DIRECTIVE	:	EMPLOYMENT SERVICE PROGRAM LETTER NO. 09-98
TO	:	ALL STATE EMPLOYMENT SECURITY AGENCIES
FROM	:	John R. Beverly, III Director United States Employment Service
SUBJECT	:	Wagner-Peyser (W-P) Act Labor Exchange Performance Measures -- Federal Register Notice (FRN) (Vol. 63, No. 113, pp. 32563-32578) for Comment

1. Purpose. To transmit a copy of the FRN (Vol. 63, No. 113, pp. 32563-32578) published June 12, 1998, which requests comments regarding proposed W-P Act labor exchange performance measures.

2. Background. The Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) of 1993 calls for government programs to be more accountable and results-oriented. In response to GPRA, the Employment and Training Administration (ETA) launched the Workforce Development Performance Measures Initiative (WDPMI) to develop a menu of key performance measures for use in the workforce development system. As companion effort, ETA initiated a project to develop program specific W-P Act performance measures to assess both self-service and staff-assisted services.

   In June 1997, the United States Employment Service organized a Federal-State Labor Exchange Performance Measures workgroup consisting of ETA, Veterans Employment and Training Service, Interstate Conference of Employment Security Agencies, and State partners. The workgroup was charged with drafting W-P Act labor exchange performance measures that would complement the overall WDPMI effort.

3. The Federal Register Notice. The FRN has five sections:

   1. Authority:  Specifies the authority under which the W-P Act labor exchange performance measures will be implemented;

   2. Introduction: Explains the mission of the U.S. Department of Labor and the role of the W-P Act public labor exchange program;

   3. Performance Measures Development Process:  Describes the process by which the performance measures were developed, beginning with the establishment of the Labor Exchange Performance Measures workgroup in June 1997; their early agreement to a set of four guiding principles; their reasons for pursuing different measurement approaches for different methods of service delivery; their production of a "Draft for Discussion" issue paper in September 1997, and the comments which it generated; and finally, their development of the attached FRN;

   4. Definitions: Provides definitions which should help the reader understand the proposed W-P Act labor exchange performance measures; and

   5. Proposed Labor Exchange Measures: Describes the proposed W-P Act labor exchange performance measures, and asks 16 questions for which public comment, data, information and views are sought.

4. Internet Access. The W-P Act Labor Exchange Performance Measures FRN is accessible at the following two Internet locations:

   1. www.wdsc.org/transition/measure/lepmfrn.htm

   2. www.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?IPaddress=&dbname=1998 register&docid=98-15754

5. Action Required. Please make the attached W-P Act Labor Exchange Performance Measures FRN available to staff and encourage them to submit comments.

6. Inquiries. Questions should be directed to the appropriate Regional Office.

7. Attachment. Federal Register Notice, Volume 63, Number 113, pp. 32563-32578, Friday, June 12, 1998: "United States Employment Service; Labor Exchange Performance Measures."