Agency information collection activities: Proposed collection; comment request,
[Federal Register: June 22, 1998 (Volume 63, Number 119)]
[Notices]
[Page 33955-33956]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr22jn98-119]
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Employment and Training Administration
Quantum Opportunity Program Demonstration Information Collection; Comment Request
ACTION: Notice.
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) [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 new collection of information for the Quantum Opportunity Program (QOP) Demonstration Evaluation.
A copy of the proposed information collection request (ICR) can be obtained
[[Page 33956]]
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 August 21, 1998. The Department is particularly interested in comments which:
‹bullet› 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;
‹bullet› Evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the proposed data collection, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used;
‹bullet› Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and
‹bullet› Minimize the burden of the collection 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 submission of responses.
ADDRESSES: Eileen Pederson, Office of Policy and Research, Employment and Training Administration, Room N-5637, 200 Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20210, telephone 202-219-5782, extension 145 (this is not a toll-free number). Internet address: PedersonE@doleta.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
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Background
In July 1995, under authority of Title IV of the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA), ETA--in partnership with The Ford Foundation-- launched the QOP demonstration in seven sites: Memphis, Tennessee; Cleveland, Ohio; Washington, D.C.; Fort Worth, Texas; Houston, Texas; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and Yakima, Washington. Simultaneously, the Department of Labor selected Mathematica Policy Research, Inc. to determine the net impact of the program. This data collection covers outcome variables for determining the program's impact on the student participants.
QOP provides mentoring, computer-assisted instruction, course-based tutoring, lifeskills training, and community service activities for at- risk disadvantaged high school students. A youth was eligible for QOP if he or she attended a high school with a four-year dropout rate equal to or greater than 40 percent, was entering the 9th grade for the first time in the 1995-96 academic year (the Washington, D.C. site began operations a year later: in the 1996-1997 academic year), and was in the lower two-thirds of the grade distribution for entering 9th graders according to the grade point averages from the 8th grade. The evaluation will measure QOP's impact on academic achievement in reading and mathematics, high school graduation, and enrollment in postsecondary education or training programs. The demonstration will also be evaluated based on its impact on behaviors that are associated with barriers to achieving economic self-sufficiency as adults. Such behaviors include substance abuse, teen parenting, and criminal activity.
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Current Actions
This notice concerns the collection of data by means of a questionnaire covering outcomes and behaviors, and the collection of school records for each member of the research sample.
Type of Review: New.
Agency: Employment and Training Administration, U.S. Department of Labor.
Title: Quantum Opportunity Program (QOP) Demonstration Evaluation.
OMB Number: 1205-New.
Affected Public: Individuals.
Cite/Reference/Form: The QOP promotion protocol, in-person questionnaire, telephone questionnaire, and school record collection protocol.
Total Respondents: 1,069 youth and 175 school administrators.
Frequency: The protocols and questionnaires will be administered as shown in the following table:
Item
Washington, D.C.
Other sites
Promotion Protocol....................... Fall 1998, 1999............................................... Fall 1998.
In-Person Questionnaire.................. Spring 2000................................................... Spring 1999.
School Record Protocol................... Fall 2000..................................................... Fall 1999, 2000.
Telephone Questionnaire.................. Fall 2000, 2001............................................... Fall 1999, 2000, 2001.
Estimated Average Time per Respondent: Collection of school records (including promotion records) is estimated to require five minutes per student. The in-person questionnaire is estimated to require 30 minutes to complete, the telephone questionnaire is estimated to take 20 minutes to complete.
Estimated Total Burden Hours:
Response
Item
Respondents Frequency of rate
Total Minutes per Burden administration (percent) responses response hours
Promotion Protocol.............
175
1.2
100
175
30
105 In-Person Questionnaire........
1069
1
80
855
30
428 School Record Protocol.........
175
1.5
90
236
30
118 Telephone Questionnaire........
1069
2.86
80
2446
20
815
Total......................
1244 .............. ........... ........... ...........
1466
Total Burden Cost: The cost of collecting promotion and school records, based on an average school staff salary of $20, is anticipated to be $4,460. The cost to student participants to complete the questionnaire in person and by telephone, based on the minimum wage of $5.15, is approximately $6,401. Thus, the total burden cost is expected to be $10,861.
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: June 16, 1998. Gerard F. Fiala, Administrator, Office of Policy and Research.
[FR Doc. 98-16556Filed6-19-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-30-M
