ED Response to Prior Terms of Clearance

September 3, 2008

RSA addressed the reporting inconsistencies consistent with PART recommendation.

1. Examine reporting inconsistencies and develop guidance to grantees in time to collect 2006 data.

The following steps were taken to improve the deficiencies and improve the reporting of data for FY 2006. The AIVRS form collected FY 2006 data in November of 2006.

• The annual performance report form in the MIS was upgraded to clarify data collection elements and improve the user interface of the form. The instructions were included within the form for clarity to users.

• Guidance was included in the letter to grantees requesting the submittal of the annual performance reports for FY 2006 and FY 2007 (see attachments).

• This guidance was included as a regular agenda item during monthly teleconferences with participating grantee project directors.

• Staff reviewed the data submitted by grantees and followed up with technical assistance regarding data reported that required clarification.

• All data has been received and verified by RSA program staff.

• Key sections within the annual reports that required submittal of identical data were reviewed for congruency.
  
  

In FY 2007 RSA AIVRS staff provided two trainings that included a review of the instructions for entering data in the data collection. In addition, RSA staff provided this review at two other occasions: The RSA Project Directors conference and the Consortia of Administrators for Native American Rehabilitation (CANAR) conference.

2. Develop a strategy for collecting data to allow comparison with other job training programs.

The data collection package for the AIVRS program is currently with OMB for review and includes elements to use in the collection of supplemental data elements to satisfy job training common measures. One of the barriers the AIVRS program faced in reporting on the job training common measures was the inability of the grantees to access UI data. Therefore, in order for the AIVRS program to meet the PART recommendation, RSA developed supplemental data elements to address this issue. These data elements are found in Section 6, questions 4 through 8 of the data collection package under review.

3. Improve use and transparency of project data.

Data collected using the AIVRS form are entered via the RSA MIS database. An ad hoc query report of the data collected may be generated through the MIS database. When the public performs an AIVRS program search through the U.S. Department of Education website, they will be able to select the ad hoc query function of the data collected from the AIVRS annual performance reporting form via the MIS database.

RSA has designed but not implemented quick tables that will provide aggregate reports using the data in the MIS database. These tables will be implemented once the revised form in OMB review is approved.