Notice2026-03282
Submission for Office of Management and Budget Review; Placement and Transfer of Unaccompanied (Alien) Children Into Office of Refugee Resettlement Care Provider Facilities
Primary source
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Published
February 19, 2026
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 a request to extend approval of forms approved for the Placement and Transfer of Unaccompanied [Alien] Children into ORR Care Provider Facilities. Recently, ORR received emergency approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for form revisions that ensure that ORR can continue to properly enact its mandates and comply with all applicable authorities related to the placement of unaccompanied alien children into a restrictive placement. That approval updated the current expiration date for all forms under this OMB number to March 31, 2026. This notice includes an extension of approval for all forms under this OMB number, including the forms that were recently approved through emergency approval for 180 days.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 33 (Thursday, February 19, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 33 (Thursday, February 19, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7992-7994]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-03282]
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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Administration for Children and Families
[Office of Management and Budget #: 0970-0554]
Submission for Office of Management and Budget Review; Placement
and Transfer of Unaccompanied (Alien) Children Into Office of Refugee
Resettlement Care Provider Facilities
AGENCY: Office of Refugee Resettlement; Administration for Children and
Families; 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 a request to extend approval
of forms approved for the Placement and Transfer of Unaccompanied
[Alien] Children into ORR Care Provider Facilities. Recently, ORR
received emergency approval from the Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) for form revisions that ensure that ORR can continue to properly
enact its mandates and comply with all applicable authorities related
to the placement of unaccompanied alien children into a restrictive
placement. That approval updated the current expiration date for all
forms under this OMB number to March 31, 2026. This notice includes an
extension of approval for all forms under this OMB number, including
the forms that were recently approved through emergency approval for
180 days.
DATES: Comments due March 23, 2026.
ADDRESSES: The public may view and comment on this information
collection request at: <a href="https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAViewICR?ref_nbr=202602-0970-007">https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAViewICR?ref_nbr=202602-0970-007</a>. You can also obtain copies of the
proposed collection of information by emailing
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#3f565159505c5053535a5c4b5650517f5e5c591157574c11585049"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="650c0b030a060a09090006110c0a0b250406034b0d0d164b020a13">[email protected]</span></a>. Identify all emailed requests by the title
of the information collection.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Description: ORR is seeking to continue data collection with all
forms approved under OMB #: 0970-0554, including those for which OMB
recently approved through an emergency approval. This current request
is for a one-year extension during which time further revisions will be
completed and submitted to OMB. Two public comment periods will take
place during that future revision process.
[[Page 7993]]
ORR received emergency approval for the below-listed changes to the
Notice of Placement in a Restrictive Setting (Form P-4) and
Unaccompanied [Alien] Child Referral (aka Intakes Placement Checklist)
(Form P-7). The changes are related to current administration
priorities, to align the placement criteria in forms with the criteria
found in 45 CFR 410.1105 and UAC Policy Guide sections 1.2.4 and 1.4.6
and to meet requirements in the Lucas R. Disabilities Settlement
Agreement (Case No. 2:18-CV-05741 DMG PLA), and Flores litigation (Case
No. CV85-4544-RJK (C.D. Cal. 1996)). Some of these are nonsubstantive
in nature, but were submitted with the items that warranted emergency
approval to ensure all updates were available for use as soon as
possible. Additional changes were made in response to public comments.
Global Terminology Updates
Update terminology to align with ORR regulations and to comply with
Executive Order 14168 Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism
and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government, as well as
other guidance from the current Administration.
Notice of Placement in a Restrictive Setting (Form P-4)
<bullet> Reorganize where some information/fields appear in the
form for clarity.
<bullet> Add a ``Disability Considerations'' subsection in
``Section B: Placement Information'' to meet requirements found in the
Lucas R. Disabilities Settlement Agreement.
<bullet> Remove ``Section B: ORR's Determination Related to
Safety'' to align the form with ORR's regulation and policy guide.
<bullet> Update ``Section C: Reasons for Restrictive Placement'' to
align the placement criteria in the form with ORR's regulation and
policy guide and to comply with Flores litigation requirements.
<bullet> Add ``Translation'' subsection to ``Section E:
Acknowledgement and Certification'' to help ORR monitor form compliance
with translation requirements in its regulation.
In response to public comments:
<bullet> Reword the introductory language on the first page to
better align with the Unaccompanied Children Program Foundational Rule.
<bullet> Add a reminder that all parties must each provide a
detailed summary in Section D.
<bullet> Add instructions in Section D that all parties must list
all the evidence they relied on to make their recommendation.
Unaccompanied [Alien] Child Referral (aka Intakes Placement Checklist)
(Form P-7)
ORR has two versions of Form P-7 approved under this information
collection. The first version, titled Unaccompanied [Alien] Child
Referral, was created for the UAC Path system, which was never
implemented. The second version, titled Intakes Placement Checklist, is
a PDF version that is currently in use. ORR is only proposing revisions
to the PDF version of this form.
<bullet> Change form title from ``Intakes Placement Checklist'' to
``Intakes Restrictive Placement Checklist'' to better align the form's
title with its purpose.
<bullet> Reorganize ``Section B: Heightened Supervision Facility
Criteria'' and ``Section C: Secure Facility Criteria'' for clarity.
<bullet> Update criteria and supporting factors in Sections B and C
to align with ORR's regulation and policy guide.
<bullet> Add follow-up questions in Sections B and C to document
what information was relied on the make the placement determination and
clarify whether each placement criterion was met.
<bullet> Reword field labels and add a field to document the reason
for the recommended level of care in ``Section D: Placement
Determination''
In response to public comments:
<bullet> Add fields that allow the user to note what information
was in the referral regarding the child having a suspected disability
(when applicable)
<bullet> Add language clarifying that the evidence used when
evaluating a child for placement in a restrictive setting must be saved
in the child's case file.
<bullet> Add language reiterating the requirement to place children
in the least restrictive setting that is in their best interest.
<bullet> Add reminders regarding how significant incident reports
may and may not be used as a basis for placement in a restrictive
setting.
<bullet> Remove checkbox options for petty theft and status
offenses from Section B, Criterion 3.
<bullet> Reword the introductory text in Section C: Secure Facility
Criteria to better align with the Unaccompanied Children Program
Foundational Rule.
<bullet> Reword the supporting factors for Criterion 2 under
Section C: Secure Facility Criteria to better align with the
Unaccompanied Children Program Foundational Rule.
<bullet> Correct an error in which language for heightened
supervision facilities was accidentally pasted into the Placement
Eligibility section under Section C: Secure Facility Criteria.
<bullet> Update the signature block for the Placements Supervisor
in Section D: Placement Determination to make clear the Placements
Leads may also make final level of care determinations.
Respondents: ORR grantee and contractor staff; unaccompanied alien
children; and other federal agencies.
Annual Burden Estimates
These burden estimates include burden related to the revisions
described above and currently approved forms for which we are not
proposing any changes. ORR updated the burden hours for all forms to
reflect a decrease in the number of children referred to ORR and a
decrease in the number of care provider facilities. ORR also updated
the estimated costs for all forms to reflect more recent wage data from
the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Finally, ORR updated the average burden
hours per response for the Notice of Placement in a Restrictive Setting
(Form P-4) from 0.33 hours to 0.5 hours.
Form P-18 was transferred under Legal and Advocacy Services for
Unaccompanied Alien Children (OMB# 0970-0565) when the collection was
last approved on May 25, 2025, so the associate burden has been removed
from this collection.
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Annual number Average burden
Information collection title Annual number of responses hours per Annual total
of respondents per respondent response burden hours
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Placement Authorization (Form P-1).............. 220 446 0.08 7,850
Authorization for Medical, Dental, and Mental 220 446 0.08 7,850
Health Care (Form P-2).........................
Notice of Placement in a Restrictive Setting 6 83 0.50 249
(Form P-4).....................................
Long Term Foster Care Placement Memo (Form P-5). 115 7 0.25 201
[[Page 7994]]
Unaccompanied [Alien] Child Referral (aka 40 2,394 1.00 95,760
Intakes Restrictive Placement Checklist) (Form
P-7)...........................................
Care Provider Checklist for Transfers to Influx 220 2 0.25 110
Care Facilities (Form P-8).....................
Medical Checklist for Non-Influx Transfers (Form 220 8 0.08 141
P-9A)..........................................
Medical Checklist for Transfers to Influx Care 220 5 0.17 187
Facilities (Form P-9B).........................
Transfer Request (Form P-10A)--Grantee Case 220 11 0.25 605
Manager........................................
Transfer Request (Form P-10A)--Contractor Case 275 11 0.17 514
Coordinator....................................
Placement Confirmation (Form P-10B)--Grantee 220 11 0.17 411
Case Manager...................................
Placement Confirmation (Form P-10B)--Contractor 275 11 0.17 514
Case Coordinator...............................
Transfer Summary and Tracking (Form P-11)....... 220 11 0.17 411
Bed Configuration Module (Form P-12A)........... 220 12 0.17 449
Bed Assignment and Capacity Overview Module 220 435 0.17 16,269
(Form P-12B)...................................
Program Entity (Form P-12C)..................... 220 12 0.50 1,320
Unaccompanied [Alien] Child Profile (Form P-13). 220 435 0.75 71,775
ORR Transfer Notification--ORR Notification to 220 11 0.17 411
ICE Chief Counsel of Transfer of UC and Request
to Change Address/Venue (Form P-14)............
Family Group Entity (Form P-15)................. 40 75 0.08 240
Influx Transfer Manifest (Form P-16)............ 3 12 0.33 12
Influx Transfer Manual and Prescreen Criteria 220 52,232 0.50 5,745,520
Review (Form P-17).............................
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Estimated Annual Burden Hours Total......... .............. .............. .............. 5,950,799
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Authority: 6 U.S.C. 279; 8 U.S.C. 1232; 45 CFR part 410; Flores v.
Reno Settlement Agreement (No. CV85-4544-RJK (C.D. Cal. 1996)); Lucas
R. et al. v. Becerra et al. Disabilities Settlement Agreement (Case No.
CV 18-5741-DMG (PLAx)).
Mary C. Jones,
ACF/OPRE Certifying Officer.
[FR Doc. 2026-03282 Filed 2-18-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4184-45-P
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