98-26089. Women's Bureau; Proposed Collection; Comment Request

[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 189 (Wednesday, September 30, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 52297-52298]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-26089]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR


Women's Bureau; Proposed Collection; Comment Request

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Labor, as part of its continuing effort to 
reduce paperwork and respondent burden conducts a pre-clearance 
consultation program to provide the general public and Federal agencies 
with an opportunity to comment on proposed and/or continuing 
collections of information in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction 
Act of 1995 (PRA95) [44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)]. This program helps to 
ensure that requested data can be provided in the desired format, 
reporting burden (time and financial resources) is minimized, 
collection instruments are clearly understood, and the impact of 
collection requirements on respondents can be properly assessed. 
Currently, the Women's Bureau is soliciting comments concerning the 
revision of the collection of the Business-to-Business Mentoring 
Initiative on Child Care.
    On August, 1998, The Women's Bureau utilized emergency review 
procedures to obtain the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
clearance for the information collection request for the Business-to-
Business Mentoring Initiative on Child Care. On August 21, 1998, OMB 
approved this initiative, under OMB Control Number 1225-0074, with an 
expiration date of February 28, 1998.

DATES: Written comments must be submitted to the office listed in the 
addresses section below on or before (November 30, 1998). The 
Department of Labor is particularly interested in comments which:
     Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is 
necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, 
including whether the information will have practical utility;
     Evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the 
burden of the proposed collection of information, including the 
validity of the methodology and assumptions used;
     Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected; and
     Minimize the burden of the collection of information on 
those who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate 
automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection 
techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting 
electronic submissions of responses.

ADDRESSES: Arline Easley, Women's Bureau, 200 Constitution Ave., NW, 
Room S-3311, Washington, DC 20210, [phone] x136 (this is not a 
toll-free number), Fax [phone], [e-mail].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    At a White House Child Care ceremony in April, 1998, President 
Clinton launched the U.S. Department of Labor's Business-to-Business 
Mentoring Initiative on Child Care. The Women's Bureau will reach out 
to businesses with effective child care programs and connect them with 
other employers considering child care options for their workers. 
Employers acting as mentors to other employers will provide help in 
developing strategies for collaborating with other businesses to pool 
resources and to develop innovative child care supports. This 
initiative will help employers in launching effective programs and will 
help avoid pitfalls and control costs.

II. Current Actions

    We are proposing that the Women's Bureau work with the National 
Employers Council (NEC), the Small Business Administration (SBA), the 
U.S. Department of Commerce, and other organizations to encourage 
employers to volunteer to be mentors to other employers in setting up 
innovative child care benefits, as well as to encourage other employers 
to seek a mentor to help with these benefits. Explanations of the 
Mentoring Initiative and sign-up forms for mentors and mentees will be 
distributed through the organizations

[[Page 52298]]

noted above as well as the Women's Bureau Internet Home Page. A report 
of the activities of the Initiative will be prepared from summary 
activities reports prepared by the employers and presented to the 
President, tentatively, in April 1999.
    Agency: US Department of Labor, Women's Bureau.
    Title: Business-to-Business Mentoring Initiative on Child Care.
    OMB Number: 1225-0077 (revision).
    Affected Public: 1000 employers.
    Total Respondents: 1000.
    Frequency: On occasion.
    Total Responses: 2000.
    Average Time per Response: 15 minutes.
    Estimated Burden Hours: 500 hours.
    Total Burden Cost (capital/startup): $2,110.00.
    Total Burden Cost (operating/maintaining): $0.00.
    Comments submitted in response to this comment request will be 
summarized and/or included in the request for Office of Management and 
Budget approval of the information collection request; they will also 
become a matter of public record.

    Dated: September 24, 1998.
Collis Phillips,
Chief, Office of Policy and Programs.
[FR Doc. 98-26089 Filed 9-29-98; 8:45 am]
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