Administration for Children and Families 2023 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation (OPRE), Administration for Children and Families (ACF) is proposing an information collection activity for the Child Abuse and Neglect Background Checks for Child Care and Early Education (CAN Checks for CCEE) Project. The goal of the project is to better understand how states and territories use findings from CAN registry checks, as required by the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 2014 (CCDBG), to make child care employment eligibility determinations. The study will also be used to understand state and territory variation, facilitators, and challenges in implementing CAN registries; and any resulting within- or across-state/territory equity implications.

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) proposes to extend data collection under the existing overarching generic clearance for Formative Data Collections for ACF Research and Evaluation (Office of Management and Budget (OMB) #0970-0356). There are no changes proposed.

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) is requesting a 3-year extension of the Mental Health Assessment Form (formerly the Health Assessment Form) and Public Health Investigation Forms, Active Tuberculosis (TB) and Non-TB Illness (Office of Management and Budget (OMB) #0970-0509, expiration December 31, 2023). Changes are proposed to the currently approved forms.

The Administration for Children and Families' (ACF) Administration for Native Americans (ANA) is requesting a 3-year extension to the Ongoing Progress Report (OPR) and the Objective Work Plan (OWP) (Office of Management and Budget (OMB) #0970-0452, expiration September 30, 2023). There are no changes requested to the forms.

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services intends to request approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for a generic clearance to request information from potential participants at ACF gatherings, such as meetings or conferences. The planning for these gatherings is most often on a quick timeline and the standard timeline to comply with a full request under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) would inhibit the ability to collect information to inform these activities. Therefore, an umbrella generic is requested to allow for quick turnaround requests for similar information collections related to these activities.

The Office of Child Care invites public comment on the rules and regulations of the Tribally administered Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) program as part of the Administration for Children and Families' (ACF) commitment to creating partnerships with Tribal Nations to identify and implement solutions that transcend traditional program boundaries. As part of that commitment, OCC seeks input on the requirements, regulations, and processes for Tribal Nations that administer CCDF. This Request for Information (RFI) specifically seeks public comment on the following topics of the Tribal child care programCCDF Funding Policies for Tribes, CCDF Administration, Improving Families' Access to Child Care, and Increasing Child Care Supply in Tribal Communitiesbut input on any aspect of the Tribally administered CCDF program is welcome. OCC will host a Tribal consultation during the RFI public comment period.

The Administration for Children and Families' (ACF) Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation (OPRE) requests Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval for an overarching generic clearance to collect data on programs serving youth transitioning out of foster care as part of the Chafee Strengthening Outcomes for Transition to Adulthood Project. The generic mechanism will allow ACF to conduct rapid-cycle evaluations that would not otherwise be feasible under the timelines associated with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. The purpose of these data collections submitted under the generic will be to inform ACF programming by building the evidence about what works to improve outcomes for the target population and to identify innovative learning methods that address common evaluation challenges.

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation (OPRE) launched the Testing Identified Elements for Success in Fatherhood Programs (Fatherhood TIES) project in 2022. Using a mix of research methods, this study will identify and test the ``core components'' of fatherhood programs in any effort to identify which core components are most effective at improving the lives of fathers who participate in fatherhood programs and their children. The study will ultimately include an implementation and an impact study.

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation (OPRE) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is proposing to collect information to examine a promising strategy to support the child care and early education (CCEE) workforce in Colorado as part of the Building and Sustaining the CCEE Workforce BASE project. This project aims to build evidence about workforce development strategies designed to promote, retain, and advance the CCEE workforce by improving the economic well- being of CCEE workers.

The Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), Administration for Children and Families (ACF), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is proposing to collect data from grantee agencies participating in the Voluntary Agencies Matching Grant Program. Client data collected will include enrollment information, demographics, and program outcomes.

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF), in partnership with the Health Resources and Services Administration, both of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), is proposing to collect data as part of the elementary school phase of the Mother and Infant Home Visiting Program Evaluation (MIHOPE). MIHOPE is a longitudinal study of the effects of Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV)-funded home visiting on child and family outcomes. The purpose of the MIHOPE Long-Term Follow-Up, Third grade (MIHOPE-3G) data collection, which will focus on children when they are in approximately third grade, is to assess the long-term effects of MIECHV-funded home visiting on families and children when participating children are in elementary school.

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) is requesting a 3-year extension of the form ACF-123: Guidance for the Tribal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Program (Office of Management and Budget (OMB) #0970-0157, expiration date: August 31, 2023). There are minor clarifying changes requested to the guidance.

The Office of Child Support Services (OCSS) (formerly the Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE), Administration for Children and Families (ACF), is requesting the federal Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to extend approval of the Income Withholding for Support Order (IWO), with minor changes, for an additional three years. The current OMB approval expires September 30, 2023.

The Office of Head Start (OHS), Administration for Children and Families (ACF), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, requests public comment on an extension with changes to recordkeeping requirements for ACF Head Start grant recipients. A Final Rule published on January 6, 2023, added a recordkeeping requirement that Head Start grant recipients update their program policies and procedures to include an evidence-based COVID-19 mitigation policy. OHS requested and received emergency approval from OMB to implement the updated recordkeeping requirement as required in the Final Rule. Approval was for 6 months. Subsequently, a final rule was published on June 26, 2023, which removed all previously approved vaccination recordkeeping requirements and the requirement to maintain a testing protocol. This request is to remove these requirements from the information collection and extend approval of the remaining recordkeeping requirement under this OMB number for an additional 3 years.

The Office of Child Support Services (OCSS), Administration for Children and Families (ACF), United States Department of Health and Human Services, is requesting a three-year extension of the Voluntary Acknowledgment of Paternity and Required Data Elements for Paternity Establishment Affidavits (OMB #0970-0171, expiration 1/31/2024). No changes are proposed.

The Children's Bureau, Administration for Children and Families (ACF), United States Department of Health and Human Services, is proposing to collect data for a new descriptive study, Judicial, Court, and Attorney Measures of Performance (JCAMP): Feedback and Implementation. This expands on earlier work around technical assistance, as approved under Office of Management and Budget #: 0970- 0593.

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) is requesting to extend approval of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Data Reporting for Work Participation, with proposed revisions. Revisions are intended to improve the clarity of the instructions, streamline reporting, and ensure all instructions are up- to-date.

The Children's Bureau (CB), the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), in the United States (U.S.) Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is requesting a three-year extension of the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS) collection (Office of Management and Budget (OMB) #0970-0424, expiration August 31, 2023). There are no changes requested to this data collection.

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) published a document in the Federal Register of June 1, 2023, concerning request for comments on a 3-year extension of the Mental Health Assessment Form (formerly the Health Assessment Form) and Public Health Investigation Forms, Active Tuberculosis (TB) and Non-TB Illness (Office of Management and Budget (OMB) #0970-0509, expiration December 31, 2023). The published notice contained an incorrect title and a typo in the Description section.

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) is proposing a data collection activity as part of the Replication of Recovery and Reunification Interventions for Families-Impact Study (R3- Impact). The R3-Impact Study aims to satisfy the legislative requirements called for by the 2018 SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act by replicating and testing the efficacy of two recovery coaching interventions for families engaged in the child welfare system due to parental substance use disorders.

This notice informs the public of the opportunity to provide input on the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) National Human Trafficking Prevention Framework (Framework), which contains strategies and approaches to prevent human trafficking and its recurrence while increasing capacity to identify and reduce harm caused by human trafficking. HHS will consider this input as it updates the Framework. The draft Framework is available at https://www.acf.hhs.gov/ otip.

The Children's Bureau, Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Department of Health and Human Services, is proposing to collect data for a new process and outcome study, Strengthening Child Welfare Systems to Achieve Expected Child and Family Outcomes (SCWS).

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) is requesting a 3-year extension of the Mental Health Assessment Form (formerly the Health Assessment Form) and Public Health Investigation Forms, Active Tuberculosis (TB) and Non-TB Illness (Office of Management and Budget (OMB) #0970-0509, expiration December 31, 2023. Changes are proposed to the currently approved forms.

The Administration for Children and Families' (ACF) Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) plans to submit a generic information collection (GenIC) request under the following umbrella generic: Generic Clearance for Financial Reports used for ACF Mandatory Grant Programs (0970-0510). This request is to include instructions for ORR Refugee Cash and Medical Assistance (CMA) grant recipients to provide supplemental financial information when submitting the already required ORR-2 Financial Report, which is approved under Office of Management and Budget (OMB) number 0970-0407.

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) is requesting a 3-year extension of the collection of information under the Child and Family Services Plan (CFSP), the Annual Progress and Services Report (APSR), and the Annual Budget Expenses Request and Estimated Expenditures (Child and Family Services (CFS)-101): Office of Management and Budget (OMB) #0970-0426, expiration September 30, 2023. There are minor changes to the CFS-101 form and no changes to the burden hours.