Proposed Information Collection Activity; Renewal of the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) Performance Measures, 14932-14934 [2021-05773]

Agencies

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

[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 52 (Friday, March 19, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14932-14934]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-05773]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Administration for Children and Families

[OMB No. 0970-0449]


Proposed Information Collection Activity; Renewal of the Low 
Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) Performance Measures

AGENCY: Office of Community Services, Administration for Children and 
Families, HHS.

ACTION: Request for public comment.

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SUMMARY: The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) is 
requesting reinstatement of the Low Income Home Energy Assistance 
Program (LIHEAP) Performance Measures (Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB) #0970-0449, expiration date March 31, 2021) with changes. Changes 
include a single addition of a field to capture a potential additional 
source of funding, and other minor changes to the most recent version 
of this form.

[[Page 14933]]


DATES: Comments due within 60 days of publication. In compliance with 
the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, ACF is 
soliciting public comment on the specific aspects of the information 
collection described above.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the proposed collection of information can be 
obtained and comments may be forwarded by emailing 
[email protected]. Alternatively, copies can also be obtained 
by writing to the Administration for Children and Families, Office of 
Planning, Research, and Evaluation (OPRE), 330 C Street SW, Washington, 
DC 20201, Attn: ACF Reports Clearance Officer. All requests, emailed or 
written, should be identified by the title of the information 
collection.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Description: The ACF Office of Community Services (OCS) within the 
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) administers the Low 
Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) at the federal level. 
The LIHEAP Performance Data Form (LPDF) is an annual report in response 
to Section 2610(b) of the LIHEAP statute (42 U.S.C. 8629(b)), which 
requires the Secretary of HHS to submit, no later than June 30 of each 
federal fiscal year, a report to Congress on LIHEAP for the prior 
federal fiscal year. The completeness, accuracy, consistency, and 
timeliness of responses to data collections are needed for HHS to do 
the following:
     Provide reliable and complete fiscal and household data to 
Congress in the Department's LIHEAP Report to Congress for the federal 
fiscal year;
     Respond to questions from the Congress, Department, OMB, 
White House, and other interested parties in a timely manner; and
     Report LIHEAP performance results as part of the 
Administration's annual Congressional Justification.
    In response to the 2010 Government Accountability Office (GAO) 
report, Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program--Greater Fraud 
Prevention Controls are Needed (GAO-10-621), and in consideration of 
the recommendations issued by the LIHEAP Performance Measures 
Implementation Work Group, OCS required the collection and reporting of 
these performance measures by state LIHEAP grantees, including the 
District of Columbia. OMB approved the LIHEAP Performance Data Form 
(LPDF) in November 2014 (OMB Clearance No. 0970-0449) and approved 
continued collection using the form through March 31, 2021. This 
request will extend approval to collect information using the LPDF for 
another 3 years. The LPDF provides for the collection of the following 
LIHEAP performance measures, which are considered to be developmental 
as part of the LPDF:
    1. The benefit targeting index for high burden households receiving 
LIHEAP fuel assistance;
    2. The burden reduction targeting index for high burden households 
receiving LIHEAP fuel assistance;
    3. The number of households where LIHEAP prevented a potential home 
energy crisis; and
    4. The number of households where LIHEAP benefits restored home 
energy.
    All state LIHEAP grantees are required to complete the LPDF data 
through ACF's web-based data collection and reporting system, the 
Online Data Collection (OLDC), which is available at GrantSolutions 
homepage (https://home.grantsolutions.gov/home). The reporting 
requirements will be described through the LIHEAP Forms and Funding 
Applications page (https://www.acf.hhs.gov/ocs/form/liheap-forms-and-funding-applications) of ACF's website.
    The previous OMB-approved LIHEAP Grantee Survey on sources and uses 
of LIHEAP funds was added in 2014 to the LPDF as an addition to the 
LIHEAP performance data. Additional items for separately reporting 
LIHEAP funds appropriated by the CARES Act (Pub. L. 116-136) were added 
in 2020.
    ACF proposes additional changes for this data collection activity. 
These consist of (1) adding an item for reporting previous-year 
Residential Energy Assistance Challenge (REACH) funds as a source; (2) 
reorganizing source items by appropriations source instead of by 
report; (3) specifying the prior-year nature of CARES Act funds; and 
(4) minor wording changes.
    The form is divided into the following three modules to add 
clarity:

Module 1. LIHEAP Grantee Survey (Required Reporting)

    Module 1 of the LPDF will continue to require the following data 
from each state for the federal fiscal year:
     Grantee information;
     Sources and uses of LIHEAP funds;
     Average LIHEAP household benefits; and
     Maximum income cutoffs for 4-person households for each 
type of LIHEAP assistance provided by each grantee for the fiscal year.

Module 2. LIHEAP Performance Measures (Required Reporting)

    Module 2 of the LPDF will continue to require the following data 
from each state for the federal fiscal year:
     Grantee information;
     Energy burden targeting;
     Restoration of home energy service; and
     Prevention of loss of home energy.

Module 3. LIHEAP Performance Measures (Optional Reporting)

    Module 3 of the LIHEAP LPDF will continue to voluntarily collect 
the following additional information from each interested grantee for 
the federal fiscal year:
     Average annual energy usage;
     Unduplicated number of households using supplemental 
heating fuel and air conditioning;
     Unduplicated number of households that had restoration of 
home energy service; and
     Unduplicated number of households that had prevention of 
loss of home energy.
    LIHEAP grantees will be able to compare their own results to the 
results for other states, as well as to regional and national results, 
through the Data Warehouse of the LIHEAP Performance Management website 
as they manage their programs.
    Respondents: State governments, including the District of Columbia; 
the largest five electricity and natural gas vendors by state; the 
largest ten fuel oil and propane vendors by state; and state sub-
grantees.

[[Page 14934]]



                                             Annual Burden Estimates
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                                                   Number of    Annual number of   Average hour    Annual burden
                                                  respondents     responses per     burden per         hours
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                                            Module 1 (Grantee Survey)
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State Grantees................................              51                 1              36           1,836
Energy Vendors (largest 5 electric, 5 natural            1,530                 1               1           1,530
 gas, 10 fuel oil, and 10 propane vendors per
 state--average)..............................
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                                     Module 2 (LIHEAP Performance Measures)
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State Grantees--Part II.......................              51                 1             150           7,650
Sub-Grantees (in states with sub-grantee                   100                 1               8             800
 managed systems)--Part II....................
Energy Vendors (largest 5 electric, 5 natural          * 1,530                 1             8.5          13,005
 gas, 10 fuel oil, and 10 propane vendors per
 state--average)--Part II.....................
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* (estimate).

    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 24,821.
    Comments: 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.

    Authority:  42 U.S.C. 8629(b); 42 U.S.C. 8624(b); 42 U.S.C. 
8623(c).

Mary B. Jones,
ACF/OPRE Certifying Officer.
[FR Doc. 2021-05773 Filed 3-18-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4184-80-P