Proposed Information Collection Request Submitted for Public Comment and Recommendations; Data Collection for the Youth Fair Chance Program Evaluation

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Employment and Training Administration

Proposed Information Collection Request Submitted for Public

Comment and Recommendations; Data Collection for the Youth Fair Chance

Program Evaluation

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 (PRA95). 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

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(additional) collection of the Data for the Youth Fair Chance Program

Evaluation. 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 November 24,

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. Effort will be made to accommodate each

request, unless otherwise justified.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Mamoru Ishikawa, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training

Administration, Office of Policy and Research, Room 5637, 200

Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20210, (202) 219-5472 (ext.

160), Internet Address: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

Public Law 102-367, the 1992 Amendments to the Job Training

Partnership Act, authorized USDOL to award grants to local Youth Fair

Chance (YFC) programs to establish community-based programs to provide

education, training, and complementary services for youths living in

high poverty areas. The two major elements of YFC are: (1) school-to-

work programs for youths in middle and high schools and (2) community

learning centers for out-of-school youths. The legislation also

directed programs to integrate a variety of services into the programs

and to involve community residents in planning and guiding programs. In

1994 USDOL awarded grants to 16 sites.

The legislation authorizing the program specified that the

Secretary of Labor provide for an ``evaluation of the YFC program to

assess the outcomes of youth participating in the program.'' The survey

of participants, which is the subject of this Federal Register notice,

is intended to meet this legislated objective of the evaluation.

II. Current Actions

The proposed survey of participants will collect information on a

sample of YFC participants. It will collect information on the

background characteristics of youth participating in YFC; the YFC

activities they participated in; their assessment of the services

provided by YFC; and their educational, training, employment and other

outcomes.

The sample for the survey will be obtained from each YFC site's

management information system as will some data on background

characteristics and service receipt. However, these data will also be

collected on the survey to ensure that consistent data are collected

among sites and so that data on outcomes can be collected. The survey

will be conducted through a computer assisted telephone interviewing

system with automatic call scheduling. This system is designed to

minimize the burden on respondents by minimizing time on the telephone

and by providing a mechanism for respondents to schedule calls.

Participation in the survey is voluntary and confidential.

Public comments should address the accuracy of the burden estimates

and ways to minimize burden including the use of other techniques for

data collection.

Affected Public: Individuals participating in Youth Fair Chance

programs.

Number of Respondents: 4,800.

Estimated Time per Respondent: 20 minutes.

Total Burden Hours: 1,600 hours.

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.

Dated: September 18, 1995.

Gerard Fiala,

Administrator, Office of Policy and Research.

[FR Doc. 95-23677 Filed 9-22-95; 8:45 am]

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