The Office of Community Services (OCS)
is collecting key information about projects funded through the
Community Economic Development (CED) and Job Opportunities for
Low-Income Individuals (JOLI) programs. The legislative requirement
for these two programs is in Title IV of the Community
Opportunities, Accountability and Training and Educational Services
Act (COATS Human Services Reauthorization Act) of October 27, 1998,
Public Law 105-285, section 680(b) as amended. The Performance
Progress Report (PPR) is a new proposed reporting format that will
collect information concerning the outcomes and management of CED
and JOLI projects. OCS will use the data to critically review the
overall design and effectiveness of each program. The PPR will be
administered to all active grantees of the CED and JOLI programs
twice a year. Grantees will be required to use this reporting tool
for their semiannual reports. The majority of the questions in this
tool were adapted from a previously approved questionnaire, Office
of Management and Budget (OMB) Control Number: 0970-0317. Questions
were also adapted to the OMB-approved reporting format of the PPR,
specifically forms SF-PPR, SF-PPR-A, SF-PPR-B, and SF-PPR-E.
Additional changes were made to improve the clarity and quality of
the data and to eliminate unnecessary questions. The PPR will
replace both the annual questionnaire and the current semiannual
reporting format, which will result in an overall reduction in
burden for the grantees while significantly improving the quality
of the data collected by OCS.
On behalf of this Federal agency, I certify that
the collection of information encompassed by this request complies
with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR
1320.8(b)(3).
The following is a summary of the topics, regarding
the proposed collection of information, that the certification
covers:
(i) Why the information is being collected;
(ii) Use of information;
(iii) Burden estimate;
(iv) Nature of response (voluntary, required for a
benefit, or mandatory);
(v) Nature and extent of confidentiality; and
(vi) Need to display currently valid OMB control
number;
If you are unable to certify compliance with any of
these provisions, identify the item by leaving the box unchecked
and explain the reason in the Supporting Statement.