[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 195 (Wednesday, October 11, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47211-47212]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-21774]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Administration for Children and Families


Proposed Information Collection Activity; Comment Request; 
Proposed Projects: Renewal of the Low Income Home Energy Assistance 
Program (LIHEAP) Performance Data Form (LPDF)

    Title: LIHEAP Performance Data Form for Federal Fiscal Year (FFY) 
XXXX.
    OMB No.: 0970-0449.
    Description: In response to the 2010 Government Accountability 
Office (GAO) report, Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program--Greater 
Fraud Prevention Controls are Needed (GAO-10-621), and in consideration 
of the recommendations issued by the Low Income Home Energy Assistance 
Program (LIHEAP) Performance Measures Implementation Work Group, the 
Office of Community Services (OCS) required the collection and 
reporting of the new performance measures by state LIHEAP grantees and 
the District of Columbia. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
approved the LIHEAP Performance Data Form (LPDF) in November 2014 (OMB 
Clearance No. 0970-0449) that expires on October 31, 2017. The LPDF 
provides for the collection of the following LIHEAP performance 
measures which are considered to be developmental as part of the LPDF:
    1. The benefit targeting index for high burden households receiving 
LIHEAP fuel assistance;
    2. The burden reduction targeting index for high burden households 
receiving LIHEAP fuel assistance;
    3. The number of households where LIHEAP prevented a potential home 
energy crisis; and
    4. The number of households where LIHEAP benefits restored home 
energy.
    All State LIHEAP grantees and the District of Columbia are required 
to complete the LPDF data through the Administration for Children and 
Families' (ACF) web-based data collection and reporting system, the 
Online Data Collection (OLDC), which is available at: https://home.grantsolutions.gov/home. The reporting requirements will be 
described through OLDC.
    The previous OMB-approved LIHEAP Grantee Survey on sources and uses 
of LIHEAP funds was added in 2014 to the LPDF as an addition to the 
LIHEAP performance data. No substantive changes are being proposed for 
this data collection activity. A sample of the draft form is available 
for viewing here: https://www.acf.hhs.gov/ocs/resource/funding-applications.
    The form is divided into the following three modules to add 
clarity:

Module 1. LIHEAP Grantee Survey (Required Reporting)

    Module 1 of the LPDF will continue to require the following data 
from each state for the federal fiscal year:
     Grantee information,
     sources and uses of LIHEAP funds,
     average LIHEAP household benefits, and
     maximum income cutoffs for 4-person households for each 
type of LIHEAP assistance provided by each grantee for the fiscal year.

Module 2. LIHEAP Performance Measures (Required Reporting)

    Module 2 of the LPDF will continue to require the following data 
from each state for the federal fiscal year:
     Grantee information,
     energy burden targeting,
     restoration of home energy service, and
     prevention of loss of home energy.

Module 3. LIHEAP Performance Measures (Optional Reporting)

    Module 3 of the LIHEAP LPDF will continue to voluntarily collect 
the following additional information from each interested grantee for 
the federal fiscal year:
     Average annual energy usage,
     Unduplicated number of households using supplemental 
heating fuel and air conditioning,

[[Page 47212]]

     Unduplicated number of households that had restoration of 
home energy service, and
     Unduplicated number of households that had prevention of 
loss of home energy.
    Based on the data collected in the LPDF:
     ACF will provide reliable and complete LIHEAP fiscal and 
household data to Congress in the Department's annual LIHEAP Report to 
Congress.
     ACF will calculate LHEAP performance measures and report 
the results through the annual budget development process and in 
LIHEAP's annual Congressional Justification (CJ) under the Government 
Performance and Results Act of 1993.
     ACF and grantees will be informed about the impact LIHEAP 
has with respect to LIHEAP households' home energy burden (the 
proportion of their income spent towards their home heating and cooling 
bills), including information on the difference between the average 
recipient and high burden recipients, restoring home energy service, 
and preventing loss of home energy service.
     ACF will be able to respond to questions on sources and 
uses of LIHEAP funds from the Congress, Department, OMB, White House, 
and other interested parties in a timely manner.
     LIHEAP grantees will be able to compare their own results 
to the results for other states, as well as to regional and national 
results, through the Data Warehouse of the LIHEAP Performance 
Management Web site as they manage their programs.
    Respondents: State Governments and the District of Columbia.

Annual Burden Estimates

    The table below shows the estimated data collection and reporting 
burden for the LPDF as reported in 2014. These estimates are based on a 
small number of interviews conducted in 2014 with grantees, sub-
grantees, and energy vendors. In support of this submission requesting 
comments, ACF is currently re-assessing the level of effort to collect 
and report the required data in order to develop updated burden 
estimates. The original 2014 estimates were based on grantee reporting 
capabilities at that time and included time and costs for initial 
system development. However, since most grantees have improved their 
reporting capabilities, many grantees have completed their system 
development, and ACF has furnished reporting resources and technical 
assistance to assist grantees, it is expected that the time and costs 
associated with reporting are lower than the original 2014 estimates 
show below.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                 Number of      Average  burden
         Instrument               Number of  respondents       responses per       hours per       Total burden
                                                                respondent         response            hours
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                            Module 1: Grantee Survey
================================================================================================================
Grantees....................  51............................               1  3.5...............          178.50
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                         Module 2: Performance Measures
================================================================================================================
Grantees....................  51............................               1  100...............           5,100
Sub-Grantees (in states with  200 (estimate)................               1  80 hours..........          16,000
 sub-grantee managed
 systems).
Large Energy Vendors          1,530 (estimate)..............               1  40 hours..........          61,200
 (largest 5 electric, 5 gas,
 10 fuel oil, and 10 propane
 vendors per state--average).
Small Energy Vendors          200...........................               1  10................           2,000
 (excluded except in special
 circumstances).
rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
    Total Annual Burden       2,032.........................               1  Varies............          84,478
     Hours.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 168,956.50.
    In compliance with the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act 
of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13, 44 U.S.C. Chap 35), the Administration for 
Children and Families is soliciting public comment on the specific 
aspects of the information collection described above. Copies of the 
proposed collection of information can be obtained and comments may be 
forwarded by writing to the Administration for Children and Families, 
Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation, 330 C Street SW., 
Washington, DC 20201. Attn: ACF Reports Clearance Officer. Email 
address: [email protected]. All requests should be identified 
by the title of the information collection.
    The Department specifically requests comments on: (a) Whether the 
proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper 
performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the 
information shall have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the 
agency's estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of 
information; (c) the quality, utility, and clarity of the information 
to be collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the collection 
of information on respondents, including through the use of automated 
collection techniques or other forms of information technology. 
Consideration will be given to comments and suggestions submitted 
within 60 days of this publication.

Mary Jones,
Reports Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. 2017-21774 Filed 10-10-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4184-80-P