On February 17, 2009, the President
signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery
Act), which establishes the Emergency Contingency Fund for State
TANF Programs (Emergency Fund) as section 403(c) of the Social
Security Act (the Act). This legislation provides up to $5 billion
to help States, Territories, and Tribes in fiscal year (FY) 2009
and FY 2010 that have an increase in assistance caseloads and basic
assistance expenditures, or in expenditures related to short-term
benefits or subsidized employment. The Recovery Act made additional
changes to TANF * extending supplemental grants through FY 2010,
expanding flexibility in the use of TANF funds carried over from
one fiscal year to the next, and adding a hold-harmless provision
to the caseload reduction credit for States and Territories serving
more TANF families. The Emergency Fund is intended to build upon
and renew the principles of work and responsibility that underlie
successful welfare reform initiatives. The Emergency Fund provides
resources to States, Territories, and Tribes to support work and
families during this difficult economic period. We plan to issue a
Program Instruction accompanied by the Emergency Fund Request Form
(OFA-100), and instructions for jurisdictions to complete the
OFA-100 to apply for emergency funds. Failure to collect this data
would compromise ACF's ability to monitor caseload and expenditure
data that must increase in order for jurisdictions to receive
awards under the Emergency Fund. Documentation maintenance on
financial reporting for the Emergency Fund is governed by 45 CFR
92.20 and 45 CFR 92.42.
On behalf of this Federal agency, I certify that
the collection of information encompassed by this request complies
with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR
1320.8(b)(3).
The following is a summary of the topics, regarding
the proposed collection of information, that the certification
covers:
(i) Why the information is being collected;
(ii) Use of information;
(iii) Burden estimate;
(iv) Nature of response (voluntary, required for a
benefit, or mandatory);
(v) Nature and extent of confidentiality; and
(vi) Need to display currently valid OMB control
number;
If you are unable to certify compliance with any of
these provisions, identify the item by leaving the box unchecked
and explain the reason in the Supporting Statement.