[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]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

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.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ Pub. L. 11-352; 31 U.S.C. 1115(b)(10).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    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.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \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.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    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
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                     Number of        Average
                   Instrument                        Number of    responses  per   burden hours    Total burden
                                                   respondents *     respondent    per response        hours
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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.......................
                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours:........  ..............  ..............  ..............           6,272
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* 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]
BILLING CODE 4184-01-P