[Federal Register: June 25, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 122)]
[Notices]
[Page 35679-35685]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr25jn04-124]
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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 lower living standard income level. This issuance
provides the Secretary's annual LLSIL for 2004 and references the
current 2004 Health and Human Services (HHS) ``Poverty Guidelines.''
EFFECTIVE DATE: This notice is effective on June 25, 2004.
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, Sections 101(24) defines the term LLSIL,
127(b)(2)(C) and 132(b)(1)(IV) define the terms ``disadvantaged
adult,'' and ``disadvantaged youth'' ``'' 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). We
encourage the Governors and State/local Workforce Investment Boards to
consult WIA and its regulations and preamble at 29 CFR part 652, 660-
671 (published at 65 FR 49294 (Aug. 11, 2000)) et al., for more
specific guidance in applying the LLSIL to program requirements. The
Department of Health and Human Services published the annual 2004
update of the poverty-level guidelines in the Federal Register at 69 FR
7335, (Feb. 13, 2004). The HHS 2004 Poverty guidelines may also be
found on the Internet at: [http://www.aspe.hhs.gov/poverty/04fedreg.htm
].
The Employment and Training Administration (ETA) plans to have the
2004 LLSIL available on its Web site at: [http://www.doleta.gov/llsil/]
.
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 the data
from which ETA develops the LLSIL tables.
ETA published the 2003 updates to the LLSIL in the Federal Register
of May 30, 2003, at 68 FR 32549. This notice again updates the LLSIL to
reflect cost of living increases for 2003, by applying the percentage
change in the December 2003 Consumer Price Index for All Urban
Consumers (CPI-U), compared with the December 2002, CPI-U to each of
the May 30, 2003 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), 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 2004 figures were updated
from the May 30, 2003, ``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 2003. 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 2004 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 as noted at 20 CFR 663.230 of WIA
Regulations and WIA section 134(d)(3)(A)(ii).
[[Page 35680]]
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 Metropolitan Statistical Areas (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 661.220, a State's policies and measures for the
workforce investment system shall be accepted by the Secretary to the
extent that they are consistent with the WIA and the WIA regulations.
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 WIA as defined in the law and
regulations.
Signed at Washington, DC, this 17th day of June 2004.
Grace Kilbane,
Administrator, Office of Workforce Investment.
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[FR Doc. 04-14430 Filed 6-24-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-30-C