Revised ACF-801 Child Care Monthly Case Record Form and Instructions

To

State and Territorial Lead Agencies administering child care programs under the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 (the CCDBG Act), as amended, and other interested parties.

Subject

Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) Child Care Monthly Case Record Form and Instructions (ACF-801 Report) for State and Territorial Lead Agencies.

References

The Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) Act of 1990, as amended; 45 CFR 98.70(a) and 98.71(a). Relevant Technical Bulletins are located on the Child Care Bureau Web site at the following address: www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ccb/report/formhelp/techbull/index.htm.

Purpose

To inform States and Territories of the reauthorized and modified collection of the ACF-801 Report. The form and instructions are attached.

Background

Case-level child care program information for the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) is required by Section 658K of the CCDBG Act, as amended. The case-level administrative information received through this collection provides the means to analyze and evaluate the CCDF program and the extent to which States are assisting families in addressing child care needs. This collection will provide the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) with the information necessary to make its biennial report to Congress, address national child care needs, offer technical assistance to grantees, meet performance measures, and conduct research.

Revised Report and Instructions

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has extended approval for the ACF-801 Report through April 30, 2012 (OMB Control Number 0970-0167).

The reauthorized form deletes one data element and changes or clarifies a number of other data items. 

First, ACF has removed from the ACF-801 Header Record the data element requesting the number of children (or estimated number if actual count is unavailable) receiving subsidized pre-K child care services for the report month.  Rather than make format changes to their data reporting systems, Lead Agencies should report a filler in what was formerly the Pre-K count data element.  The filler should be seven zeros:  “0000000”. We anticipate reintroducing a version of the pre-K data element on the ACF-800.

Second, ACF has removed two of the ten answer categories from Item 6 - Reason for Receiving Care, i.e., the "Other" categories to align the answer categories with the reasons for care listed in Federal regulation at 45 CFR 98.20.

Third, ACF has revised Item 27 - Total Monthly Amount Paid to Provider to require Lead Agencies to report only the subsidy amount without including the family co-payment amount. Lead Agencies are still required to report the per-family co-payment on Item 7 of the ACF-801 Report.

We are providing a delayed effective date for changes to Item 6 and Item 27 (described above) in order to give Lead Agencies additional time to implement the changes.  These changes will become effective October 1, 2010. Grantees should immediately implement the Header Record Pre-K count change.

In addition to the revisions outlined above, we have also clarified the instructions for a number of other items (for example, Item 9—Total Monthly Income, and Item 16—Family Size Used to Determine Eligibility).  For most Lead Agencies, we do not believe these clarifications will require action.  Rather, we believe the revised instructions better reflect the data that most Lead Agencies are already collecting and reporting.

Due Dates

Case-level data is collected monthly and reported quarterly. Reports are due 60 days after the end of each quarter. States and Territories may submit case level data monthly instead of quarterly. If they choose to submit the data monthly, the report is due 90 days after the reported month.

Who Must Report

All Lead Agencies in the United States, the District of Columbia (DC), and Territories (including Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands) are responsible for completing the ACF-801 Report.

Penalties for Non-Reporting

The statute provides that the Secretary of Health and Human Services may impose sanctions on a Lead Agency for non-compliance with any requirement of the CCDF program (CCDBG Act, Section 658I(b)(2)(B)). For example, the regulations provide that the Secretary may impose a penalty of not more than four percent of the discretionary funds for a fiscal year, if it is determined that a Lead Agency has failed to implement a provision of the Act, the regulations, or the Lead Agency's biennial Plan (45 CFR 98.92(b)(2)). Lead Agencies failing to provide reports may be subject to this penalty (63 FR 39980) or other sanctions.

Additional Information Required

1) Information on Pooling (if applicable)

If a grantee pools its CCDF funds (i.e., includes other funding, such as Title XX, State-only funds not used for MOE or Match, or other funds not used for Match), it must report the percentage of funds that are provided by CCDF on the ACF-800 Form. The Child Care Bureau will calculate the percentage of each data element attributable to CCDF.

2) Sampling Plan

All States, DC, and Territories that submit a sample of their records must have a sampling plan that has been approved by ACF. If there are anticipated changes to the existing sampling plan, e.g., switching from submitting a sample to submitting full population data or vice versa, the Child Care Bureau should be notified 60 days in advance.

Electronic File Transfer Method: The case-level report must be submitted electronically to ACF via an approved secure electronic submission method. Currently, for most of the 50 States, the District of Columbia, and the Territories, the Social Security Administration computer center serves as a gateway when transmitting data files to the National Institutes of Health computer center. States should contact the Child Care Automation Resource Center for information on approved secure electronic submission methods and relevant contacts.

Notification

Upon receipt of the case-level data file, the Federal system will process the data and generate summary assessment and detail assessment reports. The two report files will automatically be transmitted via a secure electronic submission method to the State. The summary assessment report is also sent via e-mail to the State Lead Agency and the appropriate ACF Regional Office staff. This serves as a notification that the data file has been received.

Technical Assistance

The Child Care Automation Resource Center (CCARC) was established by the Child Care Bureau to provide technical assistance for grantee reporting requirements. Assistance related to the submission of the ACF-801 Report is available on the internet at: /programs/ccb/report/formhelp/acf801/index.htm

CCARC Technical Assistance Specialists can answer questions and provide guidance in preparation of the program information and submission of the ACF-801 Report. CCARC can be reached toll-free at 1-877-249-9117 weekdays from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (Eastern Time) or at ccarc@childcaredata.org.

Reporting Problems or Policy Questions

Lead agencies that have problems complying with the statutory reporting requirements should contact ACF for technical assistance. Questions should be directed to the appropriate ACF Regional Child Care Program Manager (see attached list).

Paperwork Reduction Act

Collection of the information for the ACF-801 Report is expected to average 20 hours per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and reviewing the collection of information. An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB Control Number. The information collection required under this Program Instruction is approved under OMB Control Number 0970-0167, which expires April 30, 2012.

/s/
__________________________
Ann H. Barbagallo
Acting Director
Office of Family Assistance