[Federal Register: May 12, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 92)]
[Notices]
[Page 26409-26410]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr12my04-74]
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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Employment and Training Administration
Proposed Information Collection Request; Submitted for Public
Comment and Recommendations; Program Year (PY) 2002 and PY 2003
Workforce Information Core Products and Services Grants
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The Department of Labor (DOL), 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)]. PRA95 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.
DATES: Submit comments on or before July 12, 2004.
ADDRESSES: Send comments to Mr. Anthony Dais, Chief, Division of USES/
ALMIS, Office of Workforce Investment, Employment and Training
Administration, 200 Constitution Ave., NW., Rm. S-4231, Washington, DC
20210, 202-693-2784 (this is not a toll-free number) or
dais.anthony@dol.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Olaf Bjorklund, Division of USES/
ALMIS, Office of Workforce Investment, Employment and Training
Administration, 200 Constitution Ave., NW., Rm. S-4231, Washington, DC
20210, 202-693-2870 (this is not a toll-free number) or
bjorklund.olaf@dol.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
Section 15 of the Wagner-Peyser Act as amended by Section 309 of
the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (Public Law 105-220), requires
state agencies to consult with customers about the relevance of the
information disseminated through the statewide employment statistics
system, in order to continuously improve the system. To carry out this
requirement and to increase accountability for the expenditure of grant
funds for workforce information, the Employment and Training
Administration (ETA) submitted an Information Collection Request (ICR)
to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on August 15, 2002,
proposing that beginning in PY 2002, a condition for receiving grant
funds would be a requirement that states conduct an assessment of
customer satisfaction with state produced workforce information
products and services and include a summary of the results of the
assessment and a description of any actions to be taken to improve the
system in a required annual performance report.
States were also required to provide additional narrative in the
annual grant plan, describing the statewide employment statistics
system and how the system supports the State's WIA/Wagner-Peyser Five
Year Strategic Plan, and a description of the state's planned strategy
for assessing customer satisfaction with state produced workforce
information. The OMB approved the information collection for 390 days
on November 5, 2002, with an expiration date of December 31, 2003. OMB
has granted an extension of the expiration date to June 30, 2004.
II. Desired Focus of Comments
Currently, the ETA is soliciting comments concerning the proposed
continuation of the collection of information for the reporting
requirements specified in the PY 2002 Workforce Information Core
Products and Services Planning Guidance, issued on January 9, 2003. The
same PY 2002 information collection requirements are also required by
the PY 2003 Workforce Information Core Products and Services Planning
Guidance, issued on October 15, 2003. Comments should:
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 continuation of the ICR can be obtained by
contacting the office listed above in the addressee section of this
notice.
III. Current Actions
Type of Review: Extension.
Agency: Employment and Training Administration.
Title: PY 2002 and PY 2003 Workforce Information Core Products and
Services grants.
OMB Number: 1205-0417.
Affected Public: States.
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Proposed Approved
Activity Respondents Responses Total Hours burden burden Difference
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Annual Plan................................................. 54 1 54 42 2,268 3,510 (1,242)
Annual Report............................................... 54 1 54 39 2,106 3,078 (972)
[[Page 26410]]
Customer Satisfaction....................................... 54 1 54 292 15,768 34,668 (18,900)
Respondents Burden.......................................... 54 1 54 204 11,016 5,400 5,616
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Totals.................................................. 54 4 216 577 31,158 46,656 (15,498)
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Total Burden Cost (capital/startup): $0.
Total Burden Cost (operating/maintaining): $0.
Comments submitted in response to this comment request will be
summarized and/or included in the request for OMB approval of the
information collection request; they will also become a matter of
public record.
Dated: May 5, 2004.
Grace A. Kilbane,
Administrator, Office of Workforce Investment.
[FR Doc. 04-10756 Filed 5-11-04; 8:45 am]
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