Change Request - ACF 696T Sept 2024 updates

To: Kelsi Feltz

Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA)

Office of Management and Budget (OMB)

From: Ruth Friedman, PhD

Director, Office of Child Care

Administration for Children and Families (ACF)

Date: September 23, 2024

Subject: Change Request – Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) ACF-696T Financial Report for Tribes (OMB #0970-0510)

This memo requests approval of changes to the approved generic information collection (GenIC): Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) ACF-696T Financial Report for Tribes (OMB #0970-0510, Generic Clearance for Financial Reports).

Background

The Child Care ACF-696T financial report form is used by 219 Tribal Lead Agencies (TLA) to report annual expenditures.

In June 2024, the Office of Child Care offered a temporary opportunity for TLAs to retroactively request to use CCDF funds including most COVID-relief funds for construction and/or major renovation with the intent of offsetting increased costs of materials, labor, and other related project costs. TLAs could also commit funds to construction and/or major renovation based on current needs as well as to account for challenges TLAs were facing at the time such funds normally would have been reserved for this purpose.

The ACF-696T Financial Report is approved under OMB Control Number 0970-0510 through June 30, 2027. ACF is seeking approval for changes to the report form completion instructions to provide instructions for reporting on the retroactively requested use of CCDF funds including most COVID-relief funds for construction and/or major renovation. The ACF–696T Financial Report must be submitted electronically in the On-Line Data Collection (OLDC) system and updates are needed to the system to implement these changes. The reporting frequency will remain the same.

Overview of Requested Changes

ACF proposes to add a new section to the ACF-696T Financial Report completion instructions to provide guidance on how TLAs should report the use of these funds. The new section is titled “Report Instructions for Retroactive Requests for Construction” These changes will allow for comprehensive reporting of financial information for users of the ACF-696T form. The estimated average burden per response will remain at 5 hours.

Time Sensitivities

The next financial reporting period for the ACF-696T annual report is September 30, 2024, with a due date of December 30, 2024. It is important that grant recipients understand the reporting requirements for the retroactively requested construction and/or major renovation funds. Approval for the retroactive request for construction and/or major renovation were granted during the current federal fiscal year (FFY) and tribal recipients must have a mechanism to report them on their annual report for September 30, 2024. ACF needs this information to ensure proper monitoring of grant obligations and liquidations made during the FFY. It takes significant staff hours to update financial report forms in ACF’s grant reporting system. Therefore, a prompt approval of these edits is requested to enable timely reporting by CCDF grant recipients.