Proposed Collection; Comment Request

OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT

Proposed Collection; Comment Request

AGENCY: Office of Personnel Management.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub.

L. 104-13, May 22, 1995), this notice announces that the Office of

Personnel Management intends to submit to the Office of Management and

Budget a request for the clearance of an information collection. The

questions are intended to elicit from Federal contractors descriptions

of successes in hiring workers directly off the welfare rolls. The

submissions are entirely voluntary.

DATES: Comments on this proposal should be received on or before

October 27, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Send or deliver comments to--Donna Beecher, Director, Office

of Contracting and Administrative Services, U.S. Office of Personnel

Management, 1900 E St., NW, Room 1340, Washington, DC 20415.

For information regarding administrative coordination, contact--

Kent Bailey, Publications Services Division, 202-606-2260.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On March 8, 1997, the President called for

the Federal Government to support welfare reform by joining with other

employers in offering jobs to welfare recipients. On April 10, 1997,

the Office of Management and Budget's Office of Federal Procurement

Policy asked Federal Agencies to emphasize to their contractors the

importance of hiring people off the welfare rolls.

Federal agencies regularly report their welfare-to-work hires and

related experiences. They would like to include in their reports

success stories from their contractors. Success stories provide

examples that help to inform the public and encourage additional hiring

by other non-Federal employers.

This information collection is entirely voluntary and can be

submitted whenever the contractor chooses to do so. The information

requested and reporting instructions will be posted on the Acquisition

Reform Network home page on the Internet (www.arnet.gov) for a period

of approximately four (4) years. A listing of agency contacts will be

included in the posting. Government contractors will be invited to send

their responses directly, via Internet e-mail, to their primary agency

contact.

The information collection consists of a set of questions. Some of

the questions are narrative and some statistical. The purpose of the

statistical questions is not to gather statistically valid data but to

provide a context for narrative descriptions of success. The responses

should cover activity since March 8, 1997, and should apply to adults

and teen heads of household who immediately prior to hiring were

receiving assistance under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families

(TANF) program, Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), or

Tribal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program administered by

an eligible Indian tribe.

The proposed information collection will consist of the following

questions:

[[Page 45690]]

1. What is the success story you would like to submit?

2. How many former welfare recipients have you hired? Please

provide an estimate of the time period during which the hiring was

done.

3. What percent of these hires would you estimate were attributable

to Federal contracts?

4. What percent of these hires would you estimate were attributable

to this Department's or Agency's contracts?

5. Please share any comments on:

--Recruitment strategies

--Retention strategies

--Welfare to Work hiring with subcontractors

--Challenges overcome

This Success Story submitted by:

Company Name-----------------------------------------------------------

Company Address--------------------------------------------------------

Contact Person---------------------------------------------------------

Phone Number-----------------------------------------------------------

E-mail-----------------------------------------------------------------

Burden: We estimate that 10,000 responses will be submitted

annually, and that each response will take approximately 60 minutes to

prepare. The annual estimated burden is 10,000 hours.

Comments Requested: We are asking for comments in order to:

1. Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is

necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the

Government, including whether the information will have practical

utility;

2. Evaluate the accuracy of the estimate of the burden of the

proposed collection of information, including the validity of the

methodology and assumptions used;

3. Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to

be collected; and

4. Minimize the burden of the collection of information on those

who are to respond.

U.S. Office of Personnel Management.

Janice R. Lachance,

Deputy Director.

[FR Doc. 97-22868 Filed 8-27-97; 8:45 am]

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