Submission for OMB Review; Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) Performance Data Form (OMB #0970-0449), 71504-71506 [2021-27277]

Agencies

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

[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 239 (Thursday, December 16, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 71504-71506]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-27277]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Administration for Children and Families


Submission for OMB Review; Low Income Home Energy Assistance 
Program (LIHEAP) Performance Data Form (OMB #0970-0449)

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 Data

[[Page 71505]]

Form (Office of Management and Budget (OMB) #0970-0449, expiration date 
March 31, 2021) with changes. Changes include additional reporting 
items to collect Module 2 (Performance Measures) data on the impacts of 
supplemental federal LIHEAP funds, and other minor changes to the most 
recent version of this form.

DATES: Comments due within 30 days of publication. OMB must make a 
decision about the collection of information between 30 and 60 days 
after publication of this document in the Federal Register. Therefore, 
a comment is best assured of having its full effect if OMB receives it 
within 30 days of publication.

ADDRESSES: Written comments and recommendations for the proposed 
information collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of 
this notice to www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. Find this particular 
information collection by selecting ``Currently under 30-day Review--
Open for Public Comments'' or by using the search function. You can 
also obtain copies of the proposed collection of information by 
emailing [email protected]. Identify all emailed requests 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; and
     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 reinstate approval to collect information using the LPDF 
for another three 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 on an 
annual basis. 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 in Module 1; (2) 
removing three reporting items from Module 1; (3) adding items to 
collect Module 2 (Performance Measures) data on the impacts of 
supplemental federal LIHEAP funds; and (4) minor wording or label 
changes.
    The form is divided into the following 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, by funding type;
     Average LIHEAP household benefits, by funding type; and
     Maximum income cutoffs for 4-person households for each 
type of LIHEAP assistance provided by each grantee for the fiscal year, 
by funding type.

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 2 has been revised to include three submodules: Module 2A 
will collect data on all households, Module 2B will collect data on the 
subset of households that received assistance from LIHEAP CARES Act 
funds, and Module 2C will collect data on the subset of households that 
received assistance from LIHEAP ARPA funds.

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.
    ACF published a Federal Register notice on March 19, 2021 
soliciting 60 days of public comment on the renewal of the LIHEAP 
Performance Data Form with minor changes and the continuation of 
requiring State grantees and the District of Columbia to collect the 
data collection annually. ACF received no comments on this notice. 
Following the publication of the 60-day Federal Register notice, new 
supplemental funds were awarded for LIHEAP. To allow ACF to report 
information on the impacts of the supplemental LIHEAP funds, ACF is

[[Page 71506]]

proposing updates to Module 2 to collect additional performance data 
related to supplemental LIHEAP funds.
    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.

                                             Annual Burden Estimates
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                                                                   Annual number  Average burden
                   Instrument                      Total number    of responses      hours per     Annual burden
                                                  of respondents  per respondent     response          hours
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                                            Module 1 (Grantee Survey)
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State Grantees--Module I........................              51               1              36           1,836
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                                  Modules 2 and 3 (LIHEAP Performance Measures)
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State Grantees--Modules II and III..............              51               1             200          10,200
Sub-Grantees (in states with sub-grantee managed             100               1               8             800
 systems)--Modules II and III...................
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)--Modules II and III.............
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* Estimate.

    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 25,841.
    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. 2021-27277 Filed 12-15-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4184-80-P