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

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) is requesting a 3-year extension of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Expenditure Report, Form ACF-196R (OMB #0970-0446, expiration 2/28/2021). ACF is reporting a change to remove certain guidance that was associated with an earlier ACF-196 report in order to devote the instructions to the singular ACF-196R report. In addition, ACF has clarified instructions where states have previously expressed confusion and has reorganized the format and chronology of section headers to better reflect the flow of the TANF reporting process.

The Office of Child Support Enforcement proposes to provide States the flexibility to incorporate in their State child support guidelines two optional exceptions to the prohibition against treating incarceration as voluntary unemployment. Under the proposal, States have the option to exclude cases where the individual is incarcerated due to intentional nonpayment of child support resulting from a criminal case or civil contempt action in accordance with guidelines established by the state and/or incarceration for any offense of which the individual's dependent child or the child support recipient was a victim. The State may apply the second exception to the individual's other child support cases.

The Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation (OPRE), Administration for Children and Families (ACF), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), is requesting an extension to continue collecting data for the study, Assessing Models of Coordinated Services for Low-Income Children and Their Families (AMCS). Data collection has been delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and will not be complete by the current expiration date of October 31, 2020. There are no changes proposed to the current instruments.

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) is requesting a 3-year extension of the Federal Case Registry (FCR). There are no changes to the collection instruments used for the FCR (current Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval expires January 31, 2021).

The Administration for Children and Families' (ACF) Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE) is requesting an update to the existing data collection for the Advance Planning Document (APD) process (OMB #0970-0417). OCSE proposes revisions to the annual burden estimates to reflect an increase in the number of states seeking approval to implement modernization solutions in efforts to replace antiquated legacy child support enforcement systems and to address an excess demand for emergency funding requests due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), Administration for Children and Families (ACF), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), is proposing to collect data for a new data collection, the Serious Medical Procedure Request (SMR) Form.

This is a primary data collection request for the Infant and Toddler Teacher and Caregiver Competencies (ITTCC) study to examine, using qualitative case studies, different approaches to implementing competency frameworks and assessing competencies of teachers and caregivers of infants and toddlers who work in group early care and education (ECE) settings (centers and family child care homes). Each case study will focus on a specific competency framework used by states, institutions of higher education, professional organizations, or ECE programs. This study aims to present an internally valid description of the implementation of competency frameworks and assessment of competencies for up to seven purposively selected cases, not to promote statistical generalization to different sites or service populations.

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) is requesting a 3-year extension of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Data Reporting for Work Participation (formerly titled the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 TANF Final Rule; OMB #0970-0338). Information collections include the TANF data verification procedures, the TANF Data Report, the Separate State Program (SSP)Maintenance of Effort (MOE) Data Report, the Caseload Reduction Documentation Process, and the Reasonable Cause/Corrective Compliance Documentation Process. We are proposing to continue these information collections without change.

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 form for Unaccompanied Alien Children (UAC) program staff and visitors at ORR-funded programs. The form was originally approved under emergency approval for 6 months. ACF is requesting a 3-year extension of this information collection.

The Administration on Children, Youth and Families (ACYF), Administration for Children and Families (ACF), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), is requesting a 3-year extension of the information collectionCase Plan Requirement, Title IV-E of the Social Security Act, (OMB #0970-0428, expiration 3/31/2021). ACF is reporting a change to the information collectionthe burden estimates in the previously-approved request were based on the children in foster care as the respondent instead of the agency completing the case plan. The burden estimates, therefore, are adjusted accordingly.

The Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation (OPRE), Administration for Children and Families (ACF), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), proposes survey data collection activities as part of the Youth Empowerment IDEAS study.

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), seeks approval for a one-time study to examine child welfare agency family contact activities. The primary objective of this study is to describe how public child welfare agencies are in contact with or receive information about the well-being of children and youth who have exited the foster care system through adoption or guardianship, particularly the experiences of these children with instability. A secondary objective is to understand what types of information child welfare agencies systematically track about these children.

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF), within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), oversees the Home Visiting Evidence of Effectiveness (HomVEE) review, which is proposing to revise the procedures and standards that guide its work. The revised procedures and standards will be presented in two separate Federal Register notices. The current Federal Register notice seeks comments on proposed updated definitions, rules, and procedures related to handling home visiting model versions (commonly referred to in the home visiting research literature as adaptations) in the HomVEE review. Another Federal Register notice summarizes proposed changes and clarifications to HomVEE's procedures and standards for rating the quality of impact studies and determining which home visiting models meet HHS criteria for evidence of effectiveness. Readers are referred to the full text of the HomVEE Draft Version 2 Handbook on the HomVEE website (https:// homvee.acf.hhs.gov/) for more details on all proposed changes.

The Administration for Children and Families' (ACF) Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE) is requesting a 3-year extension of the currently approved Multistate Financial Institution Data Match with Federally Assisted State Transmitted Levy (MSFIDM/FAST Levy) (current OMB approval expires 1/31/2021).

The Administration on Children, Youth and Families (ACYF), Family and Youth Services Bureau (FYSB) requires mandatory formula grant applications, state plans, and performance progress reports from states and territories for the development of and implementation of their State Personal Responsibility Education Program (PREP). The State PREP Funding Opportunity Announcement sets forth the application and state plan requirements for the receipt of the following documents from applicants and awardees: Application, State Plan, and Performance Progress Report. ACYF/FYSB are requesting a reinstatement with no changes to the previously approved information collections under OMB #0970-0380.

The Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), 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 comments on the proposed collection. The request consists of several forms that allow the Unaccompanied Alien Children (UAC) Program to process release of UAC from ORR custody and provide services after release.

The Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), 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 comments on the proposed collection. The request consists of several forms that allow the Unaccompanied Alien Children (UAC) Program to place UAC referred to federal agencies into care provider facilities and to transfer UAC within the ORR care provider network.

The Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation (OPRE), Administration for Children and Families (ACF), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), is requesting an extension to continue collecting data for the study, Assessing Models of Coordinated Services for Low-Income Children and Their Families (AMCS). Data collection has been delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and will not be complete by the current expiration date of October 31, 2020. There are no changes proposed to the current instruments.

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) intends to request approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for a new generic clearance for information collections related to ACF program office monitoring activities. ACF programs promote the economic and social well-being of families, children, individuals, and communities. The proposed Generic for ACF Program Monitoring Activities would allow ACF program offices to collect standardized information from recipients that receive federal funds to ensure oversight, evaluation, support purposes, and stewardship of federal funds.

The Administration on Children, Youth and Families, Family and Youth Services Bureau plans to extend data collection for the Family Violence Prevention and Services Program (OMB #0970-0280; Expiration Date: March 31, 2021). No changes are proposed to the existing information collection.

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) seeks approval for a one- time study to examine familial outcomes 8 or more years 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.

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF), within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), is proposing to collect data on the child welfare workforce as part of the third cohort of children and families for the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being (NSCAW III). Previous and current data collections for NSCAW have been approved by OMB under OMB #0970-0202. This request is for additional data collection.

The Administration on Children, Youth and Families (ACYF), Administration for Children and Families (ACF), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), is requesting a 3-year extension of the information collectionCase Plan Requirement, Title IV-E of the Social Security Act, (OMB #0970-0428, expiration 3/31/2021). ACF is reporting a change to the information collectionthe burden estimates in the previously-approved request were based on the number of children in foster care as the respondent instead of the agency completing the case plan. The burden estimates, therefore, are adjusted accordingly.

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is requesting a 3-year extension of the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS) collection (OMB #0970-0424, expiration 02/28/2021). There are no changes requested to this data collection.

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) is requesting a three-year extension of the form Income Withholding Order/ Notice for Support (IWO) (OMB #0970-0154, expiration 8/31/2020). This request includes minor revisions to the approved forms.