[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 133 (Thursday, July 11, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Page 56883]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-15277]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Administration for Children and Families


Proposed Information Collection Activity; Intergovernmental 
Reference Guide (IRG) (Office of Management and Budget No.: 0970-0209)

AGENCY: Office of Child Support Services, Administration for Children 
and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

ACTION: Request for public comments.

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SUMMARY: The Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Office of 
Child Support Services (OCSS), is requesting the Office of Management 
and Budget (OMB) to approve the Intergovernmental Reference Guide 
(IRG), for an additional three years. The IRG contains State and Tribal 
child support information that helps child support agencies (CSAs) 
administer their respective programs. Minor updates are proposed, as 
described below. The current OMB approval (OMB #: 0970-0209) expires on 
February 28, 2025.

DATES: Comments due September 9, 2024. In compliance with the 
requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the ACF is 
soliciting public comment on the specific aspects of the information 
collection described above.

ADDRESSES: You can obtain copies of the proposed collection of 
information and submit comments by emailing [email protected]. 
Identify all requests by the title of the information collection.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Description: The IRG is a centralized and automated repository of 
State and Tribal profiles that contains high-level descriptions of each 
CSA program. These profiles provide State, Tribal, and foreign country 
CSAs with an effective and efficient method for updating and accessing 
information needed to process intergovernmental child support cases.
    Revisions are proposed as a result of feedback from respondents 
suggesting changes, recommendations from the program team, or from the 
program team workgroup of interested partners. The workgroup is engaged 
to evaluate the efficacy of the instruments. Specifically, the 
following changes are proposed:
     Minor edits to change Office of Child Support Enforcement 
(OCSE) to Office of Child Support Services (OCSS).
     Edits to the State profile based on recommendations that 
were received but not implemented in 2022 when the current version of 
the profile went through the OMB approval process. OCSS has an overview 
of those recommendations and OCSS responses available upon request.
     Edits to clarify the State profile questions to make it 
easier for respondents to understand and complete them. Some of these 
edits were based on the comments referenced in the prior bullet and 
others based on other feedback from program staff and workgroup 
members.
     Addition of questions in the State profile instrument that 
are designed to help States establish health care coverage and manage 
the financial aspects of child support services. The new questions 
pertain to policies and procedures associated with new hire reporting, 
income withholdings, lump sum payments, medical support, and State 
electronic funds transfers. The addition of these questions slightly 
increased the estimated time per response from .3 hours to .5 hours.
    Respondents: State and Tribal CSAs.

                                             Annual Burden Estimates
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                                                                        Number of
                                                      Total number       annual      Average annual     Annual
         Information collection instrument              of annual     responses per    burden hour      burden
                                                       respondents     respondent     per response      hours
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IRG: State Profile Guide (states and territories)..              54              18             0.5          486
IRG: Tribal Profile Guide..........................              62              18             0.3          335
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    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 821.
    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. 652(a)(7); 42 U.S.C. 666(f); 45 CFR 301.1; 45 
CFR 303.7, and 45 CFR 309.120.

Mary C. Jones,
ACF/OPRE Certifying Officer.
[FR Doc. 2024-15277 Filed 7-10-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4184-41-P