Children and Families Administration 2007 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This announcement governs the proposed award of formula grants under the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act (FVPSA) to Native American Tribes (including Alaska Native Villages) and Tribal organizations. The purpose of these grants is to assist Tribes in establishing, maintaining, and expanding programs and projects to prevent family violence and to provide immediate shelter and related assistance for victims of family violence and their dependents. This announcement sets forth the application requirements, the application process, and other administrative and fiscal requirements for grants in Fiscal Year (FY) 2008. Grantees are to be mindful that although the expenditure period for grants is a two-year period, an application is required every year to provide continuity in the provision of services. (See Section II. Award Information, Expenditure Periods.)

This announcement governs the proposed award of formula grants under the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act (FVPSA) to private, non-profit State Domestic Violence Coalitions (Coalitions). The purpose of these grants is to assist in the conduct of activities to promote domestic violence intervention and prevention and to increase public awareness of domestic violence issues. This notice for family violence prevention and services grants to Coalitions serves two purposes. The first is to confirm a Federal commitment to reducing domestic violence; and the second purpose is to urge States, localities, cities, and the private sector to become involved in State and local planning towards an integrated service delivery approach.

In accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended, the Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE) is publishing notice of a computer matching program between OCSE and state agencies administering an unemployment compensation (UC) program under Federal or state law.

Notice is hereby given that a single-source program expansion is being made to Public Strategies, Inc., as the National Healthy Marriage Resource Center (NHMRC), located in Oklahoma City, OK, in the amount of $1,250,000 to conduct a national media campaign on the value of marriage and the skills needed to increase marital stability and health. Public Strategies, Inc. and their collaborative partners were competitively awarded on September 30, 2006 to operate the NHMRC. The goal of the NHMRC is to be the ``first stop shop'' for marriage education information, an experienced provider of training and technical assistance, and a major catalyst in advancing the healthy marriage field. Since healthy marriage is a nascent field, it is necessary for the NHMRC to promote healthy marriage on a broad, national level in order to achieve these stated goals. Research has repeatedly shown that a healthy marriage brings about good outcomes for individuals, families, and especially, for children. A national media campaign would significantly raise the awareness of the benefits of healthy marriage and the benefits of marriage education. The campaign would disseminate information that explains how marriage education can enhance a couple's ability to form and sustain a healthy marriage and describe the benefits to children being raised in healthy, married two parent households. Additionally, by promoting healthy marriage and marriage education on a national level, the NHMRC will encourage a national discussion and further the mission of ACF's Healthy Marriage Initiative to help couples and individuals, who have chosen marriage for themselves, gain greater access to marriage education services, on a voluntary basis, where they can acquire the skills and knowledge necessary to form and sustain a healthy marriage. After the appropriate reviews, it has been determined that this single-source expansion qualifies for funding. The period of this funding will extend from September 30, 2007 through September 29, 2011.

The Administration for Children and Families announces publication of the Biennial Report to the Congress on the Status of Children in Head Start Programs, Fiscal Year 2005. The report is mandated under Section 650 of the Head Start Act, as amended, which requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to submit a report to the Congress at least once during every two-year period on the status of children in Head Start programs. During fiscal year 2005 more than 906,000 children were enrolled in Head Start programs including 62,000 children in Early Head Start programs serving children between birth and three years of age.

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) hereby gives notice to the public that certain programs within the Agency will be administratively imposing a matching requirement on grants awarded under the following program titles and funding opportunity announcements for Fiscal Year 2008:

The Administration on Children, Youth and Families, Family and Youth Services Bureau (FYSB), herein announces the awarding of fifty supplemental awards in the amount of $5,733,115 to Fiscal Year (FY) 2006 Mentoring of Children of Prisoners (MCP) grantees. Section 439 of the Social Security Act, as amended by the Child and Family Services Improvement Act of 2006 (Pub. L. 109-288) authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to award grants for the purpose of supporting the establishment or expansion and operation of community-based programs to provide one-on-one mentoring relationships between a child of incarcerated parent(s) and a caring, supportive adult mentor under the Mentoring Children of Prisoners Program (MCP). The program is designed to reach the President's goal of establishing 100,000 mentor/mentee relationships between a caring adult and a young person whose parent(s) is incarcerated in a correctional facility by the end of FY 2008. This funding is requested for those grantees that have demonstrated the capacity to make quality matches and currently making significant process in reaching their match goal. One-third of the grantees have made over 50% of their three-year match goal within their first year. The fifty supplemental awards are important to helping our grantees reach more youth who are in need of a mentor. The following agencies are receiving grant funds for a twelve month project period:

The Administration on Children, Youth and Families, Family and Youth Services Bureau (FYSB), herein announces the awarding of ten supplemental awards in the amount of $1,932,300 to fund Fiscal Year (FY) 2007 Runaway and Homeless Youth Training and Technical Assistance cooperative agreements. The average amount per grantee would be $192,230. Section 439 of the Social Security Act, as amended by the Child and Family Services Improvement Act of 2006 (Pub. L. 109-288) authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to award grants for the purpose of supporting the establishment or expansion and operation of community-based programs to provide one-on-one mentoring relationships between a child of incarcerated parent(s) and a caring, supportive adult mentor under the Mentoring Children of Prisoners Program (MCP). This supplemental funding will be used to access the capacity building expertise of the ten Runaway and Homeless Youth Training and Technical Assistance Providers for the purpose of enhancing the capacity of newly awarded lower scoring community and faith-based MCP grantees. It is expected that the supplementing of the ten RHY Training and Technical Assistance Providers will result in the reduction in program start-up issues and other barriers to high performance. It is critical that these MCP grantees receive the best possible services as it relates to enhancing their capacity to develop and maintain a quality mentoring program. The following agencies are receiving grant funds for a twelve month project period:

Notice is hereby given that the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation (OPRE) will award a non-competitive successor grant to OMNI Institute, Inc., a non-profit research organization located in Denver, CO. OMNI Institute, Inc. will assume a grant awarded under the Head Start University Partnership Research Grants: Curriculum Development and Enhancement for Head Start and Early Head Start Programs for the remainder of the project period July 15, 2007 to September 29, 2008. This action is taken as the original grantee, the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, has relinquished the grant.

This final rule revises the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) regulations to provide for the reporting of error rates in the expenditure of CCDF grant funds by the fifty States, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. The error rate reports will serve to implement provisions of the Improper Payments Information Act of 2002 (IPIA) and the President's Management Agenda (PMA)'s goal of ``Eliminating Improper Payments.''

This notice is hereby given that awards will be made to eleven unaccompanied alien shelter care providers in the amount of $10,633,009. This funding will support services through September 30, 2007.

Notice is hereby given of a preliminary determination that funds from the fiscal year (FY) 2006 Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) are available for reallotment to States, Territories, and Tribes and Tribal Organizations that receive FY 2007 direct LIHEAP grants. No subgrantees or other entities may apply for these funds. Section 2607(b)(1) of the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Act (the Act), Title XXVI of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1981 (42 U.S.C. 8621 et seq.), as amended, requires that if the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) determines that, as of September 1 of any fiscal year, an amount in excess of certain levels allotted to a grantee for any fiscal year will not be used by the grantee during the fiscal year, the Secretary must notify the grantee and publish a notice in the Federal Register that such funds may be realloted to LIHEAP grantees during the following fiscal year. If reallotted, the LIHEAP block grant allocation formula will be used to distribute the funds. (No funds may be allotted to entities that are not direct LIHEAP grantees during FY 2007.) It has been determined that $326,894 may be available for reallotment during FY 2007. This determination is based on revised Carryover and Reallotment Reports from the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians in North Dakota and Southern Ute Indian Tribe in Colorado, which were submitted to the Office of Community Services as required by 45 CFR 96.82. The statute allows grantees who have funds unobligated at the end of the fiscal year for which they are awarded to request that they be allowed to carry over up to 10 percent of their allotments to the next fiscal year. Funds in excess of this amount must be returned to HHS and are subject to reallotment under section 2607(b)(1) of the Act. The amount described in this notice was reported as unobligated FY 2006 funds in excess of the amount that the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians could carry over to FY 2007. Additionally, an amount from Southern Ute Indian Tribe is excess funds for FY 2006 plus the 10 percent carryover, since the tribe did not apply for FY 2007 LIHEAP funds. The Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians was notified by certified mail that $297,492 of its FY 2006 funds may be reallotted. Additionally, the Southern Ute Indian Tribe was notified by certified mail that $29,402 of its FY 2006 funds may be reallotted. In accordance with section 2607(b)(3), the Chief Executive Officers of both the tribes have 30 days from the date of the letter to submit comments to: Josephine B. Robinson, Director, Office of Community Services, 370 L'Enfant Promenade, SW., Washington, DC 20447. The comment period expires August 31, 2007. After considering any comments submitted, the Chief Executive Officers will be notified of the final reallotment amount, and this decision also will be published in the Federal Register. If funds are reallotted, they will be allocated in accordance with section 2604 of the Act and must be treated by LIHEAP grantees receiving them as an amount appropriated for FY 2007. As FY 2007 funds, they will be subject to all requirements of the Act, including section 2607(b)(2), which requires that a grantee obligate at least 90 percent of its total block grant allocation for a fiscal year by the end of the fiscal year for which the funds are appropriated, that is, by September 30, 2007.

This is a notice to award a grant to the Medical Institute for Sexual Health, Austin, TX, in the amount of $207,400 to support the development of online medical accuracy training for abstinence education providers. Background: The Medical Institute for Sexual Health proposes to develop an online instructor-led workshop to train abstinence education providers in methods to access medically accurate sexual health information via the internet. Participants will learn to identify credible internet resources for sexual health information, efficiently and effectively search the internet, and answer most questions on sexual health topics. The proposal is within the scope of technical assistance activities that the Abstinence Education Division of the Family and Youth Services Bureau (FYSB) provides to grantees with regard to integrating medical and scientific information into abstinence education programming. The Congress, in appropriating funds for the program, has directed the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) to devote up to five percent of appropriated funds for technical assistance and capacity- building for abstinence education grantees. In addition, the proposed activities of this awardee are outside the scope of the ACF's previous or proposed abstinence education competitive program announcements and would not qualify for any other existing grant opportunities. For Further Information Contact: Stanley Koutstaal, Ph.D., Acting Director, Division of Abstinence Education, 1250 Maryland Ave., SW., Washington, DC 20024, (202) 401-9205, Nina.Degeorge@ACF.hhs.gov.

This notice announces the estimated median income for four- person families in each State and the District of Columbia for FFY 2008 (October 1, 2007 to September 30, 2008). LIHEAP grantees may adopt the State median income estimates beginning with the date of publication in the Federal Register or at a later date as discussed below. This enables LIHEAP grantees to choose to implement this notice during the period between the heating and cooling seasons. However, by October 1, 2007, or the beginning of a grantee's fiscal year, whichever is later, LIHEAP grantees using State median income estimates must adjust their income eligibility criteria to be in accord with the FFY 2008 State median income estimates. This listing of estimated State median incomes provides one of the maximum income criteria that LIHEAP grantees may use in determining a household's income eligibility for LIHEAP.

This proposed rule revises the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) regulations to provide for the reporting of error rates in the expenditure of CCDF grant funds by the fifty States, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. The error rate reports will serve to implement provisions of the Improper Payments Information Act of 2002 (IPIA) and the President's Management Agenda (PMA)'s goal of ``Eliminating Improper Payments.'' For reasons that will be explained in the preamble to the rule, the initial information collection under this proposed rule will require States, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico to review and report on a random sample of cases estimated to achieve the calculation of annual improper authorizations for payment (rather than improper payments made) with a 90 percent confidence interval of +/-5.0 percent.

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) published a notice in the Federal Register of June 7, 2006 (Vol. 71, No. 109), pages 32969-32987, presenting the data measures, data composites, and national standards to be used in the Child and Family Services Review (CFSR). This notice provides corrections to this notice. A consolidated version of the June 7 Federal Register Announcement incorporating these corrections is provided on the Children's Bureau's Web site (address). The following are the key changes in the document and the reasons for the changes: There are new specifications for each of the individual measures included in each composite. After publication of the June 7, Federal Register Announcement, ACF conducted trainings on the CFSR data indicators at each of the 10 ACF Regional Offices. The trainings were provided to key administrators and staff of State child welfare agencies. During these trainings, issues were identified and questions were raised regarding the individual measures included in the composite. After reviewing these issues and questions, ACF determined that more specific information about the measures was needed and that some measures required revision in order to better target the outcome being assessed. The increased specification includes using the precise terminology that is used in the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS) and describing in greater detail the children who are in the denominator and numerator of each measure. The revisions to some of the measures required changes in the syntax used to calculate the measures. There is a new definition of foster parent used by the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS). The change was made in this definition because the definition of a foster parent used by NCANDS was recently revised. There is a new version of the table of ranges, percentiles, and national standards for the data indicators and measures to be used in the second round of the Child and Family Services Review. This table replaces the Table 1 provided in the June 7, 2006 Federal Register. It was revised to reflect new data and new national standards for all of the CFSR data indicators. The data in the table and the national standards for all of the data indicators and measures are different than those presented in the June 7 Federal Register notice. This difference is due to one or both of the following reasons: (1) A change in the syntax for calculating some of the measures, and (2) a change in the process for calculating the national standards. The reason for the change in the procedures for calculating the national standards is provided in the following bullet. There are revisions and corrections to Attachment B: Methodology for Developing the Composites. The revisions in Attachment B were made to (1) correct an error in the original attachment B, (2) provide the new coefficients (weights) for the composite measures that resulted from the changes in the syntax, and (3) explain the new procedure for calculating the national standards. The error in the original attachment B occurred in Step 10 of the process of calculating the composite scores. The new coefficients (weights) for each of the measures included in the composites are presented in Table 1 of the attachmentCoefficients (Weights) for the Measures Included in the Permanency Related Data Composites. The coefficients/weights changed due to changes in the syntax used to calculate some of the individual measures. The new procedure for calculating the national standards involved changes in the statistical requirements for fitting the data to a normal curve and to changes in the parameters used in calculating the sampling error.

This announcement governs the proposed award of formula grants under the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act (FVPSA) to private, non-profit State Domestic Violence Coalitions (Coalitions). The purpose of these grants is to assist in the conduct of activities to promote domestic violence intervention and prevention and to increase public awareness of domestic violence issues. This notice for family violence prevention and services grants to Coalitions serves two purposes. The first is to confirm a Federal commitment to reducing domestic violence; and the second purpose is to urge States, localities, cities, and the private sector to become involved in State and local planning towards an integrated service delivery approach.

This announcement governs the proposed award of formula grants under the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act (FVPSA) to Indian Tribes (including Alaska Native Villages) and Tribal organizations. The purpose of these grants is to assist Tribes in establishing, maintaining, and expanding programs and projects to prevent family violence and to provide immediate shelter and related assistance for victims of family violence and their dependents. This announcement sets forth the application requirements, the application process, and other administrative and fiscal requirements for grants in Fiscal Year (FY) 2007. Grantees are to be mindful that although the expenditure period for grants is a two-year period, an application is required every year to provide continuity in the provision of services. (See Section II. Award Information, Expenditure Periods.)