DEI Supplemental Support Statement

Funding Opportunity Announcement

Disability Employment Initiative Grants

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 Grants” Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA). The Department will announce the availability of approximately $15 million in grant funds authorized under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) Section 169, Public Law 113-128, codified at 29 U.S.C. 3224.

An estimated eight (8) successful applicants will receive awards of FY 2017 funding, which may range from $1,500,000 to up to $2,500,000. Through this announcement, ETA seeks to expand the capacity of American Job Centers (AJCs), also known as One-Stop Centers, and to promote the use of existing career pathways to serve two populations: 1) adults (ages 18 and older) with visible, non-visible, and significant disabilities, including those who have acquired disabilities in adulthood; and 2) youth (ages 14-24) with visible, non-visible, and significant disabilities, including those who have chronic health conditions.

Organizations will support activities under any of the six career pathways program elements identified in the Career Pathways Toolkit: A Guide for System Development and the Career Pathways Toolkit: An Enhanced Guide and Workbook for System Development. Grantees must leverage WIOA core programs and other program resources to the greatest extent possible to fund education, employment, and training activities, as well as supportive services for participants. The focus of this initiative is to improve education, training, and employment outcomes of youth and adults with disabilities by refining and expanding already identified successful workforce strategies.

Eligible applicants are either State workforce agencies (SWAs) eligible for funding under Title I of WIOA or for funding under the Wagner-Peyser Act or entities described in section 166(c) of WIOA relating to Indian and Native American programs.  These entities include Indian tribes, tribal organizations, Alaska Native entities, Indian-controlled organizations serving Indians, or Native Hawaiian organizations.  Applicants may submit up to two applications, one to serve young adults and one to serve adults; but applicants will only be eligible to receive one award under this competition.

The period of performance is 36 months with an anticipated start date of October 1, 2017. This performance period includes all necessary implementation and start-up activities.

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 that at least 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 20 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.

20 applications x 20 hours = 400 hours.

The DOL has increased the average hourly earnings in the professional and business services industry to $31.14 per hour to monetize this burden.  See The Employment Situation—November 2016, DOL, Bureau of Labor Statistics, https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/empsit.pdf at page 36.

400 hours x $31.14 = $12,456.00

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: 20 respondents, 20 responses, 400 hours, $0 other cost burden.

Supplemental Supporting Statement B: Statistical Methods

This information collection does not employ statistical methods.

2