Supporting Statement A_0704-AAFM

SUPPORTING STATEMENT – PART A

Military Spouse Employment Partnership Career Portal – OMB Control Number

A.  JUSTIFICATION

1.  Need for the Information Collection

The Military Spouse Employment Partnership (MSEP) Career Portal is the sole web platform utilized to connect military spouses with companies seeking to hire military spouse employees. Participating companies, called MSEP Partners, are vetted and approved participants in the MSEP Program and have pledged to recruit, hire, promote and retain military spouses in portable careers. MSEP is a targeted recruitment and employment partnership that connects American businesses with military spouses who possess essential 21st-century workforce skills and attributes and are seeking portable, fulfilling careers. The MSEP program is part of the overall Spouse Education and Career Opportunities (SECO) program which falls under the auspices of the office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Military Community & Family Policy.

This program was developed in compliance with 10 U.S. Code 1784 Employment Opportunities for Military Spouses and DoDI 1342.22 “Military Family Readiness”.

2.  Use of the Information

Users may learn about this collection in various ways including through the Military OneSource program, installation service providers, from other military spouses, from other MSEP Partners and via general online searches. Once aware of the collection users access by simply going online to the following URL: https://msepjobs.militaryonesource.mil/msep/. Forms on the portal are provided for three audiences: military spouses (military spouse registration- https://msepjobs.militaryonesource.mil/msep/register), MSEP Partners (partner user account form- https://msepjobs.militaryonesource.mil/msep/partner-user-register) and companies interested in joining the MSEP Program (Become a Partner application- https://msepjobs.militaryonesource.mil/msep/become-partner/CREATE).

Military Spouse Registration. Military spouses register on the MSEP Career Portal to help connect them to MSEP Partner employers who are hiring. After arriving at the MSEP Career Portal, military spouses are able to review resources, conduct a job search or select to register. All of this information is available on the web portal where the registration process is also completed. Once the military spouse has registered they may choose to make their education and work experience visible to MSEP Partner employers as they are searching for candidates to fill available positions with their company. Prior to providing any information military spouses must first view the Privacy Act Statement and Agency Disclosure Notice. This information displays in a pop-up when a military spouse first clicks into a field on the registration form to provide information. The military spouse must review the information and click to close the pop-up before they can proceed with completing the form.

Partner User Account Form. MSEP Partner companies complete the Partner User Account Form to access partner specific information and to find potential military spouse employees. After arriving at the MSEP Career Portal, MSEP Partners are able to review general information, create an account or log in to access additional resources specific to MSEP Partners. All of this information is available on the web portal where the user account form is also completed. After completing the user account form the request is reviewed by a member of the DoD MSEP Team before the user can log in and access the system. Prior to providing any information MSEP Partners must first view the Privacy Act Statement and Agency Disclosure Notice. This information displays in a pop-up when a MSEP Partner first clicks into a field on the user account form to provide information. The MSEP Partner must review the information and click to close the pop-up before they can proceed with completing the form.

Become a Partner Application. Companies interested in becoming an MSEP Partner complete the Become a Partner application. After arriving at the MSEP Career Portal, companies are able to review general information about the MSEP program or submit an application to become an MSEP Partner. All of this information is available on the web portal where the Become a Partner application is also completed. Prior to providing any information companies must first view the Privacy Act Statement and Agency Disclosure Notice. This information displays in a pop-up when a company first clicks into a field on the application form to provide information. The company must review the information and click to close the pop-up before they can proceed with completing the form.

System generated emails are provided to registered users (military spouses and MSEP Partners) when needed to reset a password. This action is initiated by the user when they select “Forgot Password?” on the portal homepage. The system will then send the user an email with a unique URL allowing them to reset their password and regain access to their account. System emails are also sent to MSEP Partners to provide guidance on completing the user account form on the MSEP Portal. These emails are generated initially when the company is approved as a partner in the program and then after at the partner’s request. Both processes are essential to keeping the portal secure.

Appropriate disclosures are provided to users during the log in process as well as the information being made available via hyperlinks in the website footer. The current Privacy Act Statement and Agency Disclosure Notice can specifically be accessed by any user at any time at the following link: https://msepjobs.militaryonesource.mil/msep/content/privacy-act. This language will also be further updated once approval is granted to include the OMB control number and expiration date.

3.  Use of Information Technology

All responses from users (100%) are collected electronically as the website is the mechanism utilized to connect military spouses and MSEP Partner companies.

4.  Non-duplication

Currently all information provided by users must be entered directly into the portal. However, information can be copied and paste from other sources. Future enhancements for the MSEP Portal may also allow military spouses to directly import their resume information from other sources.

Similar military spouse information is also being collected in the DoD Spouse Education and Career Opportunities (SECO) portal. Efforts are currently in progress for information to be shared between the two systems so that military spouses enter their information once but have access to the education and employment resources available in both the SECO system and MSEP Career Portal. The information gathered from companies and MSEP Partners, however, is only accessible via what is provided in the MSEP Career Portal.

5.  Burden on Small Business

Small businesses may choose to apply to become a MSEP Partner. However, completing the Become a Partner Application is entirely voluntary and requires fairly minimal effort.

6.  Less Frequent Collection

The frequency of this collection is primarily dependent on the users. Military spouses register one-time and provide additional information to utilize the portal at their convenience. Similarly companies submit the Become a Partner Application one-time when interested in joining the partnership and register as a user on the site if they are accepted as a partner. The updating of jobs, however, would be impacted if the collection were conducted less frequently. The MSEP Career Portal is the web platform utilized to connect military spouses with companies seeking to hire military spouse employees. As such, it is important that the website always contain the most up to date and available jobs in order to facilitate the hiring of military spouses.

7.  Paperwork Reduction Act Guidelines

There are no special circumstances that require the collection to be conducted in a manner inconsistent with these guidelines.

8.  Consultation and Public Comments

The 60-Day FRN published on 20 July 2016, 81 FR 47158. No comments were received.

The 30-Day FRN published on 24 January 2017, 82 FR 8185. No comments were received.

The SECO program consulted with the Resource & Oversight, Research Lead about the information collection process. The SECO team also received information from the Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation (CAPE) office specific to the type of support provided to service members and their families. Lastly, the SECO program and the authorized contractor responsible for the web portal continuously receive feedback/input from the users of SECO services about the type of services received and whether the services were satisfactory. Additional consultation was made with outside research organizations as to the type of information needed to be able to conduct further research on the outcomes of the overall MSEP program.

9.  Gifts or Payment

Respondents do not receive payments or gifts for responding to the information collection.

10.  Confidentiality

The Privacy Act Statement and Agency Disclosure notice are available to users prior to providing any information. After accessing a form (military spouse registration, Become a Partner application or MSEP Partner user registration) the Privacy Act Statement and Agency Disclosure Notice display when a user clicks into a field to provide additional information. The user must review and acknowledge the information before it will close allowing them to continue providing information into the form. The Privacy Act Statement and Agency Disclosure Notice will also display for users who are about to log in on the MSEP Portal. After selecting “Sign in” this information is available along with the terms of use. Screenshots of this have been included with the submission to OMB.

The current Privacy Act Statement and Agency Disclosure Notice can also be accessed by any user at any time at the following link: https://msepjobs.militaryonesource.mil/msep/content/privacy-act. This language will also be further updated once approval is granted to include the OMB control number, expiration date, and SORN link.

A draft copy of the SORN, [DPR nn4 DoD, entitled “Military Spouse Employment Partnership (MSEP) Career Portal.”], has been provided with this package for OMB’s review.

A draft copy of the PIA, [For the Military Spouse Employment Partnership (MSEP) Career Portal, Military Community and Family Policy, Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense], has been provided with this package for OMB’s review.

Records Retention and Disposition Schedule. Destroy/Delete when 5 years old or when no longer needed for operational purposes, whichever is later. (N1-330-03-01)

Appropriate disclosures are provided to users during the log in process as well as the information being made available via hyperlinks in the website footer.

Routine uses of records maintained in the system, including categories of users and the purposes of such uses: In addition to those disclosures generally permitted under 5 U.S.C 552a(b) of the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended, these records may specifically be disclosed outside the DoD as a routine use pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(b) (3) as follows:

To authorized DoD SECO contractors for the purpose of responding to military spouse needs as they relate to employment readiness.

To authorized DoD contractors and grantees for the purpose of supporting research studies concerned with the effectiveness of the SECO program on spouse employment.

To MSEP Partners for the purpose of searching for military spouse employment candidates.

11.  Sensitive Questions

Military spouses are asked their race/ethnicity during the registration process. This information is collected purely to help the program learn more about the demographics of the military spouse population using the MSEP Portal. However, military spouses are not required to provide their race/ethnicity. All spouses have the option of selecting “Decline to Identify” if they wish not to provide this information. Additionally, this section is currently being updated to ensure it complies with OMB Guidance — a screenshot of the updated race/ethnicity section has been included.

12.  Respondent Burden, and its Labor Costs

a.  Estimation of Respondent Burden

Estimation of Respondent Burden Hours
	Number of Respondents	Number of Responses per Respondent	Number of Total Annual Responses	Response Time (Amount of time needed to complete the collection instrument)	Respondent Burden Hours (Total Annual Responses multiplied by Response Time) Please compute these into hours)
MSEP Career Portal (Military Spouse Registration)	22,000	1	22,000	45 minutes	16,500
MSEP Career Portal (Partner User Account Form)	300	1	300	25 minutes	125
MSEP Career Portal (Become a Partner Application)	150	1	150	15 minutes	38
Total	22,450	1	22,450	28.33 minutes	16,663

There are three different user types who spend different amounts of time providing information on the MSEP Career Portal. These three users are identified in the above table.

It should also be noted that these figures represent the average number of annual spouse registrants since the MSEP portal launched in February of 2012.

b.  Labor Cost of Respondent Burden

Labor Cost of Respondent Burden
	Number of Responses	Response Time per Response	Respondent Hourly Wage	Labor Burden per Response (Response Time multiplied by Respondent Hourly Wage)	Total Labor Burden (Number of Respondents multiplied by Response Time multiplied by Respondent Hourly Wage)
MSEP Career Portal (Military Spouse Registration)	22,000	45 minutes	$23.23	$17.42	$383,240
MSEP Career Portal (Partner User Account Form)	300	25 minutes	$50.21	$20.92	$6,276
MSEP Career Portal (Become a Partner Application)	150	15 minutes	$50.21	$12.55	$1,883
Total	22,450	28.33 minutes	$41.21	$16.96	$391,399

While all information is collected in the MSEP Career Portal, there are three different user types who spend different amounts of time providing information on the system. These three users are identified in the above table.

The military spouse respondents complete all forms on their own time as the program is intended to help military spouses identify and attain a job in their desired career field. Utilization of the MSEP Career Portal is also completely voluntary.

Military spouses work at all levels and sectors of employment. To determine the Labor Cost of Respondent Burden mean hourly wage across all occupations [source: Department of Labor (http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_nat.htm)] was utilized.

Human Resources professionals are typically the primary points of contact for companies interested in and accepted into the MSEP program. As such, to determine the Labor Cost of Respondent Burden for companies and MSEP Partners median hourly wage [source: Department of Labor (http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes113121.htm)] was utilized.

13.  Respondent Costs Other Than Burden Hour Costs

There are no other respondent costs other than burden hour costs. Also to note is that the use of the MSEP Career Portal is completely voluntary for all users.

14.  Cost to the Federal Government

This information is collected via a government owned and operated web platform that does not require Government personnel to manually process each collection with the exception of user accounts for MSEP Partner company points of contact. Additionally, this platform provides a multitude of other resources and tools for military spouses. This collection is one component of the overall functionality of the platform.

Labor Cost to the Federal Government
	MSEP Career Portal data collection	Total
Number of Responses	22,450	22,450
Processing Time Per Response (in hours)	.083	.083
Hourly Wage of Worker(s) Processing Responses	GS-12 = $29.76	GS-12 = $29.76
Cost to Process Each Response (Processing Time Per Response multiplied by Hourly Wage of Worker(s) Processing Responses)	$2.47	$2.47
Total Cost to Process Responses (Cost to Process Each Response multiplied by Number of Responses	$55,453	$55,453

Operational and Maintenance Costs
Equipment	Printing	Postage	Software Purchases	Licensing Costs	Other	Total
NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	$605,000*	$605,000

*web support and maintenance

Total Cost to the Federal Government
Operational and Maintenance Costs	Labor Cost to the Federal Government	Total Cost (O&M Costs + Labor Cost)
$605,000	$55,453	$660,453

Wage information was attained from the Office of Personnel Management website [source: Office of Personnel Management (https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/salaries-wages/salary-tables/pdf/2016/GS_h.pdf)].

15.  Reasons for Change in Burden

This collection does not have prior approval and is considered a new collection.

16.  Publication of Results

Currently there are no plans for the results of the information collection to be published as a DoD publication or for a publication external to DoD.

17.  Non-Display of OMB Expiration Date

Approval is not being requested to omit display of the expiration date of OMB approval on the collection instrument.

18.  Exceptions to "Certification for Paperwork Reduction Submissions"

No exemptions are being requested.

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