_PRA Part A - RESEA2 Revised 8.4.25

Reemployment Services and Eligibility Assessment (RESEA) Evidence Building Portfolio Project

OMB Control Number 1290-0NEW

OMB Expiration Date: TBD

SUPPORTING STATEMENT A FOR

Reemployment Services and Eligibility Assessment (RESEA) Evidence Building Portfolio Project

OMB CONTROL NO. 1290-0NEW

This is a new information collection request.

1. JUSTIFICATION

1. Explain the circumstances that make the collection of information necessary. Identify any legal or administrative requirements that necessitate the collection. Attach a copy of the appropriate section of each statute and regulation mandating or authorizing the collection of information.

This Information Collection Request seeks to receive approval from the Office of Management and Budget for information collection for the Reemployment Services and Eligibility Assessment (RESEA) Evidence Building Portfolio Project. The Department of Labor (DOL) funds RESEA programs in 49 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. States and territories use these funds to address the reemployment services needs of Unemployment Insurance (UI) claimants and to prevent and detect UI improper payments (Unemployment Insurance Program Letter 08–24).

DOL’s Chief Evaluation Office contracted with Abt Global and its partners—W.E. Upjohn Institute, the Behavioural Insights Team (BIT), American Institutes for Research (AIR), and the National Association of State Workforce Agencies—to develop strategies to support the evidence requirements for the RESEA program as enacted in 2018 amendments to the Social Security Act that permanently authorized RESEA (Public Law 115-123; hereafter “the Statue”). This Evidence Building Portfolio Project will help DOL establish rigorous and informative evidence standards and support states in conducting evaluations to expand the evidence base on effective RESEA interventions. The evidence standards and new evidence will each help states develop and implement RESEA programs that more quickly and cost-effectively return more claimants from UI back to work.

The Statute contains requirements to “establish and expand the use of evidence-based interventions” in states’ RESEA programs. To help meet this requirement and build evidence about RESEA, DOL is funding several studies including the RESEA Impact Study and the RESEA Cost Study. This PRA submission is focused on data collection activities across these two studies, which are described in more detail in the next section.

In 2018, Congress and the President enacted the Statute, which included a provision to permanently authorized the Reemployment Services and Eligibility Assessment (RESEA) program, which aims to help Unemployment Insurance (UI) claimants return to work more quickly.¹ Building on a core set of services, each state designs and implements its own RESEA program model, drawing on rigorous evidence of effective strategies. The Statute describes the need for states to implement evidence-based strategies or to evaluate their current programs to build evidence. To support states’ ongoing RESEA program improvements and evidence building, the US Department of Labor’s Chief Evaluation Office (CEO), in collaboration with the Office of Unemployment Insurance (OUI) in the Employment and Training Administration (ETA), seeks to provide evaluation technical assistance and conduct evidence-building activities to support and complement states’ evaluations. Specifically, this Evidence Building Portfolio Project will continue to provide evaluation technical assistance and build on evidence review activities started under DOL’s previous RESEA Evidence Building and Implementation Study (2018-2023). The current project also includes two new studies aimed to support and supplement state-led RESEA evaluations: the RESEA Impact Study (comprising the Component Study and the Behavioral Study) and the RESEA Cost Study.

As mentioned earlier, these studies are designed to build RESEA evidence and meet the Statute requirement to “establish and expand the use of evidence-based interventions” in states’ RESEA programs. The RESEA Impact Study will help participating states meet the RESEA evaluation requirement under the Statute while simultaneously building causal evidence on program components that are of interest to states and DOL for RESEA program improvement. The RESEA Cost Study will help DOL and states better understand how costs of implementing RESEA programs vary by program and place.

The research questions for the RESEA Impact Study and RESEA Cost Study are:

• RESEA Impact Study

  • Component Study:

    • To what extent do subsequent meetings, beyond the initial meeting, reduce claimants’ UI duration and improve employment and earnings?

    • To what extent does remote versus in-person participation lead to differences in claimants’ key RESEA program outcomes?

  • Behavioral Study:.

    • To what extent can process improvement initiatives lead to increases in RESEA participation, engagement, or other measures of performance?

  • Both studies:

    • How are RESEA programs, components, processes, and service delivery strategies implemented?

• RESEA Cost Study

  • On average, what does it cost per claimant to implement RESEA programs in selected states, in total and for key program components²? In what ways does the average total cost per claimant vary across states?

  • What is the ratio of average cost per claimant assigned to subsequent meetings to measures of the impact of subsequent meetings on the average number of weeks claimants receive UI benefits?³ In what ways does the cost-effectiveness ratio differ across state program models?

The Impact Study will use extant data to answer these questions, and qualitative data will be collected during site visits to understand how the RESEA components being tested are implemented. The Cost Study will use data collected via interviews and surveys to learn about the RESEA program and components and their costs. The data collection to be conducted is described below.

RESEA Impact Study Site Visits and Interviews

The RESEA Impact Study is composed of two sub-studies: the Component Study and the Behavioral Study, each of which will include site visits. There will be up to 30 site visits for the Component Study (3 sites × 10 states) and up to 12 site visits (3 sites × 4 states) for the Behavioral Study. The site visits will last three days each. During these site visits, we will conduct one-on-one or small-group semi-structured interviews with managers and staff and participants at the American Job Centers (AJCs) or local Workforce Development Boards, as appropriate. The semi-structured interview data collection tools (included in this request) are described below:⁴

• Program manager interview protocols to understand topics such as the state context in which RESEA programs operate and the staffing and supervisory structure of the RESEA program. We anticipate conducting up to 90 program manager interviews for the Component Study and up to 36 program manager interviews for the Behavioral Study in the three-year clearance period. Each protocol is tailored for the specific study:

  • 1-RESA Component Study- program manager interview protocol

  • 4- RESEA Behavioral Study-program manager interview protocol

• Program staff interview protocols to understand topics such as the implementation of the RESEA components being evaluated or the behavioral intervention. We anticipate conducting up to 270 program staff interviews for the Component Study and up to 108 program staff interviews for the Behavioral Study in the three-year clearance period. Each protocol is tailored for the specific study:

  • 2-RESEA Component Study- program staff interview protocol

  • 5-RESEA Behavioral Study- program staff interview protocol

• Participant interview protocols, which includes topics such as perspectives on the RESEA meeting content and modality of the meeting or their perspectives on the behavioral intervention and customer satisfaction. We anticipate conducting up to 360 participant interviews for the Component Study and up to 180 participant interviews for the Behavioral Study in the three-year clearance period. Each protocol is tailored for the specific study:

  • 3-RESEA Component Study- participant interview protocol

  • 6-RESEA Behavioral Study- participant interview protocol

During the site visits, we will also observe program activities to help us describe key program components or behavioral interventions, assess the quality of program delivery, and understand participant needs. The observations will not involve additional burden.

RESEA Cost Study Interviews and Follow-up Survey

We will conduct virtual site visits in up to seven states for the RESEA Cost Study. Virtual site visits for the RESEA Cost Study will include interviews with staff at the central offices of the State Workforce Agency and approximately three AJCs (i.e., sites) per state. The combined site visits will be conducted virtually via Microsoft Teams. During these site visits, we will conduct one-on-one or small-group semi-structured interviews with staff including up to six program staff at the central office and eight staff at each of the AJCs.

The semi-structured interview data collection tools (included in this request) consist of:

• Stakeholder interview protocols, which include topics such as the labor and non-personnel costs associated with implementing state’s RESEA programs and/or its components of interest. We will interview four groups of stakeholders. Each stakeholder protocol will contain some overlapping questions but be tailored for the specific group:⁵

  • 7-RESEA Cost Study AJC director level interview protocol

  • 8-RESEA Cost Study State Employment Service (ES) staff interview protocol

  • 9-RESEA Cost Study State office of UI staff interview protocol

  • 10-RESEA Cost Study Caseworker interview protocol

We anticipate these interview protocols will be used to conduct on average 30 interviews in each state, for a total of up to 210 interviews (30 interviews × 7 states) in the three-year clearance period. We anticipate the 30 interviews in a given state will be spread across up to three AJCs and the state level. By group type, this is on average 9 AJC director level interviews, 3 state employment staff interviews, 3 state office of UI staff interviews, and 15 caseworker interviews per state.

• Post-interview survey, which will be customized for each respondent to cover questions the respondent could not answer at the time (e.g. non-personnel resources related to implementation of a particular component). We anticipate it will be sent to up to 63 interview respondents. We estimate that we’ll send the customized survey to 30% of the 30 interview respondents in a given state (i.e. about 9 interview respondents per state), and we estimate it will take 10 minutes for a respondent to complete the customized survey. The generic survey that will be customized for each respondent is:

  • 11- RESEA Cost Study post-interview survey

2. Indicate how, by whom, and for what purpose the information is to be used. Except for a new collection, indicate the actual use the agency has made of the information received from the current collection.

The information to be collected through the RESEA Impact Study will be used by DOL and state/local workforce agencies to build causal evidence on RESEA program components that are of interest to DOL and states. The information also will help participating states meet the RESEA evaluation requirement under the Statute and support ongoing program improvement. The information to be collected through the RESEA Cost Study will be used by DOL and state/local workforce agencies to better understand how costs of implementing RESEA programs vary, inform states’ decisions about RESEA program design, and serve as a basis for evaluating the relative cost-effectiveness of RESEA program models as workforce development interventions.

The direct users of the data collected will be the Abt Global study team. The study team will use the data to describe the RESEA components and costs of the program as part of the Impact Study and Cost Study.

Indirect users of the data include DOL and other federal agency staff and their stakeholders. Specifically, DOL will use the results of these data collection and analysis efforts to develop future guidance on program operations and to help states meet evidence-based and other requirements of the Statute. Additionally, DOL plans to publish findings from both studies on DOL’s website and to submit findings to DOL’s Clearinghouse for Labor Evaluation and Research (CLEAR) for broader dissemination, review, and synthesis. Program administrators and directors from states and local workforce agencies will be able to apply the study findings in their ongoing efforts to plan, implement, and evaluate changes to RESEA program services to both meet statutory evidence requirements and improve the cost-effectiveness of their programs.

3. Describe whether, and to what extent, the collection of information involves the use of automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting electronic submission of responses, and the basis for the decision for adopting this means of collection. Also, describe any consideration of using information technology to reduce burden.

The data collection effort includes interviews with program staff and participants. If interviewees consent, the interviews will be electronically recorded. The recordings will not record respondents’ names. Concurrently, the recordings will be handled securely. If the recordings are obtained via the study team member’s computer, the recordings will be automatically saved to Abt’s secure servers. If handheld recorders are used, the study team will keep the recordings secure and will transfer the recordings to Abt’s secure servers as soon as possible.

In order to provide options that may reduce the burden on interview respondents, we will offer respondents the option of participating in interviews via video conference technology such as Microsoft Teams. This video conference option also makes it possible to reschedule interviews to a later date in the event that an interview respondent is unable to attend on the day of the site visit.

4. Describe efforts to identify duplication. Show specifically why any similar information already available cannot be used or modified for use for the purposes described in Item A.2 above.

The purpose of the site visits for the RESEA Impact Study is to learn about the program design, implementation, and context that is in place during the period of random assignment. These data are not available elsewhere and have not been collected before. Where possible, data from existing sources – such as the state RESEA plans, state RESEA websites, and state-level data submitted to DOL (i.e., ETA-9128, ETA-9130, RESEA Workload Report) – will be reviewed in advance to avoid the duplication of data. Further, when relevant, data from existing sources will be confirmed with the interviewee(s) to reduce burden and potentially save time for the respondent(s). These sources will help the study team learn about the design of the RESEA program in each participating state at a high level, but the data collected during site visits will allow the study to describe in detail how the program is being implemented at the time of random assignment, across local centers.

For the Component Study part of the RESEA Impact Study, there is no other data source providing detailed information on the program context, program services, treatment and control group environments, and implementation challenges and successes. Similarly, for the Behavioral Study part, there is no other data source that provides detailed information on underlying operational challenges that the behavioral intervention(s) being designed would address, the design of the intervention being tested, staff and participant perspectives about the intervention, best practices and challenges, and/or barriers to implementing the intervention.

For the Cost Study, although states submit budgets with planned expenses and total costs incurred at the end of each grant period, there are no existing data sources that provide cost data related to states’ program administration, scheduling processes, or implementation of specific RESEA program components.

5. If the collection of information impacts small businesses or other small entities, describe any methods used to minimize burden.

The data collection does not involve small businesses or other small entities.

6. Describe the consequence to federal program or policy activities if the collection is not conducted or is conducted less frequently, as well as any technical or legal obstacles to reducing burden.

If these data are not collected, we will not be able to answer the research questions of the Component Study, Behavioral Study, and Cost Study. The remainder of this section describes in more detail the consequences of not collecting the information for each study.

For the Component Study, the information collected through interviews with staff during study site visits will enable the study to describe the program design and operations in each site and interpret the impact analysis results. The consequences of not collecting the data from the field-based implementation analysis would be a lack of in-depth information about the nature of the RESEA activities conducted both at the administrative/supervisory and at the program delivery staff levels. Site visits will provide an opportunity to fully document the services being delivered to treatment group members. Semi-structured interviews will serve as an essential tool to understand the context in which the Impact Study data are collected and to interpret impact findings to ensure that correct conclusions are drawn from them for use in future program and policy decisions. For instance, if there are positive net impacts for the treatment group, it will be vital to understand the specific intervention(s) received by treatment group members so those interventions could potentially be replicated by other employment and training programs.

For the Behavioral Study, the information collected through observations and interviews during site visits will allow the study to identify and describe barriers to program engagement that will inform the design of behaviorally informed changes or tools. The primary consequence of not collecting site visit data for this study would be a lack of information about how the behavioral intervention is implemented, and therefore a lack of detail on best practices and challenges and how to interpret results of the Impact Study.

For the RESEA Cost Study, the consequences of not collecting the data from the Cost Study site visits would be that we could not assess the cost of the RESEA program components. These site visits will allow us to collect information about the personnel and non-personnel resources used to implement the following components of the RESEA program: selecting RESEA claimants and scheduling them for RESEA meetings, AJC orientations, initial RESEA meetings, subsequent RESEA meetings, and RESEA program administration.

7. Explain any special circumstances that would cause an information collection to be conducted in a manner:

• requiring respondents to report information to the agency more often than quarterly;

• requiring respondents to prepare a written response to a collection of information in fewer than 30 days after receipt of it;

• requiring respondents to submit more than an original and two copies of any document;

• requiring respondents to retain records, other than health, medical, government contract, grant-in-aid, or tax records for more than three years;

• in connection with a statistical survey, that is not designed to produce valid and reliable results that can be generalized to the universe of study;

• requiring the use of statistical data classification that has not been reviewed and approved by OMB;

• that includes a pledge of confidentiality that is not supported by authority established in statute or regulation, that is not supported by disclosure and data security policies that are consistent with the pledge, or which unnecessarily impedes sharing of data with other agencies for compatible confidential use; or

• requiring respondents to submit proprietary trade secret, or other confidential information unless the agency can demonstrate that it has instituted procedures to protect the information's confidentially to the extent permitted by law.

The data collection effort does not involve any special circumstances.

8. If applicable, provide a copy and identify the date and page number of publication in the Federal Register of the agency’s notice, required by 5 CFR 1320.8(d), soliciting comments on the information collection prior to submission to OMB. Summarize public comments received in response to that notice and describe actions taken by the agency in response to these comments. Specifically address comments received on cost and hour burden.

Describe efforts to consult with persons outside the agency to obtain their views on the availability of data, frequency of collection, the clarity of instructions and recordkeeping, disclosure, or reporting format (if any), and on the data elements to be recorded, disclosed, or reported.

Consultation with representatives of those from whom information is to be obtained or those who must compile records should occur at least once every 3 years -- even if the collection-of-information activity is the same as in prior periods. There may be circumstances that may preclude consultation in a specific situation. These circumstances should be explained.

A 60-day notice to solicit comments was published in the Federal Register, 89 FR 64961, 08/08/2024, pp. 64961-64963. No comments were received.

The study team includes staff from Abt Global, BIT, and AIR, with whom we have consulted for expertise to ensure that data collection efforts are adequately designed and that the data collected are relevant to states and comprehensively cover important state RESEA program elements. The people who were consulted, listed by organization, are displayed in Exhibit 1.

Exhibit 1. Individual Consulted

Individual	Employed by
Andrew Clarkwest, Principal Investigator	Abt Global 6130 Executive Blvd. Rockville, MD 20852
Heinrich Hock, Principal Investigator
Correne Saunders, Project Director
Zach Epstein, Senior Associate
Leela Hebbar, Senior Associate
Michael Hallsworth, Chief Behavioral Scientist	Behavioural Insights Team (BIT) 195 Montague St., Suite 1123 Brooklyn, NY 11201
Siobhan De La Rosa, Senior Researcher	American Institutes for Research (AIR) 1400 Crystal Dr., 10th Floor Arlington, VA 22202

9. Explain any decision to provide any payments or gifts to respondents, other than remuneration of contractors or grantees.

No payments will be made to any respondents interviewed during the Cost Study site visits. However, we will use incentives to encourage participation in interviews with individual program participants for the Behavioral Study and the Component Study. RESEA participants completing these interviews will be given a $25 gift card to thank them for their time. Offering incentives to gain cooperation and solicit participation is a well-established practice in social science research and program evaluation. Participants are provided incentives as a gesture of appreciation for voluntary participation in data collection activities. No other respondents will receive payments.

We chose $25 because we expect people will have competing demands on their time. We picked an amount greater than $17.45, which is half of the July 2024 average hourly earnings ($34.90) of all employees on private nonfarm payrolls in the private service sector, seasonally adjusted.⁶

10. Describe any assurance of confidentiality provided to respondents and the basis for the assurance in statute, regulation, or agency policy.

Information collected will be kept private to the extent permitted by law. Respondents will be informed of all planned uses of data, that their participation is voluntary, and that their information will be kept private to the extent permitted by law. The administrators and staff interviewed by evaluators when on site will be assured that their responses will be combined with those from other sites for analysis and will not be identified by the individual in any reports nor will interview notes be shared with ETA. To the extent feasible, administrators and staff will be interviewed separately and in private offices during the site visits. This information will be provided verbally to interview respondents and verbal consent will be requested.

RESEA participants will be informed of the voluntary interview opportunity and how it will contribute to the study. Those who agree to participate will also have the opportunity to skip any question or stop the interview. The study team will use the Participant Consent Form to review these points with each RESEA participant. RESEA participants participating in voluntary one-on-one interviews for the RESEA Impact Study will receive a written consent form. The form will also provide all of the assurances of privacy and data protection information to interview participants.

To protect respondents’ privacy, electronic versions of site visitor notes will be stored on a password-protected drive set up by Abt. Access to this drive will be limited to research staff members who are working on the project and have signed non-disclosure agreements with DOL. All interview notes will be destroyed when they have been fully analyzed and synthesized for reporting purposes and within five years after the end of the period of performance for the Abt Global evaluation contract.

11. Provide additional justification for any questions of a sensitive nature, such as sexual behavior and attitudes, religious beliefs, and other matters that are commonly considered private. This justification should include the reasons why the agency considers the questions necessary, the specific uses to be made of the information, the explanation to be given to persons from whom the information is requested, and any steps to be taken to obtain their consent.

No sensitive questions will be asked during the interviews.

12. Provide estimates of the hour burden of the collection of information. The statement should:

• Indicate the number of respondents, frequency of response, annual hour burden, and an explanation of how the burden was estimated. Unless directed to do so, agencies should not conduct special surveys to obtain information on which to base hour burden estimates. Consultation with a sample (fewer than 10) of potential respondents is desirable. If the hour burden on respondents is expected to vary widely because of differences in activity, size, or complexity, show the range of estimated hour burden, and explain the reasons for the variance. General, estimates should not include burden hours for customary and usual business practices.

• If this request for approval covers more than one form, provide separate hour burden estimates for each form.

• Provide estimates of annualized cost to respondents for the hour burdens for collections of information, identifying and using appropriate wage rate categories. The cost of contracting out or paying outside parties for information collection activities should not be included here. Instead, this cost should be included in Item 14.

Exhibit 2 provides the estimated annualized cost and hour burden by respondent type.

Exhibit 2. Estimated Annualized Respondent Cost and Hour Burden

Data Collection Activity	No. of Respondents	No. of Responses per Respondent	Total Responses	Average Burden (Hours)	Total Burden (Hours)	Hourly Wage Ratea	Total Burden Cost
RESEA Impact Study: Component
Semi-structured program manager interview protocol	30b	1	30	1	30	$63.28	$1,898.40
Semi-structured program staff interview protocol	90c	1	90	1	90	$60.13	$5,411.70
Participant interview protocol	120d	1	120	0.5	60	$55.84	$3,350.40
RESEA Impact Study: Behavioral
Semi-structured program manager interview protocol	12e	1	12	1	12	$63.28	$759.36
Semi-structured program staff interview protocol	36f	1	36	1	36	$60.13	$2,164.68
Participant interview protocol	60g	1	60	0.5	30	$55.84	$1,675.20
RESEA Cost Study
AJC director-level interview protocol	21h	1	21	1.75	37	$63.28	$2,325.54
State Employment Service staff interview protocol	7i	1	7	1.5	11	$60.13	$631.37
State Office of UI staff interview protocol	7j	1	7	1.75	12	$63.28	$775.18
Caseworker interview protocol	35k	1	35	1.5	53	$60.13	$3,156.83
Post-interview survey	21l	1	21	0.1667	4	$61.39	$214.87
Total
	439	-------	439	--------	375	-------	$22,363.52 ,.

^a The wage used for participants is $34.90, which is the July 2024 average hourly earnings of all employees on nonfarm payrolls in the private service sector, seasonally adjusted (Economic News Release, Table B-3, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistic, October 2024). The wage used for staff, employment service staff, and caseworkers is $37.58, which is the third quarter median wage for professional and related occupations, not seasonally adjusted (=$1,503/40); the wage used for program managers, AJC director level, and state office of UI staff is $39.55 (=$1,582/40), which is the average for management, professional, and related occupations, not seasonally adjusted (Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers News Release, Table 4, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, October 2024). The wage used for the cost study post-interview survey is a weighted average of four cost study interview respondent groups’ wages that appear in the second to last column. To account for fringe benefits and other overhead costs, DOL has applied a multiplication factor of 1.6 to the hourly wages; for example, $34.90 has been increased to $55.84 (=$34.90*1.6)

^b Assumes 3 site visits × 10 states, each including approximately 3, 1-hr semi-structured manager interviews for a total of 90 program managers and 90 hours over the three-year clearance period; an average of 30 respondents and 30 hours per year.

^c Assumes 3 site visits × 10 states, each including approximately 9, 1-hr semi-structured staff interviews for a total of 270 program staff members and 270 hours over the three-year clearance period; an average of 90 respondents and 90 hours per year.

^d Assumes 3 site visits × 10 states, each including approximately 12, 0.5-hr semi-structured participant interviews for a total of 360 program participants and 180 hours over the three-year clearance period; an average of 120 respondents and 60 hours per year.

^e Assumes 3 site visits × 4 states, each including approximately 3, 1-hr semi-structured management interviews for a total of 36 program managers and 36 hours over the three-year clearance period; an average of 12 respondents and 12 hours per year.

^f Assumes 3 site visits × 4 states, each including approximately 9, 1-hr semi-structured staff interviews for a total of 108 program staff members and 108 hours over the three-year clearance period; an average of 36 respondents and 36 hours per year.

^g Assumes 3 site visits × 4 states, each including approximately 15, 0.5-hr semi-structured participant interviews for a total of 180 program participants and 180 hours over the three-year clearance period; an average of 60 respondents and 30 hours per year.

^h Assumes 1 site visit × 7 states, each visit including approximately 9 1.75-hr semi-structured AJC director-level interviews for a total of 63 director-level staff and 110.25 hours over the three-year clearance period; an average of 21 respondents and 36.75 hours per year.

^I Assumes 1 site visit × 7 states, each visit including approximately 3 1.5-hr semi-structured employment service staff interviews for a total of 21 state employment service staff interviews and 31.5 hours over the three-year clearance period; an average of 7 respondents and 10.5 hours per year.

^j Assumes 1 site visit × 7 states, each visit including approximately 3 1.75-hr semi-structured State Office of UI staff interviews for a total of 21 State Office of UI staff and 36.75 hours over the three-year clearance period; an average of 7 respondents and 12.25 hours per year.

^k Assumes 1 site visit × 7 states, each visit including approximately 15 1.5-hr semi-structured caseworker interviews for a total of 105 caseworker and 157.5 hours over the three-year clearance period; an average of 35 respondents and 52.5 hours per year.

^l Assumes 1 site visit × 7 states, each visit including approximately 9 10 minute (or 0.1667 of an hour) post-interview survey completions for a total of 63 survey respondents and 10.5 hours (i.e. 630 minutes) over the three-year clearance period; an average of 21 respondents and 3.5 hours (i.e. 210 minutes) per year.

13. Provide an estimate of the total annual cost burden to respondents or recordkeepers resulting from the collection of information. (Do not include the cost of any hour burden shown in Items 12 and 14).

• The cost estimate should be split into two components: (a) a total capital and start up cost component (annualized over its expected useful life); and (b) a total operation and maintenance and purchase of service component.

• The estimates should take into account costs associated with generating, maintaining, and disclosing or providing the information. Include descriptions of methods used to estimate major cost factors including system and technology acquisition, expected useful life of capital equipment, the discount rate(s), and the time period over which costs will be incurred. Capital and start-up costs include, among other items, preparations for collecting information such as purchasing computers and software; monitoring, sampling, drilling and testing equipment; and record storage facilities.

• If cost estimates are expected to vary widely, agencies should present ranges of cost burdens and explain the reasons for the variance. The cost of purchasing or contracting out information collection services should be a part of this cost burden estimate. In developing cost burden estimates, agencies may consult with a sample of respondents (fewer than 10), utilize the 60-day pre-OMB submission public comment process and use existing economic or regulatory impact analysis associated with the rulemaking containing the information collection, as appropriate.

• Generally, estimates should not include purchases of equipment or services, or portions thereof, made: (1) prior to October 1, 1995, (2) to achieve regulatory compliance with requirements not associated with the information collection, (3) for reasons other than to provide information or keep records for the government, or (4) as part of customary and usual business or private practices.

The only data collection cost borne by respondents is their time, detailed in item 12.

14. Provide estimates of the annualized cost to the Federal Government. Also, provide a description of the method used to estimate cost, which should include quantification of hours, operational expenses (such as equipment, overhead, printing, and support staff), any other expense that would not have been incurred without this collection of information. Agencies also may aggregate cost estimates from Items 12, 13, and 14 into a single table.

The total annualized cost to the federal government is $1,059,885. It consists of the annualized cost of the contractor Abt Global ($1,048,129) and the annualized DOL staff time spent overseeing the contract ($11,756). The estimation of each of these components is described below:

Contactor Cost

The total annualized cost over the four-year contract is $1,048,129 (=$4,192,516/4). The overall cost of the contract with Abt Global to conduct both the RESEA Impact Study and the RESEA Cost Study totals to $4,192,516.

The annualized cost per study is presented in Exhibit 3. The total cost of RESEA Impact Study to be conducted over a four-year period is $3,693,439. The annualized cost of the evaluation effort is $923,359.75. The total cost of RESEA Cost Study to be conducted over a three-year period is $499,077. The annualized cost of the RESEA Cost Study is $166,359. To estimate the average cost per year, the total budget for each study was divided by the number of project years. It is important to note that these figures are total costs for the entire studies and not just the site visit data collections for each study, which are the subject of this submission. The costs of the site visits that are the focus of this supporting statement are included in the overall costs of the evaluation effort. Exhibit 3 provides an overview of the overall and annual costs to the federal government of each study.

Exhibit 3. Annual Costs of the Evaluation to the Federal Government

Year	Dates	Cost
RESEA Impact Study
1	12/2023 – 11/2024	$923,359.75
2	12/2024 – 11/2025	$923,359.75
3	12/2025 – 11/2026	$923,359.75
4	12/2026 – 11/2027	$923,359.75
Study Total	--------	$3,693,439
RESEA Cost Study
1	1/2024 – 12/2024	$166,359
2	1/2025 – 12/2025	$166,359
3	1/2026 – 12/2026	$166,359
Study Total	------	$499,077
Total		$4,192,516

DOL Staff Time Cost

The annual cost for DOL technical staff to oversee the contract is estimated to be $11,756. We estimated this using a two-step process. First, we estimated the cost of DOL staff time. We expect the annual level of effort to oversee the studies covered in this OMB package will be 100 hours, multiplied by the hourly rate ($73.47) for one federal GS 14 step 4 employee based in the District of Columbia.⁷ Second, to account for fringe benefits and other overhead costs, DOL has applied a multiplication factor of 1.6, which yields 100 hours × $73.47 × 1.6 = $11,756.

15. Explain the reasons for any program changes or adjustments.

This is a new data collection.

16. For collections of information whose results will be published, outline plans for tabulations, and publication. Address any complex analytical techniques that will be used. Provide the time schedule for the entire project, including beginning and ending dates of the collection of information, completion of report, publication dates, and other actions.

Qualitative Data Analysis of Site Visit Data

In order to fully understand and describe the RESEA program design and operations in each site, we will code and analyze data from the interviews to produce a site-level RESEA program description. The coding scheme will be based on the topics in the interview protocol. Then, more granular coding will be done using a deductive approach to identify themes within a topic (e.g., long commute times, as a reason for preferring remote meetings or conducting work search verification, as the primary role of UI staff). To ensure the reliability across coding team members who are coding the data, we will provide them with a training and resources (such as an example site-level RESEA program description and coding examples).

Subsequently, cross-site analysis will be conducted to assess the similarity and differences in the implementation of the components. This analysis and description will be used to help interpret any variation in impact results between sites.

Publications

Four major project reports will be prepared using these data collection activities: (1) the Final Implementation Report for the Component Study, which will summarize findings from the Component Study site visits; (2) the Behavioral Research Findings Brief, which will summarize findings from the Behavioral Study site visits; (3) the Interim Impacts Report, which will summarize an impact analysis along with findings from the qualitative implementation study site visits from both parts of the RESEA Impact Study; (4) and the RESEA Cost Study Final Report, which will include a comprehensive description of the study, its data and methods, and findings, including those from the site visits. Exhibit 4 below outlines the study timeline in greater detail.

Exhibit 4. Study Timeline

Time	Activity
Component Study
Summer 2026	Site Visits
Spring 2027	Final Implementation Report
Behavioral Study
Spring 2026	Site Visits
Winter 2026	Behavioral Research Findings Brief
RESEA Impact Study (Component & Behavioral)
Winter 2027	Interim Impacts Report
RESEA Cost Study
Fall 2026	Data Collection
Spring 2027	Final Report
Summer 2027	Briefing for DOL

17. If seeking approval to not display the expiration date for OMB approval of the information collection, explain the reasons that display would be inappropriate.

We are not seeking such approval. The expiration date for OMB approval will be displayed on all forms completed as part of the data collection.

18. Explain each exception to the certification statement.

Exception to the certification statement is not requested for the data collection.

1 The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 (Public Law 115-123) permanently authorized RESEA by amending the Social Security Act and adding section 306 to it.

2 For the purposes of this cost study, the key program components of RESEA will be: (1) state program administration, (2) selecting and scheduling claimants for RESEA meetings, (3) American Job Center (AJC) orientations, (4) Initial RESEA meetings, and (5) subsequent RESEA meetings (where applicable).

3 To understand the impact of any state’s RESEA program, the study team will use the state’s estimated causal impact of RESEA on claimants’ actual UI durations (that is, weeks of UI benefits received). While each state’s evaluation is different, we will prioritize for inclusion in the cost study those states that have used high-quality randomized control trials designs to measure the impact of RESEA on claimants’ actual UI duration through the second quarter after random assignment. We will determine whether a study is well-designed and well-executed using DOL’s Clearinghouse for Labor Evaluation and Research’s causal evidence standards, version 2.2.

4 The numbers in this list also correspond to the instrument numbers included in this OMB package.

5 The numbers in this list also correspond to the instrument numbers included in this OMB package.

6 Economic News Release, Table B-3, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

7 Office of Personnel Management, Salary Table 2024-DCB, https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/salaries-wages/salary-tables/pdf/2024/DCB_h.pdf .

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