Notice2025-09375
Submission for Office of Management and Budget Review; Unaccompanied Alien Children Bureau Incident Reporting
Primary source
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Published
May 27, 2025
Issuing agencies
Health and Human Services DepartmentChildren and Families Administration
Abstract
The Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), Administration for Children and Families (ACF), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is inviting public comments on the proposed information collection, including proposed changes. The request consists of several forms that will allow the Unaccompanied Alien Children Bureau (UAC Bureau) to ensure that serious issues are elevated to ORR and that all incidents and the response to such incidents are documented and resolved in a way that protects the interests of children.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 90 Issue 100 (Tuesday, May 27, 2025)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 100 (Tuesday, May 27, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 22307-22310]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-09375]
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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Administration for Children and Families
[OMB #: 0970-0NEW]
Submission for Office of Management and Budget Review;
Unaccompanied Alien Children Bureau Incident Reporting
AGENCY: Office of Refugee Resettlement, Administration for Children and
Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
ACTION: Request for public comments.
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SUMMARY: The Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), Administration for
Children and Families (ACF), U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services, is inviting public comments on the proposed information
collection, including proposed changes. The request consists of several
forms that will allow the Unaccompanied Alien Children Bureau (UAC
Bureau) to ensure that serious issues are elevated to ORR and that all
incidents and the response to such incidents are documented and
resolved in a way that protects the interests of children.
DATES: Comments due June 26, 2025. The Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) must decide 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 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#f79e99919894989b9b9294839e9899b7969491d99f9f84d9909881"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="4e272028212d2122222b2d3a2721200e2f2d286026263d60292138">[email protected]</span></a>. Identify all emailed requests by the title
of the information collection.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Description: ORR UAC Bureau is in the process of reorganizing its
information collections to create more unique information collections
that will contain fewer forms under each OMB control number. This will
promote operational efficiency for UAC Bureau by decreasing the burden
associated with renewing large collections and enabling UAC Bureau to
create more purpose-specific information collections. In addition, this
will facilitate OMB review by ensuring the scope of the collection is
targeted and narrower than existing collections, resulting in clearer
requests. As part of that reorganization effort, ORR plans to move the
following forms that are currently approved under OMB #0970-0547 into
this new information collection:
<bullet> Child-Level Event (Form A-9A)
<bullet> Emergency Significant Incident Report (eSIR) (Form A-9B)
<bullet> Non-Emergency Significant Incident Report (non-eSIR) (Form A-
9C)
<bullet> Historical Disclosure (Form A-9D)
<bullet> Behavioral Note (Form A-9E)
<bullet> Program-Level Event (PLE) Report (Form A-10)
In addition, ORR plans to revise the forms as follows to better
align the forms with related reporting requirements and processes found
in ORR agency guidance (i.e., regulations, policies, and procedures),
as well as improve the forms' organization, clarity, and functionality:
Child-Level Event (Form A-9A)
<bullet> Adjust the dropdown options for the ``Location of Event''
field to remove duplication and improve accuracy by:
[cir] Removing ``Group Home'' and ``Foster Home'';
[cir] Rewording ``Community (field trip or outside the foster
home)'' to ``Community'';
[cir] Rewording ``U.S. Interior, not DHS or ORR custody'' to ``U.S.
Interior (before entering DHS or ORR custody)'';
<bullet> Adjust the dropdown options for ``Specify Location'' for
accuracy by:
[cir] Rewording options to clarify when they are referring to
locations inside the care provider facility;
[cir] Adding an option for ``Individual Foster Home'';
[cir] Adding the following options to select from if ``Community''
is selected in the ``Location of Event'' field:
[ssquf] Hospital or other healthcare facility;
[ssquf] School;
[ssquf] Field Trip;
[ssquf] Other.
<bullet> Add the following fields:
[cir] Level of Care;
[cir] Specify Out-of-Network Facility;
[cir] Specify Out-of-Network Level of Care.
<bullet> Reword the Date/Time Event Reported to Care Provider
fields as follows since provider staff may have directly witnessed the
event, as opposed to having it reported to them by a third-party:
[cir] Date Care Provider Became Aware of Event;
[cir] Time Care Provider Became Aware of Event.
Emergency Significant Incident Report (Form A-9B)
<bullet> Reword the subcategory ``Molestation (penetration or
touching unrelated to official job duties of a child's buttocks,
breasts, or anal, oral, or genital area by a body part or object'' to
``Molestation (intentional penetration or touching unrelated to
official job duties of a child's genitalia, anus, groin, breast, inner
thigh, buttocks, or mouth by a body part or object, including kissing,
with intent to abuse, arouse, or gratify sexual desire)'' for added
clarity.
<bullet> Remove the option of ``UC and UC consensual'' from the
``Type of Allegation'' dropdown field to align with the related
regulation.
Non-Emergency Significant Incident Report (Form A-9C)
<bullet> Add ``Gang affiliation reported'' to the ``External
Threats to UAC'' category.
<bullet> For the ``Staff Code of Conduct & Boundary Violation''
category:
[cir] Reworded the subcategory ``Failing to report any knowledge,
suspicion, or information about sexual abuse, sexual harassment, or
inappropriate sexual behavior'' to ``Failing to report any knowledge,
suspicion, or information about sexual abuse, sexual harassment,
inappropriate sexual behavior, or any other form of abuse/neglect'' to
clarify that other forms of abuse/neglect are also reportable.
[cir] Added the following subcategories to better align with ORR
agency guidance:
[ssquf] Failing to report a code of conduct violation;
[ssquf] Engaging in sexual contact with anyone while on duty or
while acting in the official capacity of their position;
[ssquf] Threatening a child with incident reporting or behavioral
notes to regulate their behavior or for any other reason;
[ssquf] Threatening a child with legal, immigration, sponsor
unification, or asylum case consequences to regulate their behavior or
for any other reason.
[[Page 22308]]
Historical Disclosure (Form A-9D)
<bullet> Reword the ``Abuse Neglect in DHS Custody'' category to
``Violation of Civil Rights/Liberties in DHS Custody'' and replace the
current subcategories with the following options to better reflect the
types of reportable incidents:
[cir] Conditions of detention;
[cir] Disability accommodation;
[cir] Excessive force or inappropriate use of force;
[cir] Fourth Amendment (confiscation of documents/property);
[cir] Intimidation, threat, or improper coercion;
[cir] Legal access/Due Process rights;
[cir] Undocumented separation from parent/legal guardian;
[cir] Undocumented separation from minor sibling;
[cir] Medical/mental health care;
[cir] Privacy Violation;
[cir] Religious Accommodation;
[cir] Retaliation;
[cir] Restraints or isolation;
[cir] Sexual abuse, sexual harassment, or inappropriate sexual
behavior;
[cir] Previous enrollment in Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
Migrant Protection Protocols program.
<bullet> Add a ``Notifications'' section to document notifications
made to parties other than ORR.
Behavioral Note (Form A-9E)
<bullet> Change the title of the ``Incident Information'' section
to ``Behavior Information'' and added the following fields:
[cir] Type of Behavior, with the following options:
[ssquf] Positive behavior, habit, resilience, personal growth,
skill-building, or another meritorious action/trait;
[ssquf] Behavior that merits monitoring in the event a behavioral
pattern emerges that requires intervention or support.
[cir] Is the behavior part of an established behavioral pattern?
[cir] Is intervention or support required?
<bullet> In the Actions Taken section:
[cir] Reword ``Staff Response and Intervention'' to ``Staff
Response (if applicable)'';
[cir] Reword ``Follow-up and/or Resolution'' to ``Potential
Consequence(s) of Continued Behavior'';
[cir] Reword ``Recommendations'' to ``Staff Intervention or
Support''.
Program-Level Event Report (Form A-10)
<bullet> Reword ``Program/Facility'' to ``Specify Program''.
<bullet> Add a field for ``Level of Care''.
<bullet> Reword ``Synopsis of Event'' to ``Short Synopsis''.
<bullet> Remove the category for ``Other''.
<bullet> Reword the category ``Death (non-UC)'' to ``Death of an
Adult or non-UAC Child''.
<bullet> Reword the category ``Major Disturbance'' to ``Threats to
Safety'' and replace the current subcategories with:
[cir] Trespassing/Intruder;
[cir] Threats to Children or Staff;
[cir] Weapon Found;
[cir] Vehicle Accident;
[cir] Cyber Breech, Attack, or Threat.
<bullet> Reword the category ``Natural Disaster'' to ``Natural
Disaster or Weather Event'' and replace the ``Other'' subcategory with
``Storm''.
<bullet> Add the following categories and subcategories:
[cir] Facilities Issues, with subcategories for:
[ssquf] Environmental
[ssquf] Mechanical Malfunction
[ssquf] Imminent Risk to Safety
[ssquf] Maintenance
[ssquf] Staffing Shortage
[cir] Video Monitoring Disruption;
[cir] Infectious Disease/Health and Safety Incident;
[cir] Power Outage/Disruption of Utilities (External);
[cir] Staff, Contractor, or Stakeholder Criminal Activity:
[ssquf] Fraud
[ssquf] Extortion
[ssquf] Smuggling
[ssquf] Trafficking
[ssquf] Other Criminal Activity
[cir] Incident Involving Unidentified Child, with subcategories
for:
[ssquf] Code of Conduct Violation
[ssquf] Safety or Abuse/Neglect Concern
[cir] Code of Conduct Violation Not Involving a Child, with
subcategories for:
[ssquf] Failing to disclose staff misconduct witnessed on or off
duty
[ssquf] Failing to self-disclose misconduct occurring on or off
duty
[cir] Unauthorized Photography, Video, or Surveillance;
[cir] Media Requests/External Questions;
[cir] IT Disruption/internet Outage;
[cir] Records Issues, with subcategories for:
[ssquf] Damaged Records
[ssquf] Unauthorized Destruction of Records
[ssquf] Lost Records
<bullet> Remove the following fields from the Incident Information
section:
[cir] Location of Incident (and specify);
[cir] Was the UAC or Anyone Else Injured? (If Yes, SIR must be
created) (and specify);
[cir] Internal Investigation?
[cir] Results/Findings of Investigation.
<bullet> Reword the following fields from the Incident Information
section:
[cir] ``Description of Incident'' to ``Describe the event and
explain the effect on the program's operations.''
[cir] ``Was the UAC or Anyone Else Evacuated?'' to ``Were or are
children being evacuated?''
[cir] ``Staff Response and Intervention'' to ``Describe actions
taken to mitigate the impact on children in care''.
<bullet> Reword the field ``Follow-up and/or Resolution'' to
``Updates, Follow-up, and/or Resolution'' and move it into a new
``Addendum'' section.
<bullet> Add the following fields from the Incident Information
section:
[cir] Does the program need immediate guidance or resources?
[cir] Was or is the facility locked down or sheltered in place?
[cir] Has or will the program's ability to provide healthcare
services be affected?
[cir] Does the program have adequate resources to provide care for
children for duration of the event?
[cir] Did or will the event affect the program's bed capacity?
[cir] Specify Effect on Bed Capacity, with options for:
[ssquf] Beds need to come offline;
[ssquf] Unable to receive additional children;
[ssquf] Children need to be transferred to another program.
<bullet> Add new areas to document reporting to and the outcome of
investigations conducted by the following parties:
[cir] Child Protective Services;
[cir] Office of the Inspector General (OIG);
[cir] Department of Homeland Security (DHS);
[cir] Office on Trafficking in Persons.
Revisions Applied to Multiple Forms
<bullet> Change ``UC'' and ``unaccompanied child'' to ``UAC'' and
``unaccompanied alien child'' [all forms].
<bullet> Update the fields in the ``UAC Basic Information'' section
as follows to align with how information is currently displayed [Child-
Level Event, eSIR, non-eSIR, Historical Disclosure, and Behavioral
Note]:
[cir] Remove the following fields:
[ssquf] LOC
[ssquf] Age
[ssquf] Current Location
[cir] Add system-generated ``Portal ID'' field;
[cir] Reword fields as follows:
[ssquf] ``A No.'' to ``A#''
[ssquf] ``Child's Country of Birth'' to ``Country of Birth''
[ssquf] ``LOS'' to ``Length of Stay''
[cir] Reorganized the order in which the fields appear.
<bullet> Change the field label for ``Gender'' to ``Sex'' and auto-
populate the field with either Male or Female [Child-Level Event, eSIR,
non-eSIR, Historical Disclosure, and Behavioral Note].
[[Page 22309]]
<bullet> Add a field for ``Physical Location of the Child'' in the
``UAC Basic Information Section'' [Child-Level Event, eSIR, non-eSIR,
Historical Disclosure, and Behavioral Note].
<bullet> Add the following fields to track the status of each
incident report [eSIR, non-eSIR, Historical Disclosure, Behavioral
Note, and PLE Report]:
[cir] Report Status;
[cir] Date Report Opened;
[cir] Date Report Closed.
<bullet> Add a field for ``Did someone other than this child
initially reported the incident?'' with a corresponding table to list
individuals that includes the following columns [eSIR, non-eSIR,
Historical Disclosure, Behavioral Note, and PLE Report (phrased as
``Who initially reported/observed the behavior?'' for Behavioral Notes,
and ``Who initially reported the incident?'' for PLE Reports)]:
[cir] Name;
[cir] Type;
[cir] A#;
[cir] Title;
[cir] Specify.
<bullet> For the ``How was this child involved?'' and ``Were other
unaccompanied children involved'' fields [eSIR and non-eSIR]:
[cir] Use terms better aligned with child welfare best practices
for incidents involving children by rewording ``Victim'' to
``Impacted'' and ``Perpetrator'' to ``Exhibiting.''
[cir] Allow users to select multiple options since a child may play
multiple roles in an incident. This includes situations where the child
is both exhibiting problematic behaviors and impacted due to past
trauma or victimization.
<bullet> Add a ``Disciplinary Action for Staff'' column in the
table that appears below the ``Were staff present or involved in the
incident?'' field [eSIR and non-eSIR].
<bullet> In the Actions Taken section:
[cir] Add the following fields to better track compliance with
requirements in ORR agency guidance [eSIR, non-eSIR, and Historical
Disclosure]:
[ssquf] Was or will the child be referred to the local legal
service provider for a follow-up legal consultation?
[ssquf] Was or will the child be referred for appointment of a
child advocate?
[cir] Add the following fields to better track what healthcare
services may be required because of the incident [eSIR, non-eSIR,
Historical Disclosure, and Behavioral Note]:
[ssquf] Was the child hospitalized and/or receive serious medical
services? [eSIR only]
[ssquf] Was or will the child be referred for healthcare services?
[ssquf] Specify Type(s) of Healthcare Services (with options for
Medical, Mental Health/Behavioral, and Dental).
[ssquf] Describe the healthcare services that were or will be
provided.
[cir] Replace the ``Follow-up Regarding Individuals Involved''
field, which is duplicative of other fields in the section, with
``Actions Taken for Witnesses'' [eSIR and non-eSIR].
[cir] Remove the ``Recommendations'' field where it appears and add
an ``ORR Recommendations'' field to give ORR staff a place to document
their recommendations within the form [eSIR, non-eSIR, Historical
Disclosure, Behavioral Note, and PLE Report].
<bullet> Add a new ``Immediate Phone Call Notifications'' section
to better track compliance with policy requirements [eSIR and PLE
Report].
<bullet> In the Reporting section:
[cir] Replace the yes/no radio button options for fields that ask
if the incident was investigated with a dropdown field that includes
the following options: ``Yes,'' ``No,'' ``To Be Determined,''
``Unknown'' [eSIR, non-eSIR, Historical Disclosure, and PLE Report].
[cir] Add a ``Disposition of Investigation'' field for reports made
to state licensing, child protective services, and local law
enforcement to better track outcomes when the incident is investigated
by those parties [eSIR, non-eSIR, Historical Disclosure, and PLE
Report].
[cir] Add a new area to document reports to and the outcome of
investigations conducted by the ORR Division of Child Protection
Investigations [eSIR, non-eSIR, Historical Disclosure, and PLE Report].
[cir] Add a new area to document when an Incident Review form
(currently approved under OMB# 0970-0564) must be completed and a place
to upload the completed form [eSIR and non-eSIR].
<bullet> Update the auto-populated information in the ``ORR
Notifications'' table to align with policy and replace the ``Email''
and ``Phone'' columns with columns for ``Method of Notification'' and
``Specify'' (for when ``Other'' is selected) [eSIR and PLE Report].
<bullet> Remove the ``ORR Notifications'' table since notifications
are made by ORR's SIR Triage Team, not the care provider [non-eSIR and
Historical Disclosure].
<bullet> Update the auto-populated information in the ``Other
Notifications'' table to align with policy and add options for
``Messaging app'' and ``Mail'' for the ``Method of Notification'' field
[eSIR and non-eSIR].
Revisions to Burden Estimates
<bullet> Child-Level Event (Form A-9A): Revise the burden estimate
to account for an increase in the number of care provider facilities
and to align with the actual number of forms submitted per year. The
annual number of respondents increased from 216 to 300 and the annual
number of responses per response increased from 160 to 262.
<bullet> Emergency Significant Incident Report (eSIR) (Form A-9B):
Revise the burden estimate to account for an increase in the number of
care provider facilities and to align with the actual number of forms
submitted per year. The annual number of respondents increased from 216
to 300 and the annual number of responses per response decreased from
26 to 10.
<bullet> Non-Emergency Significant Incident Report (non-eSIR) (Form
A-9C): Revise the burden estimate to account for an increase in the
number of care provider facilities and to align with the actual number
of forms submitted per year. The annual number of respondents increased
from 216 to 300 and the annual number of responses per response
decreased from 261 to 62.
<bullet> Historical Disclosure (Form A-9D): Revise the burden
estimate to account for an increase in the number of care provider
facilities and to align with the actual number of forms submitted per
year. The annual number of respondents increased from 216 to 300 and
the annual number of responses per response decreased from 163 to 139.
<bullet> Behavioral Note (Form A-9E): Revise the burden estimate to
account for an increase in the number of care provider facilities and
to align with the actual number of forms submitted per year. The annual
number of respondents increased from 216 to 300 and the annual number
of responses per response decreased from 137 to 90.
<bullet> Program-Level Event (PLE) Report (Form A-10): Revise the
burden estimate to account for an increase in the number of care
provider facilities and to align with the actual number of forms
submitted per year. The annual number of respondents increased from 216
to 300 and the annual number of responses per response decreased from 7
to 6.
Respondents: Care provider programs.
Annual Burden Estimates
[[Page 22310]]
Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours
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Number of Average burden
Form Annual number responses per hours per Annual total
of respondents respondent response burden hours
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Child-Level Event (Form A-9A)................... 300 262.0 0.17 13,362
Emergency Significant Incident Report (Form A- 300 10.0 1.50 4,500
9B)............................................
Non-Emergency Significant Incident Report (Form 300 62.0 1.50 27,900
A-9C)..........................................
Historical Disclosure (Form A-9D)............... 300 139.0 1.50 62,550
Behavioral Note (Form A-9E)..................... 300 90.0 0.50 13,500
Program Level Event (Form A-10D)................ 300 6.0 1.00 1,800
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Estimated Annual Burden Hours Total......... .............. .............. .............. 123,612
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Authority: 6 U.S.C. 279; 8 U.S.C. 1232; 45 CFR part 410; 45 CFR
part 411; 45 CFR part 412.
Mary C. Jones,
ACF/OPRE Certifying Officer.
[FR Doc. 2025-09375 Filed 5-23-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4184-45-P
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