[Federal Register: March 30, 2009 (Volume 74, Number 59)]
[Notices]
[Page 14159-14160]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr30mr09-87]
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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Employment and Training Administration
Information Collection Extension Request for the Impact
Evaluation of the Trade Adjustment Act Program
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 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 [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 is soliciting comments
concerning the collection of data for the Impact Evaluation of the
Trade Adjustment Assistance Program.
A copy of the proposed Information Collection Request can be
obtained by contacting the office listed below in the addressee section
of this notice or by accessing: http://www.doleta.gov/OMBCN/
OMBControlNumber.cfm.
DATES: Written comments must be submitted to the office listed in the
addressee section below on or before May 29, 2009.
ADDRESSES: Submit written comments to Charlotte Schifferes, Room N-
5641, Employment and Training Administration, 200 Constitution Avenue,
NW., Washington, DC 20210. Telephone number: 202-693-3655 (this is not
a toll-free number). Fax: 202-693-2766. E-mail:
schifferes.charlotte@dol.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
The Employment and Training Administration is soliciting comments
regarding an extension of an approved Information Collection Request
(ICR) for the Impact Evaluation of the Trade Adjustment Assistance
(TAA) Program. The ICR was approved by the Office of Management and
Budget (OMB) in a Notice of Action (NOA) (ICR Reference Number 200606-
1205-009) on November 15, 2006. The NOA identified November 30, 2009 as
the expiration date for the ICR. An extension of the ICR is now needed
in order to complete data collection activities for the impact analysis
and process study of the TAA evaluation.
The TAA program provides training, income support, and other
reemployment and supportive services to workers who lose their jobs or
have their work hours or salary reduced because of increased imports or
shifts in production to foreign countries. The evaluation is intended
to generate information that will be useful in developing
administrative guidance, technical assistance, and legislative or
budgetary proposals.
The evaluation will estimate impacts of the TAA program on the
employment and earnings of participants by comparing the outcomes of
TAA participants to statistically matched comparison groups of
Unemployment Insurance (UI) recipients. This quasi-experimental
approach requires extensive information on demographic and personal
characteristics as well as on programmatic experiences of both TAA
participants and comparison group members. Such information will be
gleaned from state TAA and UI administrative records and from baseline
and follow-up surveys of individuals in the treatment and comparison
groups.
The process study undertaken as part of the evaluation is designed
to
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understand how various program and administrative practices affect TAA
performance, including the types of collaboration and administrative
arrangements through which TAA operates in the One-Stop Career Center
system under the Workforce Investment Act (WIA).
An extension of the ICR is needed in order to obtain follow-up data
on employment and earnings outcomes. In order to complete the study
prior to the expiration date of funds for the evaluation, only a single
follow-up survey will be conducted in 2010, as approved by OMB (in an
NOA, ICR Reference Number 2008-12-1205-001, dated December 17, 2008) in
lieu of the two follow-up surveys as originally planned. The burden for
this data collection will therefore be lower than proposed under the
first ICR, even though the sample has been slightly expanded in order
to assure a sufficient number of responses, due to lower-than-
anticipated response rates for different subgroups.
Below is table which shows the burden for different respondents.
Respondent Hours Burden for the TAA Evaluation
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Average
Activity Total Frequency minutes per Burden hours
respondents response
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Burden Under the Proposed Extension (November 2009 to Project Completion)
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Impact Analysis:
State Administrative Data........ 26 Once..................... 480 208
25-Month Follow-up Survey........ 3,540 One time................. 30 1,770
Process Analysis:
Administration of Site Visit
Protocols
1. TAA Reauthorization....... 180 One time................. 100 300
2. Promising Practices....... 325 One time................. 100 542
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Total Estimated Burden... .............. ......................... .............. 9,236
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II. Review Focus
The Department of Labor 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.
III. Current Actions
Type of Review: Extension with revisions.
Title: Impact Evaluation of the Trade Adjustment Assistance
Program.
OMB Number: 1205-0460.
Affected Public: Individuals in the TAA program or who applied for
UI benefits, and State and local administrators in the UI and WIA
programs.
Form: Questionnaire and site visit protocols.
Total Respondents: See table above.
Frequency: Once.
Total Responses: See table above.
Average Time per Response: See table above.
Estimated Total Burden Hours: See table above.
Total Burden Cost: $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: March 23, 2009.
Thomas M. Dowd,
Administrator, Office of Policy Development and Research, Employment
and Training Administration.
[FR Doc. E9-6970 Filed 3-27-09; 8:45 am]
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