[Federal Register: July 13, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 133)]
[Notices]
[Page 40404-40405]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr13jy05-131]
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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Employment And Training Administration
Proposed Information Collection Request Submitted for Public
Comment and Recommendations; Trade Act Participant Report (TAPR)
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 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. The
Employment and Training Administration (ETA) is soliciting comments on
revised reporting requirements for the Trade Adjustment Assistance
(TAA) program. These changes are necessary to collect data to comply
with the Trade Reform Act of 2002 and to be able to calculate a set of
common performance measures of the outcomes achieved by the TAA
program.
DATES: Submit comments on or before September 12, 2005.
ADDRESSES: Send comments to: Dr. Esther R. Johnson, Administrator,
Performance and Technology Office, Employment and Training
Administration, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW.,
Room S-5206, Washington, DC 20210; telephone: (202) 693-3420 (this is
not a toll-free number); fax: (202) 693-3490; e-mail:
ETAperforms@dol.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Karen A. Staha, Performance and
Technology Office, Employment and Training Administration, U.S.
Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW., Room S-5206,
Washington, DC 20210; telephone: (202) 693-3420 (this is not a toll-
free number); fax: (202) 693-3490; e-mail: ETAperforms@dol.gov.
Copies of the Paperwork Reduction Act Submission Package may be
obtained directly at the Web site: http://www.doleta.gov/performance/guidance/ombcontrolnumber.cfm
.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
On June 16, 1998, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
approved a Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) compliant
performance and participant outcomes data system for the TAA Program;
this system was revised in 2000 and is known as the Trade Act
Participant Report (TAPR). States implemented use of the TAPR beginning
with the first quarter of the fiscal year 1999 (October through
December, 1998), and have continued to collect and report data every
quarter since then.
In 2001, under the President's Management Agenda, OMB and other
Federal agencies developed a set of common performance measures to be
applied to certain Federally-funded employment and training programs
with similar strategic goals. As part of this initiative, ETA initially
issued Training and Employment Guidance Letter (TEGL) 15-03 and has
more recently issued TEGL 28-04, Common Measures Policy, which
rescinded TEGL 15-03 and reflected updates to the policy. The value of
implementing common measures is the ability to describe in a similar
manner the core purposes of the workforce system--how many people found
jobs; did they keep their jobs; and what were their earnings. Multiple
sets of performance measures have burdened states and grantees as they
are required to report performance outcomes based on varying
definitions and methodologies. By minimizing the different reporting
and performance requirements, implementing a set of common performance
measures can facilitate the integration of service delivery, reduce
barriers to cooperation among programs, and enhance the ability to
assess the effectiveness and impact of the workforce investment system,
including the performance of the system in serving individuals facing
significant barriers to employment.
The common measures are an integral part of ETA's performance
accountability system, and ETA will continue to collect from grantees
the data on program activities, participants, and outcomes that are
necessary for program management and to convey full and accurate
information on the performance of workforce programs to policymakers
and stakeholders.
[[Page 40405]]
This revision to the TAA program reporting system identifies a
minimum level of information collection that is necessary to comply
with Equal Opportunity requirements, holds states appropriately
accountable for the Federal funds they receive, assesses progress
against a set of common performance measures, and allows the Department
to fulfill its oversight and management responsibilities.
The Employment and Training Administration is proposing similar
changes to the reporting requirements for the Workforce Investment Act
(WIA) title 1B and Wagner-Peyser Act programs. Please note that ETA
will seek comments regarding changes to information collection for
these programs in separate Federal Register notices.
The following three adult common performance measures apply to the
TAA program:
Entered Employment
Employment Retention
Six Months Earnings Increase
States are currently required to submit data according to measures
established under the GPRA, which include entered employment,
retention, and wage replacement. While the GPRA measures for TAA were
similar to the common measures, the data elements that are needed to do
the calculations are slightly different, requiring modifications to the
definitions and record layout of the TAPR. Changes to the TAPR include:
Addition of a field that tracks employment status at
participation, because the entered employment rate under the common
performance measures is calculated only for those participants who were
not employed when they began participating in the program.
Addition of a field that tracks the reason the individual
exited the program, because individuals who exited due to certain
reasons, such as becoming institutionalized, are excluded from
calculations of common measures.
Addition of a field tracking whether the individual was
employed in the second quarter after program exit, which is used to
calculate the retention rate measure.
Addition of fields for the state to specify the method
used to determine the individual's employment status in each of the
first, second, and third quarters after program exit.
Change in definition in two fields that tracked wages in
the second and third quarters prior to separation under the GPRA
measures; these fields will be used to track wages in the second and
third quarters prior to participation to be able to calculate the six
months earnings increase measure.
Change in the field that tracks receipt of a training
waiver from a yes/no field to one where one of the allowable reasons
for granting a training waiver under the Trade Act of 2002 is
specified.
Change from one field that tracks whether the individual
received basic Trade Readjustment Allowance (TRA), additional TRA, or
both, to three fields where the number of weeks of each type of TRA is
tracked. These fields will allow a closer look at whether the
additional weeks of TRA provided under the Trade Act of 2002 are being
utilized and whether they improve participant outcomes.
Change in reporting instructions to indicate that states
are required to report whether co-enrollment in Workforce Investment
Act (WIA) or other partner programs has occurred for TAA program
participants.
II. Desired Focus of Comments
Currently, the Department is soliciting comments concerning the
revised information collection request for the TAA program in order to:
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 ICR can be obtained by contacting the office
listed above in the addressee section of this notice.
III. Current Actions
Type of Review: Revision.
Agency: Department of Labor, Employment and Training
Administration.
Title: Trade Act Participant Report (TAPR).
OMB Number: 1205-0392.
Recordkeeping: Three years for states.
Affected Public: State, local or tribal governments.
Cite/Reference/Form/etc: Trade Adjustment Assistance Reform Act of
2002, see table below for list of forms.
Total Respondents: 50 states.
Frequency: Quarterly.
Total Responses: 50 submissions annually--each state submits TAPR
files each quarter.
Average Time per Response: 2.8 hours.
Estimated Total Burden Hours:
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Hours
TAA burden Annual national per TAPR Annual TAPR Applicable Annual TAPR
participants record burden hours hourly rate burden dollars
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Data collection................... 30,000 0.3 9,000 $32.50 $292,500
TAPR submission................... 50 2.5 500 32.50 16,250
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Total......................... ................. ......... .............. .............. 308,750
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Total Burden Cost (capital/startup): $0.
Total Burden Cost (operating/maintaining: $308,750.
Comments submitted in response to this notice 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.
Signed in Washington, DC, on July 6, 2005.
Emily Stover DeRocco,
Assistant Secretary for Employment and Training.
[FR Doc. E5-3694 Filed 7-12-05; 8:45 am]
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