[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 89 (Wednesday, May 8, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 30965-30966]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-11385]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Employment and Training Administration
Proposed Collection; Comment Request
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Department of Labor, as part of its continuing effort to
reduce paperwork and respondent burden, is conducting a preclearance
consultation program to provide the general public and Federal agencies
with an opportunity to comment on proposed 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 the collection requirements on respondents can be
properly assessed. Through this notice, the Employment and Training
Administration is soliciting comments concerning a proposed new
collection of data on self-services provided by states and local
workforce areas under the Workforce Investment Act and Wagner-Peyser.
A copy of the proposed survey can be obtained by contacting the
office listed below in the ADDRESSES section of this notice.
DATES: Written comments must be submitted to the office listed in the
ADDRESSES section below on or before July 8, 2002.
ADDRESSES: Esther Johnson, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and
Training Administration, Office of Policy and Research, 200
Constitution Ave, NW., Room N-5637, Washington, DC 20210, (202) 693-
3165 (this is not a toll free number), [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
The Department of Labor's Employment and Training
[[Page 30966]]
Administration (ETA) seeks to collect data from local workforce
investment areas on the self-services they make available under the
Workforce Investment Act (WIA) and Wagner-Peyser Act (W-P). The data
ETA seeks to collect will provide a national snapshot of the self-
service tools and resources available in local workforce areas and the
systems and mechanisms that areas use to track customers' usage,
outcomes, and satisfaction with those services. The data will also be
used to select a sample of states and local areas for subsequent in-
depth scrutiny, so that the quality and cost-effectiveness of self-
services can be analyzed.
Collecting this information is important because self-services--
including informational and self-help core services authorized by WIA
and self-directed labor exchange services provided as part of W-P--have
become an important feature of the nation's workforce development
system. Over the past decade, substantial amounts of resources have
been expended in developing the infrastructure to support self-
services, such as by establishing physical facilities in which
``Resource Rooms'' can be housed, developing an array of tools and
resources to meet diverse needs, ensuring that these resources are
user-friendly and are accessible from remote locations, and promoting
access and use for customers with special needs. Moreover, the pace of
investments has dramatically quickened since the enactment of WIA. It
is expected that self-services must be an essential feature of every
one of the nation's comprehensive One-Stop centers. WIA requires that
access to these services must be universally available without
eligibility restrictions.
Moreover, self-services are expected to play a critical role in
meeting the nation's workforce development needs. The vision at the
heart of WIA is that all adults should have easy access to an array of
high-quality resources and information tools that they can use to make
informed career decisions and that, more generally, will improve the
efficiency of the labor market. Given WIA's emphasis on universal
access and the limited public funding available to support staff-
intensive workforce development systems, self-services become a
critical means by which this vision can be realized.
Currently, however, little is known about the types of self-service
systems that have been established, how frequently customers use self-
services and for what purposes, whether they are satisfied with the
tools at their disposal, and whether use of these services improves
their employment outcomes. This information vacuum occurs partly
because users of self-services are not required to become registrants
under either WIA or W-P, and these services are thus not covered by the
programs' reporting requirements.
To fill the information gap, ETA is embarking on two data
collection efforts focused on self-services. One, covered by a previous
Federal Register notice (67 FR 2244, January 16, 2002), is designed to
yield a national estimate of the number of job seekers who use self-
services. A second effort, to which this notice applies, will entail a
questionnaire administered to the largest One-Stop operator in each of
the nation's local workforce areas to determine the self-service tools
and resources they have available and identify which of them have
mechanisms in place to track customer usage and outcomes. In addition
to being important information in its own right, the results will be
used to select a sample of local areas for further scrutiny through
site visits (so that the quality of self-services can be assessed), and
so that a quantitative analysis of the outcomes associated with self-
services can be conducted.
II. Review Focus
The Department of Labor is particularly interested in comments
that: (a) Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is
necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency,
including whether the information has practical utility; (b) evaluate
the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the proposed
collection of information; (c) enhance the utility, quality and clarity
of the information to be collected; and (d) 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.
III. Current Actions
The Department of Labor's Employment and Training Administration
will be seeking Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval to
administer a questionnaire to the largest One-Stop operator in each of
the nation's local workforce investment areas on the types of self-
services they offer and whether they have mechanisms in place to track
customers' usage patterns and outcomes. The data will be used to
provide a national snapshot of self-service systems and to select a
sample of states and local areas for subsequent in-depth study, through
site visits and a quantitative analysis of customers' outcomes.
Agency: Employment and Training Administration.
Type of Review: New.
Title: Local Area Survey of Self-Services.
Affected Public: Local workforce investment areas.
Total Respondents: 605.
Frequency: Twice.
Total Responses: 1,210.
Average Time per Response: 30 minutes.
Estimated Total Burden Hours: 605.
Total Burden Cost for Capital and Startup: $0.
Total Burden Cost for Operation and Maintenance: $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.
Signed at Washington, DC this 2nd day of May, 2002.
Gerard F. Fiala,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 02-11385 Filed 5-7-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-30-M