20214 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 78 /Thursday, April 23, 1998 / Notices

Comments can also be faxed to Mr.

Thompson’s attention at 202–216–3042.

Jeanne Markunas,

Acting Director, Office of Food for Peace,

Bureau for Humanitarian Response, U.S.

Agency for International Development.

[FR Doc. 98–10833 Filed 4–22–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6116–01–M

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Office of the Assistant Secretary for

Policy; Agency Information Collection

Activities: Proposed Collection;

Comment Request; the National

Agricultural Workers Survey

Questionnaire Form

AGENCY: Office of the Assistant

Secretary for Policy (OASP), Department

of Labor.

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 Office of the Assistant

Secretary for Policy is soliciting

comments concerning the questionnaire

used by the National Agricultural

Workers Survey (NAWS). This survey

has been conducted under the Office of

Management and Budget (OMB)

clearance since October 1988. It has up

to this time conducted on average 2,500

interviews per year. The focus has been

on demographic, employment and

health data. The NAWS information

collection request will consist of two

parts. The first part is the continued

approval of the traditional NAWS

survey questions for the 2,500

respondents for the three year period.

The second part, the NAWS will

conduct for one year only, a pilot test

of an enlarged sample size of 4,500 and

will utilize an enhanced survey form

which includes additional in-depth

questions on occupational health. The

sampling frame and estimation

procedures will not be altered by the

pilot. Furthermore, the survey format,

though enlarged, will be in large

measure the same as the traditional

NAWS survey form.

The Department of Labor is

particularly interested in comments

which:

• Evaluate whether the proposed

collection of information is necessary

for the proper functioning of

government agencies charged with

protecting the well being of the

farmworker population, including

whether the information will have

practical utility;

• 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;

• Enhance the quality, utility, and

clarity of the information to be

collected; and

• Minimize the burden of the

collection of information on those who

are to respond.

DATE: Written comment must be

submitted by June 22, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Comments are to be

submitted to the U.S. Department of

Labor, Room S–2312, (200 Constitution

Ave. NW, Washington, D.C. 20210,

telephone (202) 219–6197. Written

comments limited to 10 pages or fewer

may also be transmitted by facsimile to

(202) 219–9216.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:

Contact Richard Mines, Economist and

Program Officer for the National

Agricultural Workers Survey, Office of

the Assistant Secretary of Labor, U.S.

Department of Labor, Room S–2312, 200

Constitution Ave., NW, Washington,

D.C. 20210. Telephone: (202) 219–6197.

Copies of the referenced information

collection request are available for

inspection and copying and will be

mailed to persons who request copies by

telephoning Richard Mines at (202)

219–6197. For more information about

the NAWS, consult the NAWS home

page at: http://www.dol.gov/dol/asp/

public/programs/agworker/naws.htm.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

The NAWS began surveying

farmworkers in 1988, it has collected

information from over 22,000 workers.

The survey samples all crop

farmworkers in three cycles each year in

order to capture the seasonality of the

work. The NAWS locates and samples

workers at their work sites, avoiding the

well-publicized undercount of this

difficult-to-find population. During the

initial contact, arrangements are made

to interview the respondent at home or

at another convenient location.

What Information Does the NAWS

Collect?

• Household and Family

Composition. The NAWS interview

contains a family grid that asks basic

demographic information for all

household members, and records

information about each person’s

education level and migration patterns.

• Additional Demographics. The

NAWS collects a more comprehensive

demographic profile of the farmworker

himself including language ability,

contacts in non-agricultural jobs, and

parental involvement in agriculture.

• Employment History. The NAWS

compiles a full year of information on

the employment and geographic

movement of the farmworker. This

history covers the occupation, including

task and crop if employed in

agriculture, type of non-agricultural

work if employed off the farm, periods

of unemployment and periods abroad,

and the worker’s location for every week

of the year preceding the interview.

• Wages, Benefits and Working

Conditions. The NAWS collects

information on payment method (piece

or hourly) and wages, on health

insurance, on workers compensation

and unemployment insurance, and on

other benefits and working conditions.

• Health, Safety and Housing. The

NAWS gathers information on medical

history, use of medical services,

participation in pesticide training, and

on the worker’s housing arrangements.

• Income and Assets, Social Services

and Legal Status. The NAWS

questionnaire has a series of questions

on personal and family income, assets

held in the United States and abroad,

use of social services, and legal or

immigration status.

II. Current Actions

This action requests continued OMB

approval of the paperwork requirements

in the NAWS survey form. It also

requests OMB approval to conduct a one

year pilot with a larger sample size and

an enhanced focus on occupational

health. OMB approval is necessary to

continue collecting information needed

by federal programs mandated by

Congress to monitor and serve the

farmworker population. These include

among others the National Agricultural

Statistical Service of the USDA, the

Office of Migrant Education of the

Department of Education, the Migrant

Health Program, the Migrant Head Start

Program and the National Institute of

Occupational Health of the Department

of Health and Human Services, the

Farmworker Adult Training Program

(JTPA 402) of Department of Labor and
Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 78 /Thursday, April 23, 1998 / Notices 20215

the Pesticide Division of the

Environmental Protection Agency. The

pilot project is necessary to fulfill the

Congressionally mandated charge to

collect better information about

farmworker occupational health.

Type of Review: Revision of a

currently approved collection.

Agency: Office of the Assistant

Secretary for Policy.

Title: The survey form of the National

Agricultural Workers Survey.

OMB Number: 1225–0044.

Affected Public: Farmworkers and

farm employees.

Total Respondents: 6000 respondents

(4,500 farmworkers receiving a full

interview and 1,500 employers who will

be briefly interviewed to ascertain the

location of the potential worker

respondents).

Frequency: Annually (The survey is

administered in three 10–12 week

cycles each year, beginning in October,

February and May. Approximately, one

third of the 4,500 farmworker

respondents are interviewed each cycle.

And, approximately 500 employers are

approached to make interviewee

contacts each cycle.)

Total Responses: 6,000 including both

interviewed farmworkers and

employers.

Average Time per Response: Time per

response for employers is approximately

20 minutes and for farmworker

interviewees approximately one hour.

Estimated Total Burden Hours: 5,000

hours (4,500 hours of this burden time

will be incurred by workers and 500 by

farm employers).

Total Annualized capital/startup

costs: 0.

Total initial annual costs: (operating/

maintaining systems or purchasing

services): 0.

Comments submitted in response to

this notice will be summarized and

included in the request for Office of

Management and Budget approval of the

information collection request. The

comments will become a matter of

public record.

Dated: April 18, 1998.

Authorized Official in the Office of the

Assistant Secretary for Policy.

Richard Mines,

Economist.

[FR Doc. 98–10837 Filed 4–22–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4510–23–M

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Employment and Training

Administration

Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA)

Standardized Program Information

Reporting (SPIR) System; Comment

Request

ACTION: Notice.

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. Currently, the

Employment and Training

Administration (ETA) is soliciting

comments concerning the proposed

revision and extension of the Job

Training Partnership Act (JTPA)

individual-level reporting system:

Standardized Program Information

Reporting (SPIR). A copy of the

proposed information reporting system

can be obtained 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

June 20, 1998. The Department is

particularly interested in comments

which:

• 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;

• 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;

• Enhance the quality, utility, and

clarity of the information to be

collected; and

• Minimize the burden of the

collection of information on those who

are to respond, including the use of

appropriate electronic reporting

mechanisms.

ADDRESSEE: U.S. Department of Labor,

Employment and Training

Administration, Office of Policy and

Research, Rm. N5637, 200 Constitution

Ave, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20210,

ATTN: Douglas Scott, Telephone: (202)

219–5487 ex. 111, fax: (202) 219–5455

(these are not toll-free numbers),

Internet: ED.SCOTTD@DOLETA.GOV

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

The JTPA at Section 165 requires that

all state and local agencies operating

programs funded under Titles II–A

(services to disadvantaged adults), II–C

(services to disadvantaged youth),

Section 204(d) (services to older

workers) and Title III (services to

dislocated workers) of the Act maintain

standardized participant records and

report this information in a manner

prescribed by the Secretary. States

report on participants’ demographic and

labor force characteristics, services

received, and educational and labor

force status before and after program

participation. Uniform data are

maintained on those who have

participated in JTPA programs during a

given year and who have left the

programs. This information is used for

public information and program

evaluation, as well as to monitor

program performance and to assess

regulatory compliance.

The complete SPIR data base allows

the Department to set levels for national

performance standards required in the

law. The Department also uses these

data to provide States with regressionbased local adjustment factors and

models for setting benchmarks and

assessing how well local programs

achieve good results in a broad range of

employment-related and skill enhancing

outcomes. SPIR data are necessary for

the Department’s performance

monitoring consultations with local and

State JTPA programs. The data also

support requirements in the

Government Performance and Results

Act requiring federal agencies to

evaluate the impact and results of

government investment in job training

and employment programs.

Reinstatement will enable DOL to

continue this reporting system and to

enhance it to accommodate changes and

developments in the employment and

training system that have occurred since

the SPIR data base was originally

established. Enhancements will also

allow States to use administrative data

(earnings records) currently collected by

the Unemployment Insurance (UI)

program to track the labor force

experience of program participants in

order to gauge program results more

accurately and efficiently. Further

enhancements are to clarify the linkages