58212 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 188 / Wednesday, September 27, 2000 / Notices

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Employment and Training

Administration

Directives System; Request for

Information

This Notice is a request for

information regarding possible revisions

to the directives system used by the

Employment and Training

Administration (ETA) to communicate

guidance and information to the States

and other grant recipients. We are now

accepting suggestions from all interested

parties who wish to contribute to the

streamlining of the directives system to

accommodate the One-Stop

environment. We intend ultimately to

provide directives electronically, and,

thus, more expeditiously, to States and

other grant recipients.

Background

The ETA directives system has been

in place for many years. It is used to

disseminate the Department’s

interpretations of Federal law

requirements; procedural,

administrative, management, and

program direction; and other

information to the States and other

direct grant recipients. The directives

system also is used for communications

between the ETA national office and its

regional offices. They are distributed to

standardized lists of recipients who

need the instructions or information

they contain.

All directives originating within the

National Office of ETA must be issued

through the official ETA directives

system. Directives are used to provide

both interpretations and operational

guidance.

Interpretative guidance directives may

provide major clarifications and

interpretations of program initiatives,

broad operating policies, and program

standards to all States and other direct

grant recipients. This guidance, in

conjunction with applicable legislation

and regulations, comprises the

standards governing ETA-funded

programs in the States.

Operational guidance directives

provide detailed information which

supplements the interpretative

guidance. This includes requests for

reports and other materials, definition

or interpretation of specific operating

requirements, and dissemination of

other information relating to program or

administrative management.

Operational guidance assists States in

complying with Federal law.

ETA sends nine (9) different

categories of directives to States

(although the last three are rarely used):

1. The Training and Employment

Guidance Letter (TEGL) is used to

transmit funding allotments, program

development and interpretative

guidance statements to State Workforce

Liaisons, State Employment Security

Agencies, State Worker Adjustment

Liaisons, and One-Stop Career Center

System Leads.

2. The Training and Employment

Information Notice (TEIN) is used to

clarify existing interpretations or

program information, transmit planning

schedules, and reiterate previously

issued interpretations. The TEIN is sent

to State Workforce Liaisons, State

Employment Security Agencies, State

Worker Adjustment Liaisons, and OneStop Career Center System Leads.

3. The Employment Service Program

Letter (ESPL) is used to transmit

instructions; information concerning

objectives; standards; rules; regulations;

procedures; and related information for

developing and implementing

employment service programs. It is sent

to State Employment Security Agencies.

4. The Unemployment Insurance

Program Letter (UIPL) is used to

transmit material about objectives, rules,

regulations, standards, procedures and

related information for administering

the unemployment insurance programs.

It is sent to State Employment Security

Agencies.

5. The General Administration Letter

(GAL) is used to transmit material

concerning the overall organization and

general administration of the

employment service, unemployment

insurance, and related programs. It is

sent to State Employment Security

Agencies.

6. Handbooks include technical

instructions, information, or guidance

about either a specific program or

administrative area or a group of related

activities or functions pertaining to a

single program or administrative area.

Technical assistance guides are

included in this category. Handbooks

are sent to State Employment Security

Agencies, and Regional Offices.

7. The Reports and Analysis Letter

(RAL) is used to transmit instructions

and samples of forms for statistical

reports (except budget and fiscal

reports) which State agencies submit to

ETA National and Regional Offices. It

may also be used to supplement

statistical reporting requirements. It is

sent to State Employment Security

Agencies.

8. The Fiscal Letter (FL) is used to

transmit material concerning fiscal

standards, fiscal reports and procedures,

the budgetary process, and expenditure

of funds (except the unemployment

compensation trust fund). It is sent to

State Employment Security Agencies.

9. The Employment Security Manual

(ESM) addresses State and local

program operating interpretations;

standards; and procedural and reporting

instructions for the operation of the

State employment security system. It is

sent to State Employment Security

Agencies.

In recent years electronic

communication has supplemented the

transmittal of hard copies of these

directives.

In addition, ETA’s special targeted

programs, such as the Migrant and

Seasonal Farmworker Program; Indian

and Native American Program; Senior

Community Service Employment

Program; Job Corps; and the Office of

Apprenticeship Training, Employer and

Labor Services (ATELS) have separate

means of communicating to their field

structure, as follows:

Apprenticeship Training, Employer

and Labor Services: Circulars provide

interpretations, guidelines, instructions,

and procedures governing ATELS

operations to regional, State, and local

staff. Field instructions provide

administrative instructions to the same

audience. Bulletins are used to provide

information.

Job Corps: Each of the following are

addressed to Job Corps Centers and

Regional Directors: orders are used to

delegate authority; bulletins provide

policy, standards, procedures and

guidance; notices provide information

or request one-time information; and

handbooks contain interpretative

standards and procedural instructions

for centers.

Office of National Programs: Bulletins

are used to provide interpretations,

standards, procedures, and guidance to

grantees and contractors for Indian and

Native American Programs; Migrant and

Seasonal Farmworker Programs; the

Senior Community Service Employment

Program; and the Disability

Employment and Initiatives Program.

The National School-to-Work Office

uses bulletins to provide interpretations,

standards, procedures, and guidance to

grantees and contractors.

Several developments have prompted

ETA to seek review of the current

directives system. First, the Workforce

Investment Act (WIA) was enacted in

August 1998 and replaced the Job

Training Partnership Act on July 1,

2000. This legislation reforms many

ETA programs and links most of them

more closely together through a OneStop service delivery system. Second,

WIA requires ETA to reorganize to align

functions to carry out the new

legislation. Third, advances in

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 188 / Wednesday, September 27, 2000 / Notices 58213

technology for providing Internet access

to directives and reporting

requirements, as well as on-line

reporting, have enabled more efficient

means of communication between ETA

and its partners. In light of the above,

and because the current directives

system predates these developments,

ETA decided that the directives system

needs to be reconsidered.

Principles Governing the Redesign of

the Directives System

An internal ETA task group was

convened to consider how the ETA

directives system might be improved.

The task group determined that the

following principles or objectives

should guide the redesign of the

directives system.

Customer Focus: The directives

system should provide timely, quick,

and accurate information to the people

who need to use it.

One Cohesive System: All ETA

programs should be recognized as part

of a single workforce development

system—America’s Workforce

Network—and the directives system

should be organized in a way that

reinforces this.

Sharing of Information: ETA should

encourage free and open

communication with its customers. Full

awareness of policies and sharing of

information will contribute to greater

efficiency and effectiveness in achieving

the objectives of ETA’s programs.

Logic and Clarity: The directives

system should have logic and clarity. It

should be simplified because there are

currently so many types of directives/

issuances, they may cause confusion

among customers and stakeholders

about where to look for information and

guidance. Also, limiting different types

of communications to different

audiences does not facilitate the sharing

of information.

Comprehensiveness: All directives

used by ETA should be under the

umbrella of a single system.

Use of Electronic Communication:

Achieving the objectives of speedy and

open communications, as well as easy

access to information, argues for

utilizing electronic means of

communication. Policy and information

should be made available quickly on an

appropriate ETA website that includes a

comprehensive electronic directory of

directives, searchable by program and

topic. Customers (e.g., grantees) should

be able to subscribe to a list serve which

will notify them when a new directive

is issued, and have the option of

receiving notification of only certain

categories of directives.

Request for Public Comment

The objective of this review of the

ETA directives system is to determine

how to improve the effectiveness of the

system in communicating guidance and

information. To assist us, we seek

public comment from users of ETA

directives and other interested parties.

Public comment is particularly invited

in response to the following questions.

However, other comments, which may

not be specifically embraced by these

questions, may also be submitted.

1. Does the current ETA directives

system meet your needs? If not, describe

any problems you have identified.

2. Can you easily access guidance and

information relevant to your needs

through the current directives system?

3. What different features would you

like to see in a revised directives

system?

4. Should the directives system be

limited to communicating policy and

guidance (i.e., information and notices

of meetings would be communicated

outside the directives system)?

5. Is there good justification to

maintain a specific program’s directive

series like Job Corps Bulletins, ATELS

Circulars, Unemployment Insurance

Program Letters, or others?

6. Would it be acceptable if directives

were available only electronically (i.e., a

Web-based system), provided there was

a suitable transition period?

7. If the response to question 6 is

affirmative, how long a transition period

would you suggest is needed to go to an

all-electronic system?

This notice is a general solicitation of

comments from the public.

DATES: Commenters are requested to

provide two (2) copies of their written

submission to the Office of Policy and

Research by 5:00 p.m. on November 13,

2000.

ADDRESSES: Written responses should be

addressed to Terry Finegan at the Office

of Policy and Research, Employment

and Training Administration, U.S.

Department of Labor, 200 Constitution

Avenue, NW., Room N–5637,

Washington, DC 20210. Responses also

may be E-Mailed to

directivessystem@doleta.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For

further information, contact Terry

Finegan, Office of Policy and Research,

Employment and Training

Administration at (202) 693–3656; fax

(202) 693–2766. (These are not toll-free

numbers.)

Signed at Washington, D.C. this 21st day of

September 2000.

Raymond L. Bramucci,

Assistant Secretary.

[FR Doc. 00–24837 Filed 9–26–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4510–30–P