Supplemental Supporting Statement Disability Employment Initiative Solicitation for Grant Applications

Solicitation for Grant Applications,

Disability Employment Initiative Grant Program

Supplemental Justification

Supplemental Supporting Statement A: Justification

This request seeks OMB approval under the Paperwork Reduction Act for the unique information collection requirements in the Disability Employment Initiative Solicitation for Grant Applications (SGA). The Employment and Training Administration (ETA), U.S. Department of Labor in coordination with the Department’s Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP), will announce the availability of approximately $15 million in grant funds authorized by Section171 of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (WIA) for the Round V Disability Employment Initiative (DEI). We expect to fund approximately eight grants, ranging from $1.5 million to $2.5 million each. Applicants may apply for up to $2.5 million.

This announcement will solicit applications for Round V of the DEI. The purpose of this program is to provide funding to expand the capacity of American Job Centers (AJCs) to improve employment outcomes of individuals with disabilities (including those with significant disabilities) by increasing their participation in existing career pathways systems and programs that are already being successfully implemented in the public workforce system in partnership with community colleges and other education partners, human services, businesses, and other partners, and capitalizing on the flexibility that the career pathways model provides to use innovative service delivery strategies. Grantees will use their award to support job-driven approaches in existing career pathway systems and programs to equip individuals with disabilities with the skills, competencies, and credentials necessary to help them obtain in-demand jobs, increase earnings, and advance their careers.

Applications will include the following information collections: 1) Form SF-424 “Application for Federal Assistance;” and Form SF-424A, separately cleared under OMB control number 4040-0004; 2) Project Budget Narrative; 3) Project Narrative; and 4) Attachments to the Project Narrative.

Electronic availability:

This grant solicitation is available on the grants.gov Web site. Based on past DOL experience, the Department anticipates 80 percent of responses will be submitted electronically.

Small Entities:

This information collection will not have a significant impact on a substantial number of small entities.

Assurances of confidentiality:

These grant solicitations do not offer applicants assurances of confidentiality.

Special circumstances:

This SGA implicates no special circumstances.

Burden:

Based on past experience, the DOL expects to receive approximately 30 applications. The ETA estimates public reporting burden for the information collection to average 20 hours per response for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining needed data, and completing and reviewing the collection of information.

30 applications x 20 hours =600 hours.

The DOL has increased the October 2013, average hourly earnings in the professional and business services industry of $30.38 by 40 percent (total $42.53) to monetize this burden. See The Employment Situation—December 2013, DOL, Bureau of Labor Statistics, http://www.bls.gov/news.release/archives/empsit_01102014.pdf at 35.

600 hours x $42.53 = $25,518.

The DOL associates no other burden costs with this information collection. In addition to the application, each grantee will be required to submit quarterly financial, performance, and narrative reports to the ETA. Those information collection requirements will be cleared under a separate control number.

Total burden: 30 respondents, 30 responses, 600 hours, $0 other cost burden.

Supplemental Supporting Statement B: Statistical Methods

This information collection does not employ statistical methods.

- 2 -