[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 135 (Thursday, July 15, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38244-38245]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-18003]
[[Page 38243]]
_______________________________________________________________________
Part II
Department of Labor
_______________________________________________________________________
Employment and Training Administration
_______________________________________________________________________
Developing USDOL/ETA's Five-Year Research Plan for 2000-2004; Notice
Federal Register / Vol. 64, No. 135 / Thursday, July 15, 1999 /
Notices
[[Page 38244]]
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Employment and Training Administration
Developing USDOL/ETA's Five-Year Research Plan for 2000-2004
AGENCY: Employment and Training Administration, Labor.
ACTION: Notice of development of USDOL/ETA's Five-Year Research Plan;
request for comment; and notice of research symposium.
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SUMMARY: Notice is given on the development of the U.S. Department of
Labor, Employment and Training Administration's (USDOL/ETA) Five-Year
Research Plan for 2000-2004, which plan is required under the Workforce
Investment Act (WIA) of 1998, Section 171. The Research Plan will
identify the potential research and evaluation efforts that will most
assist USDOL/ETA in carrying out workforce development programs under
the WIA. Comments on draft Research Plans are requested as part of the
iterative process for developing the final Research Plan, which must be
transmitted to Congress by July 1, 2000. Notice of the Workforce
Development Research Symposium is also given, which is part of USDOL/
ETA's broad efforts to obtain public input on the draft Research Plan,
including suggestions on areas where future research is needed in
employment and training. To obtain additional information on the
Research Plan and Research Symposium, and to provide comments, visit
the website at the following address: http://www.heldrich.rutgers.edu/
USDOL-ETA-ResearchPlan.
DATES: A. An initial July 6, 1999 draft of the Research Plan is
currently available for comment, and a revised draft will be available
for comment on September 30, 1999. Comments on the July 6, 1999 draft
must be received by August 30 for incorporation into the September 30,
1999 draft. Comments on the September 30, 1999 draft must be received
by October 30 for incorporation into the final draft of the Research
Plan.
B. The National Workforce Development Research Symposium will be
held on Tuesday, July 27, 1999, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
ADDRESSES: A. All written comments on the USDOL/ETA Research Plan
should be sent by mail to USDOL/ETA Research Plan, c/o Heldrich Center
for Workforce Development, Rutgers University, 33 Livingston Avenue,
5th Floor, New Brunswick, NJ 08901; by fax at (732) 932-3454, by e-mail
to hcwd@rci.rutgers.edu; or through the Internet at the website address
http://www.heldrich.rutgers.edu/USDOL-ETA-ResearchPlan. B. The National
Workforce Development Research Symposium will be held at the Capitol
Hilton Hotel, 16th and K Streets, NW, Washington, DC 20036. All
interested parties are encouraged to attend. There is no registration
fee, but prior registration is required. Seating is limited to 100
attendees, and will be available on a first-come, first-served basis.
Instructions for registration are provided below under the
supplementary information.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: A. For information related to the
Research Plan, contact Janet Javar, USDOL/ETA, Office of Policy and
Research, N-5637, 200 Constitution Ave., NW, 20210; fax: (202) 219-
5455; e-mail: jjavar@doleta.gov. B. For information related to the
Research Symposium, contact Aaron Fichtner, Heldrich Center for
Workforce Development at Rutgers University, USDOL/ETA Research Plan,
c/o Heldrich Center for Workforce Development, Rutgers University, 33
Livingston Avenue 5th Floor, New Brunswick, NJ 08901; fax: (732) 932-
3454; e-mail: hcwd@rci.rutgers.edu.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
A. Why Is the U.S. Department of Labor/Employment and Training
Administration (USDOL/ETA) Developing a Five-Year Research Plan?
Under the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) of 1998, Section 171, the
Secretary of Labor is required to prepare a Five-Year Research Plan
every two years. The first Research Plan under the WIA must be
published in the Federal Register and transmitted to Congress by July
1, 2000. By requiring such a plan, the WIA has given USDOL/ETA the
unique opportunity to conduct a literature review of previous
employment and training studies and the research methodologies used for
these studies, and to propose an agenda for the next five years
(beginning July 2000) for pilots, demonstrations, research, and
evaluation studies in areas related to workforce development programs
and policies.
B. What Is the Purpose of the Research Plan, and How Is It
Structured?
The Five-Year Research Plan will identify the potential research
and evaluation efforts that will most assist USDOL/ETA in carrying out
workforce development programs under WIA. The Research Plan will focus
primarily on proposing an agenda for applied research and demonstration
topic areas in employment and training that endeavor to test new
approaches, and describe the most successful and best practices, with
the aim of providing a learning opportunity for policy-makers and
practitioners.
The Research Plan will consist of the following sections:
--A review of relevant literature in employment and training research,
such as research sponsored by USDOL, research by individuals and
research institutions, and related research by the U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services (HHS), the U.S. Department of Education
(DoEd), and other federal agencies;
--An analysis of alternative research methodologies that should be used
for various types of employment and training research;
--A presentation of potential research topics and evaluations that
might be conducted in the next five years; and
--Recommendations for high priority topic areas which should be
initiated over the next several years.
C. What Is the Process for Developing the Research Plan?
The John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers
University is providing staff assistance to USDOL/ETA in developing the
Research Plan, including preparing drafts of the plan. Available drafts
of the Research Plan are for discussion only, and not for reproduction
or quotation. These drafts are being developed by the Heldrich Center,
and thus do not necessarily represent the official policies or
positions of the U.S. Department of Labor. The USDOL/ETA has the
responsibility for revising the submitted draft Research Plan into a
final Research Plan, formally clearing the final Research Plan,
publishing the final version of the plan in the Federal Register, and
transmitting the final plan to Congress, as required by WIA.
The Research Plan is being developed through the input of a wide
range of individuals and organizations, including research and policy
offices of the USDOL, program offices of ETA, research departments of
other Federal agencies, State and local levels of workforce development
agencies, members of an Expert Panel, and other stakeholders in
employment and training. In addition to publishing in the Federal
Register, efforts to obtain input include establishing a website and
convening the National Workforce Development Research Symposium.
D. What Is the National Workforce Development Research Symposium?
On July 27, 1999, the U.S. Department of Labor/Employment and
Training
[[Page 38245]]
Administration and the Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at
Rutgers University will convene a National Workforce Development
Research Symposium in Washington, DC. This one-day symposium will bring
together a variety of individuals with expertise in research in
employment and training. The goal of the Research Symposium is to
identify, through structured discussion, priorities for future research
in employment and training. Concurrent sessions will focus on topic
areas such as understanding the labor market, interventions to assist
in-school and out-of-school youth, interventions to assist dislocated
workers, interventions to assist adults (including welfare recipients
and disadvantaged adults), interventions to assist individuals with
disabilities and other special populations, unemployment insurance, new
tools in employment and training (including reemployment incentives and
self-employment/ microenterprise development), alternative
methodologies for employment and training research, and national
datasets needed for employment and training research.
Individuals interested in attending the Research Symposium should
register by July 16, 1999. There is no registration fee, but prior
registration is required. Seating is limited to 100 attendees, and will
be available on a first-come, first-served basis. Persons with
disabilities, needing special accommodations, should contact Aaron
Fichtner of the Heldrich Center by July 16, 1999.
You can register for the Research Symposium by the following:
Mail: Mail your name, e-mail address, organization, telephone
number, address, fax number, city, state, and zip code to USDOL/ETA
Research Plan,
c/o Heldrich Center for Workforce Development, Rutgers University, 33
Livingston Avenue 5th Floor, New Brunswick, NJ 08901.
Fax: Fax your name, e-mail address, organization, telephone number,
address, fax number, city, state, and zip code to the Heldrich Center
for Workforce Development at Rutgers University at (732) 932-3454.
Internet: Visit the Research Plan website at http://
www.heldrich.rutgers.edu/USDOL-ETA-ResearchPlan to register online.
You will receive confirmation of your registration by mail, fax, or
e-mail; the method will correspond to your registration method.
Background materials for the Research Symposium, including the agenda
for the day, is currently available on the Research Plan website.
E. To Contribute to the Development of the Research Plan
To make a suggestion, offer a comment, or request a written copy of
an early draft of the Research Plan, please contact the Heldrich Center
by mail at USDOL/ETA Research Plan, c/o Heldrich Center for Workforce
Development, Rutgers University, 33 Livingston Avenue 5th Floor, New
Brunswick, NJ 08901, by fax at (732) 932-3454, or by e-mail to
hcwd@rci.rutgers.edu. You can also visit http://
www.heldrich.rutgers.edu/USDOL-ETA-ResearchPlan. This website was
developed by the Heldrich Center to allow a wide variety of individuals
to provide input into the Research Plan as it is being developed.
Review an Early Draft of the Research Plan
An early draft of the Research Plan is currently available for your
review. You can request this draft to be mailed to you or you can
download it directly from the website. This early draft contains the
first two parts of the plan:
--Section I: Review of Recent Research, Evaluation and Demonstration
Initiatives and Identification of Needs, and
--Section II: Review of Alternative Methodologies for Employment and
Training Research.
Section III (List of Potential Research Topics/Subject Areas) and
Section IV (Recommendations for High-Priority Subject Areas) will be
developed during the summer and fall of 1999, based upon further input
from the U.S. Department of Labor, other Federal agencies, the Expert
Panel, and the larger stakeholder community.
Comment on the Drafts of the Research Plan
Please submit your written comments on various drafts of the
Research Plan by mail, fax, e-mail, or through the website. Include
your name, address and contact information with your comments.
Suggest Areas Where Future Research Is Needed in Employment and
Training
Section III of the Research Plan--List of Potential Research
Topics/Subject Areas, and Section IV--Recommendations for High Priority
Subject Areas--will be developed based upon extensive public input.
Please submit your written suggestions for areas where you think future
research is needed in employment and training by mail, fax, e-mail, or
through the website. Include your name, address and contact information
with your comments.
Signed at Washington, DC, this 9th day of July, 1999.
Gerard F. Fiala,
Administrator, Office of Policy and Research.
[FR Doc. 99-18003 Filed 7-14-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-30-P
