A.8. Abstract:
Due to
the economic conditions of the past few years, which have resulted
in a significant increase in job losses, states have been
extremely busy conducting Rapid Response activities and have had
little time to spend on identifying technical assistance or
training needs, promising practices, and reflecting on lessons
learned. To assist states with these important continuous
improvement activities, ETA created the Rapid Response
Self-Assessment tool, which is designed to help Rapid Response
staff within states or local Workforce Investment Boards (WIBs)
examine various elements of their Rapid Response systems and
assess their performance. Once completed, it will help state or
local leadership and Rapid Response staff members/teams identify
areas where improvement is needed, as well as identify those areas
of high performance which ETA may use as promising practices and
share with the workforce system.
The Self
Assessment tool was originally shared with states in 2009-10 in
conjunction with training sessions, and reissued in a slightly
revised format in 2012 through a Training and Employment Notice
issuance. ETA is interested in determining the value of this tool
to state and local workforce agencies which will help inform
future TAT activities or products. The proposed information
collection instrument seeks to gather data primarily from users of
the revised tool, but may also be used to obtain information from
those states that used the original version only. Although ETA
encouraged and engage the use of the tool, doing so was
completely voluntary;
The
proposed information collection instrument is a 12-question,
web-based survey. ETA plans to ask Rapid Response state points of
contact to distribute the survey to Rapid Response staff that
completed the tool. The points of contact will be contacted via
email and provided information on how to access the survey
instrument. ETA expects no more than 100 respondents will
participate in completing the survey.
The
information collection process will be administered as soon as
possible following OMB approval. Although ETA does not anticipate
a 100% response rate to the survey, the results do not need to be
scientifically valid for ETA to gain important information about
the value of the Self Assessment tool; therefore, ETA does not
expect to incorporate any statistical approach for non-response or
sampling.
This
data collection will not duplicate any information currently
collected. Although identifiers will be used to link the
information collected with other data, identities of respondents
will not be included in published reports nor otherwise be
revealed to anyone not directly involved in the information
collection.
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