[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 165 (Tuesday, August 26, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 50915-50916]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-20178]
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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Administration for Children and Families
Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request
Title: Social Services Block Grant (SSBG) Post-expenditure Report.
OMB No.: 0970-0234.
Description
Purpose: To request approval to: (1) Reinstate and extend the
collection of post-expenditure data using the current OMB approved
post-expenditure reporting form (OMB No. 0970-0234) past the current
expiration date of July 1, 2014; and (2) to request that States
continue to voluntarily submit estimated pre-expenditure and recipient
data using the post-expenditure reporting form, as part of the required
annual intended use plan.
The Social Services Block Grant program (SSBG) is authorized under
Title XX of the Social Security Act, as amended, and is codified at 42
U.S.C. 1397 through 13097e. SSBG provides funds to assist States in
delivering critical services to vulnerable older adults, persons with
disabilities, at-risk adolescents and young adults, and children and
families. SSBG funds are allocated to each State in proportion to their
relative population.
Each State is responsible for designing and implementing its own
SSBG program to meet the specialized needs of their most vulnerable
populations. States may determine what services will be provided, who
will be eligible, and how funds will be distributed among the various
services. State or local SSBG agencies (i.e., county, city, regional
offices) may provide the services or States may purchase services from
qualified agencies, organizations, or individuals. States must
administer their SSBG program according to their approved intended use
plan, along with amendments, and in conformance with their own
implementing rules and policies. The Office of Community Services
(OCS), Administration for Children and Families administers the SSBG
program.
Annually, States are required to submit a pre-expenditure report or
intended use plan as a prerequisite to receiving SSBG funds. The pre-
expenditure report must include information on the types of services to
be supported and the characteristics of individuals to be served. This
report is to be submitted 30 days prior to the start of the fiscal year
(June 1 if the State operates on a July-June fiscal year, or September
1 if the State operates on a Federal fiscal year). No specific format
is required for the intended use plan. States are required to submit a
revised intended use plan if the planned use of SSBG funds changes
during the year (42 U.S.C. 1397c).
In order to provide a more accurate analysis of the extent to which
funds are spent ``in a manner consistent'' with each of the States plan
for their use, as required by 42 U.S.C. 1397e(a), ACF continues to
request that States voluntarily use the format of the post-expenditure
reporting form to provide estimates of the amount of expenditures and
the number of recipients, by service category, as part of the State's
intended use plan. Most of the States are currently using the format of
the post-expenditure reporting form to report estimated expenditures
and recipients, by service category, as part of their intended use
plan.
On annual basis, States also are required to submit a post-
expenditure report that details their use of SSBG funds in each of 29
service categories. States are required to submit their post-
expenditure report within six months of the end of the period covered
by the report. The post-expenditure report must address: (1) The number
of individuals (including number of children and number of adults) who
receive services paid for, in whole or in part, with Federal funds
under the SSBG; (2) The amount of SSBG funds spent in providing each
service; (3) The total amount of Federal, State, and local funds spent
in providing each service, including SSBG funds; and (4) The method(s)
by which each service is provided, showing separately the services
provided by public and private agencies (42 U.S.C. 1397e; 42 CFR
96.74).
This request seeks approval to reinstate and continue the use of
the current OMB approved post-expenditure reporting form (OMB No. 0970-
0234) for estimating expenditures and recipients as part of States'
intended use plans and for annual post-expenditure reporting. Until
recently, States reported the data on the post-expenditure reporting
form in Microsoft Excel\TM\ and submitted it to ACF, via email.
Beginning in 2013, States can complete the current reporting form on
the SSBG Portal. The SSBG Portal is a secure web-based data portal. The
SSBG Portal allows for more efficient data submission without
increasing the overall burden on States. It provides a user-friendly
means for States to submit and access their pre-expenditure and post-
expenditure and recipient data.
[[Page 50916]]
Information collected in the post-expenditure reports submitted by
States is analyzed and described in an annual report on SSBG
expenditures and recipients produced by the Office of Community
Services (OCS), Administration for Children and Families (ACF). The
information contained in this report is used for program planning and
management. The data establish how SSBG funding is used for the
provision of services in each State to each of the many specific
populations of vulnerable children and adults.
The data is also analyzed to determine the performance of States'
in meeting the SSBG program performance measures developed to meet the
requirements of the Government Performance and Results Act of
1993(GPRA), as amended by the GPRA Modernization Act of 2010.\1\ GPRA
requires all Federal agencies to develop measurable performance goals.
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\1\ Pub. L. 11-352; 31 U.S.C. 1115(b)(10).
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The SSBG program currently has an administrative costs efficiency
measure which is intended to decrease the percentage of SSBG funds
identified as administrative costs in the post-expenditure reports.\2\
The SSBG program is also implementing a new performance measure
designed to ensure that SSBG funds are spend effectively and
efficiently while maintaining the program's intrinsic flexibility as a
block grants. The performance measure will assess the degree to which
States spend SSBG funds in a manner consistent with their intended use,
as required by Federal law.\3\ It will be used to determine how well
States are doing overall in minimizing variance between projected and
actual expenditures of SSBG funds. This program measure will be fully
implemented for SSBG program data submitted for fiscal year 2013.
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\2\ U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration
for Children and Families, Office of Community Services. (2007,
June). Implementing a new performance measure to enhance efficiency
(Information Memorandum Transmittal No. 04-2007). Available from
http://archive.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ocs/ssbg/procedures/ssbg_im_04_2007.html.
\3\ 42. U.S.C. 1397e(a); U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of
Community Services. (2012, February). Implementation of a new
performance measure (Information Memorandum Transmittal No. 01-
2012). Available from http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ocs/resource/implementation-of-a-new-performance-measure.
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Respondents: The post-expenditure reporting form and intended use
plan are completed once annually by a representative of the agency that
administers the Social Services Block Grant at the State level in each
State. Respondents include the 50 States, the District of Columbia, and
Puerto Rico.
Annual Burden Estimates
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Number of Average
Instrument Number of responses per burden hours Total burden
respondents * respondent per response hours
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Post-Expenditure Reporting Form................. 56 1 110 6,160
Use of Post-Expenditure Reporting Form as Part 56 1 2 112
of the Intended Use Plan.......................
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Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours:........ .............. .............. .............. 6,272
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* Respondents include the 50 States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, Northern
Mariana Islands, and Virgin Islands.
Additional Information
Copies of the proposed collection may be obtained by writing to the
Administration for Children and Families, Office of Planning, Research
and Evaluation, 370 L'Enfant Promenade SW., Washington, DC 20447, Attn:
ACF Reports Clearance Officer. All requests should be identified by the
title of the information collection. Email address:
[email protected].
OMB Comment
OMB is required to make a decision concerning the collection of
information between 30 and 60 days after publication of this document
in the Federal Register. Therefore, a comment is best assured of having
its full effect if OMB receives it within 30 days of publication.
Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information
collection should be sent directly to the following: Office of
Management and Budget, Paperwork Reduction Project, Email: [email protected], Attn: Desk Officer for the Administration for
Children and Families.
Robert Sargis,
Reports Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. 2014-20178 Filed 8-25-14; 8:45 am]
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