Volunteer Recruitment and Selection Onboarding_Supporting Statement

Peace Corps

Office of Volunteer Recruitment and Selection

Onboarding

OMB Control Number xxxx-xxxx

Supporting Statement

Section A: Justification

1. Circumstances that make the collection of information necessary.

The Peace Corps Act, in 22 U.S.C. 2504(a), gives the Peace Corps the authority to provide allowances, benefits, and privileges to Peace Corps Volunteers.

In order to provide such services, it is necessary for the Peace Corps to collect limited administrative information from persons invited to become Peace Corps volunteers and to advise invitees of their rights and benefits. The Peace Corps uses the Onboarding Portal as the tool to collect necessary information, allowing the Peace Corps to facilitate a person’s transition from invitee to trainee as well as provide support during that person’s volunteer service.

2. By whom, how, and for what purpose the information is to be used.

The Peace Corps uses the Onboarding Portal to collect essential administrative information from invitees for use during volunteer service, including information such as emergency contacts, legal history updates, direct deposit instructions, and life insurance designations. The information is used by the Peace Corps to establish specific services for invitees for the purposes of supporting the volunteer during service.

3. Consideration of the use of improved information technology.

The Peace Corps Onboarding Portal collects information from invitees electronically.

The Onboarding Portal employs the use of information technology to make the collection of data electronic, reducing time for invitees and use of agency resources through data integrations. Drop-down menus and field validation further reduce the burden to applicants and staff because they allow for uniform indication of select names, titles, etc. It is designed to improve the quality of the information collected.

4. Efforts to identify duplication. Why similar information cannot be used.

The Onboarding Portal is the first opportunity to gather administrative information necessary for enrollment in the Peace Corps. Prior to this point in the process, the Peace Corps does not collect this information. To prevent duplication of collection, systems integrations with the Onboarding Portal are employed to send the collected data to the necessary office or offices, without having to ask invitees to provide it again.

The timing of the collection of Onboarding information is conducted no more than 60 days prior to the start of volunteer service. This allows the invitee and the Peace Corps sufficient time to complete Onboarding actions without burdening any invitees who may withdraw from the clearance process prior to 60 days before volunteer service.

5. Methods to minimize the burden to small business if involved.

N/A

6. Consequences to the Federal program if collection were conducted less frequently.

This information is requested from each respondent only once, but the information is needed from every respondent. If this information were not collected, the Peace Corps would be unable to conduct activities such as call the volunteer’s emergency contacts as needed, pay allowances to the their US bank accounts, or determine if the volunteer has opted in or out of the agency life insurance policy. As such, the Peace Corps would not be able to sufficiently support trainees and volunteers while overseas.

6. Explain any special circumstances that would cause the information collection to be conducted in a manner inconsistent with guidelines.

No special circumstances exist that require the information collection to be conducted in a manner inconsistent with the guidelines in 5 CFR 1320.6.

6. Consultation.

The agency’s 60-Day notice was published in the Federal Register on February 24, 2017 [82 FR 11662]. No public comments were received. The agency’s 30-Day notice was published on April 28, 2017 [82 FR 19762]. No public comments were received.

6. Explain any decision to provide any payment or gift to respondents.

There is no payment or gift provided to respondents.

6. Describe any assurance of confidentiality provided to respondents.

No assurance of confidentiality is provided. This information is subject to the Privacy Act and a Privacy Act notice is provided. The SORN is PC-17 Volunteer Applicant and Service Records and PCV Application PIA.

6. Additional justification for any questions of a sensitive nature.

The Peace Corps asks the following questions which can be considered of a sensitive nature:

• Has your marital status changed?

• Have any persons become partially or totally dependent upon you for their support, whether they are living with you or not?

• Have you been employed by, filed an employment application with, or in any way been associated with intelligence activities of any agency of the U.S. government or any other government?

• Have you been convicted of any offense by a civilian or military court?

• Have you been subjected to any disciplinary action by a military court or tribunal?

• Have you been arrested for, charged with, or cited for any offense (exclude parking tickets and traffic fines less than $300.00)?

• Have you filed any civil suits or have any civil suits been filed against you?

• Have you been notified that your presence or testimony is requested in any civil or criminal action?

• Have you been placed on any court-ordered probation or parole?

These questions are necessary for the evaluation of invitees’ suitability and qualifications to serve as a Peace Corps Volunteer and to ensure that their legal responsibilities will be satisfied for the duration of volunteer service. Invitees are offered a Privacy Act Statement Paperwork Reduction Act Burden Statement at the beginning of their Onboarding activities.

6. Estimates of reporting and recordkeeping hour and cost burdens of the collection of information.

Estimated burden (hours) of the collection of information:

Number of Respondents 5000

Frequency of response: one time

Completion time: 60 minutes

Annual total burden hours across all respondents: 5000 hours

The estimated total reporting burden is the estimated number of respondents multiplied by the estimated average burden per response.

We estimate that it will take each invitee one hour to complete the onboarding activities. If completed in hard copy, the data will be inputted into Peace Corps’ system by staff, and the original copy will be scanned and attached to the invitee’s electronic record.

6. Estimates of annualized capital and start-up costs.

There will be no additional cost to respondents.

6. Estimates of annualized Federal Government costs.

Year operations & maintenance	$50,000
Design, build, test & deploy	$132,000
Total	$172K

6. Explanation of change in burden.

This is a new collection.

6. Information collections data planned to be published for statistical use.

The information collected will not be quantified and/or published.

6. Explanation for seeking not to display the expiration date for OMB approval of the information collection.

N/A

6. Exception to the certification statement.

N/A

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