Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) Tribal Annual Report Form ACF-700 for Tribal Lead Agencies.

Program Instruction CCDF-ACF-PI-2020-06

Publication Date: October 22, 2020
Current as of:
ACF
Administration for Children and Families
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
  1. Log No:CCDF-ACF-PI-2020-06
  2. Issuance Date: October 20, 2020
  3. Originating Office: Office of Child Care
  4. Key Words: Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF); Data Reporting Requirements and Instructions for Indian Tribes; Tribal Annual Report Form ACF-700

 

PROGRAM INSTRUCTION

TO

Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) Tribal Lead Agencies and Other Interested Parties.

SUBJECT

Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) Tribal Annual Report Form ACF-700 for Tribal Lead Agencies.

REFERENCES

The Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) Act of 1990, as amended (42 USC 9857, et seq.); regulations at 45 CFR 98.70(c). 

PURPOSE

To inform Tribal Lead Agencies that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has approved changes to the annual reporting requirements (i.e., ACF-700 Report), consistent with the terms and conditions of the CCDF program.   The revised ACF-700 form is attached. 

BACKGROUND

Tribal aggregate information on services provided under the CCDF must be submitted annually via the CCDF Tribal Annual Report—also known as the ACF-700—as required by the CCDF regulations at 45 CFR 98.70(c).  The ACF-700 report offers the Office of Child Care (OCC) information about how CCDF program dollars are being spent to deliver child care services to eligible children and families. 

The ACF-700 Tribal Annual Report collects information on all children and families receiving direct CCDF-funded child care services during the period October 1 through September 30 (i.e., Federal Fiscal Year (FFY)).  The OMB approved several changes to the ACF-700 report beginning with the FFY 2020 report to reduce the reporting burden to Tribal grantees, and incorporate changes as a result of the reauthorization of the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) Act of 2014 and the publication of the final rule in 2016 (for example, categorizing Tribal Lead Agencies by their funding allocation as small, medium, or large).  These changes include:

  1. Incorporated an Introduction - Program Characteristics section to the ACF-700 form, which will capture whether the Tribal Lead Agency:
    • supplemented the CCDF grant with dollars from other sources during the last fiscal year, and if so, identify the other sources of funding.  These questions were previously included in Part 2—Tribal Narrative, but were moved to the Introduction: Program Characteristics section;  
    • is reporting all children served or just those children served with CCDF funds under Part 1-Administrative Data; and
    • supports quality initiatives and does not provide direct child care services, which exempts the Tribal Lead Agency from reporting Part 1-Administrative Data—applies only to Tribal Lead Agencies with small allocations.
  2. Reduced the reporting burden on Tribal Lead Agencies by removing some questions from Part 1 — Administrative Data, which reports data on children and families receiving CCDF-funded direct child care services that were provided during the FFY:
    1. for question #2, removed the distinction between licensed and non-licensed care types;
    2. for questions #3-#7, removed reporting of data characteristics by care type; for example, age of children to be reported only by age category, and not by age category and care type;
    3. removed reporting the number of children served by reason for care due to federal emergencies, and added two new reasons for care (i) both employment and training/education, and (ii) use of categorical eligibility; and
    4. removed reporting the number of children served whose family income is categorized by the Federal Poverty Level.
  3. Reduced the reporting burden on Tribal Lead Agencies by removing some questions from Part 2—Tribal Narrative, which describe general child care activities and actions in the Lead Agency’s reservation or Tribal service area:
    • removed questions 2, 4, 5, 6, and 7, as these questions are included in the CCDF Tribal Plan; and
    • moved question # 3 to the Introduction - Program Characteristics section.

Note: Part 1 of the ACF-700 collects administrative data on any direct services funded by CCDF Tribal Mandatory or Discretionary funds.  The data reflect services provided during FFY 2020 regardless of whether the services were paid for with FFY 2020 funds or prior years’ CCDF funds.  For example, all direct services provided during FFY 2020 that are paid for with FFYs 2018, 2019, or 2020 CCDF funds (i.e., Tribal Mandatory and Discretionary) are to be reported.

WHO MUST  REPORT

All Tribal Lead Agencies (i.e., Tribes, Tribal organizations, and Tribal consortia) that received FFY 2020 (or prior year) CCDF funds—and expended any of these funds during FFY 2020—must submit a complete Tribal Annual Report Form ACF-700 by December 31, 2020. It is each Tribal Lead Agency’s responsibility to ensure that child care program data are collected and reported to the Office of Child Care in a timely manner each year.

Note: CCDF Tribal grantees with an approved Pub. L. 102-477 Plan are not required to complete the ACF-700 form. For further details, refer to the CCDF-ACF-PI-2019-04 program instruction available at /sites/default/files/occ/ccdf_acf_pi_2019_04.pdf. Contact your OCC Regional Office (see /occ/resource/regional-childcare-program-managers) for questions or additional information.

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); 42 USC 9858g(b)(2)(B)]. For example, the regulations provide that the Secretary may impose a penalty of not more than 4 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 Plan (45 CFR 98.92(b)(2)). Tribal Lead Agencies failing to provide reports may be subject to this penalty or other sanctions.

DATA USES:

The data received through this collection provides the Office of Child Care with the means to analyze and evaluate the CCDF program and the extent to which Tribal Lead Agencies are assisting families in addressing child care needs. This information will provide ACF with data for its biennial report to Congress, and will help to inform technical assistance efforts to assist grantees.

GUIDANCE FOR REPORTING:

The CCDF Tribal Annual Report (ACF-700) Manual: Guide for CCDF Tribal Lead Agencies contains detailed guidance for completing and submitting the CCDF ACF-700 Tribal Annual Report. The Guide is available on the Office of Child Care website at /sites/default/files/occ/tribal_annual_report_... (PDF)

DUE DATE:

The CCDF ACF-700 Tribal Annual Report for FFY 2020 is due by December 31, 2020.

ACF-700 SUBMISSION

CCDF Tribal Lead Agencies are required to submit the ACF-700 Tribal Annual Report. Tribal Lead Agencies are to submit the following:

  • Introduction: Program Characteristics — ALL Tribal Lead Agencies
  • Part 1: Administrative Data report — all Tribal Lead Agencies who provide direct child care services. If a Tribal Lead Agency with a small allocation is using their CCDF dollars to support ONLY quality initiatives, they are exempt from reporting Part 1: Administrative Data
  • Part 2: Tribal Narrative report — ALL Tribal Lead Agencies

Tribal Lead Agencies should enter their ACF-700 reports at the Office of Child Care Internet submission site at https://extranet.acf.hhs.gov/acf700/login/login700.jsp . This submission site contains a password-protected web-based form that checks the data for compliance with data standards at the time of submission. These built-in edit-checking features make it easier for Tribal Lead Agencies to identify and correct errors. Use of the paperless Internet data entry site streamlines submission processing and improves data quality. With electronic submission of the ACF-700 report, it is NOT necessary to also send a paper copy of the report via mail or fax. Tribal Lead Agencies should, however, notify their ACF Regional Office of Child Care staff when they have completed their electronic submissions.

This submission site is currently being updated to reflect the ACF-700 changes, and OCC will notify Tribal Lead Agencies when the changes are available.

The submission web site requires a login and password. Some Tribal Lead Agencies have already designated individuals to access the ACF-700 Data Submission Site. The login and password carry over to each new reporting period making it unnecessary to register each year to use the submission site. To register new staff or otherwise modify registration information, submit the ACF-700 Internet Submission Registration Form available at /sites/default/files/documents/occ/reg_form.pdf (PDF) (and also found in Appendix C of the attached CCDF Tribal Annual Report (ACF-700) Manual) by email, mail, or fax to:

National Center on Child Care Data and Reporting (NCDR)
6003 Executive Blvd., Suite 400
Rockville, Maryland 20852
NCDR@ecetta.info

TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE

NCDR will contact the staff identified on the form to provide further instructions and guidance. The Tribal Lead Agency may contact NCDR at their toll-free number: 877-249-9117, weekdays from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM (Eastern Time) or by email to NCDR@ecetta.info.

NCDR was established by the Office of Child Care to provide technical assistance related to the grantee reporting requirements. NCDR Technical Assistance Specialists can answer questions and provide guidance in preparation of the program information and submission of the ACF-700 report. NCDR can be reached toll-free at 877-249-9117 weekdays from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM (Eastern Time) or via email at NCDR@ecetta.info. Information and on-line technical assistance support related to the ACF-700 Internet submission is also available at /occ/resource/acf-700-tribal-annual-report.

REPORTING PROBLEMS OR POLICY QUESTIONS

Tribal Lead Agencies anticipating problems in complying with the reporting requirements should contact their respective ACF Regional Office of Child Care.  Tribal Lead Agencies should also contact their ACF Regional Office of Child Care for policy questions.  Contact information for ACF Regional Child Care Offices is available on the Office of Child Care’s website at /occ/resource/regionalchild-care-program-managers.   

PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT:

Collection of the information for the ACF-700 Report is expected to average 19 hours per response for Tribes with small allocations, and 26 hours per response for Tribes with medium/large allocations, including the time for reviewing instructions, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and reviewing the collection of information.  This is a mandatory collection of information as required by 42 U.S.C.  9857, et seq., and sections 98.70 and 98.71 of the CCDF Final Rule (45 CFR Parts 98 and 99).  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 0970-0430, which expires January 31, 2023.

/s/
Shannon Christian
Director
Office of Child Care

Attachment

ACF-700 Form (PDF)