[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 146 (Tuesday, July 30, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36928-36929]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-16162]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Administration for Children and Families


Proposed Information Collection Activity: 2020 Residential Energy 
Consumption Survey (RECS), Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program 
(LIHEAP) Administrative Data Matching (OMB #0970-0486)

AGENCY: Office of Community Services; Administration for Children and 
Families; HHS.

ACTION: Request for Public Comment.

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SUMMARY: The Office of Community Services (OCS) is requesting an 
extension for the collection and reporting of 2020 administrative 
household data for state LIHEAP grantees' LIHEAP recipients. OMB 
approved the original collection under #0970-0486.

DATES: Comments due within 60 days of publication. In compliance with 
the requirements of Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the Paperwork Reduction 
Act of 1995, the Administration for Children and Families is soliciting 
public comment on the specific aspects of the information collection 
described above.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the proposed collection of information can be 
obtained and comments may be forwarded by emailing 
[email protected]. Alternatively, copies can also be obtained 
by writing to the Administration for Children and Families, Office of 
Planning, Research, and Evaluation, 330 C Street SW, Washington, DC 
20201, Attn: OPRE Reports Clearance Officer. All requests, emailed or 
written, should be identified by the title of the information 
collection.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Description: The purpose of this information collection is to 
provide data that will allow OCS to identify LIHEAP recipients that 
respond to the upcoming Residential Energy Consumption Survey (RECS), 
which The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) is planning to 
conduct in 2020. The EIA conducts the RECS survey to provide periodic 
national and regional data on residential energy use in the United 
States. OCS uses RECS data to furnish Congress and the Administration 
for Children and Families (ACF) with important national and regional 
descriptive data on the energy needs of low-income households.
    In 2015, state LIHEAP grantees provided household-level recipient 
data to identify LIHEAP recipients that participated in the 2015 RECS. 
ACF is requesting no changes in the type of data or the form of data 
collection for the 2020 extension of the project. The administrative 
household data already is collected by State grantees and used to 
complete the annual LIHEAP Household Report (OMB Control No. 0970-0060) 
and the annual LIHEAP Performance Data Form (OMB Control No. 0970-
0449).
    The LIHEAP data collected for this effort will be used by OCS to 
study the impact of LIHEAP on income eligible and recipient households 
in accordance with 42 U.S.C. 8629(b)(2). The information is being 
collected for use in development of the Department's annual LIHEAP 
Report to Congress and the annual LIHEAP Home Energy Notebook. The 
collection of this data is authorized by the LIHEAP statute, which 
requires the Secretary, following consultation with the Secretary of 
Energy, to provide for the collection of specific information on the 
characteristics of LIHEAP recipient and LIHEAP eligible households 
within each State. This includes collecting information that is 
reasonably necessary to carry out the provisions of the LIHEAP statute 
if that information is not collected by any other agency of the Federal 
Government.
    State LIHEAP grantees will be asked to furnish data for LIHEAP 
recipient households that reside in areas included in the RECS sample.
    The following are the specific data items grantees will report for 
each household:

 Name
 Address (including ZIP code)
 Gross Income
 Household or Client ID
 Household Size
 Heating assistance awarded
 Amount of heating assistance
 Date of heating assistance
 Cooling assistance awarded
 Amount of cooling assistance
 Date of cooling assistance
 Crisis Assistance awarded
 Amount of crisis assistance
 Date of crisis assistance
 Other Assistance awarded
 Amount of other assistance
 Date of other assistance
 Presence of children 5 or younger
 Presence of adult 60 or older
 Presence of disabled

    The following are optional data items that grantees can provide if 
the data are available in your database:

 Tenancy (i.e., own or rent)
 Type(s) of fuel used
 Heat included in rent

    State LIHEAP grantees can provide the data elements in the selected 
format of their choosing.

[[Page 36929]]

    The confidentiality of client data will be strictly protected as 
part of the project. LIHEAP application client waivers allow grantees 
to share information with OCS and its contractors.
    Respondents: 51 (State Governments and the District of Columbia)

                                                                 Annual Burden Estimates
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                                                                                      Total number of   Average burden
                             Instrument                              Total number of   responses per      hours per       Total burden    Annual burden
                                                                       respondents       respondent        response          hours            hours
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Action Transmittal LIHEAP-AT-2020-04 Extension of the FY 2015 RECS               51                1               24            1,224              408
 LIHEAP Administrative Data Matching to FY 2020....................
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    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 408.
    As LIHEAP is a block grant, there is varying capacity to collect 
and report data among grantees. The estimated burden hours displayed 
above are for the average LIHEAP grantee. All LIHEAP grantees have 
existing data systems to collect, maintain, and analyze this data to 
complete annual reporting requirements.
    Comments: 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.

    Authority: 42 U.S.C. 8629(a).

Mary B. Jones,
ACF/OPRE Certifying Officer.
[FR Doc. 2019-16162 Filed 7-29-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4184-80-P