Submission for OMB Review: Comment Request, 65000-65001 [E6-18605]

Agencies

• Office of the Secretary
• DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 214 (Monday, November 6, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65000-65001]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-18605]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Office of the Secretary


Submission for OMB Review: Comment Request

October 31, 2006.
    The Department of Labor (DOL) has submitted the following public 
information collection request (ICR) to the Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB) for review and approval in accordance with the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13, 44 U.S.C. Chapter 35). A copy of 
this ICR, with applicable supporting documentation, may be obtained by 
calling the Department of Labor. A copy of this ICR, with applicable 
supporting documentation, may be obtained at https://www.reginfo.gov/
public/do/PRAMain, or contact Ira Mills on 202-693-4122 (this is not a 
toll-free number) or e-mail: Mills.Ira@dol.gov. 
    In July 2004, ETA solicited comments from the general public on the 
establishment of a single, streamlined reporting and recordkeeping 
system, formally called the ETA Management Information and Longitudinal 
Evaluation (EMILE) reporting system. The notice of 60-day public 
comment on the proposed EMILE reporting system was published in the 
Federal Register on July 16, 2004 (Vol. 69, No. 136, pages 42777-
42779). The proposed EMILE reporting system was designed to streamline 
12 ETA program reporting systems into one comprehensive reporting 
structure that would allow for consistent, comparable analysis across 
ETA funded employment and training programs, using the definitions for 
a set of common performance measures initially specified in Training 
and Employment Guidance Letter (TEGL) 15-03, Common Measures Policy, 
and subsequently revised by TEGL 17-05, Common Measures Policy for the 
Employment and Training Administration's (ETA) Performance 
Accountability System and Related Performance Issues.
    ETA received comments from 161 unique entities, including state 
workforce agencies and boards, local workforce investment areas, non-
profit organizations and national associations, Native American and 
other tribal organizations, public interest and advocacy groups, and 
other private citizens and stakeholders. Due to the large volume of 
comments submitted by each entity, ETA worked during calendar year 2005 
to organize and analyze the public comments, make appropriate revisions 
to agency policy guidance on the common measures, and assess the 
feasibility of implementing the proposed EMILE reporting requirements 
in several States.
    ETA has reconciled the public comments and made appropriate 
revisions to the original EMILE proposal, which has been re-named to 
the Workforce Investment Streamlined Performance Reporting (WISPR) 
system. This revised proposal will replace the current quarterly 
reporting requirements of the following seven ETA activities: Wagner-
Peyser Act, Veterans Employment and Training Service, the Workforce 
Investment Act (WIA) Adult, WIA Dislocated Worker, WIA Youth, and Trade 
Adjustment Assistance Act programs, and National Emergency Grants.
    The Department is seeking or has already received separate OMB 
clearances on revisions to the following program reporting systems to 
incorporate standardized data collection necessary to implement a set 
of common performance measures: National Farm Worker Jobs Program, 
Indian and Native American Program, Senior Community Service and 
Employment Program, and entities receiving H-1B Technical Skills 
Training or Responsible Reintegration of Youthful Offenders grants. 
These programs will continue to report separately, and the data 
elements collected for these programs have been aligned, to the extent 
practicable, with those in the proposed WISPR System. The decision to 
not include these programs in the WISPR System was based on concerns 
about burden (time and resources) expressed by many commenters.
    While the proposed WISPR System represents a comprehensive data 
collection and reporting approach, it is important to note that every 
effort has been made to establish common data definitions and formats 
with minimum burden to grantees. At its foundation, the proposed WISPR 
System organizes customer information that is maintained by states in 
order to run their day-to-day operations, and includes a minimum level 
of information collection that is necessary to comply with Equal 
Opportunity requirements, hold states and grantees appropriately 
accountable for the Federal funds they receive, and allow the 
Department to fulfill its

[[Page 65001]]

oversight and management responsibilities. The WISPR System proposal 
does build on revisions in state data collection approved by OMB in 
early 2006 to implement the common performance measures. In some cases, 
additional data collection requirements are included for Federal 
oversight or to comply with existing statutory requirements, and these 
are also included in the proposed WISPR System.
    The WISPR System features a set of aggregate quarterly reports for 
capturing services to employer and job seeker customers, including a 
special aggregate report on services to the nation's eligible veterans 
and transitioning service members. A standardized set of participant 
data that includes information on demographics, types of services 
received, and performance outcomes based on a set of common measures 
defined consistently across programs is a key component of this 
proposed reporting system. The WISPR System will be used to respond 
more quickly and effectively to the management information needs of 
Congress, the Administration and the general public.
    The WISPR System will ensure there is consistency across all ETA 
formula-funded state programs so all programs are evaluated using the 
same criteria. When job seeker and employer data are collected, 
maintained and reported consistently and accurately at a basic level 
(e.g., grantee field office or One-Stop Career Center), data can be 
aggregated from each program and reported to higher levels with greater 
confidence that the data are comparable from customer to customer, from 
program to program, and from year to year. The WISPR System also 
incorporates provisions to ensure the integrity of reported data, and 
resolve data collection and reliability issues raised by OIG and GAO 
regarding the Department's ability to accurately evaluate program 
performance.

Proposed Changes

    To address concerns expressed in the public comments about 
reporting burden (time and financial resources), the following changes 
are proposed in the WISPR System:
     The EMILE requirement to submit quarterly individual 
records on employer customers has been eliminated and replaced with an 
aggregate quarterly report (ETA Form 9131). Information contained on 
the employer report will provide a more complete picture of the total 
impact of the One-Stop system by including the characteristics of 
employers served and the type and frequency of services being 
delivered;
     The EMILE requirement to submit quarterly participant and 
exiter records has been eliminated and replaced with the requirement 
for states to submit quarterly records on exiters only;
     In the absence of quarterly participant records, the EMILE 
quarterly workforce investment performance report has been modified to 
include data collection on participant counts by key demographics and 
the types of adult and youth services received (ETA Form 9132). This 
uniform report format will facilitate consistent performance 
calculations and focus on the core functions of the workforce system: 
employment for adults and skills for youth; and
     Data collection requirements for job seeker customers has 
been substantially reduced compared to the original EMILE individual 
record to address public concerns regarding the amount of data to be 
collected and reported and align with recent changes approved by OMB.
    Additionally, a special report is proposed to capture service 
information for participants who are eligible veterans and 
transitioning service members, to comply with reporting requirements 
for the Jobs for Veterans grants (ETA Form 9133).
    To address public concerns regarding the submission of integrated 
reports, states will be given a range of options for submitting 
separate quarterly reports and records depending on how the state 
administers the workforce programs covered by the reporting system. 
This additional flexibility for submitting performance information to 
the Department will be available during the first two years of WISPR 
System implementation. Also, the collection of quarterly customer 
satisfaction reports for the WIA and Wagner-Peyser Act programs are not 
included in the WISPR System to reflect recent OMB notices of action to 
discontinue this information collection.
    Comments should be sent to Office of Information and Regulatory 
Affairs, Attn: OMB Desk Officer for U.S. Department of Labor/Employment 
and Training Administration (ETA), Office of Management and Budget, 
Room 10235, Washington, DC 20503, 202-395-7316 (this is not a toll free 
number), within 45 days from the date of this publication in the 
Federal Register.
    The OMB 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 submission of responses.
    Agency: Employment and Training Administration.
    Type of Review: New.
    Title: Workforce Investment Streamlined Performance Reporting 
(WISPR) System.
    OMB Number: 1205--0NEW.
    Frequency: Quarterly.
    Affected Public: State and Local Governments.
    Type of Response: Recordkeeping; Reporting.
    Number of Respondents: 54.
    Annual Responses: 2,376.
    Average Response time: 376 hours per State.
    Total Annual Burden Hours: 813,241.
    Total Annualized Capital/Startup Costs: 0.
    Total Annual Costs (operating/maintaining systems or purchasing 
services): 0.
    Description: Respondents are State governments. This reporting and 
recordkeeping system features a set of aggregate reports for capturing 
services to employers and job seeker customers, including a special 
aggregate report on services to the nation's eligible veterans and 
transitioning service members. Selected standardized participant data 
that includes information on demographics, types of services received, 
and performance outcomes based on a set of common measures will also be 
collected and reported for the purposes of general program oversight, 
evaluation, and performance assessment of the WIA, Wagner-Peyser, 
Veterans Employment and Training Service, and Trade Adjustment 
Assistance programs, and National Emergency Grants.

Ira L. Mills,
Departmental Clearance Officer.
 [FR Doc. E6-18605 Filed 11-3-06; 8:45 am]
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