Note to Reviewer

NOTE TO REVIEWER

This information collection submission under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) is to propose data elements to be collected in individual records and used to calculate quarterly reports per the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) for Priority of Service. Attached are the Supporting Statement, Individual Record Data Elements, and Quarterly Report fields. The Supporting Statement provides a glossary of key terms, a description of the priority of service reporting framework, and collection and burden information. The attached Individual Data Elements and Quarterly Report fields are not stand-alone forms; rather, they will be incorporated in existing information collection forms in the data system approved by OMB. Thus, the PRA burden disclosure statement will be part of the approved, existing information collection forms. Furthermore, the PRA section of the NPRM discloses the estimated response time per record. In addition to this document, two other supplementary documents are included: 1) a Fact Sheet summarizing the NPRM; and, 2) a Sample Data Collection Form that exemplifies how the data could be collected.

Background: The intent of the priority of service provision is to ensure that covered persons have access to and receive priority in receiving the full array of services available from Department of Labor (DOL)-funded programs/grants operated either independently or through the One-Stop service delivery system. There are two contexts within which priority of service applies – individual programs and grants and the integrated One-Stop service delivery system. For purposes of this Information Collection Request (ICR), the affected programs include those that serve over 1,000 covered persons per year, listed here in no specific order: Workforce Investment Act (WIA) Adult, WIA Dislocated Worker, Wagner-Peyser Employment Service/Jobs for Veterans State Grants, National Emergency Grants (NEGs), Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA), and the Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP). All other qualified job training programs, including those who serve fewer than 1,000 covered persons, are exempt from this information collection, but they will be required to adopt the covered, non-covered, veteran and eligible spouse definitions as outlined in the JVA the next time their reporting requirements are renewed.

The new reporting requirements proposed for the programs mentioned above primarily involve: 1) identifying covered persons at the initial point of entry; and, 2) the collection of individual participant records for some additional covered persons.

Under the proposed information collection, a new individual record customer classification would be created called covered entrants - a precursor to the participant customer classification, which already exists in ETA reporting. The new classification seeks to identify and capture data on covered persons at the initial point of entry, the earliest point that a covered person contacts the system in either a physical location (e.g., One-Stop Career Center or affiliate site) or remotely through electronic technologies. In this way, the proposed collection offers a new layer to DOL’s reporting processes and terminology by making a key distinction between covered entrants (those at the pre-participant stage) and covered participants (those at the receipt of services stage).

In the event that the priority of service reporting requirement is authorized before DOL’s proposed Workforce Investment Streamlined Performance Reporting (WISPR) system, DOL would need a mechanism to capture individual record information on all covered entrants to the public workforce investment system. While the other programs listed above already collect individual records, the Wagner-Peyser Employment Service program traditionally has reported data only in aggregate quarterly reports. Therefore, DOL would require that covered entrants for the Wagner-Peyser Employment Service program (accessed through a physical location or virtual self-services), be tracked in the Workforce Investment Act Standardized Record Data (WIASRD). This would serve two key purposes: 1) assist DOL in receiving individual records on all covered entrants who access workforce investment services; and, 2) support integration between the WIA and Wagner-Peyser Employment Service program activities.

The proposed data requirements for priority of service may amend existing reporting mechanisms, namely those stated in the table below. Alternatively, the proposed Workforce Investment Streamlined Performance Reporting (WISPR) system would replace all reporting systems listed in the table below with the exception of SPARQ. Therefore, if WISPR is available, the priority of service reporting requirements will only impact two reporting systems (WISPR and SPARQ) as opposed to three reporting systems. The following table displays the impact on existing ETA programs and records.

SUMMARY OF RECORDS IMPACTED BY THE INFORMATION COLLECTION REQUEST
	Name of ETA Record
WIA Adult, Dislocated Worker, National Emergency Grants and *Wagner-Peyser Employment Service OMB No. 1205-0420
	WIA Standardized Record Data (WIASRD)
Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) OMB No. 1205-0392
	Trade Act Participant Report (TAPR)
Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP) OMB No. 1205-0040
	SCSEP Performance and Results Quarterly (SPARQ) Progress

* Note: The Wagner-Peyser Employment Service program (accessed through a physical location or virtual self-services) will submit individual records on covered entrants via the WIASRD.