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OMB 1205-0426: Supporting Statements for PRA Data Collection 

A. JUSTIFICATION

The Office of Job Corps is revising the data collection system for post enrollment student 

outcomes to comply with the reporting provisions of the Workforce Innovation and 

Opportunity Act (WIOA). This submission requests the approval for instruments used to 

collect follow-up data from Job Corps program participants who have exited the program. The 

data collection instruments used for these participants is called the Post Enrollment Data 

Collection (PEDC). Administration of the PEDC will occur during the second and fourth 

quarters after exit from the Job Corps program for all participants according to WIOA. The 

collection instruments are used to collect follow-up data about individuals who are no longer 

actively participating in Job Corps. These individuals either graduated from Job Corps, or 

either completed the Career Preparation Period or participated in the program for at least 60 

days and exited without graduating. (These students are referred to as former enrollees). 

Job Corps has been using the PEDC to collect data on participants who exit the program since 

2000, under the requirements of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998. In December 2015, 

Job Corps submitted a request to extend the data collection without change, because the 

approval of that data collection expires in January 2016. While Job Corps still requires that 

collection to be extended, this Supporting Statement is for a revised Information Collection 

Request, seeking to revise that previous collection so it will conform with the changes to the 

performance indicators made under WIOA. (These performance indicators become effective 

on July 1, 2016. Sec. 506(b)(1) of WIOA.) The revised collection will continue collecting the 

performance information that has been collected under the previous ICR, which Job Corps uses 

in its Outcome Measurement System (OMS), and it will also collect information necessary to 

satisfy the performance reporting under WIOA. 

The rationale for conducting the PEDC is explained in further detail in Section A6 

(Consequences of Less Frequent Data Collection). This collection is necessary in order to 

collect the data required under Sections 159(c) and (d) of WIOA. Section 159(c) requires the 

Secretary to collect information on performance of Job Corps participants, centers, recruiters, 

and career transition service providers, and it requires the information to be consistent with the 

WIOA performance indicators as amended by Section 116(b)(2)(A)(ii) of WIOA. Section 

159(d) also adds additional metrics that Job Corps is required to track. Job Corps has been 

operating under the authorization of the Workforce Investment Act (WIA), which was replaced 

by Title I, Subtitle C of WIOA. Section 159(c)(1) of WIOA amends the WIA required 

performance indicators for Job Corps centers and programs by replacing some of them with the 

same primary indicators of performance that are applicable to the youth formula programs, 

which are found at section 116(b)(2)(A)(ii). 

The questions in this collection are designed to obtain information needed to report on five of 
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the six WIOA required primary performance measures. These are: 

• the percentage of program participants who are in education or training activities, or in 

unsubsidized employment during the second quarter after exit from the program; 

• the percentage of program participants who are in education or training activities, or in 

unsubsidized employment during the fourth quarter after exit from the program; 

• the median earnings of program participants who are in unsubsidized employment during 

the second quarter after exit from the program; 

• the percentage of program participants who obtain a recognized postsecondary credential, 

or a secondary school diploma or its recognized equivalent (and, for those who obtain a 

secondary school diploma or its recognized equivalent, have also obtained or retained 

employment or are in an education or training program leading to a recognized 

postsecondary credential), during participation in or within one year after exit from the 

program; 

• the indicator(s) of effectiveness in serving employers. 

An overview of the modules included in the two primary data collection instruments is provided 

in Appendix A. Additionally, scripts used in the administration of all survey modules are 

provided in Appendix B. 

Al. Circumstances Necessitating the Data Collection 

Job Corps is the nation's largest and most comprehensive residential education and job training 

program for at-risk youths, ages 16 through 24. Job Corps was originally established by the 

Economic Opportunity Act of 1964. The program was transferred from the Office of Economic 

Opportunity to the Department of Labor in 1969. Job Corps was later authorized as part of the 

Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (1978) under Title IV-B, and this authorization 

continued as part of the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) of 1982 and the Workforce 

Investment Act (WIA) of 1998. Now authorized by the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity 

Act (WIOA), Job Corps is administered federally through the Department of Labor, 

Employment and Training Administration, Office of Job Corps. The Job Corps program 

comprises 6 regional offices and 126 Job Corps centers nationwide. 

Job Corps participants are typically high school dropouts in need of further education and 

technical training. Most Job Corps participants live on campus, but in some centers, youth from 

local areas can commute to centers for training. As an open-entry, open-exit program, Job Corps 

admits and graduates students throughout the year. Generally, these students are economically 

disadvantaged ethnic minorities who come from communities that do not foster favorable 

education or employment outcomes. Job Corps offers these youths academic and career 

technical training, social skills training, personal and career counseling, health care, and other 

supportive services. 

During their Job Corps tenure, students can obtain a secondary school credential, learn a 

business or trade through the career technical training program, earn an industry recognized 

credential and participate in work-related training that is intended to make them marketable in 

jobs that pay a living wage. Students who obtain their high school diploma (or its equivalent) or 
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complete their career technical training are considered to be program graduates. 

Upon graduation from Job Corps, youth are prepared to pursue employment opportunities, 

additional educational and training experiences, or enter the Armed Forces. Job Corps career 

development specialists are responsible for assisting graduates and former enrollees with 

finding a job or enrolling in a school or training program. Career development specialists also 

help students create resumes and prepare for interviews. WIOA authorizes Job Corps to provide 

placement services to graduates for up to 12 months after they exit the program and 3 months of 

placement services for former enrollees after exit.

The revised PEDC will collect information to report on five of the six WIOA required primary 

performance measures. These are: 

• the percentage of program participants who are in education or training activities, or in 

unsubsidized employment during the second quarter after exit from the program; 

• the percentage of program participants who are in education or training activities, or in 

unsubsidized employment during the fourth quarter after exit from the program; 

• the median earnings of program participants who are in unsubsidized employment during 

the second quarter after exit from the program; 

• the percentage of program participants who obtain a recognized postsecondary credential, 

or a secondary school diploma or its recognized equivalent (and, for those who obtain a 

secondary school diploma or its recognized equivalent, have also obtained or retained 

employment or are in an education or training program leading to a recognized 

postsecondary credential), during participation in or within one year after exit from the 

program; and 

• the indicator(s) of effectiveness in serving employers. 

Information relevant to the sixth WIOA primary indicator, measurable skill gains (sec. 

116(b)(2)(A)(i)(V)), is not collected through this information collection. It will be collected 

using an existing data collection conducted before a participant exits the program, which does 

not require change. 

Job Corps will also use the information collected from the proposed PEDCS to measure and 

report participant performance under the following metrics mandated by Section 159(d) of 

WIOA: 

• the number of graduates who entered the Armed Forces; 

• the number of graduates who entered apprenticeship programs; 

• the number of graduates who received a regular secondary school diploma; 

• the number of graduates who received a State recognized equivalent of a secondary school 

diploma; 

• the number of graduates who entered unsubsidized employment related to the career and 

technical education and training received through the Job Corps program; 

• the number of graduates who entered unsubsidized employment not related to the education 

and training received; 

• the percentage and number of graduates who enter postsecondary education; 
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• the average wage of graduates who enter unsubsidized employment— 

1) on the first day of such employment; and 

2)on the day 6 months after such first day 

This data collection effort also provides for selected re-verification of initial work and school 

placements of graduates and former enrollees. The effort to re-verify initial work and school 

placements is consistent with recommendations by the Office of the Inspector General (in

Adopting Best Practices Can Improve Placement Services to Students Terminating From the 

Job Corps Program report, 1988) that the Job Corps "monitor the services provided by 

placement contractors to ensure that contract requirements are being met and students are 

receiving quality placement services." 

To fulfill these information collection objectives, Job Corps will use the two primary 

instruments identified in Appendix C and the three secondary instruments identified in 

Appendix D to collect data. Online and telephone surveys will be conducted with graduates 

and former enrollees or their employers and educational institutions at specified times (see 

Appendix A,). The Job Corps Data Center (JCDC) will provide identifying information about 

graduates and former enrollees for the survey which will be used to provide contact information 

and identify the initial work or school placement status of graduates and former enrollees after 

they leave Job Corps. The revised instruments will be submitted after development and prior to 

implementation of the WIOA performance metrics. 

A2. How, by whom and for what Purposes is the Information to be used. 

Congress and the Secretary of Labor will use the data collected with these instruments to assess 

the effectiveness of the Job Corps program in meeting its objectives under WIOA. The data 

collected will be used to fulfill the reporting requirements under sec. 159(c)(4) of WIOA. The 

Office of Job Corps will also incorporate these data into the Outcome Measurement System to 

evaluate the post-center outcomes of graduates and former enrollees. The Job Corps program 

will use the information about student outcomes and customer feedback about satisfaction with 

specific services to develop or refine policies to improve the delivery of educational and job 

training services to at-risk youth. 

A3. Use of Technology to Reduce Burden 

The data collection instruments will be programmed into a computer generated online system 

for ongoing survey administration augmented by a Computer-Assisted Telephone Interviewing 

(CATI) system. This automated system performs a range of response checks and complex skip 

patterns, and it also checks for internal consistency. Additionally, CATI provides automated 

scheduling, callback, and on-line data storage, which make it easier to control the sample, 

monitor the study, and reduce data entry costs. Automated online interviewing reduces the 

burden by speeding up the collection and analysis of the results and reduces the number of 

interviews under CATI. 

A4. Efforts to Identify Duplication 
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No other existing source of data can meet the specific data reporting requirements of WIOA. 

Although Sections 159 and 116 of WIOA note that the Secretary of Labor may collect 

information on former Job Corps students by using quarterly wage records, such records do not 

include information sufficient to support reporting on all the different indicators. For example, 

the records do not include information about wage rates, hours worked, and jobs that are not 

covered by unemployment insurance (UI). In addition, UI wage records do not provide any 

information about enrollment in school or training programs, which is a key program outcome. 

All of the information referred to in this collection is required to fully measure participant 

performance under the WIOA performance measures, as required by section 159 of WIOA. The 

instruments presented in this application have been designed to collect this information. 

A5. Methods to Minimize Burden on Small Businesses 

This data collection will place minimal burden on small businesses. Businesses will only be 

contacted through online methods and participation will be voluntary. Job Corps will follow a 

similar practice for individuals who are placed in a school or training program. The brief 

employment verification survey instruments for employers and educational institutions are 

included in Appendix D. 

A6. Consequences of Less Frequent Data Collection 

Since the information from former enrollees and graduates will be obtained according to the 

requirements of WIOA, less frequent data collection will not allow the Office of Job Corps to 

track participant performance under the performance measures specified by WIOA. WIOA 

mandates contacts with participants during two periods; within the second and fourth quarters 

after exit from the program. 

The PEDC contact with graduates and former enrollees during the two periods will collect 

additional information as required under the law. 

A7. Special Circumstances for Data Collection 

These data collection efforts do not involve any special circumstances. 

A8. Federal Register Notice and Consultation outside the Agency 

 

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the public will be given 60 days to 

review the Federal Register Notice. 

A9. Payment or Gifts to Respondents 

Consistent with the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, the Job Corps program 

provides ongoing services to graduates for one year and former enrollees for 90 days after exit. 

A key element of this system involves regular contacts between the student and his or her career 

transition specialist. To encourage students to maintain contact with Job Corps, the program 

provides graduates with a transitional allowance and graduates and former enrollees with post-
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separation incentives for taking the PEDC survey: $10 after completion of the 2nd quarter 

surveys and $20 after completing the 4th quarter surveys. 

A10. Confidentiality Assurances 

This survey is conducted in accordance with all relevant regulations and requirements, including 

the Privacy Act of 1974 (5 USC 552a), the Privacy Act Regulations (34 CFR Part 5b), the 

Freedom of Information Act (5 CFR 552) and its related regulations (41 CFR Part 1-1, 45 CFR 

Part 5b, and 40 CFR 44502). 

In May 2007, in an effort to proactively support Job Corps’ commitment to securing Personal 

Identifiable Information (PII), all aspects of the data collection process were consolidated under 

the secure network environment provided and maintained by the JCDC. The application is 

accessible via Citrix, JCDC's preferred secure method. 

The JCDC takes several steps to insure the safety and integrity of the student data housed at its 

facilities in Austin, Texas and Limestone, Maine. All student data is housed on a central server, 

in a secured computer room in a locked building on the fenced and guarded facility. There are 

several layers of system security. First, the server network is a private network. The network is 

protected from the Internet by a series of layered firewalls, access control lists, and intrusion 

detection systems. 

All Job Corps employees enter data into the system through the private network. All users must 

have a valid user ID and password (which is changed every 90 days) to enter the system. 

Additional security is obtained through the use of application level user IDs and passwords and 

specific permission applied at the database level. The integrity of the data is insured by running 

daily validation programs that submit the data to a set of pre-approved business rules 

established by the Office of Job Corps. In order to secure the integrity of the data during 

transmission to the data collection contractors, the JCDC has established 128 bit encrypted 

Citrix sessions from the data collection center operators to the JCDC. All of survey contractor’s 

staff have completed security awareness training and have access to the Citrix environment and 

the CDSS suite of applications. 

Additionally, the contractor survey sites are maintained in accordance with the Guide for 

Developing Security Plans for Information Technology Systems (NIST Special Pub 800-18) 

posted by The National Institute of Standards and Technology's Computer Security Resource 

Center. Internal access to individual records within the database and the ability to access data 

transmissions between the Job Corps Data Center and the data collection contractor are 

controlled by all appropriate security measures, including controlled user names, passwords, 

profile name, host name, firewall security IDs, and crypto cards. Transfer of data occurs only 

via Citrix, ensuring a secure means of communication for the data collection contractors and 

JCDC. 

Additionally, the personal computers (PCs) in staff offices that are wired to the network are 

located within the same building as the network drive. The PCs are accessible only after 

providing individual user passwords that must be changed on a regular basis. Screensavers are 
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installed on all PCs, set to activate after ten minutes, and can only be released through the 

individual user's password. PC passwords are not physically documented; therefore, loss of 

access may be recouped only by the reassignment of a password by the information systems 

staff. 

All respondents are told that completing the interview is voluntary and that the information they 

provide will not be shared with anyone outside of the Job Corps community. Answers to some 

questions in the instrument will be provided to appropriate agency staff (for example, 

information that results in questioning the validity of the initial placement will be reported to 

Job Corps Regional Office staff for follow-up). Answers to other questions will be reported at 

the individual level in the Job Corps Outcome Measurement System (for example, placement 

and wage status during the second and fourth quarters after exit). Therefore, it is not possible to 

guarantee to respondents that their answers will not be released to anyone. However, 

respondents will be assured that Job Corps will use the collected data only for program 

evaluation purposes and that their answers will not be shared with anyone outside of Job Corps 

without their written approval. 

The policies and procedures maintained at any facility operated by service providers under 

contract are designed to protect the confidentiality of data. All contract staff sign pledges to 

protect respondents' confidentiality. Additionally, the issues of confidentiality will be addressed 

in training sessions for all staff involved with the administration of the data collection 

instruments. Access to sample selection data will be limited to those who have direct 

responsibility for sample selection. Individual identifying information will be maintained 

separately from hardcopy collection forms and from computerized data files prepared for 

conducting the analysis. 

To keep the data private, it is important not to release data into public use files or to present 

results in reports so that individuals can be identified. Data collected through the instruments 

presented here will not be made publicly available. Job Corps staff or contractors will analyze 

data for purposes of program management and quality improvement. Nonetheless, reports that 

use these data will be handled in a manner that eliminates the possibility of compromising 

confidentiality. Job Corps staff and contractors will follow commonly accepted guidelines (what 

the Federal Committee on Statistical Methodology calls the Threshold Rule) and display only 

aggregated data when there are more than three cases in a cell table. When there are three or 

fewer cases in a cell table, tabular data will be presented by combining categories or 

suppressing cells to ensure the elimination of possible individual identities. Given the size of 

Job Corps centers and the monthly year-to-date aggregation of data, the data presented in any 

cell table will most likely represent information from at least four observations. 

A11. Additional Justification for Sensitive Questions 

These data collection instruments submitted for approval do not include questions of a sensitive 

or personal nature. All respondents are assured that their responses will be kept private at the 

outset of the survey or phone interview unless they wish to specifically authorize its release in 

writing. In addition, they will be informed that they do not have to answer questions with which 

they are uncomfortable. 
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All of the questions concerning wages and income have been successfully pretested, and similar 

questions have been used extensively in previous instruments with no evidence of adverse 

consequences. Additionally, the survey instrument is equipped to accommodate respondents 

who are uncomfortable providing a specific wage by allowing their answers to be coded in 

ranges. Specifically, similar questions about wages and income from employment were used in 

the "Evaluation of the Impact of the Job Corps Program on Participants' Post-Program Labor 

Market and Related Behavior" study (CMB 1205-0351, expiration date 10/96). 

A12. Estimates of the Burden of Data Collection 

This data collection is an annual process that supports the administration of approximately 

93,400 Job Corps online surveys and telephone interviews. The surveys are estimated to require 

an average of 12 minutes to complete and the telephone interviews 15 minutes. These 

administration times are based on past experience in using these instruments. 

The combined reporting burden for respondents associated with this data collection effort is 

estimated at approximately 21,700 hours, as shown in Table 1. 

Table1: Estimates of Respondent Burden Average Time

Respondent Category 

Online survey of graduates and 

former enrollees during the second 

and fourth quarter after exit 

Telephone interview of graduates 

and former enrollees during the 

second and fourth quarter after exit 

Employer/Institution Employment 

Verification Survey 

 

Total 

Total Hours per Estimated 

Responses Respondent Hours 

28,000 0.20 5,600 

60,400 0.25 15,100 

5,000 0.20 1,000 

93,400 21,700 

Costs to respondents are limited to the time they will spend answering the online survey and 

being interviewed by telephone. 

Table 2 shows the estimated costs to respondents, based on the Job Corps national average wage 

of placed graduates and former enrollees for Program Year 2014. A standard hourly rate of 

$25.00 per hour is used for estimating the costs of responses for employers and educational 

institutions. 
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The total estimated cost of the burden for respondents is approximately $232,267 per year. This 

burden is offset by the incentive payments totaling approximately $1,326,000 (See section A14 

for calculation) that will be provided to many of the respondents for remaining in contact with 

the follow-up system for services and tracking. 

Table 2: Estimated Cost to Respondents 

Estimated Data Total Estimated Data Collection 

Respondent Total Number Hourly Collection Cost to Cost per 

Category Responses of Hours Rate Respondents Respondent 

 

Online survey of Former 6,000 1,200 $9.93 $11,916 $1.99 

Enrollees during the second 

and fourth quarter after exit 

Online survey of Graduates 22,000 4,400 $10.05 $44,220 $2.01 

during the second and fourth 

quarters after exit 

Telephone interview of Former 

Enrollees during the second 20,800 5,200 $9.93 $51,636 $2.48 

and fourth quarter after exit 

Telephone interview of 

Graduates 39,600 9,900 $10.05 $99,495 $2.51 

during the second and 

fourth quarter after exit 

 

Employer/Institution 

employment verification 

survey 

5,000 1,000 $25.00 $25,000 $5.00 

Total 93,400 

Total Respondent Burden 

Cost:  

$232,267 

Total Burden Hours: 

 

21,700 

A13. Estimated Cost of the Survey 
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There are no additional costs to the respondents for participating in this survey. All telephone or 

postage costs for contacting the respondents are borne by the federal government through the 

data collection contractors. 

A14. Estimates of Annual Costs to the Federal Government 

The estimated cost of funding this data collection effort in 2014 was $3,500,000 dollars. This 

estimate includes the ongoing maintenance of the infrastructure needed to administer the CATI 

system, ongoing data communication to and from the Job Corps Data Center, data collection 

using online surveys and telephone interviews from trained staff who are not Job Corps 

employees, data processing including coding of occupational and industry information, and 

preparation of summary data tabulations. Supervision of this total system is also included here. 

This cost does not include onetime expenditures that will not recur in the future. 

The estimated cost of funding this data collection effort will be determined after the survey 

revisions are complete as required by the increased reporting requirements of WIOA. 

Approximately 40% of the cost is budgeted for labor. Approximately 5% of the cost is budgeted 

for long distance phone service, and approximately 55% of the cost is budgeted for software and 

equipment including the CATI facilities. 

Additionally, the incentive system used to help ensure that graduates and former enrollees 

remain in contact with the Job Corps system will cost approximately $1,326,000 annually 

(Table 3). The incentive system allots $10 payments to graduates and former enrollees 

completing the second quarter survey and $20 payments for those completing the fourth quarter 

survey after exit. 

Table 3: Incentive Payments 

Surveys Respondents Incentive Amount 

Graduates and former enrollees at 

second quarter after exit 44,200 $10 $ 442,000 

Graduates and former enrollees at 44,200 $20 $ 884,000 

fourth quarter after exit 

Total 88,400 $ 1,326,000 

Altogether, the total cost per completed survey for this data collection is estimated at 

approximately $55.00 for the Job Corps Post Enrollment Data Collection System. 

A15. Changes in Burden 
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The most recent ICR, submitted in December 2015, estimated 48,300 total respondents to the 

survey, with a corresponding burden of 10,240 hours. For this ICR, Job Corps estimates it will 

have 49,200 total respondents, with 93,400 total responses. This results in a burden of 21,700 

hours, an increase of 11,460 hours. This increase in burden under WIOA is attributable to the 

requirement to survey all program participants, which produces a much larger pool than was 

produced under the WIA requirement to survey only placed graduates and former enrollees. 

A16. Tabulation and Publication Plans and Time Schedules for the Project 

The data collected serves three primary purposes. First, the data is used to fulfill part of the 

performance measurement and reporting requirements for the Job Corps program specified in 

WIOA. Second, data is used for independent verification of contractor reported outcomes 

regarding placement and wages. Such information is used in determining incentive and award 

fees as part of the performance-based service contracts through which Job Corps operates 

centers and post-center services. Finally, the information supports the continuous program 

improvement activities regularly conducted by the Office of Job Corps and program operators. 

Although the same data collection instruments support all these purposes, the analysis plan, 

reporting plan and time schedule for each does differ. 

Performance measurement results are calculated and published on a monthly basis at the center, 

regional, and national levels. 

As part of each contractor's performance measurement, data from the surveys of former 

enrollees and graduates who were identified as placed in a job or school program are used by 

the Office of Job Corps to verify the reports provided by those contractors. Reports of 

questionable placements (QPs), i.e., those that fail to meet Job Corps' criteria for hours 

employed or enrolled in school and/or minimum wages, are produced either from the survey 

data or from employer/school verification mechanisms. QP reports are provided to the Job 

Corps Regional Offices for follow up with the reporting contractor to determine whether the 

reported placement will be disallowed for the performance report for that contractor. These QP 

reports are for internal contractor monitoring and management purposes only and are not 

published or made public. 

A17. Approval Not to Display OMB Expiration Date 

The instruments will be administered as computer-assisted online and telephone interviews. 

OMB expirations dates will be displayed on the survey screens for the online survey; however, 

no hardcopy instruments will contain the printed expiration date for telephone interviews. In 

conducting follow-up activities with employers and schools it is anticipated that respondents 

will sometimes prefer to complete a hardcopy version of the instrument rather than an online 

survey or telephone interview. In such cases, the questionnaire, including the OMB control 

number and expiration date, is mailed or sent via facsimile to the contact at the employing 

organization or school for completion. 

A18. Exceptions to OMB Form 83-I 

No exceptions are requested in the "Certification of Paperwork Reduction Act Submissions." 
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B. EMPLOYING STATISTICAL METHODS TO COLLECT INFORMATION 

B1. Description of the Population and Sampling to Be Used 

Goals of the Data Collection 

No statistical methods leading to inferences of larger populations are used. In all reports and 

other publications and statements resulting from this work, no attempt is made to draw 

inferences to any population other than the set of participants responding to the data collection 

effort. 

There are three primary goals of the data collected through the instruments and methods 

described in this request: 

• to fulfill performance measurement and reporting requirements for the Job Corps program as 

specified in the WIOA regarding reporting on the employment and education outcomes of 

program participants to determine the performance of each center and the larger program; 

• to independently verify, as specified by the Office of the Inspector General, the placement 

and wage reports made for individual participants reportedly placed by contractors in order to 

ensure the integrity and quality of placement services provided by Job Corps centers and 

career transition service (CTS) agencies; and 

• to enhance the quality of the Job Corps program through collection of information on 

customer satisfaction of former participants, employers and educational institutions. 

Populations to be Surveyed 

In addition to the employers and educational institutions taking the employment verification 

survey, two Job Corps populations are contacted in this data collection effort: graduates and 

former enrollees. Former enrollees are defined in Section 142 of the WIOA an individual who 

has voluntarily applied for, been selected for, and enrolled in the Job Corps program, but left the 

program prior to becoming a graduate. A graduate is defined as an individual who has 

voluntarily applied for, been selected for, and enrolled in the Job Corps program and who, as a 

result of participation in the Job Corps program, has received a secondary school diploma or 

recognized equivalent, or completed the requirements of a career and technical education and 

training program that prepares individuals for employment leading to economic self-sufficiency 

or entrance into postsecondary education or training. 

Uses of the Collected Data 

The first two goals for this data collection suggest very strongly that survey results need to be 

precise at the level of the individual Job Corps center and CTS agency (the contractors 

responsible for participant placement). Job Corps' performance-based contracting methodology 

uses these survey-reported outcomes to determine incentive and award fees for the private 

contractors that operate the individual centers and the CTS (placement) agencies. Further, Job 

Corps' ranking of center and CTS contractor performance uses data collected from the surveys. 
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The relative ranking of centers and CTS agencies provides one of the major criteria used by Job 

Corps to determine whether a contract option is renewed and in evaluating contractor past 

performance for new contracts, and the ranking reports are very sensitive to small changes in 

measured performance. 

B2. Statistical Methodology for Stratification and Sample Selection 

As indicated above, all groups are a census of the population. No sample selection or 

stratification is applicable. 

B3. Methods to Maximize Response Rates and Address Non response 

The following strategies are used to maximize response rates: 

• The data collection instrument consists primarily of well-tested items. 

• The contractors work closely with Job Corps staff to obtain adequate tracking 

and locating information about all Job Corps graduates and former enrollees. 

• The online survey instrument maximizes the opportunity for collection by utilizing electronic 

contact information like e-mail, text and smart phone applications. Maintaining contact 

during the first three months after exit will improve response rates during the data 

collection periods. 

• Regular contact between students and career transition specialists following 

termination, and the enhancements to the Career Information System significantly improve 

the quality of available student locating information. 

• Job Corps employs sample-locating and refusal-avoidance techniques that 

have been proven to maximize locating and enlisting the cooperation of youth populations. 

• Graduates receive monetary incentives from Job Corps during the 12-month 

service eligibility period that will likely enhance cooperation with the data collection effort. 

Research suggests that reminders can be the single most important technique for producing high 

response rates. Providing periodic reminders via electronic means helps track graduates and 

former enrollees who have moved since their separation from Job Corps or for whom traditional 

contact information such as phone numbers and mailing addresses is inadequate. Job Corps 

employs additional searching techniques that have been proven to maximize the location of 

respondents and the elicitation of their cooperation, including: 

• contacting parents, relatives, and neighbors; 

• sending address-correction letters; 

• searching on-line nationwide databases (for example, Accurint, White Pages, 

 Directory Assistance, Lexis/Nexis, reverse lookups, among others); 

• requesting, where possible, information from public agencies (for example, motor vehicle 

 departments and corrections departments); and, 

• providing a toll-free line for respondents to call. 

Job Corps uses online survey techniques and telephone procedures through a support contract 

that maximize response rates after respondents have been located. Telephone interviewers are 
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trained to carefully follow these procedures. The contractors carefully monitor and retrain 

interviewers to correct any weaknesses in their contact and interviewing techniques. Two to 

three weeks after the first contact with a respondent who initially refused to participate; a senior 

interviewer will contact the respondent and address the respondent's concerns about completing 

the interview. The data collection contractors will maintain databases to track survey data, will 

generate regular reports to identify non responders, and will support follow-up efforts. These 

procedures have been used successfully in Job Corps’ data collection efforts to achieve response 

rates consistent with those projected for these follow-up surveys.