Abbreviated Supporting Statement

OMB Approval No. 1205-0436

Expiration Date: 11/30/2013

ABBREVIATED SUPPORTING STATEMENT

CLEARANCE FORM

A. SUPPLEMENTAL SUPPORTING STATEMENT

A.1. Title:	Local-Level Services Provided to Youth with Disabilities Under WIA Survey of the Workforce Investment System
A.2. Compliance with 5 CFR 1320.5: Yes __X_ No _____				A.3. Assurances of confidentiality: No. .
A.4. Federal cost: $341,5781				A.5. Requested expiration date (Month/Year): June 2013
A.6. Burden Hour estimates: a. Number of Respondents: 455 a.1. % Received Electronically: 100% b. Frequency: 1 time c. Average Response Time: 50 minutes d. Total Annual Burden Hours: 378.3 hours				A7. Does the collection of information employ statistical methods? ___X___ No _______ Yes (Complete Section B and attach BLS review sheet).
A.8 Abstract: Over the last several years, the U.S, Department of Labor (DOL), through its Employment and Training Administration (ETA) and Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP), increased efforts to support the public workforce system and its partners in advancing the goal of serving youth with disabilities. Specifically, ETA issued Training and Employment Guidance Letter 2(TEGL) No, 31-10 to provide information and resources about promising practices and successful strategies that promote the enrollment, education, training and employment outcomes of youth with disabilities in June 2011. This change to the information collection request for the WIA quick-turn around survey is for a one-time, web-based survey3 of Local Workforce Investment Board (LWIB) Executive Directors. Comprised of 27 questions, the survey intends to gather information about current practices and perceptions of services for youth with disabilities within the public workforce investment system. DOL established five overall strategies for increasing effective services to youth with disabilities in the TEGL, with the intent to: 1) enhance staff capacity to serve youth with disabilities, 2) encourage collaboration with other systems and integrate funding streams, 3) improve service provider ability to reach and serve out-of-school youth, 4) promote the use of work experience and community service opportunities for youth with disabilities including partnerships with employers, and 5) improve the public workforce system’s ability to identify and meet customers’ service needs. This survey will measure the extent to which the LWIBS have incorporated specific strategies and tools to increase the number of youth with disabilities being served as well as supported working toward positive outcomes. The data collected from this survey will also provide a foundation for further policy development related to youth with disabilities. This survey was pilot tested with seven LWIB Executive Directors to carefully review an array of design issues including content, wording, organization, flow, skip logic, and clarity of instructions, as well as assess the overall level of burden.4 Additionally, five members of an expert panel also reviewed the survey and provided feedback on the logical flow of the survey, coverage of the key priority areas in serving this population, length of the survey, the use of appropriate terms, and overall content. Feedback from the pilot respondents and the expert panel has been incorporated into the survey to improve the quality of information elicited and to minimize respondent burden. Feedback from pilot respondents and the expert panel highlighted the considerable variation in both commitment and approach to serving youth with disabilities across LWIBs. The limited availability of reliable metrics that fully capture this level of variation precludes drawing a reliable subsample and necessitates targeting the entire universe of LWIBs. Efforts to survey the universe of LWIBs will result in approximately 455 responses. An examination of select web-based surveys conducted over the last ten years with LWIB Executive Directors indicates that an 80% response rate is a viable target, given appropriate levels of respondent support and follow-up. With minimal respondent support, two web-based surveys conducted by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) achieved response rates of 83%5 and 73%.6 More recently, and using strategies similar to that proposed for this survey, Abt Associates obtained response rates of 97% of nearly 1,500 non-profit organizations in 20117 and over 95% of 544 community-based organizations in 2010.8 To encourage a strong response rate, ETA’s survey vendor will send reminders encouraging cooperation with the survey to non-responding LWIBs at least four times during the one month data collection period (if necessary).9 Additionally, the vendor’s “Solutions Desk” staff will monitor response rates and data quality at least weekly and will be available to respondents throughout the data collection period to assist with completion of the survey by phone, via a toll-free number, and e-mail. This data collection will not duplicate any information currently collected. Although identifiers will be used to monitor survey completion and link survey responses to states and regions, identifiers of respondents will not be included in published reports nor otherwise be revealed to anyone not directly involved in the information collection.
		Date	Departmental Clearance Officer		Date

1 This is the federal project cost for entering into this contract with Abt Associates.

2 http://wdr.doleta.gov/directives/corr_doc.cfm?DOCN=3037

3 Hosted on the FluidSurveys platform, which allows for Section 508 compatible surveys

4 During the pilot testing, the average response time was 50 minutes, with a range of 15 minutes to 2 hours. The difference in survey completion time was due to differences in the organization and accessibility of local data systems.

5 Workforce Investment Act: Youth provisions promote new service strategies, but additional guidance would enhance program development. GAO-02-413. Washington, DC: April 2002.

6 Workforce Investment Act: Substantial funds are used for training, but little is known nationally about training outcomes. GAO-05-650. Washington, DC: June 2005.

7 www.lsareports.org

8 Abt Associates Inc. and Branch Associates Inc. (2011). ACF-OPRE report: Building non-profit capacity and community partnerships: Findings from the Communities Empowering Youth Evaluation. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation.

9 Email reminders will be sent at the mid-point, third week, and one day prior to the end of the survey period ; and on the deadline. Reminders will be sent only to those potential respondents who have not yet completed the survey. If generic questions or concerns about the survey arise, subsequent reminders will address those concerns.