THE SUPPORTING STATEMENT
OCSE-157 (OMB No. 0970-0177)
A. Justification
Circumstances Making the Collection of Information Necessary
The Federal Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE) oversees administration of the Child Support Enforcement program in the 54 States and jurisdictions that participate in it. The Federal government sets program standards and policy, evaluates States performance in conducting their program, and offers technical assistance and training to the States. It also conducts audits of State program activities.
The Federal government receives data from the States. They then compile and evaluate these data for presentation in the Annual Data Report. The authority to collect and report information requested on this form is found in sections 452 (a) (4), 452 (a) (5), 452 (a) (10), and 469 of the Social Security Act (the Act) [42 u.s.c 652 and 669] (see Attachment A)
State agencies administering or supervising the administration of State plans under title IV-D of the Social Security Act are required by law to maintain a full record of child support collections and expenditures and have an adequate reporting system to provide information as requested by the Department. Under legislation at section 452 (a) (10) of the Act, OCSE is required to maintain records of activities performed and reported by State Child support Enforcement agencies for use in an annual report to Congress.
Attachment B contains the collection instruments and instruction for completing it.
Purpose and Use of the Information Collection
The data collected by form OCSE-157 are used to prepare the annual report. In addition, these data are used to determine performance indicators for establishing the effectiveness and efficiency of State child support programs.
The data collected on this form will be used to:
a. respond to Congressional and public inquiries and report on the status of the child support program in the Annual Report to Congress;
b. calculate budget estimates and impact statements of proposed legislation;
c. evaluate areas where technical assistance may be required by a State;
d. provide Federal auditors with an indication of where their efforts should be concentrated during compliance audits;
e. compute performance indicators used as part of the assessment of State program performance for audit penalty purposes; and
f. compute individual State incentive payments.
Use of Improved Information Technology and Burden Reduction
The Administration for Child and Families developed the Online Data Collection (OLDC) System to allow States to submit their OCSE-157 reports electronically through the HHS website. States are encouraged to use this online system since it is the quickest way of submitting information to OCSE.
Efforts to Identify Duplication and Use of Similar Information
This form will be the only method used by States to report child support information needed to compute States incentives and penalty performance levels and other required program data. No data are reported elsewhere and there is no other form in use by OCSE/ACF that collects similar State information.
Impact on Small Businesses or Other Small Entities
This reporting requirement is imposed on State government agencies. There are no small business contacted to complete this form.
Consequences of Collecting the Information Less Frequently
The data collected in OCSE-157 are used annually by OCSE to evaluate State programs, to identify areas where program improvement may be required, and to set in motion tailored strategies for achieving such improvement. Failure to collect this data would preclude the Department from monitoring and evaluating the success of the program and would prevent the Department from complying with annual reporting for penalty purposes. It would also preclude the computation of performance indicators and incentive payments.
Special Circumstances Relating to the Guidelines of 5 CFR 1320.5
This collection is conducted in a manner consistent with guidelines in 5 CFR 1320.5. There are no special circumstances.
Comments in Response to the Federal Register Notice and Efforts to Consult Outside the Agency
The required 60-day notice was published in the Federal Register on December 13, 2017, Volume 82, Number 238, on page 58615, soliciting comments on the information collection. In addition, a notice was sent out about the opportunity to comment to the child support enforcement community via a Dear Colleague Letter (DCL-17-12).
OCSE received numerous, substantive written comments from 15 states. The comments and suggestions were carefully analyzed by a group of federal staff who met weekly for approximately five months. OCSE updated the revised instructions based on this thorough review. Attachment 2 - provides a list of the comments/recommendations as well as OCSE’s response to the comments. A number of comments supported the clarifications made to the instructions.
Explanation of Any Payment or Gift to Respondents
No payments or other remuneration to respondents is made for the collection of this information.
Assurance of Confidentiality Provided to Respondents
The data reported are considered public information.
Justification for Sensitive Questions
Data are reported only on an aggregate basis. There is no personal information or data of a sensitive nature being collected on this form.
Estimates of Annualized Burden Hours and Costs
Based on experience from other data collection efforts, the burden on all State agenicies is estimated at 378 hours per year, calculated as follows:
Form |
# of Respondents |
# of Responses per respondent |
Hrs. Per Response |
Response Burden |
OCSE-157 |
54 |
1 |
7 |
378 |
|
|
|
|
|
The burden cost is estimated to be $40.00 per hour for a total of $280.00 per respondent ($40.00 X 7). Total Burden cost for all respondents is $15,120.00 ($378 X 40), as indicated below:
Form |
# of Respondents |
# of Responses per respondent |
Hrs. Per Response |
Response Burden |
Hourly Rate |
Total Burden Cost |
OCSE-157 |
54 |
1 |
7 |
378 |
$40.00 |
$15,120.00 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Estimates of Other Total Annual Cost Burden to Respondents and Record Keepers
There are no other total annual cost burdens to respondents and record keepers.
Annualized Cost to the Federal Government
Approximate annualized cost to the government includes 1,040 federal staff hours for analysis and publication of results at the hourly rate of approximately $40.00 per hour. Total estimated cost is $41,600.00 (1,040 X $40.00).
Explanation for Program Changes or Adjustments
The purpose for revising the instructions was to enhance clarity and minimize the possibility for inaccurate reporting.
Plans for Tabulation and Publication and Project Time Schedule
Information on this form will be published in aggregate on a State-by-State basis in combination with other financial and statistical data. The data is published at the end of each fiscal year in an annual report and is included in various agency publications that highlight child support data.
Reason(s) Display of OMB Expiration Date is Inappropriate
The expiration date will be displayed.
Exceptions to Certification for Paperwork Reduction Act Submissions
There are no exceptions to the certification statement.
| File Type | application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document |
| Author | ACF |
| File Modified | 0000-00-00 |
| File Created | 2021-01-20 |