Proposed Information Collection Activity; Comment Request, 65194-65195 [2012-26314]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
• Administration for Children and Families

[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 207 (Thursday, October 25, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65194-65195]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-26314]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Administration for Children and Families


Proposed Information Collection Activity; Comment Request

    Proposed Projects:
    Title: Child Care and Development Fund Financial Report (ACF 696) 
for States and Territories
    OMB No.: 0970-0163
    Description: States and Territories use the Financial Report Form 
ACF-696 to report Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) expenditures. 
Authority to collect and report this information is found in section 
658G of the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990, as 
revised. In addition to the Program Reporting Requirements set forth in 
45 CFR part 98, subpart H, the regulations at 45 CFR 98.65(g) and 
98.67(c)(1) authorize the Secretary to require financial reports as 
necessary.
    The form provides specific data regarding claims and provides a 
mechanism for States to request Child Care grant awards and to certify 
the availability of State matching funds. Failure to collect this data 
would seriously compromise ACF's ability to monitor Child Care and 
Development Fund expenditures. This information is also used to 
estimate outlays and may be used to prepare ACF budget submissions to 
Congress.
    The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009, (Pub. L. 
111-5) provides an additional $2 billion for the Child Care and 
Development Fund to help States, Territories, and Tribes provide child 
care assistance to low income working families. CCDF Program 
Instruction (CCDF-ACF-PI-2009-03) provided guidance on ARRA spending 
requirements.
    Section 1512 of the ARRA legislation requires recipients to report 
quarterly spending and performance data on the public Web site, 
``Recovery.gov''. Federal agencies are required to collect ARRA 
expenditure data and performance data and these data must be clearly 
distinguishable from the regular CCDF (non-ARRA) funds. To ensure 
transparency and accountability, the ARRA authorizes Federal agencies 
and grantees to track and report separately on expenditures from funds 
made available by the stimulus bill. Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB) guidance implementing the

[[Page 65195]]

ARRA legislation indicates that agencies requiring additional 
information for oversight should rely on existing authorities and 
reflect these requirements in their award terms and conditions as 
necessary, following existing procedures. Therefore, to capture ARRA 
expenditures, the ACF-696 has been modified (by the addition of a 
column) for reporting ARRA expenditure data. In addition, a new data 
element will ask States and Territories to estimate the number of child 
service months funded with ARRA dollars. The collection will not 
duplicate other information.
    Respondents: States and Territories.

                                             Annual Burden Estimates
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                  Number of      Average burden
                 Instrument                      Number of      responses per      hours per       Total burden
                                                respondents       respondent        response          hours
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ACF-696.....................................              56                4                5            1,120
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 1,120.
    In compliance with the requirements of Section 506(c)(2)(A) of the 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Administration for Children and 
Families is soliciting public comment on the specific aspects of the 
information collection described above. Copies of the proposed 
collection of information can be obtained and comments may be forwarded 
by writing to the Administration for Children and Families, Office of 
Planning, Research and Evaluation, 370 L'Enfant Promenade SW., 
Washington, DC 20447, Attn: ACF Reports Clearance Officer. Email 
address: infocollection@acf.hhs.gov. All requests should be identified 
by the title of the information collection.
    The Department specifically requests comments on: (a) Whether the 
proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper 
performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the 
information shall have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the 
agency's estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of 
information; (c) the quality, utility, and clarity of the information 
to be collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the collection 
of information on respondents, including through the use of automated 
collection techniques or other forms of information technology. 
Consideration will be given to comments and suggestions submitted 
within 60 days of this publication.

Robert Sargis,
Reports Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. 2012-26314 Filed 10-24-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4184-01-P