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The primary goal of this activity in Fiscal Years 1976 and 1977 will be to provide the technical and informational support necessary for a flexible, decentralized system of Federal, State and local programs. Federal efforts will continue to focus on full implementation of the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act, and on methods to improve program performance under particular area labor market conditions including the needs of an area's target population.

The research and development, and evaluation programs provide contractual and grant funds for studies by government and non-government experts to expand knowledge of employment processes and problems, to devise and test solutions to problems based on that knowledge, and to appraise the effectiveness of on-going program operations. A comprehensive labor market information system, primarily though grants and in-house services, provides information for proper local planning by measuring existing needs for training services on the Federal, State and local levels, thereby assisting in reducing the duration of unemployment and improving the efficiency of the labor market. Technical assistance and staff training for Federal, State and local personnel involved in the planning, development and management of training efforts is provided through in-house and contractual services.

In 1975, $36,183,000 was obligated for program support activities: $19,839,000 for research and development, and evaluation; $5,293,000 for labor market information; and $11,051,000 for technical assistance and training.

During Fiscal Year 1975, research and development projects examined how to strengthen State and local capability for planning and conducting training programs on a decentralized basis. These projects also contained studies of the impact of government expenditures on employment in order to test the feasibility of a system to provide State and local manpower planners with an early warning system to respond to local needs. Other projects sought better ways to improve individuals' skills and improve techniques and systems for delivering services to clients.

The principal evaluation activity in 1975 was to launch an overall evaluation of decentralized programs under the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act. Field studies of a national sample of State and local government prime sponsors were initiated. Also initiated were the tracking of a national sample of participants in the decentralized programs, and the development of cost data on such programs all designed to measure over time the impact of the programs, particularly on the post-program earnings of participants. The major evaluation completed during the year was a longitudinal follow-up of participants in the public service employment programs conducted under the Emergency Employment Act.

Labor market information activities in 1975 continued to concentrate on improving local labor market information required for the planning, operation and evaluation of a decentralized program delivery system. A project launched to identify the extent to which existing labor market information is adequate for the effective planning and conduct of locally operated training programs was completed in Fiscal Year 1975 and produced a priority listing of informational needs.

Technical assistance and training activities in 1975 were heavily oriented toward implementing the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act. Priority efforts were directed in the following areas: strategic and operational planning; program activity design; organization and staffing; grant application; internal performance assessment; management information system; internal financial management; and subgrant and contract management. Delivery of this technical assistance and training of prime sponsors has been through our regional offices staff and support from outside contracted specialists in the development of appropriate training modules for staff training use. Initial prime sponsor training in the above areas was completed and technical assistance and training in program management, evaluation and monitoring was conducted.

Four centralized staff training centers, Atlanta, Denver, Kansas City

and Boston, were operational in Fiscal Year 1975.

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Also,

Training of staff in the use of computerized systems was continued. priorities were directed toward the improvement of placement and related activities by the State Employment Security system with emphasis on placing veterans and the disadvantaged.

In 1976, program support activities will be funded by a net total of $54,994,000. This net amount consists of: 1) $42,440,000 of new obligational authority from the Fiscal Year 1976 basic budget request; 2) a reduction of $70,000 in that new obligational authority from the technical assistance and training activity for a comparative transfer to the Bureau of Labor Statistics; 3) an increase of $4,611,000 in new obligational authority as a compensating adjustment to the technical assistance and training activity for a like sum utilized in financing Job Corps contracts the previous fiscal year; and, 4) $8,013,000 of unobligated 1975 carry-in.

Research and development, and evaluation fund availability in Fiscal Year 1976 is $17,321,000 and includes $16,300,000 of new obligational authority ($12,973,000 for research and development and $3,327,000 for evaluation) and $1,021,000 of unobligated carry-in.

The research and development program in 1976 undertook larger-scale testing of new methods to overcome employment and training problems using ideas which worked out successfully in previous experimental and demonstration projects. Projects scheduled for pilot development were aimed at research objectives concerned with: 1) overcoming the problems of special target groups; 2) improvement of program techniques; and 3) development of institutional forms for more efficient delivery of employment and training services. Foremost among the pilot projects concerned with new program techniques were 1) the Supported Work Project which has shown on a limited scale how forms of transitional work support can be used to regularize the work status of severely disadvantaged persons such as addicts, alcoholics, and ex-prisoners, and 2) testing the use of the job bank system as an information source for providing relocation assistance to Employment Service applicants wishing to take available jobs in other areas.

Major research and development efforts were undertaken to test and develop applicability of techniques and organizational mechanisms by which the Employment Service can improve the delivery of its most effective range of employment services. Research was commissioned to define the range of employment services that the Employment Service can provide, to conceptualize ways of measuring and improving its effectiveness, and to identify roles which the Employment Service can optimally perform. Experimental and demonstration work was also undertaken to test and prove techniques and organizational mechanisms with which the Employment Service can improve its functioning.

Thirteen universities received second year funding for various institutional grants to train employment and training administrators and planners. The grants are enabling the universities to supply States and local communities with skilled staff needed to administer decentralized training programs. Each of the 10 Department of Labor regions has one of the selected universities in its area. Three additional institutions were selected without regard to regional lines to emphasize training for Blacks, American Indians, and Spanish-speaking Americans.

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One

The evaluation program in 1976 is giving top priority to the evaluation of the decentralized employment and training programs. major study is a national sample of prine sponsors to assess how the State and local governments are using their new authority to plan and operate employment and training programs. The initial fie! study in Fiscal Year 1975 focused

on start-up activities of the sponsors; the two further field studies being conducted in Fiscal Year 1976 are focusing on planning and program emphases of prime sponsors. lic second part of the evaluation is the continuous longitudinal survey being conducted through the Bureau of the Census. The longitudinal survey attempts to trace the employment and earnings experience of a national sample of enrollees before and after participation in the decentralized employment and training programs in order to determine the program's economic impact on participants and to measure the relative effectiveness of the various major types of programs. A third part is developing cost data on the decentralized programs, in order to perform cost-effectiveness analyses.

Two other major evaluation activities are being initiated during 1976one is to measure the Job Corps' economic impact on its participants and the other is to conduct a sizeable pilot evaluation of the labor exchange activities of the Employment Service system.

Labor market information fund availability in Fiscal Year 1976 totals $16,827,000 consisting of $11,060,000 of new obligational authority and $5,767,000 unobligated 1975 carry-in.

Labor market information program efforts in 1976 continue to be expanded to meet local labor market information needs of State and local governments and to meet the allocation requirements under the amended Act. In order to meet these needs, a substantial expansion is underway in the development of current estimates and analyses of labor force and unemployment. In the past, monthly labor force and unemployment data were available for only the States and Puerto Rico plus 150 major labor areas (and less frequently for approximately 900 other labor areas). Efforts are continuing to extend the monthly data coverage to the District of Columbia, the Virgin Islands, plus approximately 270 major labor areas (generally consistent with fine led Metropolitan Statistical Areas), over 500 component counties and citi of these labor market areas, 431 price sponsors (generally counties and cities with a population of 100,000 or more), 500 areas of substantial unemployment, 800 cities or counties with populations of 50,000 to 99,999 (program agents), and about 600-700 smaller labor market areas classified as areas of substantial unemployment under other federal assistance programs, such as Defense Manpower Policy No. 4 and the Public Works and Economic Development Act. The labor market information training program-to assist manpower planners on the use of labor market information--will be continued and a comprehensive handbook for labor market analysis is being prepared for use at the national, regional, State and local levels. A system is now in place for monitoring the allocation and utilization of labor market information resources provided to the State Employment Service Agencies to improve control over these

resources.

Technical assistance and training funding in Fiscal Year 1976 totals $20,846,000. This includes $15,080,000 of new obligational authority from the basic budget request, the $70,000 comparative transfer, the $4,611,000 compensating adjustment and $1,224,000 of unobligated 1975 carry-in.

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The decentralized technical assistance and training planning, implementation and monitoring system will be continued in 1976 with improvements further involving State and local prime sponsors in all stages, beginning with a thorough assesszent of their technical assistance and training needs. To meet the needs of prime sponsors and of regional statís providing technical assistance and training to prime sponsors, the regional staff training center capability mounted in all Employment and Training Administration regions during 1975 will be expanded in 1976 and closely monitored to assure that effective and timely staff training is being provided to all staffing levels and to reduce reliance on outside contracts. All regions will have Regional Training Centers operational by January 1976.

Specific objectives for 1976 include priority plans to meet the management and administrative needs of State and local price sponsors so they can better manage and more effectively operate all their State and local employment and training activities. This is being accomplished through identification of 11 Comprehensive Employment and Training Act priority areas which were given special attention. Among the priority areas are: management information systers/fiscal grant, subgrant management: linkages; planning processes and job development and employer relations. Work groups were established in the 11 priority areas. Among other objectives, these groups will review all technical assistance and training materials to determine whether adequate materials are available for prime sponsors.

Special attention will be given to provision of technical assistance to prime sponsors in the assessment of their title II programs. Objectives also include identification of technical assistance guides needing revision, continued technical assistance and dissemination of written materials to prime sponsors initiated in 1975 to increase enrollments, and assistance to the Indian, migrant, and other national programs.

In 1977, the $42,370,000 of new obligational authority requested for program support activities is the same level as that requested for 1976 except for a $70,000 reduction in the technical assistance and training area resulting from the comparative transfer. By program arca, the requested $42,370,000 includes $16,300,000 for research and developrent, and evaluation ($12,973,000 and $3,327,000 respectively), $11,060,000 for labor market information, and $15,010,000 for technical assistance and training.

A major goal of research and development efforts in 1977 will be to improve access to research results and to orient research to the problems and needs of local areas and local price sponsors. Areas of emphasis include: developing methods for establishing organizational linkages between training programs and research and development products for use by prime sponsors and compilation of existing research and development findings for utilization in technical assistance programs for prime sponsors in developing local programs.

Research and development plans for 1977 include assessment for program implementation of major developmental efforts undertaken earlier including supported employment, job placement techniques for minority women professionals, mobility assistance and job search information, plans for improving performance of the Employment Service, and income maintenance for newly released prisoners. The 13 research institutional grantees funded in 1975 have largely completed development of curricula and training materials for the development of local and regional staff. Primary emphasis is on the provision of educational programs for employment and training administrators and student enrollees. Work will be

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continued on the national longit dinal surveys of the labor force, with greater emphasis on analysis of the data previously collected to identify critical factors entering into work success at key transitional stages in workers' careers. Further theoretical and program work will be undertaken to seek possible answers to problems relating to the business cycle and to the potential role of government in adjusting its employment generating activities for greater responsiveness to continuing conditions of high unemployment.

The principal evaluation activity in Fiscal Year 1977 will be to carry forward the several parts of the evaluation of the decentralized programs, namely the analyses of the functioning of a sample of State and local government sponsors, the tracking of experience of a national sample of program participants, and the developing of cost data for cost-effectiveness analysis. Evaluation studies will continue on the Job Corps' economic impact on its participants and on the impact of the Employment Services labor exchange activities.

In addition to maintaining the current labor market information effort for 1977, new activities will be launched to refine the existing system. Two of the significant gaps in the current system are estimates on current and future labor supply. To fill these gaps, a methodology will be developed for use by analyst to update State and area labor supply information. The need for detailed occupational supply estimates will be fully examined. Work on total supply methods will be integrated with work previously completed in order to have available an efficient and economical method for use by analysts in estimating detailed State and area occupational supply information.

Technical assistance and training support to be provided for Fiscal Year 1977 will in part be determined by prime sponsor assessment of operational and planning needs in the last quarter of Fiscal Year 1976. These needs will in part focus on the 11 priority areas of concentration outlined in 1976.

Distribution and utilization of research and development materials put in useable form will be a prime technical assistance and training program objective for 1977. The program is currently in the development stage of determining the best method of installing an information dissemination system (a clearing house) on a national basis. This may involve the use of a currently available data bank and may also be a fully computerized retrieval system with inputs from research and development projects as well as from technical assistance and training sources. Full installation of a system will be accomplished in Fiscal Year 1977.

Support in 1977 may be provided to State operated training centers based on the pilot center in Chicago. Existing Regional Training Centers will be shaped to meet Employment and Training Administration objectives and priorities.