[Federal Register: May 11, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 91)]
[Notices]
[Page 26182-26183]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr11my04-129]
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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Employment and Training Administration
Proposed Information Collection Request Submitted for Public
Comment and Recommendations: Quantum Opportunity Program Demonstration
Information Collection
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 pre-clearance
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) [44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)]. 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 can be properly assessed.
Currently, the Employment and Training Administration (ETA) of the U.S.
Department of Labor (DOL) is soliciting comments concerning the
proposed continuing collection of information for the Quantum
Opportunity Program (QOP) Demonstration Evaluation.
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: Submit comments on or before July 12, 2004.
ADDRESSES: Send comments to Eileen Pederson, U.S. Department of Labor,
ETA/OPDER, Room N-5637, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC
20210, (202) 693-3647 (this is not a toll-free number) or
Pederson.eileen@dol.gov, or to fax: (202) 693-2766 (this is not a toll-
free number).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Eileen Pederson, U.S. Department of
Labor, ETA/OPDER, Room N-5637, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW.,
Washington, DC 20210, (202) 693-3647 (this is not a toll-free number)
or Pederson.eileen@dol.gov, or to fax: (202) 693-2766 (this is not a
toll-free number).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
In July 1995, under authority of Title IV of the Job Training
Partnership Act (JTPA), ETA, in partnership with the Ford Foundation,
launched the QOP Demonstration (QOP) in seven sites: Cleveland, Ohio;
Fort Worth, Texas; Houston, Texas; Memphis, Tennessee; Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania; Washington, DC; and Yakima, Washington. The Office of
Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention of the U.S. Department of
Justice (DOJ) provided financial support for gang-prevention and
evaluation activities. The Planning and Evaluation Service of the
Department of Education's (DoE) Office of the Under Secretary has
provided information and guidance in support of the evaluation. This
data collection covers outcome variables of interest to DOL, DOJ and
DoE.
QOP provided mentoring, computer-assisted instruction, course-based
tutoring, life skills training, and community service activities for
high school students at risk of dropping out of school. A youth was
eligible to participate in QOP if he or she attended a high school with
a four-year dropout rate equal to or greater than 40 percent, was
entering the ninth grade for the first time during either the 1995-1996
or 1996-1997 (in Washington, DC) academic year, and was in the lower
two-thirds of the grade distribution for entering ninth graders,
according to the grade point averages from the eighth grade. The
demonstration is being evaluated based on its impacts on academic
achievement, high school completion, and engagement in postsecondary
education or training programs. The demonstration is also being
evaluated based on its impacts on behaviors that are associated with
barriers to achieving economic self-sufficiency and adults. Such
behaviors include substance abuse, teen parenting, and criminal
activity. Many components of the QOP model are elements promoted by the
Workforce Investment Act and evaluative evidence of their potential
effectiveness will support DOL efforts to develop policy guidance for
workforce investment agencies on strategies for serving at-risk youth.
II. Desired Focus of Comments
Currently, ETA is soliciting comments concerning the proposed
extension with revisions of the collection of information for the QOP
Demonstration. ETA is particularly interested in comments which:
* 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; and
* 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, e.g., permitting electronic
submissions of responses.
A copy of the proposed information collection request can be
obtained by contacting the office listed above in the addressee section
of this notice.
III. Current Actions
This notice concerns the collection of outcome data from each
member of the research sample, consisting of a treatment group and a
control group, by means of a telephone survey.
Type of Review: Extension with Revision.
Agency: Employment and Training Administration, U.S. Department of
Labor.
Title: Quantum Opportunity Program (QOP) Demonstration.
OMB Number: 1205-0397.
Affected Public: Individuals.
Cite/Reference/Form: A Quantum Opportunity Program telephone
questionnaire.
Total Respondents: 1,052.
Frequency: The questionnaire will be administered once, in the
fall/winter of 2004-2005.
Total Responses: 842.
Average Time per Response: The questionnaire is estimated to take
20 minutes to complete.
Estimated Total Burden Hours: 281 hours.
Total Burden Cost: The cost to participants to complete the
questionnaire by telephone, based on the minimum wage of $5.15, is
approximately $1,447.
Comments submitted in response to this Notice will be summarized
and/or included in the request for Office of Management and Budget
approval of the ICR; they will also become a matter of public record.
[[Page 26183]]
Dated: May 5, 2004.
Emily Stover DeRocco,
Assistant Secretary for Employment and Training.
[FR Doc. 04-10629 Filed 5-10-04; 8:45 am]
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