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 Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration
 AGENCY: Employment and Training Administration, Labor.
 ACTION: Notice.
 SUMMARY: This Notice announces Program Year (PY) 2021 allotments to States for the National Farmworker Jobs Program (NFJP), which is authorized under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), Section 167. These allotments are based on the funds appropriated in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (from this point forward will be referred to as the “the Act”).
 DATES: The PY 2021 NFJP allotments become effective for the grant period that begins July 1, 2021.
 ADDRESSES: Questions on this notice can be submitted to the Employment and Training Administration, Office of Workforce Investment, Attention at: 
                        *NFJP@dol.gov.*
 FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Laura Ibañez, Unit Chief, at (202) 693-3645. Individuals with hearing or speech impairments may access the telephone numbers above via TTY by calling the toll-free Federal Information Relay Service at 1-877-889-5627 (TTY-TDD).


SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This notice is published according to Section 182(d) of the WIOA, Prompt Allotment of Funds. ETA developed the formula to distribute funds geographically by state service area, based on each state service area's relative share of persons eligible for the program. The formula's original methodology is described in the 
                    **Federal Register**
                     notice 64 FR 27390, May 19, 1999. That information is accessible at 
                    *https://www.federalregister.gov/​.*
                     In PY 2018, ETA incorporated two modifications to the allotment formula to provide more accurate estimates of each state service area's relative share of persons eligible for the program. The formula also used updated data from each of the four data files serving as the basis of the formula since 1999. The revised formula methodology is described in the 
                    **Federal Register**
                     notice 83 FR 32151, July 11, 2018. Two modifications were incorporated into the formula for PY 2021. These modifications improve the formula's accuracy in terms of estimating the true NFJP-eligible population in state service areas, and one of the modifications is necessitated by a recent statutory change to the NFJP eligibility criteria, which Congress enacted in the FY 2021 appropriation. Section II includes further explanation of these modifications. This notice represents the final of a two-stage process. ETA published a notice requesting public comments on May 10, 2021, regarding the formula methodology and modifications. Additionally, ETA hosted a webinar on May 5, 2021, to share the preliminary allotments, explained the data sources, and encourage response to the notice published shortly thereafter. ETA did not receive any comments through the public comment process. In this final stage, ETA is publishing the final formula and final allotment levels. I. Background The Department is announcing the final PY 2021 allotments for the National Farmworker Jobs Program (NFJP). This notice provides information on the amount of funds available during PY 2021 to state service areas awarded grants through Funding Opportunity Announcements FOA-ETA-20-08 and FOA-ETA-20-08-A for the NFJP Career Services and Training grants and Housing grants. Funds to implement NFJP are appropriated in the Act. In appropriating these funds, Congress provided $87,083,000 for formula grants (of which $86,946,000 was allotted after $137,000 was set aside for program integrity), $6,256,000 for migrant and seasonal farmworker housing (of which not less than 70 percent shall be for permanent housing), and another $557,000 for discretionary purposes. Included below is the table listing the PY 2021 allotments for the NFJP Career Services and Training grants. Individual grants are awarded for Housing as a result of the grants competition and are further distributed according to language in the appropriations law requiring that of the total amount available, not less than 70 percent shall be allocated to permanent housing activities, leaving not more than 30 percent to temporary housing activities. II. Description of Data Files and Review of PY 2021 Modifications to the Allotment Formula As with all state planning estimates since 1999, the PY 2021 estimates are based on four data sources: (1) State-level, 2017 hired farm labor expenditure data from the United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Census of Agriculture (COA); (2) regional-level, 2017 average hourly earnings data from the USDA's Farm Labor Survey; (3) regional-level, 2010-2018 demographic data from the ETA's National Agricultural Workers Survey (NAWS); and, (4) 2015-2019 (5-year file) data from the United States Census Bureau's American Community Survey (ACS). A detailed description of how each data source is used within the formula is in the 
                    **Federal Register**
                     notice 64 FR 27390, May 19, 1999). In addition to populating the formula with updated data, ETA incorporated two modifications that will improve the formula's accuracy in terms of estimating the true NFJP-eligible population in state service areas. One of the modifications is necessitated by the change to the NFJP eligibility criteria applicable to the PY 2021 appropriation. (1) First, the Act expands program eligibility for grants funded by the PY 2021 appropriation to include farmworkers who are in families with total family incomes at or below 150 percent of the poverty line. Therefore, the PY 2021 allocations used special tabulations of data from the ACS and the NAWS to estimate the share of farmworkers with total family incomes at or below 150 percent of the poverty line. ETA will subsequently revise the PY 2022 guidance regarding the definition of “low-income individual,” as needed if the same provision is not included in subsequent appropriations. (2) Second, and to more closely align the formula with the definition of eligible migrant and seasonal farmworker under WIOA Section 167(i) and 20 CFR 685.110 and clarified in the Training and Employment Guidance Letter 18-16, ETA modified how the formula accounts for crop workers who are primarily employed in agriculture. This formula considers a crop worker to be primarily employed in agriculture if at least 50 percent of their total individual income is from farm work 
                    *or*( print page 32064)
                    at least 50 percent of their total employment time is in farm work.[1]
                    
                     As with all state planning estimates since 1999, ETA used NAWS data to determine the share of crop labor hours in each state that was performed by crop workers who were primarily employed in agriculture, per this eligibility criterion. III. Description of the Hold-Harmless Provision ETA has incorporated the hold-harmless provision as instituted in PY 2018. The updated data resulted in significant changes for a few states and the hold-harmless provision provides for a stop loss/stop gain limit to transition to the use of the updated data. This approach is based on a state service area's previous year's allotment percentage, which is its relative share of the total formula allotments. ETA will implement the staged transition of the hold-harmless provision as follows: (1) In PY 2021, each state service area will receive an amount equal to at least 95 percent of their PY 2020 allotment percentage, as applied to the PY 2021 formula funds available; (2) In PY 2022, each state service area will receive an amount equal to at least 90 percent of their PY 2021 allotment percentage, as applied to the PY 2022 formula funds available; (3) In PY 2023, each state service area will receive an amount equal to at least 85 percent of their PY 2022 allotment percentage, as applied to the PY 2023 formula funds available. In PY 2021, 2022, and 2023, the stop gain provision provides that no state service area will receive an amount that is more than 150 percent of their previous year's allotment percentage. In PY 2024, since the Department has a responsibility to use the most current and reliable data available, amounts for the new awards will be based on updated data from the sources described in Section II, pending their availability. At that time, the Department will determine whether the changes to state allotments are significant enough to warrant another hold-harmless provision. Otherwise, allotments to each state service area will be for an amount resulting from a direct allotment of the funding formula without adjustment. IV. Minimum Funding Provisions A state area that would receive less than $60,000 by application of the formula will, at the option of the DOL, receive no allotment or, if practical, be combined with another adjacent state area. Funding below $60,000 is deemed insufficient for sustaining an independently administered program. However, if practical, a state jurisdiction that would receive less than $60,000 may be combined with another adjacent state area. V. Program Year 2021 State Allotments The state allotments set forth in the Table appended to this notice reflect the distribution resulting from the allotment formula described above. For PY 2020, $85,229,000 was appropriated for migrant and seasonal farmworker training grants and allotted based on the PY 2018 formula updates. The figures in the first numerical column show the actual PY 2020 formula allotments to state service areas. The next column shows the percentage share of each allotment to the total available. For PY 2021, the funding level provided for in the Act for the migrant and seasonal farmworker program is $93,896,000 of which $87,083,000 was appropriated for training grants. After allowable funds are set aside for program integrity ($137,000), the Department will allot $86,946,000 for training grants based on the formula and data outlined in this notice. For purposes of illustrating the effects of the updates to the allotment formula, columns 3 and 4 show the state service area allotments with the application of the first-year (95 percent) hold-harmless and minimum funding provisions, followed by the percentages. The difference between PY 2021 and PY 2020 allotments is shown in column 5. Column 6 of the Table shows the allotments based on the formula without the application of the hold-harmless or minimum funding provisions. The percentages are reported in column 7. U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration, National Farmworker Jobs Program—Career Services and Training Grants
[Impact of final PY 2021 allotments to states]
State
PY 2020
PY 2021Allotment
Percentage
                             share
With hold harmless
Without hold harmlessAllotment
Percentage
                             share
Difference
                             (PY 2021 vs. 
                             PY 2020)
Allotment
Percentage
                             share(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
(6)
(7)Total
$85,229,000
100.00000
$86,946,000
100.00000
$1,717,000
$86,946,000
100.00000Alabama
801,605
0.94053
776,866
0.89350
(24,739)
774,531
0.89082Alaska

0.00000

0.00000


0.00000Arizona
2,538,153
2.97804
2,459,822
2.82914
(78,331)
2,547,948
2.93049Arkansas
1,144,067
1.34234
1,193,276
1.37243
49,209
1,262,754
1.45234California
23,333,261
27.37714
22,613,160
26.00828
(720,101)
23,114,407
26.58478Colorado
1,347,060
1.58052
1,662,689
1.91232
315,629
1,759,499
2.02367Connecticut
402,388
0.47213
501,264
0.57652
98,876
530,450
0.61009Delaware
155,864
0.18288
154,593
0.17780
(1,271)
163,594
0.18816Dist of Columbia

0.00000

0.00000


0.00000Florida
3,763,684
4.41597
3,647,531
4.19517
(116,153)
3,159,183
3.63350Georgia
1,671,697
1.96142
1,656,566
1.90528
(15,131)
1,753,019
2.01622Hawaii
322,061
0.37788
312,122
0.35898
(9,939)
157,635
0.18130Idaho
1,777,707
2.08580
2,194,625
2.52412
416,918
2,322,406
2.67109( print page 32065)Illinois
1,746,897
2.04965
1,829,288
2.10394
82,391
1,935,797
2.22644Indiana
1,145,731
1.34430
1,229,140
1.41368
83,409
1,300,706
1.49599Iowa
1,588,068
1.86330
1,756,778
2.02054
168,710
1,859,065
2.13818Kansas
1,220,211
1.43169
1,243,435
1.43012
23,224
1,315,834
1.51339Kentucky
1,044,219
1.22519
1,011,993
1.16393
(32,226)
836,164
0.96170Louisiana
798,040
0.93635
782,626
0.90013
(15,414)
828,194
0.95254Maine
328,886
0.38589
408,044
0.46931
79,158
431,802
0.49663Maryland
386,681
0.45370
521,061
0.59929
134,380
551,400
0.63419Massachusetts
364,444
0.42761
512,780
0.58977
148,336
542,637
0.62411Michigan
2,129,494
2.49856
2,073,573
2.38490
(55,921)
2,194,306
2.52376Minnesota
1,629,902
1.91238
1,579,601
1.81676
(50,301)
1,664,564
1.91448Mississippi
1,026,761
1.20471
995,074
1.14447
(31,687)
922,368
1.06085Missouri
985,363
1.15614
1,219,415
1.40250
234,052
1,290,415
1.48416Montana
628,528
0.73746
699,452
0.80447
70,924
740,177
0.85131Nebraska
1,295,534
1.52006
1,255,552
1.44406
(39,982)
1,319,642
1.51777Nevada
190,893
0.22398
223,924
0.25754
33,031
236,962
0.27254New Hampshire
115,590
0.13562
145,953
0.16787
30,363
154,451
0.17764New Jersey
602,990
0.70749
769,856
0.88544
166,866
814,680
0.93700New Mexico
1,049,022
1.23083
1,067,856
1.22818
18,834
1,130,032
1.29969New York
1,574,968
1.84793
2,169,172
2.49485
594,204
2,295,471
2.64011North Carolina
2,638,326
3.09557
2,556,903
2.94079
(81,423)
2,107,580
2.42401North Dakota
828,016
0.97152
802,462
0.92294
(25,554)
778,997
0.89595Ohio
1,417,710
1.66341
1,437,210
1.65299
19,500
1,520,892
1.74924Oklahoma
1,007,381
1.18197
976,292
1.12287
(31,089)
926,713
1.06585Oregon
2,447,454
2.87162
2,371,922
2.72804
(75,532)
2,335,380
2.68601Pennsylvania
1,485,920
1.74344
1,762,208
2.02678
276,288
1,864,813
2.14479Puerto Rico
2,420,800
2.84035
2,346,090
2.69833
(74,710)
2,043,240
2.35001Rhode Island
60,713
0.07124
64,858
0.07460
4,145
68,635
0.07894South Carolina
811,276
0.95188
786,239
0.90428
(25,037)
695,074
0.79943South Dakota
610,598
0.71642
665,710
0.76566
55,112
704,471
0.81024Tennessee
894,737
1.04980
867,124
0.99731
(27,613)
631,232
0.72600Texas
5,281,950
6.19736
5,118,941
5.88749
(163,009)
4,630,482
5.32570Utah
466,894
0.54781
653,979
0.75217
187,085
692,057
0.79596Vermont
185,768
0.21796
204,723
0.23546
18,955
216,643
0.24917Virginia
1,002,595
1.17635
971,653
1.11754
(30,942)
784,640
0.90245Washington
4,518,313
5.30138
4,510,391
5.18758
(7,922)
4,773,008
5.48962West Virginia
155,408
0.18234
150,612
0.17322
(4,796)
112,164
0.12900Wisconsin
1,639,775
1.92396
1,719,060
1.97716
79,285
1,819,152
2.09228Wyoming
245,597
0.28816
312,536
0.35946
66,939
330,734
0.38039
 Suzan G. LeVine, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Employment and Training, Labor.


# Footnotes

1.
    
                         To determine “primarily employed in agriculture” criteria, which has two parts, ETA uses individual income from farm work. Back to Citation


[FR Doc. 2021-12604 Filed 6-15-21; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4510-FN-P