CFR 95.53].
Affected Public: Federally-recognized tribes, Alaska Native
regional non-profit corporations, and/or consortia of any of the above.
Total Estimated Burden: 2,880 hours (reporting); 19,800 hours
(recordkeeping) Detailed breakdown of the above-estimated burden hour
requirements for the INA WtW program are as follows: (It should be
noted that the FY 1998 and FY 1999 INA WtW grants are funded
separately, by law. Therefore, even though some grantees are still
operating both programs, these burden estimates are done as if the
tribe were two separate entities, since the two grants must be reported
upon separately and separate records must be kept on expenditures and
participants.)
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of Responses Total Hours per Total
Required activity INA WtW form no. respondents per year responses response burden hrs.
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Participant Recordkeeping...................... .................................. 40 ........... 6,600 3.00 19,800
(Reporting) Financial Status Report............ ETA 9069-1........................ 40 4 160 9 1,440
Participation and Characteristics Rpt.......... ETA 9069.......................... 40 4 160 9 1,440
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Totals..................................... .................................. 40 8 6,920 21 22,680
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Note: Recordkeeping estimates are based on the estimated current
INA WtW caseload times an estimated average of 3.00 hours per
participant record. This is currently the approximate experience
with actual INA WtW performance. Also, this burden estimate does not
include those INA WtW grantees participating in the demonstration
under Public Law 102-477. Any INA WtW burden estimate(s) for ``477
grantees'' would be included under the Bureau of Indian Affairs' OMB
Clearance Number 1076-0135. The individual time per response
(whether plan, record, or report) varies widely depending on the
degree of automation attained by individual grantees. Grantees also
vary according to the numbers of individuals served in each fiscal
year. If the grantee has a fully-developed and automated MIS, the
response time is limited to one-time programming plus processing
time for each response. It is the Department's desire to see as many
INA WtW grantees as possible become computerized, so that response
time for planning and reporting will eventually sift down to an
irreducible minimum with an absolute minimum of human intervention.
Estimated Grantee Burden Costs
(There are no capital/start-up costs involved in any INA WtW
activities)
Recordkeeping: 19,800 hours times an estimated cost per grantee
hour of $20.00 (including fringes) = $396,000.
Reporting: 2,880 hours times $20.00 = $57,600 per year.
Total estimated burden costs: $401,760 (nationwide).
As noted, these costs will vary widely among grantees, from nearly
no additional cost to some higher figure, depending on the state of
automation attained by each grantee and the wages paid to the staff
actually completing the various forms. All costs associated with the
required submissions outlined
[[Page 8050]]
above, whether for recordkeeping or reporting purposes, are allowable
grant expenses. Comments submitted in response to this comment request
will be summarized and/or included in the request for Office of
Management and Budget continuation of the information collection
request; they will also become a matter of public record.
Signed at Washington, DC, this 11th day of February, 2003.
Emily Stover DeRocco,
Assistant Secretary for Employment and Training Administration.
[FR Doc. 03-3923 Filed 2-18-03; 8:45 am]
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