Child Care Bureau: Laws, Policies, Program Instructions, and Allocations

THE CCDF ANNUAL REPORT

CHILD CARE AND DEVELOPMENT FUND
PROGRAM INSTRUCTION - THE CCDF ANNUAL REPORT

General description: The CCDF Annual Report consists of 2 parts:

1) the Form ACF-700
2) the supplemental narrative

The ACF-700 consists of two pages. Page 1 collects data on all children and families receiving direct CCDF-funded (or Child Care Development Block Grant-funded) child care services during the period 10/1/96 through 9/30/97 (i.e., Federal fiscal year (FFY) 1997). Data on page 1 reflects services provided during FFY 1997 regardless of the source FFY of the funds spent. For example, all services provided during FFY 1997 that are paid for with FFY 1994, FFY 1995 or, FFY 1996 Child Care Development Block Grant funds, or FFY 1997 CCDF funds (including Tribal Mandatory and Discretionary funds for resource and referral and school-age care) are to be reported on page 1.

Page 2 of the ACF-700 collects data, by specific fiscal year, on the amount of FFY 1994, FFY 1995 and FFY 1996 funds expended during the reporting period 10/1/96 through 9/30/97 only. Amounts reported on page 2 are NOT CUMULATIVE TOTALS for each fiscal year or expenditure category, but amounts expended during this reporting period only. Tribal Lead Agencies should not report FFY 1997 expenditures on this form. We anticipate that a new financial form will be developed for FFY 1997 and future fiscal years.

The supplemental narrative describes general child care activities and actions in the Tribal Lead Agency's service area and is not restricted to CCDF-funded activities.

Instructions for completing both parts of the CCDF Annual Report follow on the next page.

Who must report: All Tribal Lead Agencies must submit an Annual Report.

Reporting burden: The public reporting burden for collecting the information in this Annual Report is estimated to average 40 hours per response. This estimate includes the time for reviewing the instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the reporting form.

Comments regarding the burden estimate or any other aspect of this information collection, including suggestions for reducing this burden, should be sent to: the Child Care Bureau, Humphrey Building - Room 320F, 200 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20201; and to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, Washington, D.C. 20503.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR COMPLETING LINES 1 - 8 ON PAGE 1 OF THE ACF-700

Background: Page 1 of the ACF-700 collects aggregate data on families and children
receiving CCDF-funded (or Child Care Development Block Grant-funded) child care services.

Enter the Tribal Lead Agency's name at the top of each page of the report form. Also, enter the Tribal Lead Agency's address and the name and phone number of a contact person.

How to count children & families (lines 1, 2 & 5): Count each child or family assisted once, even if the child or family has exited and re-entered the program. However, a child may be counted in
more than one column if the child receives care from more than one provider type for different portions of the typical day, week, or month.

EXAMPLE 1: A family leaves the program in 3/97 but is reinstated in 8/97. The family is counted 1 time on line 1.

EXAMPLE 2: A child receives care in a licensed center in the morning and in a regulated family day care home in the afternoon. The child is counted in both column (l) and column (j) in lines 2, 3, 5 - 7 on page 1.

When the service was provided determines if the service is counted: On page 1, report the number of children or families provided services during the reporting period 10/1/96 - 9/30/97 regardless of when the payment for the service was made

EXAMPLE: A child received care in 8/97 only. The Tribal Lead Agency paid for that care in 10/97. Count the child on page 1 because the service was received during the report period. NOTE: Although the child is counted on page 1, the expenditure for the care is not counted on page 2 because payment is made after the report period (See: "When the expenditure is made..." on page 9).

What services to count: Child care services are child care slots purchased through certificates,
contracts or grants funded under CCDF (or Child Care Development Block Grant) funds. For Child Care Development Block Grant funds, this would include services funded under either the 75% or 25% portion (63.75% or 36.25% for exempt tribes).

EXAMPLE 1: A Tribal Lead Agency contracts with a center for 100 full-time slots for 1997. Count 100 children in the total reported on line 2.

Do not count children or families who only generally benefited from services from:

· a grant or contract to establish, expand, or conduct before- and after-school care and early childhood development programs, (i.e., not specific slots); or

· an expansion of quality activities funded under the CCDF (or Child Care Development Block Grant).

EXAMPLE 2: A Tribal Lead Agency contracts with a resource and
agency to give professional staff development training at a center with 78 children. The Tribal Lead Agency does not contract for slots with the center and no children there receive CCDF (or Child Care Development Block Grant) certificates. Do not count the children because they did not receive direct child care services from the funds expended.

How to report program exits or changes during the report period: When a child or family leaves the program before the end of the report period, report the child or family data as of the date of exit from the program.

EXAMPLE: A family leaves the program in 4/97. Their 3 year old child was in a licensed center in that month. Count the family in line 1, and the child in lines 2a, 2l and 3b (columns (a) and (l)), etc.

When a child or family changes the category of provider or reason for needing care during the report period, report the category or reason as of the end of the report period (or date of exit from the program).

EXAMPLE 1: A child receives care in a family day care home from 9/96 to 3/97; uses an in-home provider during 4/97 and a center from 5/97 through 10/97. Count (or include) the child only in column (l) of lines 3, 5, 6 and 7.

EXAMPLE 2: A child received care in 10/96 because of her parents employment. In 11/96 through 9/97 child care was provided because the child was in protective services. Count the child in line 4d only.

When data are "not applicable" on page 1: For non-exempt Tribal Lead Agencies, the data requested on page 1 of the ACF-700 may not apply in three very limited circumstances --
when the Tribal Lead Agency does not:

· have a separate "group home" category
· serve children over the age of 12
· serve children from families above a certain income level

When 1 of these situations apply use "NA." Do not use "0", "--" or leave blanks in these situations.

EXAMPLE: A Tribe limits eligibility to families up to the poverty level. Lines 8b, 8c, and 8d on page 1 each show "NA".

Exempt Tribal Lead Agencies, in contrast, need not offer all the services described on page 1. Exempt Tribal Lead Agencies should show "NA" as applicable in lines 3, 4, 5 and 8, when their programs do not offer the services described by those lines. If the service is offered -- but not used -- show "0".

How to show that data is "not available" on page 1: When the data requested apply to a Tribal Lead Agency's program, but are not available when the report is completed use a dash "-". Do not use
"NA," "0," "not available," or leave blank.

When complete data are not available the Tribal Lead Agency should explain in a footnote or attachment when the missing data will be submitted.

EXAMPLE: At the time the report must be submitted data are not available for every age group on line 3. The Tribal Lead Agency has data showing the number of children served who are over or under age 12. The Tribal Lead Agency completes lines 3a through 3d with "-", lines 3e and 3f show the data that are available. The Tribal Lead Agency submits the data for lines 3a through 3d when they become available.

How to show "no children served" on page 1: When no children were served in an age group or category of care enter "0" -- do not use "NA", "-" or leave blanks.

EXAMPLE: No parents selected in-home care during this report period. The Tribal Lead Agency shows "0" in columns (b), (c) and (i) on page 1.

Reminder: Where a Tribal Lead Agency does not serve certain children as explained above show "NA".

When a family receives services for multiple reasons (line 4): When a family receives care for more than 1 reason (e.g., the parent works and is in a training program) count only the reason most closely associated with the decision to provide child care. Line 4 entries should be unduplicated counts.

Definition: "No License Category Available": The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 eliminated the registration requirement for providers. As a result, the "Block Grant Registered Provider" category has been changed on the form to "CCDF Provider, No License Category Available."

"CCDF Provider, No License Category Available" means legally operating care provided in a child's home, family child care home, group home, or center-based site for which licensing is not a requirement.

How to calculate the average number of hours per week: Line 6 asks for the average number of hours of care per child per week.

Examples of some of the methods used (there may be others) include:
· averaging the actual number of hours of care used by each child in each of 52 weeks;
· averaging the actual hours used in representative weeks (for example, 1 week in each month);
· "weighting" an average of actual hours used in representative weeks
(for example averaging 1 week during the summer months when school is not in session
with 3 weeks during the school year).

NOTE: Do not use the annualized average number of hours of child care service per week.

Tribal Lead Agencies should describe in a footnote how they calculated the average number of hours.

Some Tribal Lead Agencies do not pay for (or keep records by) the actual number of hours of service per child. Rather, they reimburse by "full" or "part" days of service (or other increments). Such Tribal Lead Agencies can still calculate the average number of hours of child care per child per week by multiplying the average number of "full" and "part" days by the maximum number of hours of service that these definitions represent. For example, a Tribal Lead Agency that defines "part" day as 4 hours per day or fewer to be a "part" day Tribal Lead Agency would multiply the number of "part" days provided per week by four. "Full days" can be similarly converted.

Calculating the average hourly rate: Tribal Lead Agencies should use the same method for calculating the average hourly amount paid for child care services as used to calculate the
average number of hours of care -- actual, representative, or weighted average -- as described above.

Some Tribal Lead Agencies do not pay for (or keep records by) the actual number of hours of services per child. Rather, they reimburse by "full" or "part" days of care (or other increments). Such Tribal Lead Agencies can still calculate the average hourly amount paid for child care per child. Divide the average amount paid per child to a type of provider by the maximum number of hours that make up a "full" or "part" day of service to calculate the average hourly amount paid.

Poverty thresholds: Line 8 asks for the number of children served from families at specific
poverty thresholds. The following table shows the HHS poverty guidelines for 1997 [ As published in the Federal Register on March 10, 1997 (Vol. 62, No. 46, pp. 10856-10859).] which should be used to complete line 8.

1997 HHS Poverty Guidelines for a family unit of...	All States (except AK & HI) and the District of Columbia	Alaska	Hawaii
1	$7,890	$9,870	$9,070
2	$10,610	$13,270	$12,200
3	$13,330	$16,670	$15,330
For each additional member add...	$2,720	$3,400	$3,130

DEFINITIONS FOR FORM ACF-700

Child care services:

Child care services means child care purchased through certificates, contracts or grants funded by Child Care Development Block Grant or CCDF funds.

Types of providers	Provider types are broken up into 2 broad categories of "Licensed/Regulated" and "CCDF Provider, No License Category Available." Under each of these categories are 4 types of providers: in-home; family home; group home; and centers (see columns (b) through (l)).
Licensed or regulated provider	Provider legally regulated or licensed by Tribe or State designated licensing agent.
CCDF provider, no license category available	Legally operating care provided in a child's home, family child care home, group home, or center-based site for which licensing is not a requirement.
Child's Home	Care provided by a caregiver in the child's home.
Family Home	Care provided in a family child care home.
Group Home	Care provided in a group child care home (as differentiated from a family child care home by the grantee).
Center	Care provided in a center-based setting, including programs in schools.
Relative	A provider who is at least 18 years of age and who is a grandparent, great-grandparent, aunt or uncle, or sibling living outside the child's home.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR COMPLETING PAGE 2 OF THE ACF-700

Background: Page 2 collects data on the uses for which Tribal Lead Agencies expended
Child Care Development Block Grant funds and the amounts expended.

NOTE: FY 1997 Discretionary and Tribal Mandatory Funds are not included in the expenditure amounts on page 2.

The "FY 199X Child Care Development Block Grant GRANT ($ " lines): Complete the FY 199X Child Care Development Block Grant GRANT: lines, which appear next to the "CONTACT PERSON:" field at the top of page 2, by entering the
entire amount of the Child Care Development Block Grant grant (i.e., allocation) for the respective FFY. Do not show the total expended year-to-date, the remaining balance, a starting balance or other amount: show only the total grant amount for each FFY indicated.

When the expenditure is made determines if the expenditure is counted: Show only expenditures made during the report period 10/1/96 through 9/30/97 regardless of when the service was provided.

EXAMPLE 1: Service is rendered in 9/96, but paid for in 2/97. Include the expenditure on page 2 because the expenditure falls within the reporting period. CAUTION: The child would not be counted on page 1, however, because the service was provided before the report period (see "When the service was provided...." on page 2 on this instruction).

NOTE: Tribal requirements may impact when an expenditure is officially "made."

Report expenditures made only during the report period: Respectively, columns (a), (b) and (c) report:
· final FFY 1994 expenditures
· 2nd year FFY 1995 expenditures
· 1st time FFY 1996 expenditures

Made during the report period 10/1/96 through 9/30/97. Columns (a), (b) and (c) should not reflect cumulative (i.e., multi-year) expenditures -- only expenditures from the individual FFY grants' shown -- which were made during the report period 10/1/96 through 9/30/97. Do not report FFY 1997 expenditures on page 2 of this form.

EXAMPLE 1: In 6/97 the Tribal Lead Agency paid $10,000 as the last part of a 3 year $30,000 training contract with FFY 1994 funds. Only $10,000, the amount expended during the reporting period, is shown on line 4d, column (a). (Note: The other $20,000 of FFY 1994 funds should have been reported previously on the ACF-700s submitted for FFY 1994 and FFY 1995.)

EXAMPLE 2: With FFY 1996 funds a Tribal Lead Agency prepays $100,000 rent for FFY 1998 on 9/30/97. The $100,000 would be included in line 2a, column (c). (Reminder: Even though the service has not yet been furnished the expenditure occurred during the report period -- see above.)

Complete all items: Complete all rows and columns. If no funds were expended in a category
listed in lines 1 through 4 enter "$0". Do not use "NA", "-" or leave blanks on page 2.

EXAMPLE 1: A Tribal Lead Agency spent no funds on monitoring activities. Rows 2f and 4c on page 2 show "$0".

Round all expenditures to the nearest dollar -- omit cents.

The SF-269 & page 2 of the ACF-700: Amounts reported on page 2 of the ACF-700 should correspond to the amounts reported on the SF-269s submitted to ACF's Office of Program
Support for the same period. However, program income (i.e., parent fees) are not to be included on the ACF-700.

Cross-checking entries on page 2: The sum of items in columns (a) - (c) on page 2 should be equal to or less than the amount shown for the same year in the FFY 199X Child Care Development Block Grant GRANT
$ line at the top of page 2. The sum of items in columns (a) - (c) on page 2 cannot exceed the amount of that year's grant.

For a non-exempt Tribal Lead Agency that has expended its entire Child Care Development Block Grant allotment in a single fiscal year:

· the sum of items 1a and 1b will equal at least 63.75% of that year's grant (shown in the FFY 199X Child Care Development Block Grant GRANT $ line at the top of the page) but will be not more than 75% of that year's total grant.

· the sum of items 2a through 2i must be no more than 11.25% of that year's total grant.

· the sum of items 3a through 3d must be equal to at least 18.75% -- but no more than 20% -- of that year's total grant.

· line 4f must be equal to at least 5% -- but no more than 6.25% -- of that year's total grant.

· the sum of items 1c and 2j must total 75% of that year's total grant.

· the sum of items 3e and 4f must total 25% of that year's total grant.

These percentages do not apply to exempt Tribal Lead Agencies.

A note about exempt Tribes: An exempt Tribal Lead Agency must expend at least 63.75% of its yearly grant (excluding the base amount allocation per 45 CFR 98.62(b)) on direct child care services. Exempt tribes should show the remaining expenditures (including expenditures from the base amount) in the line that most accurately describes the expenditure. Reminder: Where no expenditures are made show "$0" -- do not use "NA".

INSTRUCTIONS FOR COMPLETING PAGE 3 - THE SUPPLEMENTAL NARRATIVE REPORT

Supplemental narrative report: The Statute and the regulations require Tribal Lead Agencies to report other information, in addition to the data collected by Form ACF-700. This information will be included in the Secretary's report to Congress, as appropriate, and will be shared with all Tribal Lead Agencies to inform them of CCDF or Child Care Development Block Grant-funded activities in other Tribes.

Content of narrative report: There are 2 parts to the supplemental narrative:
· required descriptions of the results of specific CCDF or Child Care Development Block Grant-funded activities, and
· other information based on "available data".

Required descriptions: In the supplemental narrative all Tribal Lead Agencies are required to
describe:
· any action which reduces the level of child care standards and the rationale for that action (if applicable)
· the extent to which the affordability and availability of child care services has increased, and
· their efforts to improve the quality of child care

"Available data": To the extent that the Tribal Lead Agency has reasonably "available data",
the following should also be included with the required supplemental narrative information:
· The type and number of child care programs, child care providers, caregivers, and support personnel located in the area served by the Tribal Lead Agency.
· Information on salaries and other compensation paid to full- and part-time staff who provide child care services.
· A description of activities which encourage public-private partnerships to promote business involvement in meeting child care needs.

NOTE: Information in this section is not limited to CCDF-assisted programs, services or activities, but all child care in the Tribal Lead Agencies service area.

Format for the supplemental narrative report: The format for the supplemental narrative report is of the Tribal Lead Agency's choosing. Tribal Lead Agencies are encouraged to include any
related materials which amplify the narrative, for example, brochures, pamphlets or press releases about public-private partnerships.