Supporting Statement for ACF-700 Renewal Final (2013)

SUPPORTING STATEMENT

Specific Instructions

A. Justification

1. Circumstances Making the Collection of Information Necessary

The Office of Child Care (OCC), Administration for Children and Families requires Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) Tribal Lead Agencies to report annual aggregate data on children and families served in tribal programs on the ACF-700 report form. This report is required by sections 98.70 and 98.71 of the CCDF Final Rule (45 CFR Parts 98 and 99). This information will be included in the Secretary's Report to Congress, as appropriate, and will be shared with all Tribal Lead Agencies to inform them of CCDF or CCDBG-funded activities in other tribal programs.

2. Purpose and Use of the Information Collection

The purpose of this collection is to obtain data from Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) Tribal grantees that are required by the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) Final Rule (45 CFR Parts 98 and 99). This report provides data regarding the Tribe's efforts to provide affordable and quality child care using CCDF funds. The data document the numbers of children and families served across all tribal child care programs, as well as the types of child care settings used. This information assists the Office of Child Care in determining trends and possible technical assistance needs for Tribal CCDF grantees. Another function of this information is to assist in determining if Tribes are operating in accordance with their approved CCDF two-year plans, when compliance issues occur.

3. Use of Improved Information Technology and Burden Reduction

Tribal Lead Agencies can utilize automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology.  Beginning in 1999, Tribes were provided the option to submit their ACF-700 data through an internet-based submission website.  Since that time, electronic reporting has continuously increased.  For fiscal year 2012, more than 90% of the Office of Child Care's Tribal Lead Agencies who submitted their ACF-700 report, did so electronically through the ACF-700 internet submission website: https://extranet.acf.hhs.gov/acf700/login/login700.jsp. Note that 35 of the 260 Tribal Lead Agencies are not required to submit an ACF-700 report since they are Public Law 102-477 grantees submitting one combined report.  Information and on-line technical assistance support related to the ACF-700 internet submission is also available at: http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/occ/resource/acf-700-tribal-annual-report.

If a Tribal Lead Agency does not have Internet access, they may submit a hard copy of the ACF-700 report, but are encouraged to submit the report using compatible electronic media, including CDs or email attachments.  The ACF-700 form may be downloaded in electronic format from the Office of Child Care's website at http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/occ/resource/data-reporting-for-indian-tribes-acf-700-form.

A Tribal Annual Report: Guide for CCDF Tribal Lead Agencies (ACF 700) is made available each year providing step-by-step technical assistance to help Tribal Lead Agencies complete the ACF-700 form.  This Guide is available on the Office of Child Care’s website at: http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/occ/resource/tribal-annual-report-guide-for-ccdf-tribal-lead-agencies.

4. Efforts to Identify Duplication and Use of Similar Information

There is no similar information already available.

5. Impact on Small Businesses or Other Small Entities

The collection of the information does not involve small businesses or other small entities.

6. Consequences of Collecting the Information Less Frequently

This information is collected annually as required by 45 CFR 98.70(c) of the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) Final Rule which was published on July 24, 1998.

7. Special Circumstances Relating to the Guidelines of 5 CFR 1320.5

The collection of information will be conducted in accordance with 5 CFR 1320.5.

8. Comments in Response to the Federal Register Notice and Efforts to Consult Outside the Agency

The Office of Child Care's notice soliciting comments on this information collection was published in the Federal Register on June 24, 2013, at Volume 78, Number 121, page 37819.  No official public comments were received in response to this notice.

The Office of Child Care routinely has consulted with Tribal grantees regarding their needs and recommendations as related to the CCDF reporting requirements which are in part represented by the ACF-700 Report. Based on those recommendations over the last decade, language in the report has been previously modified to further clarify the intent of the items and the required responses.

An additional outcome of that ongoing consultation was the development of the Child Care Data Tracker. The Tracker, a case management software tool, was designed to assist Tribal Lead Agencies with case management functions such as tracking family and provider information.  The Tracker also has the capability of generating a completed ACF-700 report automatically based on information grantees enter into the software.  The Tracker was officially introduced at the 7th National American Indian and Alaska Native Child Care Conference in Kansas City, Missouri, in April 2001, and has since been updated several times to encompass changes recommended by Tribal grantees.

The Office of Child Care provides extensive technical assistance (TA) to Tribal grantees for questions or problems related to their reporting requirements.  The National Center on Child Care Data and Technology, a contractor to the OCC, conducts training sessions, facilitates workshops, and delivers individualized TA to all Tribal grantees across the country.  That ongoing TA has allowed the OCC to maintain ongoing communication with grantees, receiving feedback and suggestions from them as well as providing information to them.  Their input is evaluated whenever changes to program requirements are considered.

9. Explanation of Any Payment or Gift to Respondents

No payments or gifts are provided to respondents.

10. Assurance of Confidentiality Provided to Respondents

There is nothing of a confidential nature in the document; therefore, respondents will not be provided an assurance of confidentiality.

11. Justification for Sensitive Questions

There are no questions of a sensitive nature.

12. Estimates of Annualized Burden Hours and Costs

INSTRUMENT	NUMBER OF RESPONDENTS	NUMBER OF RESPONSES PER RESPONDENT	AVERAGE BURDEN HOURS PER RESPONSE	TOTAL BURDEN HOURS
ACF-700 form (CCDF Annual Tribal Report)	260	1	38	9,880

Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 9,880

The burden is estimated based on experience with prior activities.

13. Estimates of Other Total Annual Cost Burden to Respondents and Record Keepers

There are no direct monetary costs to Tribal Lead Agencies other than the time to complete the report.

14. Annualized Cost to the Federal Government

The annual cost to the Federal Government is estimated at $43,904. This is based on the annual submission of the ACF-700 form, requiring approximately 336 professional staff hours at an average of $102 per hour ($34,272); 172 clerical hours at an average of $56 per hour ($9,632).

15. Explanation for Program Changes or Adjustments

There are no program changes or adjustments.

16. Plans for Tabulation and Publication and Project Time Schedule

The results of this information collection will be summarized and will be included in the annual CCDF Report to Congress, as appropriate. It may also be made available on the Office of Child Care's website at:

http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ccb.

17. Reason(s) Display of OMB Expiration Date is Inappropriate

The expiration date for the OMB approval will be displayed on the information collection.

18. Exceptions to Certification for Paperwork Reduction Act Submissions

There are no exceptions to the certification for Paperwork Reduction Act submissions.

B. Statistical Methods (used for collection of information employing statistical methods)

The information collection report does not use statistical methods.

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