Supporting Statement for FOA - Pathway Home

Funding Opportunity Announcement

Pathway Home

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 “Pathway Home” Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA). The Department will announce the availability of approximately $65,000,000 in grant funds authorized by the Department of Labor Appropriations Act, 2019 (Pub. L. 115-245), for ex-offender activities and under Section 169 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA).

DOL will competitively award grants to community- and faith-based organizations with IRS 501(c)(3) non-profit status. Including women’s and minority organizations, and post-secondary education institutions with 501(c)(3) status; state and local governments; and any Indian and Native American entity eligible for grants under Section 166 of WIOA. These grants intend to provide eligible, incarcerated individuals in state correctional facilities or local jails with workforce services prior to release, and to continue services after release by transitioning the participants into reentry programs in the communities to which they will return. These grants are job-driven and build connections to local employers that will enable transitioning offenders to secure employment.

These projects ensure that transitioning offenders are prepared to meet the needs of their local labor markets with the skills valued by employers. Applicants must ensure that occupational training provided has no federal, state, or local regulations that restrict individuals with criminal records from obtaining licenses or other necessary credentials in that career. Employer connections will inform specific program curricula and ensure relevance to the needs of local businesses and jobs. Teaching transitioning offenders foundational skills, such as job readiness, employability, and job search strategies, in addition to providing apprenticeships and occupational training leading to industry-recognized credentials, can provide access to employment and reduce the likelihood of reoffending

DOL expects to award approximately 17 grants. These grant programs will serve participants who are at least 18 years old; reside, at the time of enrollment in the project, in a state correctional facility or county or local jail for adults; have a release date scheduled between 20 to 180 days of the individual’s enrollment in the program; are scheduled to return to reside upon release in the target area identified in the applicant’s application upon release; are low-income as defined under WIOA, Section 3(36); and are legally eligible to work in the United States.

Grantees have the discretion to enroll individuals convicted of violent offenses or sexual offenses and those assessed as high-risk of either offense. Grantees that choose to serve these populations must conduct a rigorous risk assessment of criminogenic need (i.e., causing or likely to cause criminal behavior). In all cases, the grantee must have a clear and consistent written enrollment policy that addresses program enrollment. Grantees will be required to submit their written enrollment policies if awarded a grant.

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 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 FOA implicates no special circumstances.

Burden:

Based on past experience, the DOL expects to receive approximately 150 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.

150 applications x 20 hours = 3000 hours.

The DOL uses the average hourly earnings in the professional and business services industry of $34.17 per hour to monetize this burden.  See The Employment Situation—January 2020, DOL, Bureau of Labor Statistics, https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/empsit.pdf at page 37.

3000 hours x $34.17 = $102,510

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: 150 respondents, 150 responses, 3000 hours, $0 other cost burden.

Supplemental Supporting Statement B: Statistical Methods

This information collection does not employ statistical methods.

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