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

The Office of Community Services, Administration for Children and Families (ACF), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), is requesting expedited review of an information collection request from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and inviting public comment on the proposed collection. The proposed forms are necessary to provide data to the Administration and Congress in its oversight of recipients' performance in administering the Low Income Household Water Assistance Program (LIHWAP) program. The information collection is essential to the mission of the agency for this emergency assistance effort and the use of normal clearance procedures is reasonably likely to disrupt and prevent the collection of information.

Due to the impact of the COVID-19 public health emergency on state child support program operations, the Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE) proposes to modify the Paternity Establishment Percentage (PEP) from the 90 percent performance threshold to 50 percent for Federal Fiscal Years (FFY) 2020 and 2021 in order for a state to avoid a financial penalty. OCSE also proposes to provide that adverse findings of data reliability audits of a state's paternity establishment data will not result in a financial penalty.

The Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), Administration for Children and Families (ACF), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), is proposing to continue use of a coronavirus (COVID- 19) screening tool for unaccompanied children (UC) program staff and visitors at ORR care provider facilities.

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) is requesting a 3-year extension of the form ACF-118A: Child Care and Development Fund for Tribes (OMB #0970-0198, expiration 06/30/2022) for FFY 2023-2025. There are changes requested to the form to improve formatting, and clarify and streamline questions. ACF is also requesting public comment on revising the thresholds used to determine tribes with small, medium, and large allocations.

This rule adopts as final the provision to the Head Start Program Performance Standards (HSPPS) to establish parameters by which ACF may make designation renewal determinations during a federally declared major disaster, emergency, or public health emergency (PHE) and in the absence of all normally required data.

The ACF, OHSEPR announces the intent to award four single- source grants in the amount of up to $300,000 to the following recipients: United Way Worldwide, Alexandria, VA; National Association of Social Workers, Washington, DC; American Public Human Services Association, Arlington, VA; and National Association of County Human Services Administrators, Washington, DC. The purpose of these awards is to facilitate the coordination of human services to U.S. Citizens and their dependents evacuating to the United States from Afghanistan. These organizations are key players in the leadership, coordination, or direct provision of human services after an emergency and have direct access to their constituencies and networks. U.S. citizens and their dependents (repatriates) eligible for temporary assistance under the U.S. Repatriation Program can receive up to 90 days of temporary assistance which includes transportation, food, medical care, cash assistance, temporary lodging, and case management. These awards will ensure appropriate training and technical assistance, coordination, and subject matter expertise as repatriates connect to human services entities.

The Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), Administration for Children and Families (ACF), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), is inviting public comments on revisions to an approved information collection. The request consists of several forms that allow the Unaccompanied Children (UC) Program to process release of UC from ORR custody and provide services after release.

This is a primary data collection request for the Study of Disability Services Coordinators and Inclusion in Head Start (New Collection). The study aims to provide a nationally representative picture of the Early Head Start (EHS) and Head Start (HS) Disability Services Coordinator (DSC) workforce, as well as services provided to children with disabilities and their families within these programs and how EHS/HS collaborates with services in the community, including health providers, Local Education Agencies, and Part C. This is the first study of the HS/EHS DSC workforce and will contain three Phases of data collection using surveys and qualitative interviews.

The Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), Administration for Children and Families (ACF), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), is inviting public comments on revisions to an approved information collection. The request consists of several forms that allow the Unaccompanied Children (UC) Program to monitor care provider facility compliance with federal laws and regulations, legal agreements, and ORR policies and procedures; and perform other administrative tasks.

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), plans to request from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) an extension to complete data collection for a two-wave COVID-19 Follow-up data collection currently underway as part of the National Survey of Early Care and Education (NSECE). The objective of the NSECE COVID-19 Follow-up is to document the nation's current supply of early care and education services (that is, home-based providers, center-based providers, and the center-based provider workforce). There are no changes proposed.

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is proposing a new data collection activity as part of the Understanding the Value of Centralized Services study. The objective of this descriptive study is to understand the advantages, disadvantages, and costs of centralizing social services for individuals and families with low incomes.

The Administration for Children and Families' (ACF) Office of Family Assistance plans to submit a generic information collection (GenIC) request under the umbrella generic: Generic Clearance for Financial Reports used for ACF Mandatory Grant Programs (0970-0510). This request includes a reporting form and associated instructions for financial information to be completed by grant recipients of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Pandemic Emergency Assistance Funding authorized by the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.

In accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended, the Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation (HHS/ACF/ OPRE), is providing notice of a re-established matching program between the Department of Defense, Defense Manpower Data Center (DoD/DMDC) and State Public Assistance Agencies (SPAAs), ``Verification of Continued Eligibility for Benefits Through the Public Assistance Reporting Information System (PARIS) Program.'' HHS/ACF/OPRE facilitates the matching program.

The Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), Administration for Children and Families (ACF), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), is proposing to continue to collect information that will allow the Unaccompanied Children (UC) Program to monitor its care provider facilities for compliance with federal and state laws and regulations, licensing and accreditation standards, ORR policies and procedures, and child welfare standards. These information collections were originally approved under emergency approval for 6 months. This request is to continue data collection.

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.

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) requests an extension to continue data collection for the Evaluation of the Family Unification Program (FUP) (OMB #0970-0514). Information collection activities requested include interviews, focus group discussions, program data, and administrative data collection.

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: Guidance for Submitting an Annual Report to the Secretary (OMB #0970- 0409; expiration 9/30/2021). There are minor updates to the annual guidance which reflects a change in timing for the due date of the final report.

The Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation (OPRE) within the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) is proposing to conduct data collection activities for the Engaging Fathers and Paternal Relatives: A Continuous Quality Improvement Approach in the Child Welfare System (FCL) Project. This evaluation is a descriptive study of child welfare agencies' use of a continuous quality improvement process called the Breakthrough Series Collaborative (BSC) to implement strategies to improve father and paternal relative engagement in the child welfare system. The project is designed to examine the use of the BSC methodology to strengthen fathers' and paternal relatives' engagement with children involved in child welfare and to add to the evidence base on engagement strategies for fathers and paternal relatives in child welfare.

The Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation (OPRE) within the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) seeks approval to collect information for the Early Care and Education Leadership Study (ExCELS) Descriptive Study.

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) is requesting a revision of the ORR-6 Performance Report (OMB #0970-0036, expiration 2/28/2022). Proposed revisions include new data collection primarily for the new Refugee Health Promotion (RHP) set-aside program, and reformatting and revisions of instructions and forms for clarity.

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) is requesting an extension to continue use of an existing information collection: The National Advisory Committee on the Sex Trafficking of Children and Youth in the United States (NAC) Recommendations and State Self-Assessment Survey (0970-0560). No changes are proposed.

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) seeks approval for an extension with no changes to a one-time study to examine familial outcomes 8 years or more after a child's adoption from the child welfare system. The primary objective of this study is to estimate the prevalence of instability events that occur in families who have adopted children who have exited the foster care system. The second objective is to understand risk and protective factors associated with post adoption instability. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval expires September 30, 2021, and this request is to extend approval to allow for the completion of data collection.

The Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) is requesting a three-year extension of the ORR-2 Quarterly Report on Expenditures and Obligations (OMB #0970-0407, expiration 8/31/2021). There are no changes requested to the form.

The Office of Child Care (OCC) is requesting a 1-year extension of the form ACF-218: Quality Progress Report (QPR) (OMB #0970-0517, expiration 9/30/2021). There are minor changes requested to the form related to COVID-19 pandemic supplemental funding increases.

The Office of Child Care, Administration for Children and Families (ACF), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), is proposing to collect data for a new collection, ACF-901American Rescue Plan (ARP) Stabilization Grants Provider-Level Data. The data collection will provide numbers and characteristics of child care providers receiving ARP Act stabilization grant awards.