Revision to Previously Issued Guidance Regarding Financial Reporting Requirement for All LIHEAP Grantees - SF 269A
THIS CONTAINS INFORMATION ISSUED BY THE U.S. ADMINISTRATION FOR
CHILDREN AND FAMILIES IN LIHEAP ACTION TRANSMITTAL NO. LIHEAP-
AT-2008-1, DATED 11/30/07
TO: LOW INCOME HOME ENERGY ASSISTANCE PROGRAM (LIHEAP)
GRANTEES AND OTHER INTERESTED PARTIES
SUBJECT: Revision to Previously Issued Guidance Regarding
Financial Reporting Requirement for All LIHEAP
Grantees - SF 269A
RELATED
REFERENCES: Low Income Home Energy Assistance Act, Title XXVI
of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1981,
Public Law 97-35, as amended; Final Rule amending
the HHS block grant regulations (45 CFR 96.30(b)),
as published in the Federal Register on October
15, 1999 (64 FR 55843-55858); LIHEAP AT-2000-2,
dated November 18, 1999, transmitting a copy of
the Final Rule; LIHEAP AT-2001-1, dated October
18, 2000.
PURPOSE: To give grantees revised guidance in meeting
the requirement that they file a Standard Form
269A report on the obligation of LIHEAP grant
funds. This report is due on December 31, 2007.
In addition, grantees have the option to file the
269A electronically through the ACF Online Data
Collection (OLDC) system.
BACKGROUND: On October 15, 1999, a Final Rule amending the
regulations governing U.S. Department of Health
and Human Services block grants (including LIHEAP)
was published in the Federal Register (64 FR 55843-
55858). The Rule took effect on November 15,
1999, and among other things, included a new
requirement that recipients of HHS block grants
must report on the obligation and/or expenditure
of block grant funds.
The provision required that LIHEAP grantees must
submit, within 90 days of the end of the fiscal
year, a report on the dollar amount of the funds
obligated by the grantee during the fiscal year
and the date of the last obligation of funds for
the fiscal year. The form to be used is the OMB
Standard Form 269A, Financial Status Report (short
form). This requirement is found in the
regulations at 45 CFR 96.30(b).
We issued an Action Transmittal on October 18,
2000 (LIHEAP-AT-2001-1) to provide LIHEAP grantees
with guidance on the 269A reporting requirements
for LIHEAP block grant funds and emergency
contingency funds.
CONTENT: Section 96.30(b) of the regulations applying to
the HHS block grant programs requires that all
LIHEAP grantees, including tribal and territorial
grantees, must submit a report on Standard Form
(SF) 269A on the amount of LIHEAP funds obligated
during each fiscal year.
The next report is due on December 31, 2007 for
LIHEAP obligations taking place in FY 2007 (October
1, 2006 - September 30, 2007).
Our previous guidance asked grantees to disregard
the general SF 269A instructions, and limited the
amount of LIHEAP financial information that was
required on the SF 269A form; however, the minimal
information did not meet the needs for monitoring
and oversight by the ACF Office of Grants
Management. Therefore, we are requesting that
LIHEAP grantees provide additional financial
information on the SF 269A.
We do not believe that this additional information
will cause an undue burden on LIHEAP grantees,
since what we are now requesting will show the
calculations used by grantees to determine the
amount of funds previously reported on the form.
In addition, separate SF 269A reports must also be
filed for leveraging incentive funds and
Residential Energy Assistance Challenge Program
(REACH) funds that LIHEAP grantees were awarded in
FY 2007. More information on the timing of the
269A reports for leveraging and REACH is provided
in this Action Transmittal.
Changes to 269A Reporting Requirements
Attachment 1 provides guidance on how the SF 269A
should be completed when reporting on LIHEAP funds,
with specific instructions in supplying information
for each identified item number. Attachment 2
provides an example of a completed SF 269A.
Because not everything asked for on the 269A form
is required for LIHEAP, we recommend that grantees
follow our guidance, in lieu of the "general
instructions" provided on the back of the SF 269A
form. The example shows what item numbers are
required for LIHEAP. However; grantees may wish to
use the general instructions provided on the back
of the SF 269A to remain consistent with reporting
requirements for other Federal programs.
Either the general SF 269A instructions or the
LIHEAP guidance in Attachment 1 may be used when
completing the form. If you plan to use the
general instructions, you must also provide, under
Item #12, the date of the last LIHEAP obligation
for the reporting period.
The additional information we are requesting to be
completed on the SF 269A form is minimal. We are
asking that the amounts used to calculate the
amount previously reported also be added to the
form, which essentially requires grantees to
include amounts for items 10c, 10f and 10g.
Please see revised guidance in Attachment 1 for
further details.
Attachment 3 provides the SF 269A form, which is
also available electronically from the GSA Forms
Library at:
http://www.gsa.gov/Portal/gsa/ep/formslibrary.do?fo
rmType=SF
Specific Instructions for LIHEAP Block Grants and
Contingency Funds
In FY 2007, LIHEAP grantees received grant awards
for regular block grant funds, contingency funds,
and reallotment funds. For the report due December
31, 2007, grantees must report obligations of
LIHEAP funds for Federal fiscal year 2007, October
1, 2006 to September 30, 2007. Grantees may have
also carried over FY 2006 funds to obligate in FY
2007. Grantees must report on the obligations of
all these different types of LIHEAP funds (regular
block, reallotment, contingency and carryover) and
must use separate SF 269A forms for each type.
These different funding types will be distinguished
by the accounting information on the Notice of Grant
Awards, under the Common Accounting Number or "CAN"
and the "Grant Document Number."
CAN Numbers
• FY 2007 Regular Block Grant Funds: 2007 G992201
• FY 2007 Contingency Funds: 2007 G992212
• FY 2006 Regular Block Grant Funds
carried over into FY 2007, and
FY 2006 Reallotment Funds issued
in FY 2007: 2006 G992201
• FY 2006 Contingency Funds
carried over into FY 2007: 2006 G992212
Grant Document Numbers
For States and Territories: Grant Document
numbers will look something like this:
G-07B1MMLIEA
For Tribes/Tribal Organizations: Grant Document
numbers will look something like this:
G-07LLMMLIEA
Note that REACH grant document numbers for both
States and Tribes end in LIE5.
Therefore, each grantee will submit an SF 269A for
regular block grant funding, an SF 269A for
contingency funding and one or more SF 269A forms
for FY 2006 funds carried over and obligated in FY
2007. If no FY 2006 funds were carried over into
FY 2007 for obligation, then an SF 269A form for
carried over funds will not be required.
Note that there were two distributions of FY
2007 emergency contingency funds in August and
September. The normal obligation rules for these
funds were waived. The FY 2007 contingency funds
are not subject to the 10 percent carryover rule
(and should not be included in the annual carryover
reports due August 1). Therefore, grantees can
obligate some or all of these funds in FY 2007, and
some or all of these funds in FY 2008. Only those
contingency funds obligated in FY 2007 should be
reported by December 31, 2007; obligations in FY
2008 will be reported at the end of FY 2008, for
the report due December 31, 2008.
Note on Reallotment Funds: The FY 2006
reallotment funds issued at the end of September
2007 should be reported this year as indicated
above; the reallotment funds are not subject to the
10 percent carryover rule since they were released
too late in the fiscal year for most states to
obligate them. (Next year, grantees will report on
any FY 2006 reallotment funds carried over into FY
2008 when filing next year's 269A form due December
31, 2008.)
Specific Instructions for LIHEAP Leveraging and
REACH Funds
In FY 2007, some LIHEAP grantees received grant
awards under the leveraging and REACH programs.
Beginning with FY 2007 funds, a separate SF 269A
report must be filed for each. Unlike block grant
funds, leveraging and REACH funds can be obligated
in the year they were awarded or the year following,
but must be fully obligated before the end of the
second year.
For the report due December 31, 2007, grantees
must report obligations of leveraging and REACH
funds for Federal fiscal year 2007, October 1, 2006
to September 30, 2007. If no leveraging or REACH
funds were obligated in FY 2007, then a 269A form
will not be required until filing the SF 269A
report due by December 31, 2008.
Note on REACH Funds: In the past, REACH awardees
were required to use the SF 269 long form to report
on these funds, and to file a 269 every 6 months.
The long form and semi-annual reporting are no
longer required for REACH. Like leveraging funds,
the status of REACH funds should now be reported on
the 269A short form and filed once a year by
December 31.
CAN Numbers
• FY 2007 Leveraging Grant Funds: 2007 G992204
• FY 2007 REACH Funds: 2007 G992206
Filing the 269A Report
The SF 269A Reports for FY 2007 are due December
31, 2007. The report may be submitted in hard copy
or electronically.
Paper Filing: LIHEAP Grantees should continue to
submit the SF 269A reports to the Office of Grants
Management (not to the Division of Energy
Assistance). The address and other contact
information for the Grants office is listed below.
Electronic Filing: LIHEAP Grantees can now choose
to submit the 269A reports electronically through
the ACF Online Date Collection (OLDC) system. Many
grantees may already be familiar with OLDC through
their 269A reporting for other ACF programs. We
encourage you to use the OLDC to file your LIHEAP
269A reports electronically. Attachment 4 provides
the OLDC request form, and instructions to request
a new OLDC account or to add additional permissions
to an existing account. The completed request form
and all questions about OLDC access should be sent
to Lydia Peele in the Office of Grants Management
via telephone or her e-mail address provided below.
SUBMISSIONS
TO: Administration for Children and Families
Office of Administration
Office of Grants Management
Division of Mandatory Grants
Attention: Lydia Peele, Mail Stop: OA/OGM/DMG
370 L'Enfant Promenade, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20447
Telephone: (202) 401-6493
Fax: (202) 401-5519
E-mail: Lydia.Peele@acf.hhs.gov
ATTACHMENTS: (1) LIHEAP Guidance on Completing the SF 269A
Report
(2) Example of a Completed SF 269A Report
(3) Blank SF 269A Form and General Instructions
(4) OLDC Form and Instructions to Request OLDC
Access
INQUIRIES TO: Joseph Lonergan, Director
Division of Mandatory Grants
Office of Grants Management, OA/ACF
Telephone: (202) 401-6603
E-mail: Joseph.Lonergan@acf.hhs.gov
______________/s______________
Nick St. Angelo
Director
Division of Energy Assistance
Office of Community Services
