Supporting Statement: Job Corps Field Test of Revised Appendix 103 to the Policy and Requirements Handbook (PRH)

Request for Approval under the “DOL Departmental Generic Clearance for the Collection of Routine Customer Feedback”

(OMB Control Number: 1225-0088

Expiration Date: 08/31/2017)

TITLE OF INFORMATION COLLECTION:

Job Corps Field Test of Revised Appendix 103 to the Policy and Requirements Handbook (PRH)

PURPOSE:

The purpose of the Job Corps program is to provide eligible youth with the opportunity to gain the skills and experience necessary to begin a career or advance to higher education. In order to achieve this end, all students must abide by certain conduct standards, which are consistent with the requirements of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) and designed to enhance and protect the academic and residential environment of each Job Corps center. In keeping with these standards, as part of the application process, Admissions Counselors (AC) are required to gauge whether each applicant will be able to participate successfully in the program without interfering with either other students’ participation or the maintenance of sound discipline. Job Corps is currently engaged in efforts to revise and improve its applicant screening and admissions practices with a focus on improving student safety and security.

The Job Corps Outreach and Admissions (OA) contractors are familiar with the Job Corps program and already apply the current PRH to new applicant screenings. Currently, the Eligibility Requirements are set out in PRH Exhibit 1-1. To improve the assessment of applicants for participation in the program, Job Corps has developed an updated draft of Appendix 103 to the Job Corps Policy and Requirements Handbook (PRH), currently titled Admissions Counselor Guide for Evaluating Exhibit 1-1 Criteria 7(a), 7(b) and 10. This updated appendix guides OA staff in assessing applicant criminal history and past behavior to determine whether the applicant is ready for the demands and structure of the Job Corps residential, educational, and training environment.

Appendix 103 provides a framework for ACs to use to collect and review relevant information about an applicant’s background, including:

• The AC’s observations regarding the applicant’s behavior during the application process, including the interview and orientation sessions;

• Documentation from a criminal background check;

• Any documentation detailing behavior from institutions, agencies, or schools, including school discipline records;

• Criminal or behavioral history provided to the AC by the applicant; and

• Any letters of recommendation that address the applicant’s ability to successfully participate in a group setting.

Once the intake process is completed, Admissions staff can assess whether a particular applicant meets the eligibility criteria to participate in Job Corps.

This fast track request seeks approval for Job Corps to conduct a field test of the revised Appendix 103 to the PRH to collect qualitative feedback offered by users about the usability of the Appendix and the clarity of the questions, and to assess the time burden associated with the use of the new Appendix. At the conclusion of the field test, participating contractors will be asked to estimate the time burden associated with use of the revised Appendix. If additional feedback is offered by participants, Job Corps staff will review any feedback submitted and will also host a single discussion (in person or by teleconference) about the instrument with up to three users at each of the participating contractors, or up to a total of three group discussions about the field test after it is completed.

This request is being submitted with a related fast track request entitled Job Corps Field Test of Readiness Observation Tool for Admissions Staff, under the same generic clearance. Job Corps proposes to include both instruments in the same field test, since they address related elements and would be used by the same staff.

The information collected will be used internally by the Department of Labor to refine Appendix 103. If the new instrument is found to be useful, then Job Corps will submit an Information Collection Request (ICR) to OMB for approval of the revised Appendix 103.

DESCRIPTION OF RESPONDENTS:

Selection of field test participants will occur in two stages. First, Job Corps National Office (JCNO) staff will recruit three existing Outreach and Admissions (OA) contractors willing to volunteer for the test. JCNO will review ratings for current OA contractors in the Outcome Measurement System to identify contractors in three different performance ranges: high (top 20%), medium (middle 20%), and low (bottom 20%). Using this criterion, JCNO staff will invite one contractor from each performance tier to participate in the field test. If an invited contractor declines to participate, JCNO will invite another contractor from the same performance tier until each tier is represented.

Second, the three participating OA contractors will identify which of their admissions staff will participate in the field test.

Each contractor will use the tool to assess a total of 30 applicants, and will divide those applications among 3 different staff members. The tool will be tested by a total of 9 staff members across 3 contractors over a 30-day period to assess a total of 30 applicants.

Contact information for participating contractor admissions staff will be collected in order to clarify feedback, if needed, for the length of the field test.

TYPE OF COLLECTION: (Check one)

[ ] Customer Comment Card/Complaint Form [ ] Customer Satisfaction Survey

[ ] Usability Testing (e.g., Website or Software) [ ] Small Discussion Group

[ ] Focus Group [X] Other: Field Test of Eligibility

Questions in Appendix 103

CERTIFICATION:

I certify the following to be true:

1. The collection is voluntary.

2. The collection is low-burden for respondents and low-cost for the Federal Government.

3. The collection is non-controversial and does not raise issues of concern to other federal agencies.

4. The results are not intended to be disseminated to the public.

5. Information gathered will not be used for the purpose of substantially informing influential policy decisions.

6. The collection is targeted to the solicitation of opinions from respondents who have experience with the program or may have experience with the program in the future.

Name:________________________________________________

Robert Pitulej, Deputy Administrator, Office of Job Corps

To assist review, please provide answers to the following question:

Personally Identifiable Information:

1. Is personally identifiable information (PII) collected? [ X ] Yes [ ] No

2. If Yes, is the information that will be collected included in records that are subject to the Privacy Act of 1974? [X ] Yes [ ] No

3. If Applicable, has a System or Records Notice been published? [ X ] Yes [ ] No

http://www.dol.gov/sol/privacy/dol-govt-2.htm

PII to be collected: criminal history, school records, behavioral records from other agencies or institutions; other details related to personal circumstances and/or background.

Gifts or Payments:

Is an incentive (e.g., money or reimbursement of expenses, token of appreciation) provided to participants? [ ] Yes [ X ] No

BURDEN HOURS

Category of Respondent	No. of Respondents	Participation Time	Burden
Private Sector	90	2.0 hrs	180 hrs
Totals

FEDERAL COST: The estimated cost to the Federal government is _$1,725.30___________

If you are conducting a focus group, survey, or plan to employ statistical methods, please provide answers to the following questions:

The selection of your targeted respondents

1. Do you have a customer list or something similar that defines the universe of potential respondents and do you have a sampling plan for selecting from this universe? [ ] Yes [ X] No

If the answer is yes, please provide a description of both below (or attach the sampling plan)? If the answer is no, please provide a description of how you plan to identify your potential group of respondents and how you will select them?

The group of contractors who will voluntarily participate will be identified and contacted by the Office of Job Corps to confirm participation. Three Job Corps admissions contractors from three Job Corps regions, for a total of nine contractors across the performance spectrum will participate. This is to ensure participation of a wide distribution of admissions contractors. Contractors will receive substantial training by the National Office of Job Corps, prior to implementing the field test, for how to administer the instrument and complete the field test. Instruction letters and disclosures will be provided to each admissions counselor administering the field test of the instrument.

The group of applicants who will voluntarily participate will be identified as follows: each admissions office will inform every 5^th applicant who has arrived on site in the admissions office for the purpose of completing a Job Corps application that they have been selected to participate in a field test that is being conducted by the National Office of Job Corps, and that participation is voluntary. If the applicant agrees, the applicant will receive the appropriate pre-participation letter, instructions, and disclosures. If the applicant does not agree, the admissions counselor will inquire of the very next applicant, and so on. Training will be provided via webinar to all admissions contractors and admissions counselors who have voluntarily agreed to participate in this field test.

Administration of the Instrument

1. How will you collect the information? (Check all that apply)

[ ] Web-based or other forms of Social Media

[ X ] Telephone

[ ] In-person

[ ] Mail

[ X ] Other, Explain (email)

2. Will interviewers or facilitators be used? [ X ] Yes [ ] No

Interviewers are the admissions counselors themselves. Admissions counselors are a primary group being surveyed through the field test of this instrument.

Please make sure that all instruments, instructions, and scripts are submitted with the request.

Attachment A-1 –Appendix 103: Admissions Counselor Guide for Evaluating Exhibit 1-1 Criteria 7(a), 7(b), and 10

Attachment B – Information for Job Corps Contractors (Admissions Counselors)

Attachment C – Information for Job Corps Applicants

Attachment D-1 – Pre-Participation Letter for Job Corps Admissions Counselors (Appx. 103)

Attachment E-1 - Pre-Participation Letter for Job Corps Applicants (Appx. 103)

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