[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 226 (Monday, November 23, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 74730-74731]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-25772]


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

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Administration for Children and Families


Submission for OMB Review; Voluntary Acknowledgment of Paternity 
and Required Data Elements for Paternity Establishment Affidavits (OMB 
#0970-0171)

AGENCY: Office of Child Support Enforcement, Administration for 
Children and Families, HHS.

ACTION: Request for public comment.

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

SUMMARY: The Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE), Administration 
for Children and Families (ACF), U.S. Department of Health and Human 
Services, is requesting a 3-year extension of the Voluntary 
Acknowledgment of Paternity and Required Data Elements for Paternity 
Establishment Affidavits (OMB #0970-0171). There are no changes 
requested to the form, but burden estimates have been adjusted.

DATES: Comments due within 30 days of publication. OMB must make a 
decision about 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.

ADDRESSES: Written comments and recommendations for the proposed 
information collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of 
this notice to www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. Find this particular 
information collection by selecting ``Currently under 30-day Review--
Open for Public Comments'' or by using the search function.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Description: Section 466(a)(5)(C) of the Social Security Act 
requires states to enact laws ensuring a simple civil process for 
voluntarily acknowledging paternity via an affidavit. The development 
and use of an affidavit for the voluntary acknowledgment of paternity 
would include the minimum requirements of the affidavit specified by 
the Secretary of Health and Human Services under section 452(a)(7) of 
the Social Security Act and give full faith and credit to such an 
affidavit signed in any other state according to its procedures. The 
state must provide that, before a mother and putative father can sign a 
voluntary acknowledgement of paternity, the mother and putative father 
must be given notice, orally and in writing, of the alternatives to, 
the legal consequences of, and the rights (including any rights, if one 
parent is a minor, due to minority status) and responsibilities of 
acknowledging paternity. The affidavits will be used by hospitals, 
birth record agencies, and other entities participating in the 
voluntary paternity establishment program to collect information from 
the parents of nonmarital children.
    Respondents: The parents of nonmarital children, state and tribal 
agencies operating child support programs under Title IV-D of the 
Social Security Act, hospitals, birth record agencies, and other 
entities participating in the voluntary paternity establishment 
program.

Annual Burden Estimates

    Since the previous approval of this information collection in 2017, 
there have been changes to the level of burden estimated due to an 
increase in the estimated number of partners involved in the voluntary 
paternity acknowledgment program by about 87,000 entities, and a change 
to the method of calculating the Paternity Acknowledgement Process. The 
current calculation is a more accurate method, using the number of 
nonmarital births (rather than the previously used universe of possible 
entities that could provide the service) and results in a

[[Page 74731]]

decrease in estimated burden for this activity. Finally, burden 
estimates were updated from the initial Federal Register Notice related 
to this information collection (85 FR 47216) to correct a typo (no 
impact on overall burden estimates) and to use more current data (FY19 
versus FY18) to calculate the burden for the Paternity Acknowledgement 
Process.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                   Annual number  Average annual
                   Instrument                      Annual number   of responses    burden hours    Annual burden
                                                  of respondents  per respondent   per response        hours
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Training........................................         134,685               1               1         134,685
Paternity Acknowledgment Process................       1,433,606               1            0.17         243,713
Data Elements...................................              54               1               1              54
Ordering Brochures..............................       2,693,693               1             .08         215,495
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 593,947.

    Authority:  42 U.S.C. 666(a)(5)(C) and 652(a)(7).

Mary B. Jones,
ACF/OPRE Certifying Officer.
[FR Doc. 2020-25772 Filed 11-20-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4184-41-P