Administration for Children and Families November 2021 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

ACF, ORR announces the issuance of two replacement awards to SWK, Inc. in the amount of up to $178,007,159. On September 17, 2021, Comprehensive Health Services, LLC (CHS) relinquished two federally funded discretionary grants. Per HHS policy, ORR identified current recipient SWK, Inc. to transfer the current permanent capacity to provide shelter for apprehensions of Unaccompanied Children (UC) at the Southwest Border. The continuation of permanent capacity is a prudent step to ensure that ORR is able to meet its responsibility, by law, to provide shelter and appropriate services for UC referred to its care by the Department of Homeland Security. The purpose of these awards is to ensure the continuation of residential services for the capacity of 1,312 shelter beds for UC.

ACF, ORR announces the intent to award a Replacement Award to LSS Upbring in the amount of up to $20,929,074 in Brownsville, Texas. On September 17, 2021, Comprehensive Health Services, LLC (CHS) relinquished a federally funded discretionary grant. Per HHS policy, ORR has identified current recipient LSS Upbring to transfer the current permanent capacity to provide shelter for apprehensions of Unaccompanied Children (UC) at the Southwest Border. The continuation of permanent capacity is a prudent step to ensure that ORR is able to meet its responsibility, by law, to provide shelter and appropriate services for UC referred to its care by the Department of Homeland Security. The purpose of this award is to ensure the continuation of residential services for the capacity of 76 shelter beds for UC.

This interim final rule with comment (IFC) adds new provisions to the Head Start Program Performance Standards to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Head Start programs. This IFC requires effective upon publication, universal masking for all individuals two years of age and older, with some noted exceptions, and all Head Start staff, contractors whose activities involve contact with or providing direct services to children and families, and volunteers working in classrooms or directly with children to be vaccinated for COVID-19 by January 31, 2022.

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Office of Child Care (OCC) is requesting a 3-year extension of the Tribal Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) Program's Form 1: Demographic and Service Utilization Data (OMB #0970-0389; expiration 6/30/2022). There are minor updates to the existing Form 1.

The Office of Head Start, Administration for Children and Families (ACF), is proposing to collect data for a new evaluation of a trauma-informed care program that will include a small randomized controlled trial across 10 sites within Head Start Region V. The goals of the project are to identify the implementation supports and methods needed to enable teachers to effectively implement Trauma-Informed Care in early care and education programs, and to evaluate its outcomes. Information collected will be used to inform ongoing training and technical assistance (TTA) work provided by the Head Start Centers, particularly decisions regarding allocation of TTA resources. More generally, results may inform OHS guidance around social-emotional programming.

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE), is requesting the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to approve the Intergovernmental Reference Guide (IRG), with content and organizational revisions, for an additional three years. The IRG contains state and tribal child support information that assists state and tribal child support enforcement (CSE) agencies administering their respective programs. The current OMB approval expires on January 31, 2022.

The ACF, ORR, Division of Refugee Services (DRS) announces the intent to award a supplement in the amount of up to $1,500,000 to Upwardly Global in New York, NY. The purpose of this award is to enable the recipient to provide program services to Afghan Special Immigrant Visa holders and humanitarian parolees currently housed on U.S. military installations awaiting resettlement. Upwardly Global will provide on-base services for four months, and then continue to provide remote support to eligible Afghan entrants at resettlement sites throughout the U.S.

The Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE), Administration for Children and Families (ACF) requests a 3-year extension of the State Self-Assessment Review and Report with minor revisions. The information collected in the report assists state child support agencies and OCSE in determining whether the agencies meet federal child support performance requirements. The current Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval expires on April 30, 2022.

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) is requesting public comment on the following forms: OCSE-34 ``Child Support Enforcement Program Quarterly Collection Report'' and OCSE-396 ``Child Support Enforcement Program Quarterly Financial Report.'' These forms are currently approved under the ACF Generic Clearance for Financial Reports (OMB #0970-0510; expiration June 30, 2024). There are no changes requested to the forms, but the instructions have been updated to address comments received in response to a notice published in the Federal Register and update burden hours.

The Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation (OPRE), Administration for Children and Families (ACF), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), proposes interview data collection activities for the Success Sequence Interviews study.

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Office on Trafficking in Persons (OTIP), is requesting a 3-year extension of the Request for Certification of Adult Victims of Human Trafficking (RFC) form (Office of Management and Budget (OMB) #: 0970-0454, expiration 2/ 28/22). Minor revisions have been made to the form, including the addition of a few fields that will enable OTIP to be more responsive to congressional inquiries, federal reporting requirements, and the needs of victims.

The Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation (OPRE), Administration for Children and Families (ACF), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), is proposing a data collection activity as part of the Integrating Financial Capability and Employment Services Project. The objective of this project is to better understand financial capability interventions offered in the context of delivering employment and training services for low-income adults. This descriptive study intends to use this information to build more evidence about the extent, forms, and practices of incorporating financial capability interventions into organizations delivering employment and training services for low-income adult populations, and to help establish a basis for future research and evaluation in this area. This project will focus on organizations delivering employment and training services that also offer financial capability services to low-income adults.