Proposed Information Collection Request Submitted for Public Comment and Recommendations; Evaluation of Worker Profiling and Reemployment Services Systems; Survey of State Administrators

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Employment and Training Administration

Proposed Information Collection Request Submitted for Public

Comment and Recommendations; Evaluation of Worker Profiling and

Reemployment Services Systems; Survey of State Administrators

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 (PRA 95). This program helps to ensure that requested data

can be provided in the desired format, reporting burden is minimized,

reporting forms 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 proposed new collection of the Survey of State

Administrators for the Evaluation of Worker Profiling and Reemployment

Services Systems. A copy of the proposed information collection request

can be obtained by contacting the employee listed below in the contact

section of this notice.

DATES: Written comments must be submitted on or before October 13,

1995. If you anticipate that you will be submitting written comments,

but find it difficult to do so within the period of time allowed by

this notice, you should request an extension from the contact listed

below as soon as possible. An effort will be made to try to accommodate

each request, unless otherwise justified.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:Jon Messenger, U.S. Department of

Labor, Employment and Training Administration, Unemployment Insurance

Service, Room S-4519, 200 Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C.

20210, (202) 219-5608.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

The U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training

Administration (ETA), has undertaken a major initiative to help the

State implement effective Worker Profiling and Reemployment Services

Systems, as required by the Unemployment Compensation Amendments of

1993, Public Law (P.L.) 103-152. The major goal of the WPRS initiative

is to assist those unemployment insurance (UI) claimants who are at

greatest risk of becoming unemployed to become reemployed by quickly

referring them to reemployment services tailored to their individual

needs.

ETA is conducting a comprehensive evaluation of the Worker

Profiling and Reemployment Services (WPRS) initiative. This effort is

designed to provide both:

(1) An evaluation of the operation and effectiveness of State WPRS

systems, in accordance with P.L. 103-152, which mandates a report to

the Congress by November 24, 1996, and

(2) A longer-range evaluation to provide an assessment of the

operation and effectiveness of more mature State WPRS systems.

This Survey of State Administrators will obtain data for an

implementation and process analysis of State WPRS systems. The survey

will provide in-depth knowledge of each State's approach to

implementing their WPRS system. This survey will also provide the data

necessary for identifying distinct groupings or modes of States'

operational approaches to Worker Profiling and Reemployment Services,

which will be used in the effectiveness portion of the WPRS evaluation

to compare the relative effectiveness different implementation

approaches.

II. Current Actions

ETA proposes to conduct a Survey of State Administrators involved

in designing and implementing WPRS systems. This includes

administrators from the Unemployment Insurance (UI), Employment Service

(ES), and Economic Dislocation and Worker Adjustment Assistance (EDWAA)

programs. Within basic Federal guidelines, individual States have great

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latitude in designing their WPRS systems. This survey will

systematically gather information about how States have designed their

WPRS systems--the policies and procedures adopted, and the process by

which this occurred--and their progress to date in implementing these

systems.

Written comments on the survey questionnaire should address the

accuracy of the burden estimates and ways to minimize burden, including

the use of automated collection techniques or the use of other forms of

information technology.

Type of Review: New

Agency: Employment and Training Administration

Title: Survey of State Administrators

Frequency: Twice (once in Calendar Year 1996, once in Calendar Year

1997)

Affected Public: State Government

Number of Respondents: 159 (53 States and jurisdictions times 3

administrators each)

Estimated Time Per Respondent: For 106 of the respondents, the time

burden will be 7 minutes each. For 53 respondents, the time burden will

be 27 minutes each (those administrators responsible for coordinating

the WPRS Initiative in the State or jurisdiction will need to complete

a more comprehensive questionnaire)

Total Burden Hours: 72 (2 waves of surveys, 36 hours per wave)

Comments submitted in response to this notice 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 at Washington, D.C., this 8th day of August, 1995.

Robert O. Deslongchamps,

Acting Director, Unemployment Insurance Service.

[FR Doc. 95-19998 Filed 8-11-95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4510-30-M