T2W3 Supplemental Supporting Statement

Funding Opportunity Announcement

Training to Work 3 – Adult Reentry

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 Training to Work 3 – Adult Reentry Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA). The Employment and Training Administration (ETA), U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), announces the availability of approximately $27 million in grant funds authorized by Section171, Pilot and Demonstration Projects, of the Workforce Investment Act (WIA), and Section 212 of the Second Chance act of 2007 to assist returning citizens’ transition back into their communities by gaining industry-recognized credentials and securing employment. These grants will offer organizations the opportunity to develop and implement career pathways programs in demand sectors and occupations for men and women, including veterans, who are at least 18 years old and who are enrolled in work release programs (WRP).

We expect to award approximately 20 grants of up to $1,360,000 each to serve male and female ex-offenders, referred to in the FOA as returning citizens. These grants have a performance period of operation of 39-months, which includes a planning period, implementation phase, and follow-up period. Additionally, grants will be awarded to grantees operating in areas with high-poverty and high-crime rates and have a large proportion of returning citizens that typically experience higher rates of recidivism. Successful applicants will: 1) establish a committed Career Pathways Collaborative (CPC) led by the grantee (a nonprofit organization, such as a faith-based or community-based organization) and including representatives from the workforce system, WRP, and employers and/or industry associations. The CPC leadership team will create a career pathways program(s) with identified career pathways in a demand sector(s) within their community and defined, specific roles and responsibilities for each organization; and 2) provide an integrated set of critical participant-level services, such as case management and skills training, that enable participants to enter and advance along the identified career pathways as they acquire additional skills.

Applications will include the following information collections: 1) Form SF-424 “Application for Federal Assistance,” separately cleared under OMB control number 4040-0004, 2) Project Budget, 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 75 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 FOA implicates no special circumstances.

Burden:

Based on past experience, the DOL expects to receive approximately 125 applications from an equal number of respondents.  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.

125 applications x 20 hours = 2500 hours.

The DOL has increased the October 2014, average hourly earnings in the professional and business services industry of $29.29 per hour by 40 percent (total $41.01 per hour) to monetize this burden.  See The Employment Situation—October 2014, DOL, Bureau of Labor Statistics, http://www.bls.gov/news.release/archives/empsit_11072014.pdf at page 32.

2500 hours x $41.01 = $102,525.00

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: 125 respondents, 125 responses, 2500 hours, $0 other cost burden.

Supplemental Supporting Statement B: Statistical Methods

This information collection does not employ statistical methods.

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