Notice2023-11382
OMB Submission: Safeguarding Against Exploitation, Sexual Abuse, Child Abuse, and Child Neglect
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Published
May 30, 2023
Issuing agencies
Agency for International Development
Abstract
Under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) seeks the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval for the new information collection for safeguarding against exploitation, sexual abuse, child abuse, and child neglect.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 103 (Tuesday, May 30, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 103 (Tuesday, May 30, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 34467-34472]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-11382]
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AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
OMB Submission: Safeguarding Against Exploitation, Sexual Abuse,
Child Abuse, and Child Neglect
AGENCY: Agency for International Development.
ACTION: Notice of information collection.
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SUMMARY: Under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act, the U.S.
Agency for International Development (USAID) seeks the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) approval for the new information collection
for safeguarding against exploitation, sexual abuse, child abuse, and
child neglect.
DATES: Submit comments on or before June 24, 2023.
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.
Written comments for this information collection should be sent
within 30 days of publication of this notice via:
1. Web: Through the Federal eRulemaking Portal at <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">http://www.regulations.gov</a>. This website provides instructions and includes
the ability to type short comments directly into the comment field or
attach a file for lengthier comments.
2. Email: For comments sent via email, please address them to
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#adcec2c0ddc1c4ccc3cec8edd8deccc4c983cac2db"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="f695999b869a9f97989593b68385979f92d8919980">[email protected]</span></a> and cite OMB Submission: Safeguarding Against
Exploitation, Sexual Abuse, Child Abuse, and Child Neglect in the
subject line of the email.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kathleen Stohs, <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#f3909c9e839f9a929d9096b38680929a97dd949c85"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="a2c1cdcfd2cecbc3ccc1c7e2d7d1c3cbc68cc5cdd4">[email protected]</span></a>,
(202) 216-3183.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
A. Need and Uses
The purpose of this collection is to enable the U.S. Agency for
International Development to respond to allegations of exploitation,
sexual abuse, child abuse, and child neglect and institute appropriate
standards of behavior. Submissions will be required from recipients to
comply with pending award requirements to safeguard against
exploitation, sexual abuse, child abuse, and child neglect in USAID-
funded programming. Information submitted by recipients as part of this
collection will be presumed to be confidential. USAID takes the
protection of personally identifiable information (PII) seriously and
takes precautions to ensure the confidentiality and security of PII,
consistent with USAID's Automated Directives System (ADS) Chapter 508
and does not request PII in this information collection. Agency staff
must only share information on individual responses on a need-to-know
basis and take steps to protect any sensitive information, including
redacting sensitive information and limiting access.
Notification: A pending standard provision for assistance awards to
nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) will require the recipient to (1)
immediately inform, in writing, the Bureau for Management, Office of
Management Policy, Budget, and Performance, Responsibility,
Safeguarding, and Compliance Division (M/MPBP/RSC) at
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#2f5f4e5d5b414a5d4b465c4c43405c5a5d4a5c6f5a5c4e464b01484059"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="80f0e1f2f4eee5f2e4e9f3e3eceff3f5f2e5f3c0f5f3e1e9e4aee7eff6">[email protected]</span></a> and USAID Office of Inspector General
(OIG), with a copy to the Agreement Officer whenever the recipient
receives credible information from any source that alleges the
recipient, subrecipient, employee, agent, intern, or any other person
provided access or contact with beneficiaries under the award has
engaged in any exploitation, sexual abuse, child abuse, and child
neglect of any person, and supported or advanced these actions, or
intentionally ignored or failed to act upon allegations of these
actions; and (2) as soon as practicable, the recipient must provide in
writing, as specified above: (i) additional information on any actions
planned or taken in response to the allegation; and (ii) any actions
planned or taken to assess, address, or mitigate factors that
contributed to the incident.
Information in the notification may include: award title and
number, organization name and sub-awardee name, if applicable, location
of the program and the incident, the type of allegation, the date of
the incident and/or allegation, information about the survivor--such as
whether the survivor is a program participant, member of the community,
staff, or other, and information about the subject of complaint such as
whether they are a senior leader, employee, agent, intern, volunteer,
or other. It may also identify: any actions taken or next steps to
respond to the incident, resources available or provided to the
survivor, steps taken to ensure the safety of the survivor(s) or
whistleblower(s), the status of the investigation, any established
organizational procedures or framework, interim measures or final
measures taken or planned to address the subject of complaint, and any
protective measures or organizational reforms, such as changes to
applicable policies and procedures. The specific information provided
may differ in each notification and will be up to each partner to
determine, and the examples provided above are illustrative.
Notifications should not include PII.
Compliance Plan: For awards exceeding $500,000, the recipient must
develop, implement, and maintain a compliance plan, either in
conjunction with or separate from the Trafficking in Persons Compliance
Plan, that details risk analysis and mitigation measures that will be
implemented during the period of performance of the award to prevent
and address exploitation, sexual abuse, child abuse, and child neglect
of any person. The recipient's compliance plan must be appropriate to
the size and complexity of the award and to the nature and scope of the
activities, including the particular risks presented by the operating
context. The plan must include, at a minimum, the following:
(i) reasonable measures to reduce the risk of exploitation, sexual
abuse, child abuse, and child neglect. Where implementation of projects
under this award may involve children, this includes limiting
unsupervised interactions with children and complying with applicable
laws, regulations, or customs regarding harmful image-generating
activities of children;
(ii) an awareness program to inform employees, agents, interns, or
any other person provided access or contact with beneficiaries about
the requirements of this provision, including the activities
prohibited, the action that will be taken in response to violations,
and the mechanism(s) for reporting allegations;
(iii) a description of how beneficiaries and local community
members:
A. are made aware of the prohibited activities,
B. how they may report allegations, and
C. how (A) and (B) are carried out in a manner which is inclusive,
culturally appropriate, and sensitive to the context;
(iv) safe, accessible, and publicly available reporting
mechanism(s) that may be integrated with any existing or similar such
mechanisms, for anyone to confidentially report exploitation, sexual
abuse, child abuse, and child neglect, with appropriate safeguards to
protect whistle-blowers and survivors, including express protection
against retaliation for reporting, and documented procedures for
protecting personally identifiable information (PII)
[[Page 34468]]
from unauthorized access and disclosure; and
(v) appropriate measures to protect survivors of or witnesses to
any exploitation, sexual abuse, child abuse, and child neglect of any
person and not prevent or hinder cooperating fully with U.S. Government
authorities.
The recipient must provide a copy of the compliance plan to the
Agreement Officer upon request.
B. Annual Burden
Notifications
Respondents: 218.
Total Annual Responses: 436.
Total Burden Hours: 1,744 hours.
Compliance Plan
Respondents: 165.
Recordkeepers: 2,365.
Total Annual Responses/Records: 2,530.
Total Burden Hours: 56,925 hours.
C. Discussion of Comments
A 60-day notice was published in the Federal Register at 86 FR
44684, on August 13, 2021. Eight five (85) comments were received.
Comment: The Agency received two comments requesting the basis and
text of the new standard provision.
Response: USAID has made a series of commitments to strengthen
protections for sexual exploitation and abuse, including the
Recommendation on Ending Sexual Exploitation, Abuse, and Harassment in
Development Co-operation and Humanitarian Assistance: Key Pillars of
Prevention and Response, adopted by the Development Assistance
Committee of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development
(OECD-DAC) in 2019; and the Commitments of the 2018 United Kingdom
Safeguarding Summit. Congress has shown continual interest in these
topics. Consistent with section 7019(e) of the Department of State,
Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2021 (Div.
K, P.L. 116-260) and the accompanying Joint Explanatory Statement,
State and USAID jointly submitted a report on allegations of, and steps
to prevent and respond to, sexual exploitation and abuse committed by
implementing partners of foreign assistance funds appropriated for
State and USAID in Fiscal Year (FY) 2020--the third consecutive report
annually requested by Congress on this subject. The USAID Office of
Inspector General also recommended that the Agency establish a
mandatory reporting requirement for sexual exploitation and abuse as
part of an audit of USAID's response to sexual exploitation and abuse.
The provision will incorporate the existing USAID Child Safeguarding
Standards provision to strengthen protections for children, while
providing clarity and consistency for partners.
The new standard provision, Safeguarding Against Exploitation,
Sexual Abuse, Child Abuse, and Child Neglect, will be publicly
available following the completion of the Information Collection
process. The provision will be applicable to all U.S. and non-U.S.
awards NGOs, including fixed amount awards and the full text of the
provision will be provided in USAID's Automated Directive System (ADS)
303maa M20, 303mab M15, and 303mat M6. The provision includes
requirements for the recipient to have and implement a set of publicly
available standards, policies, or procedures to prevent, detect,
address, and respond to allegations of exploitation, sexual abuse,
child abuse, and child neglect that:
(1) prohibit employees, agents, interns, or any other person
provided access or contact with beneficiaries, from engaging in any
exploitation, sexual abuse, child abuse, and child neglect of any
person during the period of performance, supporting or advancing these
actions, or intentionally ignoring or failing to act upon allegations
of these actions;
(2) are consistent with the Inter-Agency Standing Committee's Six
Core Principles Relating to Sexual Exploitation and Abuse, as amended,
available at <a href="https://psea.interagencystandingcommittee.org/update/iasc-six-core-principles">https://psea.interagencystandingcommittee.org/update/iasc-six-core-principles</a> and the Keeping Children Safe Standards, available
at <a href="https://www.keepingchildrensafe.global/accountability/">https://www.keepingchildrensafe.global/accountability/</a>;
(3) require reporting of suspicions or concerns related to any
exploitation, sexual abuse, child abuse, and child neglect of any
person to the recipient;
(4) require a ``survivor-centered approach'' for responding to
alleged violations of the prohibitions. Such an approach must ensure
the survivor's dignity, experiences, considerations, needs, and
resiliencies are placed at the center of the process;
(5) when a child is involved, require a ``best interest of the
child determination'' for responding to alleged violations of the
prohibitions. This determination considers the best possible outcome
for a vulnerable child who has been exposed to violence, abuse,
exploitation or neglect;
(6) include remedies for violations;
(7) monitor subrecipients, employees, agents, interns, or any other
person provided access or contact with beneficiaries,
(8) details the actions that may be taken against subrecipients,
employees, agents, interns, or any other person provided access or
contact under the award who commit exploitation, sexual abuse, child
abuse, and child neglect of any person or who fail to take reasonable
steps to prevent it; and;
(9) provide transparency on hiring, screening, and employment
practices, including on rehiring or transfer and referencing for
subsequent employers.
For awards exceeding $500,000, the recipient must develop,
implement, and maintain a compliance plan, either in conjunction with
or separate from the Trafficking in Persons Compliance Plan, that
details risk analysis and mitigation measures that will be implemented
during the period of performance of the award to prevent and address
exploitation, sexual abuse, child abuse, and child neglect of any
person. The recipient's compliance plan must be appropriate to the size
and complexity of the award and to the nature and scope of the
activities, including the particular risks presented by the operating
context. The plan must include, at a minimum, the following:
(i) reasonable measures to reduce the risk of exploitation, sexual
abuse, child abuse, and child neglect. Where implementation of projects
under this award may involve children, this includes limiting
unsupervised interactions with children and complying with applicable
laws, regulations, or customs regarding harmful image-generating
activities of children;
(ii) an awareness program to inform employees, agents, interns, or
any other person provided access or contact with beneficiaries about
the requirements of this provision, including the activities
prohibited, the action that will be taken in response to violations,
and the mechanism(s) for reporting allegations;
(iii) a description of how beneficiaries and local community
members:
A. are made aware of the prohibited activities,
B. how they may report allegations, and
C. how (A) and (B) are carried out in a manner which is inclusive,
culturally appropriate, and sensitive to the context;
(iv) safe, accessible, and publicly available reporting
mechanism(s) that may be integrated with any existing or similar such
mechanisms, for anyone to confidentially report exploitation, sexual
abuse, child abuse, and child
[[Page 34469]]
neglect, with appropriate safeguards to protect whistle-blowers and
survivors, including express protection against retaliation for
reporting, and documented procedures for protecting personally
identifiable information (PII) from unauthorized access and disclosure;
and
(v) appropriate measures to protect survivors of or witnesses to
any exploitation, sexual abuse, child abuse, and child neglect of any
person and not prevent or hinder cooperating fully with U.S. Government
authorities.
Comment: The Agency received two comments requesting the definition
of safeguarding.
Response: Although not defined in the provision, safeguarding
against exploitation, sexual abuse, child abuse, and child neglect
refers to the practice of implementing preventative, protection, and
compliance measures for populations who may be at an increased risk for
harm across an organization's operations, for the purposes of
preventing harm, including but not limited to exploitation, abuse, and
violence, generally.
Comment: The Agency received two comments requesting the definition
of exploitation.
Response: For the purposes of the forthcoming standard provision,
exploitation constitutes any actual or attempted abuse of a position of
vulnerability, differential power, or trust, including for the purposes
of profiting monetarily, socially, or politically. When carried out for
a sexual purpose this constitutes sexual exploitation.\1\
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\1\ Section 3 of the UN Secretary-General's Bulletin--Special
Measures for Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse
(ST/SGB/2003/13) and USAID Child Safeguarding Standards (Automative
Directives System (ADS) 303maa M27).
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Comment: The Agency received two comments requesting the definition
of sexual abuse.
Response: For the purposes of the forthcoming standard provision,
sexual abuse constitutes any actual or threatened physical intrusion of
a sexual nature towards another person whether by force or under
unequal or coercive conditions. When carried out against a child by an
adult, such conduct is considered sexual abuse even in the absence of
force or unequal or coercive conditions.\1\
Comment: The Agency received two comments requesting the definition
of child abuse.
Response: For the purposes of the forthcoming standard provision,
child abuse means emotional, physical, sexual, or any other ill-
treatment carried out against a child by an adult.\2\
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\2\ USAID Child Safeguarding Standards (ADS 303maa M27).
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Comment: The Agency received two comments requesting the definition
of neglect.
Response: For the purposes of the forthcoming standard provision,
child neglect means a failure to provide for a child's basic needs in
the absence of the child's parent or guardian when the care of the
child is associated with the award activities.\3\
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\3\ USAID Child Safeguarding Standards (ADS 303maa M27).
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Comment: The Agency received two comments requesting the definition
of credible information.
Although ``credible information'' is not defined, under the plain
meaning of the term, if the source and circumstances support a
reasonable belief that the event(s) described have occurred, the matter
shall be referred to the Responsibility, Safeguarding, and Compliance
(RSC) Division, the appropriate Agreement Officer, and Inspector
General. This is an intentionally low threshold for initial disclosure,
which upholds the policy to prohibit exploitation, sexual abuse, child
abuse, and neglect.
Comment: The Agency received two comments requesting the definition
of personnel, two comments requesting the definition of invitee and one
comment requesting the definition of agent.
Response: Personnel, invitee, and agent have been replaced with the
terms ``employees, agents, interns, or any other person provided access
or contact with beneficiaries.''
For the purposes of the forthcoming standard provision, employee
means individual who is engaged in the performance of this award as a
direct employee, consultant, or volunteer of the recipient or any
subrecipient.\4\
For the purposes of the forthcoming standard provision, agent means
any individual, including a director, an officer, or an independent
contractor, authorized to act on behalf of an organization.\4\
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\4\ FAR 52.222-50 Combating Trafficking in Persons.
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Comment: The Agency received two comments requesting the reasoning
for allowing the combination of the Safeguarding Compliance Plan with
the Trafficking in Persons Compliance Plan. One commenter asks if these
requirements should remain separate as the Trafficking in Persons
requirement is mandatory and one commenter recommends including
Trafficking in Persons and Safeguarding Against Exploitation, Sexual
Abuse, Child Abuse, and Child Neglect under one Compliance Plan.
Response: Recipients will maintain a ``Safeguarding Against
Exploitation, Sexual Abuse, Child Abuse, and Child Neglect Compliance
Plan,'' either in conjunction with or separate from the Trafficking in
Persons Compliance Plan. These options are provided to allow recipients
to streamline these administrative requirements and align with their
organizational structures and policies as necessary.
Comment: The Agency received one comment requesting clarification
regarding the dollar value impacted by the information collection.
If the estimated value of services required to be performed under
the award outside the United States exceeds $500,000, the recipients
will maintain a ``Safeguarding Against Exploitation, Sexual Abuse,
Child Abuse, and Child Neglect Compliance Plan,'' either in conjunction
with or separate from the Trafficking in Persons Compliance Plan.
Comment: The Agency received one comment requesting the process for
the agency determining 253 reports of credible information.
Response: This number of reports is estimated based on the current
number of notifications received and the predicted increase in number
of reports received once the notification requirement is mandatory.
This number has since been adjusted down to 218 based on the most
recent data.
Comment: The Agency received two comments requesting the process
for the agency determining two responses per respondent.
Response: The number of responses is calculated by the averaged
expected number of notifications per instance, not by the individual
recipients since that would be impossible to know.
Comment: The Agency received one comment asking if the Agency has
2,365 awards over $500,000.
Response: At the time of the information collection notice, the
Agency had 2,365 awards over $500,000, which was used to determine the
number of recordkeepers for the Safeguarding Compliance Plan.
Comment: The Agency received one comment requesting the process for
the agency determining Agreement Officers will request Compliance Plans
200 times.
Response: Agreement Officers may request Compliance Plans from
recipients that have them, and we estimated the number of expected
requests to be 165 annually.
Comment: The Agency received two comments regarding solicitation
requirements for USAID's Bureau for
[[Page 34470]]
Humanitarian Assistance related to sexual exploitation and abuse, which
recommends consolidating the requirements in the BHA Emergency
Application Guidelines.
Response: Recipients would not need to develop a separate plan
specifically for each award with overseas work that meets the
threshold, as long as they otherwise have a plan in place that is
suitable to address the nature and scope of activities to be performed
and the size and complexity of the relevant award(s). The standard
provision for assistance awards would apply across the Agency.
Comment: The Agency received one comment on ways to minimize the
burden of the collection of information on respondents by initiating
efforts to increase knowledge and awareness amongst recipients on best
practices in collecting this information and preventing and managing
safeguarding within their organization.
Response: The Agency will provide additional guidance on
safeguarding against exploitation, sexual abuse, child abuse, and child
neglect, including reporting guidance as part of its efforts under
USAID's Policy on Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse.
Comment: The Agency received one comment appreciating that the
proposed collection of information is necessary as it will enable USAID
to analyze where safeguarding risks are highest and help to align
resources to effectively respond.
Response: The Agency appreciates the comment.
Comment: The Agency received one comment which supported the
estimates of burden of the proposed collection of information.
Response: The Agency appreciates the comment.
Comment: The Agency received four comments recommending
clarification for the term ``tolerated.''
Response: In order to be more specific, tolerated has been removed
and replaced with the language: ``supporting or advancing these actions
[exploitation, sexual abuse, child abuse and neglect], or intentionally
ignoring or failing to act upon allegations of these actions.''
Comment: The Agency received one comment recommending clarification
for the phrase ``minimum set of policies and internal controls
necessary,'' including any criteria for USAID to assess the minimum
standards.
Response: The forthcoming provision includes requirements for the
recipient to have and implement a set of publicly available standards,
policies, or procedures to prevent, detect, address, and respond to
allegations of exploitation, sexual abuse, child abuse, and child
neglect. These available standards, policies, or procedures must:
(1) prohibit employees, agents, interns, or any other person
provided access or contact with beneficiaries, from engaging in any
exploitation, sexual abuse, child abuse, and child neglect of any
person during the period of performance, supporting or advancing these
actions, or intentionally ignoring or failing to act upon allegations
of these actions;
(2) are consistent with the Inter-Agency Standing Committee's Six
Core Principles Relating to Sexual Exploitation and Abuse, as amended,
available at <a href="https://psea.interagencystandingcommittee.org/update/iasc-six-core-principles">https://psea.interagencystandingcommittee.org/update/iasc-six-core-principles</a> and the Keeping Children Safe Standards, available
at <a href="https://www.keepingchildrensafe.global/accountability/">https://www.keepingchildrensafe.global/accountability/</a>;
(3) require reporting of suspicions or concerns related to any
exploitation, sexual abuse, child abuse, and child neglect of any
person to the recipient;
(4) require a ``survivor-centered approach'' for responding to
alleged violations of the prohibitions. Such an approach must ensure
the survivor's dignity, experiences, considerations, needs, and
resiliencies are placed at the center of the process;
(5) when a child is involved, require a ``best interest of the
child determination'' for responding to alleged violations of the
prohibitions. This determination considers the best possible outcome
for a vulnerable child who has been exposed to violence, abuse,
exploitation or neglect;
(6) include remedies for violations;
(7) monitor subrecipients, employees, agents, interns, or any other
person provided access or contact with beneficiaries,
(8) details the actions that may be taken against subrecipients,
employees, agents, interns, or any other person provided access or
contact under the award who commit exploitation, sexual abuse, child
abuse, and child neglect of any person or who fail to take reasonable
steps to prevent it; and;
(9) provide transparency on hiring, screening, and employment
practices, including on rehiring or transfer and referencing for
subsequent employers.
Comment: The Agency received one comment recommending that the
reporting systems under the Compliance Plan be expanded from
``beneficiaries'' to ``beneficiaries and bystanders.''
Response: The Agency considered this comment and expanded the
reporting system to allow anyone to report exploitation, sexual abuse,
child abuse, and child neglect, and this change is reflected in the
reference to local community members in the updated language in this
notice.
Comment: The Agency received one comment requesting consolidation
of the notification requirements under one section, three comments
requesting clarification on the timing for the three parts of the
notification requirement, as there will be a time difference between
part 1 and parts 2-3, and one comment requesting ``immediately notify''
be changed to ``promptly notify.'' One commenter recommended specific
timelines (e.g., 30 days, etc.).
Response: The Agency has considered this comment and revised the
timing to ``immediately'' for the initial notification of credible
information, consistent with the Trafficking in Persons requirement,
and ``as soon as practicable'' for Notifications part (2) as reflected
in the Need and Uses section of this notice to allow the necessary
flexibility for responses where timelines are case-specific.
Comment: The Agency received one comment asking if the AIDAR
752.7037 Child Safeguarding Standards will be updated to be consistent
with the forthcoming standard provision for assistance.
Response: The Agency anticipates that AIDAR 752.7037 and other
relevant contract requirements will be updated pursuant to future
rulemaking.
Comment: The Agency received one comment requesting the standards
of behavior expected in the standard provision and recommending that
the requirements for recipients related to exploitation, sexual abuse,
child abuse, and child neglect be provided at the beginning of the
standard provision that will result from this information collection.
Response: The standards of behavior, as outlined in the forthcoming
standard provision, will prohibit employees, agents, interns, or any
other person provided access or contact with beneficiaries, from
engaging in any exploitation, sexual abuse, child abuse, and child
neglect of any person during the period of performance, supporting or
advancing these actions, or intentionally ignoring or failing to act
upon allegations of these actions.
Comment: The Agency received seven comments requesting the
safeguards for reporting confidential information and PII. One
commenter recommended that the Standard Provision clearly state that
reports to the Agreement Officer do not include PII about a survivor.
Response: USAID encourages partners not to share the PII, and the
forthcoming provision states that the recipient should not share PII,
unless specifically
[[Page 34471]]
requested by the Agency. Agency staff members must only share
information on individual allegation reports related to allegations of
misconduct on a need-to-know basis. This means information is only
shared when there is a need in order to perform official duties and/or
make an agency decision. As part of upholding a survivor-centered
approach, USAID will provide internal guidance to USAID staff on
responding to reports and safeguarding information related to
misconduct allegations for all individuals involved (e.g., survivors,
witnesses, subjects of complaints).
The Office of Inspector General maintains their own policies
related to the collection of PII and USAID's policies do not affect
OIG's right to access this information.
Comment: The Agency received two comments requesting clarification
on whether the zero-tolerance policy referenced in the awareness
program is USAID's or the recipient's and recommending that the policy
be the recipient's.
Response: The Safeguarding Compliance Plan will require an
awareness program to inform employees, agents, interns, or any other
person provided access or contact with beneficiaries about the
requirements of this provision, including the activities prohibited,
the action that will be taken in response to violations, and the
mechanism(s) for reporting allegations. The language has been updated
and reflected in the Needs and Uses section of this notice.
Comment: The Agency received two comments requesting clarification
on the prohibited behavior to make it clear that these behaviors are
prohibited by anyone engaged in delivery of the project and that
beneficiaries have the right to be free of these behaviors.
Response: The Agency considered this comment and clarified that the
prohibited behavior in this notice covers employees, agents, interns,
or any other person provided access or contact with beneficiaries.
Comment: The Agency received one comment on the notification
requirement's definition of ``immediately notify'' to mean following an
initial credibility determination.
Response: Under the plain meaning of the term credible, if the
source and circumstances support a reasonable belief that the events(s)
described have occurred, the appropriate Agreement Officer and
Inspector General must be immediately notified.
Comment: The Agency received two comments asking if the compliance
plan requirement replaces the need to undergo a Due Diligence review on
an annual or bi-annual basis.
Response: The compliance plan is created at the pre-award stage and
does not replace annual or other regular reviews.
Comment: The Agency received one comment asking if the Safeguarding
Compliance Plan will require specific criteria and one comment
requesting a standard template.
Response: The Agency will not be prescriptive in the requirements
for the Safeguarding Compliance Plan, to allow Recipients and
subrecipients to develop plans appropriate to the size and complexity
of the award. The minimum standards USAID will require will be
reflected in the provision and are:
(i) reasonable measures to reduce the risk of exploitation, sexual
abuse, child abuse, and child neglect. Where implementation of projects
under this award may involve children, this includes limiting
unsupervised interactions with children and complying with applicable
laws, regulations, or customs regarding harmful image-generating
activities of children;
(ii) an awareness program to inform employees, agents, interns, or
any other person provided access or contact with beneficiaries about
the requirements of this provision, including the activities
prohibited, the action that will be taken in response to violations,
and the mechanism(s) for reporting allegations;
(iii) a description of how beneficiaries and local community
members:
A. are made aware of the prohibited activities,
B. how they may report allegations, and
C. how (A) and (B) are carried out in a manner which is inclusive,
culturally appropriate, and sensitive to the context;
(iv) safe, accessible, and publicly available reporting
mechanism(s) that may be integrated with any existing or similar such
mechanisms, for anyone to confidentially report exploitation, sexual
abuse, child abuse, and child neglect, with appropriate safeguards to
protect whistle-blowers and survivors, including express protection
against retaliation for reporting, and documented procedures for
protecting personally identifiable information (PII) from unauthorized
access and disclosure; and
(v) appropriate measures to protect survivors of or witnesses to
any exploitation, sexual abuse, child abuse, and child neglect of any
person and not prevent or hinder cooperating fully with U.S. Government
authorities.
Comment: The Agency received one comment asking if subrecipients
will be required to maintain their own compliance plans.
Response: Recipients and subrecipients that meet the $500,000
threshold will be required to maintain a compliance plan.
Comment: The Agency received one comment asking if these
requirements will apply only to new awards or if it will be
retroactive.
Response: Once the standard provision for assistance awards goes
into effect, the requirement will apply to new and modified awards.
Comment: The Agency received two comments asking if organizations
will be required to ``certify'' for Safeguarding as they currently are
required to do with Trafficking in Persons.
Response: USAID will not require recipients or subrecipients to
submit a certification as part of the new standard provision.
Comment: The Agency received two comments requesting clarification
on the risk analysis and mitigation measures in the Safeguarding
Compliance Plan and whether risk assessments are sufficient.
Response: The Agency will not be prescriptive in the requirements
for the Safeguarding Compliance Plan, to allow Recipients and
subrecipients to develop plans appropriate to the size and complexity
of the award and assess and mitigate risk as appropriate.
Comment: The Agency received two comments noting limited actions
that can be pursued with non-employees.
Response: USAID acknowledges that available actions may be fact-
specific, including based on the relationship of those involved to the
recipient.
Comment: The Agency received one comment requesting the definition
of project beneficiaries.
Response: Although not defined in the forthcoming standard
provision, ``beneficiary'' means any foreign national who is a
recipient of, derives advantage from, or is helped by USAID foreign
assistance. Such individuals are not employees of USAID nor providers
of USAID development assistance.\5\
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\5\ USAID ADS Chapter 252.
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Comment: The Agency received two comments noting that the expansion
of the types of concerns, specifically to include ``tolerating,'' to be
reported is a substantial administrative burden.
Response: This increase in the administrative burden is necessary
for USAID to respond to instances of exploitation, sexual abuse, child
abuse, and child neglect, ensure recipients have appropriate internal
controls to
[[Page 34472]]
prevent and address such instances, and protect beneficiaries from
harm.
Tolerated has been removed and replaced with the specific language:
supporting or advancing these actions, or intentionally ignoring or
failing to act upon allegations of these actions.
Comment: The Agency received two comments noting that a point of
contact will be provided at the headquarters level.
Response: Recipients may designate a relevant point of contact
based on their organizational structure.
Comment: The Agency received one comment requesting clarification
on referral to local authorities in the notification section and
whether this would be a requirement.
Response: The potential information that may be contained in a
notification is illustrative and may not be required or applicable in
every case. The notification provided by recipients may also identify
any actions taken to investigate or respond to the allegation, which
may include referral to local authorities, but the standard provision
does not require referral to local authorities.
Comment: The Agency received two comments requesting clarification
on the established organizational procedures or framework in the
notification section.
Response: The potential information that may be contained in a
notification is illustrative and may not be required in every case. In
some instances, recipients may have established organizational
policies, standards, frameworks, or procedures for responding to
instances of exploitation, sexual abuse, child abuse, and child
neglect.
Comment: The Agency received three comments requesting
clarification on when the Safeguarding Compliance Plan would be
submitted or requested.
Response: The submission of the compliance plan is by request of
the Agreement Officer, and an Agreement Officer may ask for a
Compliance Plan at their discretion.
Comment: The Agency received one comment on the inclusion of non-
sexual child abuse and neglect to mandatory reporting diluting the
importance of sexual exploitation and abuse measures.
Response: Strengthening requirements for sexual exploitation and
abuse, in coordination with child abuse, exploitation, and neglect, is
meant to allow for a consolidated, consistent approach for implementing
partners to address safeguarding in the areas of sexual exploitation
and abuse, trafficking in persons, and child safeguarding. Addressing
these issues in a unified manner strengthens protections for
beneficiaries and communities, while reducing duplication for partners.
Comment: The Agency received one comment noting that a ``credible
information'' standard increases the administrative burden and asking
if USAID would consider funding for recipients to address the
additional burden.
Response: Credible information is the standard consistent with the
Counter-Trafficking in Persons standard provision and the burden is
consistent with the burden assessed for that requirement. This burden
is necessary to enable USAID to respond to allegations of exploitation,
sexual abuse, child abuse, and child neglect and institute appropriate
standards of behavior. Consistency with existing standards further
reduces burden on partners to determine the exact type of misconduct
early in the process.
While final decisions on cost allowability, allocability and
reasonableness will rest with the cognizant Agreement Officer, USAID
recognizes the need to strengthen the aid community's overall capacity
for safeguarding against exploitation, sexual abuse, child abuse, and
child neglect, including individual organizations' varying levels of
existing capacity.
Comment: The Agency received two comments requesting clarification
on the difference between the routine reporting requirements in the
Need and Uses section and the requirements outlined in the annual
burden section of the Federal Register Notice and whether an annual
report is required.
Response: The Need and Uses section outlines the new information
collection requirements that will be part of the forthcoming standard
provision, which is the Notification requirement and the Compliance
Plan requirement. The annual burden section calculates the annual
administrative burden of these requirements outlined in the Need and
Uses section, which includes the burden for reporting notifications to
the USAID Inspector General and the cognizant Agreement Officer. No
annual report is required.
Comment: The Agency received one comment recommending that USAID
notify Recipients of receipt of final investigative reports and not
provide further inquiries if no violation is found to occur, unless
there is reason to believe that the Recipient's final investigation is
unsatisfactory.
Response: USAID will address procedures for consistent response to
reports in internal guidance to staff.
Kathleen Stohs,
Division Chief, Responsibility, Safeguarding, & Compliance Division,
Office of Management Policy, Budget, and Performance, Bureau for
Management.
[FR Doc. 2023-11382 Filed 5-26-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6116-01-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on May 30, 2023.
This is legal information, not legal advice. Laws vary by jurisdiction and change frequently. Always verify current law with official sources and consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for advice on your specific situation.