[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 96 (Friday, May 18, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28079-28081]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-9562]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Bureau of Labor Statistics


Proposed Collection; 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. The 
Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) is soliciting comments concerning the 
proposed revision of the ``National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 
1997.'' A copy of the proposed information collection request (ICR) can 
be obtained by contacting the individual listed in the ADDRESSES 
section of this notice.

DATES: Written comments must be submitted to the office listed in the 
ADDRESSES section below on or before July 17, 2007.

ADDRESSES: Send comments to Amy A. Hobby, BLS Clearance Officer, 
Division of Management Systems, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Room 4080, 
2 Massachusetts Avenue, NE., Washington, DC 20212, 202-691-7628. (This 
is not a toll free number.)

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Amy A. Hobby, BLS Clearance Officer, 
202-691-7628. (See ADDRESSES section.)

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    The National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 (NLSY97) is a 
nationally

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representative sample of persons who were born in the years 1980 to 
1984. These respondents were ages 12-17 when the first round of annual 
interviews began in 1997; the eleventh round of annual interviews will 
be conducted from October 2007 to May 2008. The pretest interviews for 
round 12 will take place in June and July 2008. The Bureau of Labor 
Statistics (BLS) contracts with the National Opinion Research Center 
(NORC) at the University of Chicago to conduct the NLSY97. The primary 
objective of the survey is to study the transition from schooling to 
the establishment of careers and families. The longitudinal focus of 
this survey requires information to be collected from the same 
individuals over many years in order to trace their education, 
training, work experience, fertility, income, and program 
participation.
    One of the goals of the Department of Labor (DOL) is to produce and 
disseminate timely, accurate, and relevant information about the U.S. 
labor force. The BLS contributes to this goal by gathering information 
about the labor force and labor market and disseminating it to 
policymakers and the public so that participants in those markets can 
make more informed, and thus more efficient, choices. Research based on 
the NLSY97 contributes to the formation of national policy in the areas 
of education, training, employment programs, and school-to-work 
transitions. In addition to the reports that the BLS produces based on 
data from the NLSY97, members of the academic community publish 
articles and reports based on NLSY97 data for the DOL and other funding 
agencies. The survey design provides data gathered from the same 
respondents over time to form the only data set that contains this type 
of information for this important population group. Without the 
collection of these data, an accurate longitudinal data set could not 
be provided to researchers and policymakers, thus adversely affecting 
the DOL's ability to perform its policy- and report-making activities.

II. Current Action

    The BLS seeks approval to conduct round 11 of annual interviews of 
the NLSY97 as well as the pretest for round 12. Respondents to the 
NLSY97 will undergo an interview of approximately one hour during which 
they will answer questions about schooling and labor market 
experiences, family relationships, and community background.
    During the fielding period for the main round 11 interviews, about 
10 percent of respondents will be asked to participate in a brief 
validation interview a few weeks after the initial interview. The 
purpose of the validation interview is to verify that the initial 
interview took place as the interviewer reported and to assess the data 
quality of selected questionnaire items.
    The BLS proposes to record randomly selected segments of the main 
interviews and all validation interviews during round 11. Recording 
interviews can help the BLS and NORC to ensure that the interviews 
actually took place and that interviewers are reading the questions 
exactly as worded and entering the responses properly. Recording also 
can help to identify parts of the interview that might be causing 
problems or misunderstanding for interviewers or respondents. At the 
end of round 11, the BLS and NORC will assess the benefits and any 
problems with recording interviews to determine whether validation 
interviews and their associated respondent burden can be eliminated 
completely in round 12 and beyond. The BLS and NORC will not release 
any variables that are developed from the recording of the interviews 
to anyone not associated with the NLS program at the BLS or its 
contractors. Each respondent will be informed that the interview may be 
recorded for quality control, testing, and training purposes. If the 
respondent objects to the recording of the interview, the interviewer 
will confirm to the respondent that the interview will not be recorded 
and then proceed with the interview.
    During round 11, the BLS proposes to continue an experiment begun 
in round 10 to examine the extent to which financial and in-kind 
incentives encourage greater cooperation both in the current round and 
in future rounds. Other changes in round 11 include removing the 
Current Population Survey questions and political participation 
questions that were asked in round 10 and streamlining the confirmation 
questions in various parts of the questionnaire. Confirmation questions 
ask respondents to verify information that they provided in previous 
interviews. Some questions also have been removed from the sections on 
fertility and household information. The round 11 questionnaire 
includes questions that have been added on contraceptive choice, 
health, birth weight, fertility, and financial health and literacy. The 
locator section is being moved from the end of the interview to the 
main interview for half the respondents to determine if more complete 
locating information is obtained if the questions are asked earlier in 
the interview.

III. Desired Focus of Comments

    The Bureau of Labor Statistics is particularly interested in 
comments that:
    <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 collection of information, including the 
validity of the methodology and assumptions used.
    <bullet> Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected.
    <bullet> Minimize the burden of the collection of information 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 submissions of responses.
    Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Agency: Bureau of Labor Statistics.
    Title: National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997.
    OMB Number: 1220-0157.
    Affected Public: Individuals or households.

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                                                                                                                           Average time      Estimated
                      Form                            Total                     Frequency                      Total       per response    total burden
                                                   respondents                                               responses       (minutes)        (hours)
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Main Round 11 Interview........................           7,400  Annually...............................           7,400              60           7,400
Round 11 Validation Interview..................             740  Annually...............................             740               6              74
Round 12 Pretest...............................             200  Annually...............................             200              60             200
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    Totals.....................................           7,600  .......................................           8,340  ..............           7,674
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The difference between the total number of respondents and the total number of responses reflects the fact that 740 respondents will be interviewed
  twice, once in the main round 11 survey and a second time in the validation interview.

    Total Burden Cost (capital/startup): $0.
    Total Burden Cost (operating/maintenance): $0.
    Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized 
and/or included in the request for Office of Management and Budget 
approval of the information collection request; they also will become a 
matter of public record.

    Signed at Washington, DC, this 14th day of May, 2007.
Cathy Kazanowski,
Chief, Division of Management Systems, Bureau of Labor Statistics.
 [FR Doc. E7-9562 Filed 5-17-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-24-P