Supporting Statement: The National Farmworker Jobs Program (NFJP)

Funding Opportunity Announcement

The National Farmworker Jobs Program (NFJP)

Employment and Training Grants and Housing Assistance Grants

Supplemental Justification

Supplemental Supporting Statement A: Justification

The Employment and Training Administration (ETA), U.S. Department of Labor (DOL, or the Department, or we), will announce the availability of approximately $81,402,000 in grant funds authorized by the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) Section 167 for National Farmworker Jobs Program (NFJP) Employment and Training Grants and Housing Assistance Grants.

The purpose of this program is to assist eligible Migrant and Seasonal Farmworkers (MSFWs) and their dependents, including youth MSFWs, to receive career services, training services, housing assistance services, youth services, and other related assistance services that help retain and stabilize their current agriculture jobs as well as acquire new skills they need to start careers that provide higher wages and stable, year-round employment. To support better economic outcomes for farmworkers, NFJP also works to meet a critical need for quality housing.

MSFWs whose livelihood is primarily derived from agricultural employment experience chronic unemployment and underemployment inherent in the industry but also face additional, significant barriers to employment. These barriers include low wages, low levels of education, limited English proficiency, disability status, limited access to health care, inferior housing, and insufficient resources to sustain themselves through a period of retraining.

NFJP is a nationally-directed, locally-administered program of career services, training services, housing assistance services, youth services, and other related assistance services that helps eligible MSFWs and their dependents, including youth MSFWs, overcome these barriers. The program partners with community organizations and state agencies, including American Job Centers (AJCs), to ensure MSFWs access other services of the public workforce system.

Of the approximately $81,402,000 available, the Department intends to award approximately $75,885,000 for Employment and Training Grants and $5,517,000 for Housing Assistance Grants. These awards will have a 4-year period of performance and will fund program years (PY), July 1 2016 - June 30, 2019.

Applications will include the following information collections: 1) SF-424, Application for Federal Assistance, 2) SF-424A, Budget Information Form, 3) Budget Narrative, 4) Project Narrative, 5) a copy of the certified mail receipt of application submission to governor, 6) Project/Performance Site Location(s) Form, and 7) for applicants that are not current NFJP grantees, Performance Information.

Electronic availability:

The Funding Opportunity Announcement will be available electronically at: http://www.grants.gov/. Based on past DOL experience, the Department anticipates that 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 Funding Opportunity Announcement implicates no special circumstances.

Burden:

Based on past experience, the DOL expects to receive approximately 80 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 and maintaining needed data, and completing and reviewing the collection of information.

80 applications x 20 hours = 1,600 hours.

The DOL has increased the December 2015, average hourly earnings in the professional and business services industry of $30.26 per hour by 40 percent (total $42.36 per hour) to monetize this burden. See The Employment Situation—February 2016, DOL, Bureau of Labor Statistics, at page 33.

1,600 hours x $42.36 = $67,776.

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: 80 respondents, 80 responses, 1,600 hours, $0 other cost burdens.

Supplemental Supporting Statement B: Statistical Methods

This information collection does not employ statistical methods.

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