The Office of Child Care (OCC) would like to call your attention to two Federal Register notices posted today that relate to state and territory data collection efforts:
- A proposed new collection—ACF-901: American Rescue Plan (ARP) Stabilization Grants Provider-Level Data. The data collection will provide the numbers of and characteristics for child care providers receiving ARP Act stabilization grant awards.
- ACF-218: Federal fiscal year (FFY) 2021 Quality Progress Report (QPR). There are minor changes proposed to the form related to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic supplemental funding increases.
The proposed forms can also be found below. Note: These forms are subject to change following the public comment period; therefore, use them only for initial planning purposes with your policy and information technology teams. You should start planning now for the collection and reporting of these data. OCC plans to share final forms and instructions in the future through another OCC announcement.
The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 included approximately $24 billion in funding for child care stabilization grants (Sec. 2202, Public Law 117-2; OCC guidance in CCDF-ACF-IM-2021-02) and approximately $15 billion in funding for supplemental Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) discretionary funds (Sec. 2201, Public Law 117-2; OCC guidance in CCDF-ACF-IM-2021-03 (PDF)). State and territory lead agencies must spend at least 90 percent of the stabilization funds as subgrants to qualified child care providers to support the stability of the child care sector during and after the COVID-19 public health emergency. Data collection efforts through the new ACF-901 will include child care provider-level information about the numbers of and characteristics for child care providers receiving stabilization grant awards. In addition, the supplemental CCDF discretionary funds are not subject to the minimum quality set-asides required under the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 2014 and are not subject to the requirement in section 658E(c)(3)(E)(ii) (42 U.S.C. 9858c(c)(3)(E)(ii)) with regard to the percentage that must be spent on direct services. The FFY 2021 QPR will include questions associated with how states and territories have used the supplemental funding from the ARP Act; Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act; and Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act 2021 for allowable quality uses and aggregate ARP Act stabilization grants information. These data collection efforts are necessary to provide transparency and accountability in the use of this unprecedented funding for the expansions of and improvements for child care and the extraordinary opportunity to invest in early care and learning.
In compliance with the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) is soliciting public comment for these data collection efforts until September 20, 2021. In addition to the Federal Register notices linked above, the proposed collection of information will also be posted on this OCC webpage. Alternatively, a copy can be obtained by sending an email to infocollection@acf.hhs.gov; all requests should be identified by the title of the information collection. Comments are due within 60 days of publication and should be submitted by sending an email to infocollection@acf.hhs.gov.
Proposed Forms:
- Draft ACF-901 American Rescue Plan (ARP) Stabilization Grants Provider-Level Data (PDF) (UPDATED)
- Draft Quality Progress Report QPR FFY 2021 (PDF) (UPDATED)