Veterans Accelerated Learning for Licensed Occupations Project Supplemental Justification

Funding Opportunity Announcement

Veterans Accelerated Learning for Licensed Occupations Project

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 Veterans Accelerated Learning for Licensed Occupations Project Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA). The Employment and Training Administration (ETA), U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), announces the availability of up to $2.5 million in funds authorized by the Fiscal Year 2018 Consolidated Appropriations Act, as clarified by language and instructions set forth in House Report 115-244 and Senate Report 115-150 to increase and expedite attainment of state occupational licenses by veterans and transitioning service emembers (TSMs). Military service members on active duty are the beneficiaries of extensive training that prepares them to perform in a range of occupational specialties. Some of those occupational specialties have direct or proximate equivalents in the civilian workforce. Many civilian occupations have regulated pathways for entry, with few accessible mechanisms to recognize skills developed outside of these pathways. As a result, veterans and TSMs often find that they lack the relevant civilian occupational credentials required under federal or state law or by an employer to secure employment. The project aims to increase and expedite attainment of state occupational licenses by veterans and TSMs s by identifying gaps between military education and training in specific military occupations as compared to the education required for related licensed civilian occupations.

Successful applicants will build on the foundation of the issues, challenges, and strategies identified in the previous demonstrations to support the development and wide dissemination of appropriate accelerated educational licensing programs. DOL expects to fund approximately one to three cooperative agreements. Individual awards will range from $750,000 to $2,500,000 of funding.

Grants will be awarded to a public or non-profit organization representing the postsecondary education partner. Lead applicants include: a) a single public or non-profit postsecondary education institution, as defined in Section 101 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001); or b) an existing legal entity representing multiple public and/or non-profit postsecondary educational institutions, such as an association, board, compact, commission, or system.

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 will be available on the www.grants.gov Website. Based on past DOL experience, the Department anticipates 85 percent of responses will be submitted electronically and 15 percent of responses will be submitted through a hardcopy.

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 solicitation implicates no special circumstances.

Burden:

The DOL expects to receive approximately 10 applications from an equal number of respondents.  The public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 20 hours per response, including time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining needed data, and completing and reviewing the collection of information.

10 applications x 20 hours = 200 hours

The DOL has increased the average hourly earnings in the professional and business services industry to $33.17 per hour to monetize this burden.  See The Employment Situation—February 2019, DOL, Bureau of Labor Statistics, https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/empsit.pdf at page 33.

200 hours x $33.17 = $6,634

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 and performance reports to the ETA. Those information collection requirements will be cleared under a separate control number.

Total burden: 10 respondents, 10 responses, 200 hours, $0 other cost burden.

Supplemental Supporting Statement B: Statistical Methods

This information collection does not employ statistical methods.

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