Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) Standardized Program Information Reporting (SPIR) System; Comment Request

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Employment and Training Administration

Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) Standardized Program

Information Reporting (SPIR) System; Comment Request

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 pre-clearance

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 (ETA) is

soliciting comments concerning the proposed revision and extension of

the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) individual-level reporting

system: Standardized Program Information Reporting (SPIR). A copy of

the proposed information reporting system can be obtained by contacting

the office listed below in the addressee section of this notice.

DATES: Written comments must be submitted to the office listed in the

addressee section below on or before June 20, 1998. The Department 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 the use of appropriate electronic

reporting mechanisms.

ADDRESSEE: U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training

Administration, Office of Policy and Research, Rm. N5637, 200

Constitution Ave, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20210, ATTN: Douglas Scott,

Telephone: (202) 219-5487 ex. 111, fax: (202) 219-5455 (these are not

toll-free numbers), Internet: [email protected]

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

The JTPA at Section 165 requires that all state and local agencies

operating programs funded under Titles II-A (services to disadvantaged

adults), II-C (services to disadvantaged youth), Section 204(d)

(services to older workers) and Title III (services to dislocated

workers) of the Act maintain standardized participant records and

report this information in a manner prescribed by the Secretary. States

report on participants' demographic and labor force characteristics,

services received, and educational and labor force status before and

after program participation. Uniform data are maintained on those who

have participated in JTPA programs during a given year and who have

left the programs. This information is used for public information and

program evaluation, as well as to monitor program performance and to

assess regulatory compliance.

The complete SPIR data base allows the Department to set levels for

national performance standards required in the law. The Department also

uses these data to provide States with regression-based local

adjustment factors and models for setting benchmarks and assessing how

well local programs achieve good results in a broad range of

employment-related and skill enhancing outcomes. SPIR data are

necessary for the Department's performance monitoring consultations

with local and State JTPA programs. The data also support requirements

in the Government Performance and Results Act requiring federal

agencies to evaluate the impact and results of government investment in

job training and employment programs.

Reinstatement will enable DOL to continue this reporting system and

to enhance it to accommodate changes and developments in the employment

and training system that have occurred since the SPIR data base was

originally established. Enhancements will also allow States to use

administrative data (earnings records) currently collected by the

Unemployment Insurance (UI) program to track the labor force experience

of program participants in order to gauge program results more

accurately and efficiently. Further enhancements are to clarify the

linkages

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between enrollees in JTPA programs and other programs, such as the new

Welfare-to-Work program and Worker Profiling and Reemployment Services,

and to implement technical corrections, such as the expansion of date

fields to accommodate Year 2000 reporting.

II. Current Actions

The SPIR data base provides standardized information on job

training and placement programs operated by all States and 640 sub-

state service delivery organizations. The SPIR data base serves a

number of essential functions required by JTPA and other laws and

regulations. For example, data in the SPIR system are used by the

Department to evaluate State and local program operations in relation

to performance standards established by the Department in consultation

with its partners. Local programs which are exceeding standards are

eligible to receive monetary performance incentives, and programs which

do not meet standards are subject to corrective action, including

technical assistance.

The SPIR data base is an integral part of the national JTPA

program. The purposes of changes and enhancements proposed in this

submission are to:

1. Enhance the ability of the data base system to track

participants who are also receiving services under other programs;

2. To identify individuals who were referred to JTPA through

integrated workforce development programs operated at the State or

local level;

3. To allow States to track the post-program experience of

individuals through the use of administrative data (earnings records)

collected by State UI programs;

4. To increase the frequency of data transfers from yearly to

quarterly in order to improve the timeliness of program information;

and

5. To implement technical requirements such as the revision of

certain program names, and changing the format of date fields to be

Year 2000 compliant.

Type of Review: Reinstatement with changes.

Agency: Employment and Training Administration.

Title: Standardized Program Information Reporting (SPIR).

OMB Number: 1205-0321.

Affected Public: State governments, local service delivery areas

(SDAs), and local sub-state areas (SSAs).

Cite/Reference/Form/etc.: Authority to collect this information is

provided in three Sections of the JTPA legislation:

Section 106--Performance Standards

This Section directs the Secretary to prescribe standards for adult

programs under the Titles included in the SPIR system. Establishing

standards and monitoring performance requires data on performance

levels. This Section also makes provision for Governors to vary

standards for local-level programs with reference to local economic

factors, the characteristics of the population being served, and the

types of services being provided.

Section 165--Reports, Record keeping, and Investigations

This Section requires federal grant recipients to maintain records

and report information regarding program performance and fiscal

management as specified by the Secretary. It also specifically requires

recipients ``to maintain standardized records for all individual

participants and provide to the Secretary a sufficient number of such

records to provide for an adequate analysis.''

Section 169--Administrative Provisions

The Secretary is directed at (d)(1) to submit an annual report to

Congress summarizing the achievements of the program. This report

includes data on program performance.

The collection instrument is the Standardized Program Information

Reporting (SPIR) instructions and report format specifications. The

SPIR itself is an electronic computer file in a specified form which is

submitted by respondents via diskette, modem, electronic tape, or the

Internet.

Total Respondents: 52--the States, District of Columbia and Puerto

Rico.

Frequency: Quarterly.

Total Responses: We receive one data set from each of the 52

reporting units. Each of these sets contains one record for each

individual who has terminated from participation in a JTPA program

included in SPIR reporting requirements during the reporting period.

Thus, the number of records in each set varies depending on the number

of individuals served under JTPA. The total report submission for the

most recent reporting period (Program Year 1996) consisted of 589,806

individual records.

The following table documents changes in the burden hours

associated with the proposed SPIR revisions. (Note: the most recent

SPIR authorization referenced a burden hours estimate of 20,140 hours.

This was, in fact, the increase over the original SPIR authorization

bringing the authorized burden hours to 439,365. For this reason the

table used the 439,365 estimate as the departure point for burden hours

estimates.)

Change in Burden Hours.--First Interim Year of Revision

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Average

Affected Average burden

Activity respondents hours per hours

year (national)

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Currently Authorized............. ........... ........... 439,365

Change in Record Volume +11%..... 52 310 455,485

Move to Quarterly Reporting...... 52 30 457,045

New and Revised Data Elements.... 52 80 461,205

Start-up Requirements for Wage

Records......................... 5 100 461,705

Routine Data Gathering for Wage

Records......................... 5 50 461,955

Decrease in Reporting Burden

Associated with Move to Wage

Records......................... 5 -1203 455,940

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Net Change in Reporting Burden, 1st Year: +16,575.

Burden hours calculation refers to the first year after

implementation of changes. For example, if the increase over the three

year period in volume of records is 11%, then 439,365 hours will

increase to 487,695 hours--a net increase of 48,330 hours attributable

to change in volume of records processed. This is an average increase

of 16,110 per year, as reflected in the table.

Average Time per Response: 8,768 total hours per reporting unit

(State) to compile and transmit electronic records for JTPA terminees

included in the data transfer. The actual time per response varies

widely depending on the number

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of individuals served in the State's programs.

Total Burden Cost (capital/startup): All respondents are currently

operating production-status SPIR reporting systems. Estimated average

marginal costs to implement changes described in this Notice: $7,500.

Total Burden Cost (operating/maintaining): All respondents maintain

management information systems required to operate their JTPA programs.

Satisfying SPIR reporting requirements is one of a number of functions

these systems perform. The costs of operating and maintaining these

systems vary widely, ranging from States with only a single Service

Delivery Area (e.g., Delaware) to California which has 52 Service

Delivery Areas within the State.

Estimated Total Burden Hours: 455,940.

Change from Prior Authorization: Increase of 16,575 hours.

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.

Dated: April 15, 1998.

Gerri Fiala,

Director, Office of Policy and Research.

[FR Doc. 98-10838 Filed 4-22-98; 8:45 am]

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