Notice2021-27277
Submission for OMB Review; Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) Performance Data Form (OMB #0970-0449)
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
December 16, 2021
Issuing agencies
Health and Human Services DepartmentChildren and Families Administration
Abstract
The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) is requesting reinstatement of the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) Performance Data Form (Office of Management and Budget (OMB) #0970-0449, expiration date March 31, 2021) with changes. Changes include additional reporting items to collect Module 2 (Performance Measures) data on the impacts of supplemental federal LIHEAP funds, and other minor changes to the most recent version of this form.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 86 Issue 239 (Thursday, December 16, 2021)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 239 (Thursday, December 16, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 71504-71506]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2021-27277]
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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Administration for Children and Families
Submission for OMB Review; Low Income Home Energy Assistance
Program (LIHEAP) Performance Data Form (OMB #0970-0449)
AGENCY: Office of Community Services, Administration for Children and
Families, HHS.
ACTION: Request for public comment.
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SUMMARY: The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) is
requesting reinstatement of the Low Income Home Energy Assistance
Program (LIHEAP) Performance Data
[[Page 71505]]
Form (Office of Management and Budget (OMB) #0970-0449, expiration date
March 31, 2021) with changes. Changes include additional reporting
items to collect Module 2 (Performance Measures) data on the impacts of
supplemental federal LIHEAP funds, and other minor changes to the most
recent version of this form.
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 <a href="http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain">www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain</a>. Find this particular
information collection by selecting ``Currently under 30-day Review--
Open for Public Comments'' or by using the search function. You can
also obtain copies of the proposed collection of information by
emailing <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#e58c8b838a868a89898086918c8a8ba5848683cb8d8d96cb828a93"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="1871767e777b7774747d7b6c71777658797b7e3670706b367f776e">[email protected]</span></a>. Identify all emailed requests by
the title of the information collection.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Description: The ACF Office of Community Services (OCS) within the
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) administers the Low
Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) at the Federal level.
The LIHEAP Performance Data Form (LPDF) is an annual report in response
to Section 2610(b) of the LIHEAP statute (42 U.S.C. 8629(b)) which
requires the Secretary of HHS to submit, no later than June 30 of each
federal fiscal year, a report to Congress on LIHEAP for the prior
federal fiscal year. The completeness, accuracy, consistency, and
timeliness of responses to data collections are needed for HHS to do
the following:
<bullet> Provide reliable and complete fiscal and household data to
Congress in the Department's LIHEAP Report to Congress for the federal
fiscal year; and
<bullet> Respond to questions from the Congress, Department, OMB,
White House, and other interested parties in a timely manner; and
report LIHEAP performance results as part of the Administration's
annual Congressional Justification.
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 LIHEAP Performance Measures
Implementation Work Group, OCS required the collection and reporting of
these performance measures by state LIHEAP grantees, including the
District of Columbia. OMB approved the LIHEAP Performance Data Form
(LPDF) in November 2014 (OMB Clearance No. 0970-0449) and approved
continued collection using the form through March 31, 2021. This
request will reinstate approval to collect information using the LPDF
for another three years. 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 are required to complete the LPDF on an
annual basis. The reporting requirements will be described through the
LIHEAP Forms and Funding Applications page (<a href="https://www.acf.hhs.gov/ocs/form/liheap-forms-and-funding-applications">https://www.acf.hhs.gov/ocs/form/liheap-forms-and-funding-applications</a>) of ACF's website.
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. Additional items for separately reporting
LIHEAP funds appropriated by the CARES Act (Pub. L. 116-136) were added
in 2020.
ACF proposes additional changes for this data collection activity.
These consist of (1) adding an item for reporting previous-year
Residential Energy Assistance Challenge (REACH) funds in Module 1; (2)
removing three reporting items from Module 1; (3) adding items to
collect Module 2 (Performance Measures) data on the impacts of
supplemental federal LIHEAP funds; and (4) minor wording or label
changes.
The form is divided into the following 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:
<bullet> Grantee information;
<bullet> Sources and uses of LIHEAP funds, by funding type;
<bullet> Average LIHEAP household benefits, by funding type; and
<bullet> Maximum income cutoffs for 4-person households for each
type of LIHEAP assistance provided by each grantee for the fiscal year,
by funding type.
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:
<bullet> Grantee information;
<bullet> Energy burden targeting;
<bullet> Restoration of home energy service; and
<bullet> Prevention of loss of home energy.
Module 2 has been revised to include three submodules: Module 2A
will collect data on all households, Module 2B will collect data on the
subset of households that received assistance from LIHEAP CARES Act
funds, and Module 2C will collect data on the subset of households that
received assistance from LIHEAP ARPA funds.
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:
<bullet> Average annual energy usage;
<bullet> Unduplicated number of households using supplemental
heating fuel and air conditioning;
<bullet> Unduplicated number of households that had restoration of
home energy service, and
<bullet> Unduplicated number of households that had prevention of
loss of home energy.
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 website
as they manage their programs.
ACF published a Federal Register notice on March 19, 2021
soliciting 60 days of public comment on the renewal of the LIHEAP
Performance Data Form with minor changes and the continuation of
requiring State grantees and the District of Columbia to collect the
data collection annually. ACF received no comments on this notice.
Following the publication of the 60-day Federal Register notice, new
supplemental funds were awarded for LIHEAP. To allow ACF to report
information on the impacts of the supplemental LIHEAP funds, ACF is
[[Page 71506]]
proposing updates to Module 2 to collect additional performance data
related to supplemental LIHEAP funds.
Respondents: State governments, including the District of Columbia;
the largest five electricity and natural gas vendors by state; the
largest ten fuel oil and propane vendors by state; and state sub-
grantees.
Annual Burden Estimates
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Annual number Average burden
Instrument Total number of responses hours per Annual burden
of respondents per respondent response hours
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Module 1 (Grantee Survey)
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State Grantees--Module I........................ 51 1 36 1,836
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Modules 2 and 3 (LIHEAP Performance Measures)
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State Grantees--Modules II and III.............. 51 1 200 10,200
Sub-Grantees (in states with sub-grantee managed 100 1 8 800
systems)--Modules II and III...................
Energy Vendors (largest 5 electric, 5 natural * 1,530 1 8.5 13,005
gas, 10 fuel oil, and 10 propane vendors per
state-average)--Modules II and III.............
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* Estimate.
Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 25,841.
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 8629(b); 42 U.S.C. 8624(b); 42 U.S.C. 8623(c).
Mary B. Jones,
ACF/OPRE Certifying Officer.
[FR Doc. 2021-27277 Filed 12-15-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4184-80-P
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