RESEA Supplemental Supporting Statement

Unemployment Insurance (UI) Supplemental Funding Opportunity for Funding to Administer the Reemployment Services and Eligibility Assessment (RESEA) Program for 2016

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 Unemployment Insurance (UI) Supplemental Funding Opportunity for the RESEA Program for 2016.

This is to notify State Workforce Agencies of the Fiscal Year 2016 Congressional Appropriation of funds to administer the RESEA program in 2016. The program goals are to both reduce improper payments and to assist claimants to return to work as quickly as possible.

The Department of Labor (DOL), Employment and Training Administration (ETA) has been working aggressively to reduce UI improper payments by assisting the states’ efforts to monitor continued eligibility of UI claimants and this integrity component of the RESEA helps this effort. The targeted populations for the RESEA program include claimants most likely to exhaust benefits and transitioning veterans receiving Unemployment Compensation for Ex-Servicemembers.

Claimants report to their local office and participate in an eligibility review which helps to ensure that they are meeting all of the continued eligibility requirements. Agency staff also works with claimants to complete an individual reemployment plan. The plan documents steps that claimants will follow in seeking work. Each RESEA must include the provision of at least one reemployment service. Services are geared to the individual needs of the claimant and may include activities such as a resume writing workshop or a workshop on interviewing tips. Claimants are provided assistance to present the best possible image to potential employers and this is done early in their claim series.

The funding that is available for states for the RESEA program is based on the Congressional appropriation. The states’ RESEA proposals include budget narratives defining their funding needs.

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, and 3) 2016 Supplemental Budget Request (SBR) Application.

Electronic availability:

This grant solicitation will be emailed directly to the State Workforce Agencies. Based on past experience, it is anticipated that 100 percent of the responses will be submitted electronically by email to ETA.

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, ETA expects to receive approximately 47 applications from an equal number of respondents.  ETA estimates public reporting burden for the information collection to average 20 hours per response for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering necessary information and making cost projections, and completing and reviewing the collection of information.

47 applications x 20 hours = 940 hours.

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.

940 hours x $41.01 = $38,549

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: 47 respondents, 47 responses, 940 hours, $0 other cost burden.

Supplemental Supporting Statement B: Statistical Methods

This information collection does not employ statistical methods.

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