Employment and Training Administration (ETA) Program Year (PY) 2021; Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) Section 167, National Farmworker Jobs Program (NFJP) Grantee Allotments
| Citation | 86 FR 32063 |
| Record Number | 2021-12604 |
| Published date | 16 June 2021 |
| Section | Notices |
| Court | Employment And Training Administration |
Federal Register, Volume 86 Issue 114 (Wednesday, June 16, 2021)
[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 114 (Wednesday, June 16, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 32063-32065]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-12604]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Employment and Training Administration
Employment and Training Administration (ETA) Program Year (PY)
2021; Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) Section 167,
National Farmworker Jobs Program (NFJP) Grantee Allotments
AGENCY: Employment and Training Administration, Labor.
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: This Notice announces Program Year (PY) 2021 allotments to
States for the National Farmworker Jobs Program (NFJP), which is
authorized under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA),
Section 167. These allotments are based on the funds appropriated in
the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (from this point forward will
be referred to as the ``the Act'').
DATES: The PY 2021 NFJP allotments become effective for the grant
period that begins July 1, 2021.
ADDRESSES: Questions on this notice can be submitted to the Employment
and Training Administration, Office of Workforce Investment, Attention
at: [email protected].
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Laura Iba[ntilde]ez, Unit Chief, at
(202) 693-3645. Individuals with hearing or speech impairments may
access the telephone numbers above via TTY by calling the toll-free
Federal Information Relay Service at 1-877-889-5627 (TTY-TDD).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This notice is published according to
Section 182(d) of the WIOA, Prompt Allotment of Funds. ETA developed
the formula to distribute funds geographically by state service area,
based on each state service area's relative share of persons eligible
for the program. The formula's original methodology is described in the
Federal Register notice 64 FR 27390, May 19, 1999. That information is
accessible at https://www.federalregister.gov/. In PY 2018, ETA
incorporated two modifications to the allotment formula to provide more
accurate estimates of each state service area's relative share of
persons eligible for the program. The formula also used updated data
from each of the four data files serving as the basis of the formula
since 1999. The revised formula methodology is described in the Federal
Register notice 83 FR 32151, July 11, 2018.
Two modifications were incorporated into the formula for PY 2021.
These modifications improve the formula's accuracy in terms of
estimating the true NFJP-eligible population in state service areas,
and one of the modifications is necessitated by a recent statutory
change to the NFJP eligibility criteria, which Congress enacted in the
FY 2021 appropriation. Section II includes further explanation of these
modifications.
This notice represents the final of a two-stage process. ETA
published a notice requesting public comments on May 10, 2021,
regarding the formula methodology and modifications. Additionally, ETA
hosted a webinar on May 5, 2021, to share the preliminary allotments,
explained the data sources, and encourage response to the notice
published shortly thereafter. ETA did not receive any comments through
the public comment process. In this final stage, ETA is publishing the
final formula and final allotment levels.
I. Background
The Department is announcing the final PY 2021 allotments for the
National Farmworker Jobs Program (NFJP). This notice provides
information on the amount of funds available during PY 2021 to state
service areas awarded grants through Funding Opportunity Announcements
FOA-ETA-20-08 and FOA-ETA-20-08-A for the NFJP Career Services and
Training grants and Housing grants. Funds to implement NFJP are
appropriated in the Act. In appropriating these funds, Congress
provided $87,083,000 for formula grants (of which $86,946,000 was
allotted after $137,000 was set aside for program integrity),
$6,256,000 for migrant and seasonal farmworker housing (of which not
less than 70 percent shall be for permanent housing), and another
$557,000 for discretionary purposes. Included below is the table
listing the PY 2021 allotments for the NFJP Career Services and
Training grants. Individual grants are awarded for Housing as a result
of the grants competition and are further distributed according to
language in the appropriations law requiring that of the total amount
available, not less than 70 percent shall be allocated to permanent
housing activities, leaving not more than 30 percent to temporary
housing activities.
II. Description of Data Files and Review of PY 2021 Modifications to
the Allotment Formula
As with all state planning estimates since 1999, the PY 2021
estimates are based on four data sources: (1) State-level, 2017 hired
farm labor expenditure data from the United States Department of
Agriculture's (USDA) Census of Agriculture (COA); (2) regional-level,
2017 average hourly earnings data from the USDA's Farm Labor Survey;
(3) regional-level, 2010-2018 demographic data from the ETA's National
Agricultural Workers Survey (NAWS); and, (4) 2015-2019 (5-year file)
data from the United States Census Bureau's American Community Survey
(ACS). A detailed description of how each data source is used within
the formula is in the Federal Register notice 64 FR 27390, May 19,
1999). In addition to populating the formula with updated data, ETA
incorporated two modifications that will improve the formula's accuracy
in terms of estimating the true NFJP-eligible population in state
service areas. One of the modifications is necessitated by the change
to the NFJP eligibility criteria applicable to the PY 2021
appropriation.
(1) First, the Act expands program eligibility for grants funded by
the PY 2021 appropriation to include farmworkers who are in families
with total family incomes at or below 150 percent of the poverty line.
Therefore, the PY 2021 allocations used special tabulations of data
from the ACS and the NAWS to estimate the share of farmworkers with
total family incomes at or below 150 percent of the poverty line. ETA
will subsequently revise the PY 2022 guidance regarding the definition
of ``low-income individual,'' as needed if the same provision is not
included in subsequent appropriations.
(2) Second, and to more closely align the formula with the
definition of eligible migrant and seasonal farmworker under WIOA
Section 167(i) and 20 CFR 685.110 and clarified in the Training and
Employment Guidance Letter 18-16, ETA modified how the formula accounts
for crop workers who are primarily employed in agriculture. This
formula considers a crop worker to be primarily employed in agriculture
if at least 50 percent of their total individual income is from farm
work or
[[Page 32064]]
at least 50 percent of their total employment time is in farm work.\1\
As with all state planning estimates since 1999, ETA used NAWS data to
determine the share of crop labor hours in each state that was
performed by crop workers who were primarily employed in agriculture,
per this eligibility criterion.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ To determine ``primarily employed in agriculture'' criteria,
which has two parts, ETA uses individual income from farm work.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
III. Description of the Hold-Harmless Provision
ETA has incorporated the hold-harmless provision as instituted in
PY 2018. The updated data resulted in significant changes for a few
states and the hold-harmless provision provides for a stop loss/stop
gain limit to transition to the use of the updated data. This approach
is based on a state service area's previous year's allotment
percentage, which is its relative share of the total formula
allotments. ETA will implement the staged transition of the hold-
harmless provision as follows:
(1) In PY 2021, each state service area will receive an amount
equal to at least 95 percent of their PY 2020 allotment percentage, as
applied to the PY 2021 formula funds available;
(2) In PY 2022, each state service area will receive an amount
equal to at least 90 percent of their PY 2021 allotment percentage, as
applied to the PY 2022 formula funds available;
(3) In PY 2023, each state service area will receive an amount
equal to at least 85 percent of their PY 2022 allotment percentage, as
applied to the PY 2023 formula funds available.
In PY 2021, 2022, and 2023, the stop gain provision provides that
no state service area will receive an amount that is more than 150
percent of their previous year's allotment percentage.
In PY 2024, since the Department has a responsibility to use the
most current and reliable data available, amounts for the new awards
will be based on updated data from the sources described in Section II,
pending their availability. At that time, the Department will determine
whether the changes to state allotments are significant enough to
warrant another hold-harmless provision. Otherwise, allotments to each
state service area will be for an amount resulting from a direct
allotment of the funding formula without adjustment.
IV. Minimum Funding Provisions
A state area that would receive less than $60,000 by application of
the formula will, at the option of the DOL, receive no allotment or, if
practical, be combined with another adjacent state area. Funding below
$60,000 is deemed insufficient for sustaining an independently
administered program. However, if practical, a state jurisdiction that
would receive less than $60,000 may be combined with another adjacent
state area.
V. Program Year 2021 State Allotments
The state allotments set forth in the Table appended to this notice
reflect the distribution resulting from the allotment formula described
above. For PY 2020, $85,229,000 was appropriated for migrant and
seasonal farmworker training grants and allotted based on the PY 2018
formula updates. The figures in the first numerical column show the
actual PY 2020 formula allotments to state service areas. The next
column shows the percentage share of each allotment to the total
available.
For PY 2021, the funding level provided for in the Act for the
migrant and seasonal farmworker program is $93,896,000 of which
$87,083,000 was appropriated for training grants. After allowable funds
are set aside for program integrity ($137,000), the Department will
allot $86,946,000 for training grants based on the formula and data
outlined in this notice. For purposes of illustrating the effects of
the updates to the allotment formula, columns 3 and 4 show the state
service area allotments with the application of the first-year (95
percent) hold-harmless and minimum funding provisions, followed by the
percentages. The difference between PY 2021 and PY 2020 allotments is
shown in column 5. Column 6 of the Table shows the allotments based on
the formula without the application of the hold-harmless or minimum
funding provisions. The percentages are reported in column 7.
U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration, National Farmworker Jobs Program--Career Services and Training Grants
[Impact of final PY 2021 allotments to states]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PY 2020 PY 2021
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
With hold harmless Without hold harmless
State -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Allotment Percentage Difference (PY
share Allotment Percentage 2021 vs. PY Allotment Percentage
share 2020) share
(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total............................... $85,229,000 100.00000 $86,946,000 100.00000 $1,717,000 $86,946,000 100.00000
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama................................. 801,605 0.94053 776,866 0.89350 (24,739) 774,531 0.89082
Alaska.................................. .............. 0.00000 .............. 0.00000 .............. .............. 0.00000
Arizona................................. 2,538,153 2.97804 2,459,822 2.82914 (78,331) 2,547,948 2.93049
Arkansas................................ 1,144,067 1.34234 1,193,276 1.37243 49,209 1,262,754 1.45234
California.............................. 23,333,261 27.37714 22,613,160 26.00828 (720,101) 23,114,407 26.58478
Colorado................................ 1,347,060 1.58052 1,662,689 1.91232 315,629 1,759,499 2.02367
Connecticut............................. 402,388 0.47213 501,264 0.57652 98,876 530,450 0.61009
Delaware................................ 155,864 0.18288 154,593 0.17780 (1,271) 163,594 0.18816
Dist of Columbia........................ .............. 0.00000 .............. 0.00000 .............. .............. 0.00000
Florida................................. 3,763,684 4.41597 3,647,531 4.19517 (116,153) 3,159,183 3.63350
Georgia................................. 1,671,697 1.96142 1,656,566 1.90528 (15,131) 1,753,019 2.01622
Hawaii.................................. 322,061 0.37788 312,122 0.35898 (9,939) 157,635 0.18130
Idaho................................... 1,777,707 2.08580 2,194,625 2.52412 416,918 2,322,406 2.67109
[[Page 32065]]
Illinois................................ 1,746,897 2.04965 1,829,288 2.10394 82,391 1,935,797 2.22644
Indiana................................. 1,145,731 1.34430 1,229,140 1.41368 83,409 1,300,706 1.49599
Iowa.................................... 1,588,068 1.86330 1,756,778 2.02054 168,710 1,859,065 2.13818
Kansas.................................. 1,220,211 1.43169 1,243,435 1.43012 23,224 1,315,834 1.51339
Kentucky................................ 1,044,219 1.22519 1,011,993 1.16393 (32,226) 836,164 0.96170
Louisiana............................... 798,040 0.93635 782,626 0.90013 (15,414) 828,194 0.95254
Maine................................... 328,886 0.38589 408,044 0.46931 79,158 431,802 0.49663
Maryland................................ 386,681 0.45370 521,061 0.59929 134,380 551,400 0.63419
Massachusetts........................... 364,444 0.42761 512,780 0.58977 148,336 542,637 0.62411
Michigan................................ 2,129,494 2.49856 2,073,573 2.38490 (55,921) 2,194,306 2.52376
Minnesota............................... 1,629,902 1.91238 1,579,601 1.81676 (50,301) 1,664,564 1.91448
Mississippi............................. 1,026,761 1.20471 995,074 1.14447 (31,687) 922,368 1.06085
Missouri................................ 985,363 1.15614 1,219,415 1.40250 234,052 1,290,415 1.48416
Montana................................. 628,528 0.73746 699,452 0.80447 70,924 740,177 0.85131
Nebraska................................ 1,295,534 1.52006 1,255,552 1.44406 (39,982) 1,319,642 1.51777
Nevada.................................. 190,893 0.22398 223,924 0.25754 33,031 236,962 0.27254
New Hampshire........................... 115,590 0.13562 145,953 0.16787 30,363 154,451 0.17764
New Jersey.............................. 602,990 0.70749 769,856 0.88544 166,866 814,680 0.93700
New Mexico.............................. 1,049,022 1.23083 1,067,856 1.22818 18,834 1,130,032 1.29969
New York................................ 1,574,968 1.84793 2,169,172 2.49485 594,204 2,295,471 2.64011
North Carolina.......................... 2,638,326 3.09557 2,556,903 2.94079 (81,423) 2,107,580 2.42401
North Dakota............................ 828,016 0.97152 802,462 0.92294 (25,554) 778,997 0.89595
Ohio.................................... 1,417,710 1.66341 1,437,210 1.65299 19,500 1,520,892 1.74924
Oklahoma................................ 1,007,381 1.18197 976,292 1.12287 (31,089) 926,713 1.06585
Oregon.................................. 2,447,454 2.87162 2,371,922 2.72804 (75,532) 2,335,380 2.68601
Pennsylvania............................ 1,485,920 1.74344 1,762,208 2.02678 276,288 1,864,813 2.14479
Puerto Rico............................. 2,420,800 2.84035 2,346,090 2.69833 (74,710) 2,043,240 2.35001
Rhode Island............................ 60,713 0.07124 64,858 0.07460 4,145 68,635 0.07894
South Carolina.......................... 811,276 0.95188 786,239 0.90428 (25,037) 695,074 0.79943
South Dakota............................ 610,598 0.71642 665,710 0.76566 55,112 704,471 0.81024
Tennessee............................... 894,737 1.04980 867,124 0.99731 (27,613) 631,232 0.72600
Texas................................... 5,281,950 6.19736 5,118,941 5.88749 (163,009) 4,630,482 5.32570
Utah.................................... 466,894 0.54781 653,979 0.75217 187,085 692,057 0.79596
Vermont................................. 185,768 0.21796 204,723 0.23546 18,955 216,643 0.24917
Virginia................................ 1,002,595 1.17635 971,653 1.11754 (30,942) 784,640 0.90245
Washington.............................. 4,518,313 5.30138 4,510,391 5.18758 (7,922) 4,773,008 5.48962
West Virginia........................... 155,408 0.18234 150,612 0.17322 (4,796) 112,164 0.12900
Wisconsin............................... 1,639,775 1.92396 1,719,060 1.97716 79,285 1,819,152 2.09228
Wyoming................................. 245,597 0.28816 312,536 0.35946 66,939 330,734 0.38039
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Suzan G. LeVine,
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Employment and Training, Labor.
[FR Doc. 2021-12604 Filed 6-15-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-FN-P
