[Federal Register: July 22, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 141)]
[Notices]               
[Page 42597-42598]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr22jy08-84]                         

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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Employment and Training Administration

 
Proposed Information Collection Request for the Extension of the 
Individual Training Account Experiment; Extension With Changes of 
Approved Collection; Comment Request

AGENCY: Employment and Training Administration, Department of Labor.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. 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. 
Currently, the Employment and Training Administration is soliciting 
comments for a proposed extension with revisions to an approved 
information collection (OMB 1205-0441, expires November 30, 2009) to 
evaluate long-term impacts of participants in the Individual Training 
Account Experiment.
    A copy of the proposed information collection request (ICR) can be 
obtained by contacting the office listed below in the addresses 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 
ADDRESSES section below on or before September 22, 2008.

ADDRESSES:  Submit written comments to Janet Javar, Room N-5641, 
Employment and Training Administration, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW., 
Washington, DC 20210. Telephone number: 202-693-3677 (this is not a 
toll-free number). Fax: 202-693-2766. E-mail: javar.janet@dol.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Workforce Investment Act (WIA) of 1998 
brought about substantial changes in the way training and other 
employment services are provided. WIA required workforce investment 
areas to establish Individual Training Accounts (ITAs), which provide 
vouchers or other related funding methods that customers can use to pay 
for training. ITAs are intended to empower customers to choose the 
training services they need and raise the accountability of states, 
local areas, and service providers for meeting these needs.
    The ITA Experiment was conducted between June 1999 and September 
2006. It was designed to test different approaches for managing 
customer choice in the administration of ITAs. States and local offices 
have a great deal of flexibility in deciding how much guidance to 
provide to customers in choosing WIA-funded training. The experiment 
tested three approaches that differed widely in both the resources made 
available to customers and the involvement of local counselors in 
guiding customer choice. The three approaches included a highly 
structured approach (in which customers were steered to the highest-
return training options), a moderately guided approach, and a true 
voucher approach (in which customers were offered a lump sum and 
allowed to choose any state-approved training). The three approaches 
were tested through an experiment that randomly assigned new customers 
to one of the three ITA approaches. The advantages of randomly 
assigning customers are increased precision and accuracy in the impact 
estimates. ETA selected six grantees through a competitive process to 
participate in the evaluation. The experiment was conducted in Chicago, 
Illinois; Charlotte, North Carolina; Atlanta, Georgia; Phoenix, 
Arizona; Bridgeport, Connecticut; and Jacksonville, Florida. Intake 
began in 2001.
    Findings from the initial evaluation of the ITA Experiment 
suggested that a longer-term follow-up was necessary in order to reach 
more definitive conclusions regarding the impacts and cost-
effectiveness of the ITA approaches. For most ITA study participants, 
the initial data collection permitted examination of employment 
outcomes for 18 months following random assignment. At that time, a 
substantial number of ITA participants were still in training, so that 
the ultimate effects of the ITA approaches had not yet been completely 
realized. This extension of the evaluation examines the longer-term 
outcomes of ITA study participants, with a second follow-up survey 
administered between four and seven years after random assignment and 
with longer-term employment and earnings data, including updated 
unemployment insurance (UI) wage records.
    This request for a second participant follow-up survey includes 
only minor modifications to the first follow-up survey (OMB 1205-0441). 
It collects the same critical information that can only be collected 
using survey data on the employment, training, and earnings experiences 
of the ITA study participants. The second follow-up survey and 
additional UI data collection are needed to examine a more extensive 
employment history for each ITA study participant and update the 
experimental estimates of net impacts and return-on-investment analyses 
for the three ITA approaches.
    To determine the relative long-term impacts of different ITA 
approaches on training experiences and on labor market outcomes, 
updated state-administrative data and second follow-up survey data will 
be used. These data

[[Page 42598]]

will make it possible to compare the outcomes of the three ITA 
approaches and evaluate their cost-effectiveness at three to five years 
after random assignment. These comparisons will be based on the 
experiences and outcomes of ITA customers, such as participation in 
education and training, employment and earnings, and participation in 
government support programs. These comparisons will yield estimates of 
the relative impacts of different ITA approaches on key outcomes in the 
long-term.
    To compare the three ITA approaches, administrative and survey data 
to compute summary statistics, such as means, separately for each ITA 
approach will be used. For example, the percentage of ITA customers 
served by each approach that received training-related services will be 
computed and compared to how much training they received. This 
percentage will be compared across approaches to determine whether the 
different approaches vary in the amount and type of training that 
customers completed.
    The evaluation findings can provide local workforce investment 
boards with guidance on possible modifications to their ITA programs. 
The goal of the experiment is to determine the relative long-term 
impacts and cost-effectiveness of different approaches to administering 
ITAs. The updated data collected from states and the second participant 
follow-up survey will provide critical information to make those 
assessments. The planned data collection efforts are therefore 
essential to evaluating the different ITA approaches tested in the 
experiment.

II. Review Focus

    Data will be collected from study participants only once. The 
survey will provide the only source of long-term data for ITA customers 
at the six grantees on the following outcomes:
     Participation in education and training programs;
     Job search behavior after random assignment;
     Characteristics of post-training jobs; and
     Participation in government programs, including UI.
    Therefore, if this second follow-up survey were not conducted, the 
evaluation would be unable to assess the impacts of different ITA 
approaches on these outcomes in the long-term.
    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 of a currently approved collection with 
revisions.
    Agency: Employment and Training Administration.
    Title: Extension of the Evaluation of the Individual Training 
Account Experiment.
    OMB Number: 1205-0441.
    Affected Public: Individuals.
    Total Respondents: 3,366.
    Frequency: One time.
    Total Responses: 3,366.
    Average Time per Response: 30 minutes.
    Estimated Total Burden Hours: 1,680 hours.
    Total Burden Cost: $24,192.

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                                                                                   Average time
            Cite/Reference                   Total              Frequency          per response   Burden (hours)
                                          respondents                                (minutes)
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ITA Follow-up survey..................           3,366  One time................              30           1,680
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    Totals............................           3,366  ........................  ..............           1,680
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    The total burden cost represents 30 minutes to complete the survey 
multiplied by the number of completers (3,366 or 70 percent of the 
4,800 sample targeted for the survey) and by an estimated average 
hourly wage of $14.40 per hour.
    Comments submitted in response to this comment request will be 
summarized and/or included in the request for Office of Management and 
Budget approval of the information collection request; they will also 
become a matter of public record.

    Signed in Washington, DC, this 16th day of July 2008.
Thomas M. Dowd,
Administrator, Office of Policy Development and Research Employment and 
Training Administration.
 [FR Doc. E8-16666 Filed 7-21-08; 8:45 am]

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