Children and Families Administration – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This rule finalizes the provisions of the proposed rule published on May 30, 2006 and responds to public comments received as a result of the proposed rule. This final rule authorizes approval of annual waivers, under certain circumstances, from two provisions in the current Head Start transportation regulation (45 CFR part 1310): the requirement that each child be seated in a child restraint system while the vehicle is in motion, and the requirement that each bus have at least one bus monitor on board at all times. Waivers would be granted when the Head Start or Early Head Start grantee demonstrates that compliance with the requirement(s) for which the waiver is being sought will result in a significant disruption to the Head Start program or the Early Head Start program and that waiving the requirement(s) is in the best interest of the children involved. The rule also revises the definition of child restraint system in the regulation to remove the reference to weight which now conflicts with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards. The regulation also reflects new effective dates for Sec. 1310.12(a) and 1310.22(a) on the required use of school buses or allowable alternate vehicles and the required availability of such vehicles adapted for use of children with disabilities, as the result of enactment of Section 224 of Public Law 109-149 and Section 7012 of Public Law 109-234.

The purpose of the Community Economic Development (CED) grants is to create new employment and business development opportunities for low-income individuals. The Office of Community Services (OCS) awarded a $663,263 CED grant (Grant No. 90EE0720) to Hall Neighborhood House in Bridgeport, Connecticut, on September 29, 2005. Prior to the expenditure of any of the grant funds, the grantee informed OCS in a letter dated April 17, 2006, that it wished to ``relinquish the management and operation of this program effective immediately.'' The letter stated the grantee's ``current financial instability'' as the reason for the action. In an attempt not to lose the benefits for the community that were intended through the CED grant, OCS identified a possible replacement recipient: Action for Bridgeport Community Development, Inc (ABCD). The organization is being considered as a replacement recipient for the following reasons: ABCD is a previously successful CED grantee (grant 90EE0546). ABCD is headquartered approximately a mile and a half from the offices of Hall Neighborhood House (HNH) in Bridgeport, CT and will serve the same community. Also, ABCD and HNH have worked together in the past and reportedly have maintained a good working relationship. ABCD has a significantly sophisticated budget to manage this project effectively. (In 2003, the organization had gross receipts of approximately $20 million.). ABCD was recently selected by the Head Start Bureau to be the successor grantee of HNH's active Head Start grant. ACF Region I Administrator Hugh Galligan speaks highly of the performance of ABCD and has recommended that it be the replacement recipient. OCS has received and reviewed an application from ABCD. Upon finding that the proposed project is significantly similar to the one chosen for funding through HNH, OCS has requested that ABCD be approved as the permanent replacement recipient for Grant No. 90EE0720.

Notice is hereby given that the Office of Refugee Resettlement, Division of Community Resettlement, will award supplemental funds without competition to Community Refugee and Immigration Services (CRIS). This supplement is being awarded for a project that will deliver comprehensive services to meet the housing, employment and case management needs of the Somali Bantu. The arrival of more than 200 Somali Bantu refugee secondary migrants into Columbus, Ohio, has severely impacted CRIS' ability to provide employment and other services as well as the capacity of the local homeless shelter system in the community. This supplement will provide assistance with the needs of these refugees to ensure that they have adequate housing and other services to assist in their successful resettlement into this community. The grantee, Community Refugee and Immigration Services, is the Ohio affiliate of Church World Service and is engaged in the primary resettlement of newly arriving refugees in Franklin County. These supplemental funds will support 3 months of assistance at a cost of $116,133 in Federal support.

In compliance with the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended by Pub. L. 100-503, the Computer Matching and Privacy Protection Act of 1988, we are publishing a notice of a computer matching program. The purpose of this computer match is to identify specific individuals who are receiving benefits from the VA and also receiving payments pursuant to various benefit programs administered by both HHS and Department of Agriculture. ACF will facilitate this program on behalf of the State Public Assistance Agencies (SPAAs) that participate in the Public Assistance Reporting Information System (PARIS) for verification of continued eligibility for public assistance. The match will utilize Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) records and SPAA records.

The Administration for Children and Families published a notice in the Federal Register on June 6, 2006, requesting comments on reporting requirements contained in the Interim Final Rule for the Reauthorization of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Program. As the subject rule has not yet been published, the Administration for Children and Families is retracting the notice.