Revised ACF-801 Child Care Monthly Case Record Form and Instructions
Program Instructions
- Log No: CCDF-ACF-PI-2012-01
- Issuance Date: May 25, 2012
- Originating Office: Office of Child Care
- Key Words: Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF); 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 Office of Child Care (OCC) Web site at the following address: www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/occ/report/formhelp/techbull/index.htm.
Purpose
To inform States and Territories of approved revisions to 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 and Territories 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, 2015 (OMB Control Number 0970-0167). The form has been revised to add several new data elements to capture information on provider quality. They will enable ACF and Lead Agencies to track child-level data on provider quality over time and will serve as indicators on the progress toward the Administration’s goal of increasing low income families’ access to high quality child care. The revised form also includes an addition to the Header Record and clarifications to a number of other data elements. These changes will be phased in to provide States and Territories the necessary amount of time to implement the additional elements. Starting October 2012 (the beginning of Fiscal Year 2013), OCC will accept both ACF-801 formats (old and new). By October 2013 (the beginning of Fiscal Year 2014), all States and Territories will be required to use the new format.
The following new quality data elements were designed for a broad range of potential responses to maintain State and Territory flexibility in implementing quality measures. Lead Agencies are not required to answer all of the individual quality data elements and may respond “NA” if a particular element is not pertinent (Questions 33-37). However, Lead Agencies are expected to report at least one quality data element for at least a portion of the provider population.
The revised report includes the following additions to measure provider quality:
- Lead Agencies now report either the Provider Federal Employee Identification Number (FEIN) or Other Provider Unique State ID (Questions 29-32). This Provider ID is location-specific and will link Child and Setting Records to the new Provider Record. In order to connect these two records, the Provider ID must be reported twice, in both the Setting and the Provider Record.
- Lead Agencies identify whether the provider is participating in a Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS) and report the rating, as well as a key for the rating in a footnote (Questions 33-34).
- Lead Agencies now report the provider’s accreditation status, including National, State, or other levels of accreditation (Question 35).
- Lead Agencies record whether the provider is subject to any State or local pre-K standards (Question 36). Each State and Territory is allowed to determine these standards, since there is no set definition.
- Lead Agencies report whether the provider meets another State Quality Measure (Question 37). This element allows Lead Agencies the flexibility to share other quality measures. Lead Agencies are expected to write a brief footnote to further explain the quality measure.
The revised form also includes the following clarifications:
- Lead Agencies now record the total numbers of providers that delivered child care services during the report month in the Header Record.
- The definition of “regulated provider” was refined to ensure that these providers are meeting minimum standards.
- Lead Agencies now provide a footnote to further define the “Total Hours of Care Provided in Month” (Question 28). This data element is not reported uniformly, with States and Territories reporting authorized hours, actual hours, or a combination of the two. With this change, States and Territories maintain flexibility in how these hours are captured and calculated by indicating the type of hours being reported in the footnote.
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:
- 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 Office of Child Care will calculate the percentage of each data element attributable to CCDF.
- 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 Office of Child Care 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 National Center on Child Care Data and Technology 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 OCC Regional Office staff. This serves as a notification that the data file has been received.
Technical Assistance
The National Center on Child Care Data and Technology (NCDT) was established by the Office of Child Care 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/occ/resource/acf-801-reporting-for-states-and-territories.
NCDT Technical Assistance Specialists can answer questions and provide guidance in preparation of the program information and submission of the ACF-801 Report. NCDT 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 ncdt@childcaredata.org.
Reporting Problems or Policy Questions
Lead agencies that have problems complying with the reporting requirements should contact ACF for technical assistance. Questions should be directed to the appropriate OCC Regional Child Care Program Manager (see attached list).
Paperwork Reduction Act
Collection of the information for the ACF-801 Report is expected to average 25 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, 2015.
/s/
______________________
Shannon L. Rudisill
Director
Office of Child Care
Files
- PDF Program Instruction: CCDF-ACF-PI-2012-01 (35.24 KB)