[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 119 (Monday, June 22, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 33955-33956]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-16556]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Employment and Training Administration


Quantum Opportunity Program Demonstration Information 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 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 Employment and Training Administration (ETA) is 
soliciting comments concerning the proposed new collection of 
information for the Quantum Opportunity Program (QOP) Demonstration 
Evaluation.
    A copy of the proposed information collection request (ICR) can be 
obtained

[[Page 33956]]

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 August 21, 1998. The Department is 
particularly interested in comments which:
    <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 data collection, including the validity of the 
methodology and assumptions used;
    <bullet> Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected; and
    <bullet> Minimize the burden of the collection 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 
submission of responses.

ADDRESSES: Eileen Pederson, Office of Policy and Research, Employment 
and Training Administration, Room N-5637, 200 Constitution Avenue, 
N.W., Washington, D.C. 20210, telephone 202-219-5782, extension 145 
(this is not a toll-free number). Internet address: 
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection" class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="eaba8f8e8f98998584afaa8e85868f9e8bc48d859cc4">[email protected]</a>

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background

    In July 1995, under authority of Title IV of the Job Training 
Partnership Act (JTPA), ETA--in partnership with The Ford Foundation--
launched the QOP demonstration in seven sites: Memphis, Tennessee; 
Cleveland, Ohio; Washington, D.C.; Fort Worth, Texas; Houston, Texas; 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and Yakima, Washington. Simultaneously, the 
Department of Labor selected Mathematica Policy Research, Inc. to 
determine the net impact of the program. This data collection covers 
outcome variables for determining the program's impact on the student 
participants.
    QOP provides mentoring, computer-assisted instruction, course-based 
tutoring, lifeskills training, and community service activities for at-
risk disadvantaged high school students. A youth was eligible for QOP 
if he or she attended a high school with a four-year dropout rate equal 
to or greater than 40 percent, was entering the 9th grade for the first 
time in the 1995-96 academic year (the Washington, D.C. site began 
operations a year later: in the 1996-1997 academic year), and was in 
the lower two-thirds of the grade distribution for entering 9th graders 
according to the grade point averages from the 8th grade. The 
evaluation will measure QOP's impact on academic achievement in reading 
and mathematics, high school graduation, and enrollment in 
postsecondary education or training programs. The demonstration will 
also be evaluated based on its impact on behaviors that are associated 
with barriers to achieving economic self-sufficiency as adults. Such 
behaviors include substance abuse, teen parenting, and criminal 
activity.

II. Current Actions

    This notice concerns the collection of data by means of a 
questionnaire covering outcomes and behaviors, and the collection of 
school records for each member of the research sample.
    Type of Review: New.
    Agency: Employment and Training Administration, U.S. Department of 
Labor.
    Title: Quantum Opportunity Program (QOP) Demonstration Evaluation.
    OMB Number: 1205-New.
    Affected Public: Individuals.
    Cite/Reference/Form: The QOP promotion protocol, in-person 
questionnaire, telephone questionnaire, and school record collection 
protocol.
    Total Respondents: 1,069 youth and 175 school administrators.
    Frequency: The protocols and questionnaires will be administered as 
shown in the following table:

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                   Item                                           Washington, D.C.                                          Other sites                 
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Promotion Protocol.......................  Fall 1998, 1999...............................................  Fall 1998.                                   
In-Person Questionnaire..................  Spring 2000...................................................  Spring 1999.                                 
School Record Protocol...................  Fall 2000.....................................................  Fall 1999, 2000.                             
Telephone Questionnaire..................  Fall 2000, 2001...............................................  Fall 1999, 2000, 2001.                       
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    Estimated Average Time per Respondent: Collection of school records 
(including promotion records) is estimated to require five minutes per 
student. The in-person questionnaire is estimated to require 30 minutes 
to complete, the telephone questionnaire is estimated to take 20 
minutes to complete.
    Estimated Total Burden Hours:

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                                                                Response                                        
              Item               Respondents   Frequency of       rate        Total     Minutes per     Burden  
                                              administration   (percent)    responses     response      hours   
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Promotion Protocol.............          175           1.2            100          175           30          105
In-Person Questionnaire........         1069           1               80          855           30          428
School Record Protocol.........          175           1.5             90          236           30          118
Telephone Questionnaire........         1069           2.86            80         2446           20          815
                                --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Total......................         1244  ..............  ...........  ...........  ...........         1466
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Total Burden Cost: The cost of collecting promotion and school 
records, based on an average school staff salary of $20, is anticipated 
to be $4,460. The cost to student participants to complete the 
questionnaire in person and by telephone, based on the minimum wage of 
$5.15, is approximately $6,401. Thus, the total burden cost is expected 
to be $10,861.
    Comments submitted in response to this comment request will be 
summarized and/or included in the request for Office of Management and 
Budget approval of the information collection request; they will also 
become a matter of public record.

    Dated: June 16, 1998.
Gerard F. Fiala,
Administrator, Office of Policy and Research.
[FR Doc. 98-16556 Filed 6-19-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-30-M


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