LIHEAP AT 2012-7 Household Report-Short and Long Form for FY 2012

LOW INCOME HOME ENERGY ASSISTANCE PROGRAM (LIHEAP) GRANTEES

X  STATES
X  TRIBES/TRIBAL ORGANIZATIONS
X  TERRITORIES

RELATED
REFERENCES:

Sections 2605(c)(1)(G) and 2610(b) of the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Act of 1981 (title XXVI of Public Law 97-35, the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1981, as amended); 45 Code of Federal Regulations, Part 96; House Report 103-483 and Senate Report 103-251 on S. 2000, the predecessor to Public Law 103-252 (the Human Services Amendments of 1994); OMB Control No. 0970-0060 (Expiration Date-October 31, 2014); Section 3507 of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995; LIHEAP Information Transmittal (1M) 09-03, dated January 26, 2009; LIHEAP Action Transmittal (AT) 11-06, dated July 25, 2011.

PURPOSE:

To remind all LIHEAP grantees to include required data for the LIHEAP Household Report for FFY 2012 (October 1, 2011-September 30,2012) as part of their LIHEAP grant application for FFY 2013.

To remind direct-grant Indian Tribes/Tribal Organizations and Insular Areas (other than the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico) to complete the LIHEAP Household Report for FFY 2012-Short Form.

To remind the 50 States, the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico (hereafter referred to as "states") to complete the LIHEAP Household Report for FFY 2012-Long Form.

BACKGROUND:

Under the amendments to the LlHEAP statute enacted in 1994 (public Law 103-252), LIHEAP grant applications must include a report on LIHEAP households for the previous Federal Fiscal Year. We require grantees to report LIHEAP household data, using the designated Short Form or Long Form of the LIHEAP Household Report, as indicated above.

Information collection activities, such as the LIHEAP Household Report, must receive approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in accordance with Section 3507 of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. OMB approved both forms of the LIHEAP Household Report through October 31, 2014.

We notified grantees of OMB's action through LIHEAP Information Memorandum (IM) 2009-03, dated January 26,2009. As stated in that 1M, states are required to submit additional data, beginning for FFY 2011, to provide Congress and the Administration an unduplicated count of LIHEAP assisted households receiving any type of LIHEAP assistance. For a summary of those additional data elements.

Some states experienced problems in reporting some or all of the additional data for FFY 2011, especially as they concerned including LIHEAP weatherized households in the unduplicated count of households receiving any type of LIHEAP assistance. Where necessary, we have requested states to address reporting issues in order for complete and accurate data to be reported for FFY 2012.

• Submitting the LIHEAP Household Report after the deadline without first consulting with our office;
• Following the report instructions and/or notifying us whether the instructions need to be revised to clarify misunderstandings;
• Inadequate data collection systems;
• Utilizing edit checks;
• Following up and communicating with our office per agreed upon dates;
• Cross checking the consistency on the types of LIHEAP assistance for which households were assisted, as reported in the LIHEAP Household Report, and types of benefits provided, as reported in the LIHEAP Grantee Survey; and
• Reporting on all households assisted with LIHEAP funds-examples include home energy repair or replacement; SNAP Food Stamp heat/cool or eat).

Such issues have contributed to the delay in completing the annual LIHEAP Report to Congress. As warranted, we will notify a state of its reporting deficiencies and request a plan for remedial action. At the same time, we will continue to work with states that seek help in completing its report.

Please review the following items that pertain to the LIHEAP Household Report (detailed information is included in the report instructions):

• All Indian Tribes/Tribal Organizations and Insular Areas (other than the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico) are to complete the LIHEAP Household Report for FFY 2012-Short Form (Attachment 1), using the reporting instructions for that form (Attachment 2).
• The 50 States, the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico are to complete the LIHEAP Household Report for FFY 2012-Long Form (Attachment 3), using the reporting instructions for that form (Attachment 4).
• A grant award will not be made for FFY 2013 until we receive the grantee's complete data, as specified in the LIHEAP Household Report for FFY 2012, and all other application requirements have been met.
• Estimated (rather than actual) LIHEAP household data will be accepted with the FFY 2013 LIHEAP grant applications so as not to delay the awarding of first quarter LIHEAP grants for FFY 2013.
• Grantees are to submit actual household data for the LIHEAP Household Report for FFY 2012 by December 15,2012 (this also is the deadline for state, Tribal, and Insular Area grantees to submit additional information to complete their block grant application/plans for FFY 2012, and for states to submit the LIHEAP Grantee Survey for FFY 2012). Actual, not estimated, state-level data are required for the Department's LIHEAP Report to Congress for FFY 2012.

Please note that the Long Form has been reformatted to include two subcolumns under the columns for the number of assisted and applicant households. This reformatting allows states to check whether their reported total of LIHEAP households by type of assistance equals the calculated total of households by type of assistance. The calculated total sums the number of households reported for the poverty levels. The two numbers should equal each other. If not, check for keying errors or the accuracy of the data. If the two numbers still do not equal each other, then provide an explanation in the note section.

Other than date changes and the reformatting, there is nothing different for the LIHEAP Household Report for FFY 2012 from that of the LIHEAP Household Report for FFY 2011. Grantees are to use the appropriate Excel spreadsheet that we prepared for the Short Form and Long Form for the LIHEAP Household Report for FFY 2012.

Leon Litow, Lead Program Specialist
Division of Energy Assistance
Office of Community Services
Administration for Children and Families, HHS
370 L'Enfant Promenade, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20447
202-401-5304 (Voice)
202-401-5661 (Fax)
llitow@acf.hhs.gov
 

SUBMISSIONS TO: 

As with the LIHEAP state plans for FFY 2013, September 1, 2012 is the deadline for all grantees to submit their LIHEAP Household Report for
FFY 12. (This date may be extended for tribal grantees if the state(s) in which the tribe is located agrees to a later date. The date may be extended
for state or territorial grantees if HHS agrees to a later date.)

Please submit the completed Household Report as an Excel file to:
LlHEAPsubmissions@acf.hhs.gov

ATTACHMENTS: 

(1)  LIHEAP Household Report for FFY 2012-Short Form (XLS)

(2)  Reporting Instruction for Short Form (PDF)

(3) LIHEAP Household Report for FFY 2012-Long Form (XLS)

(4)  Reporting Instructions for Long Form (PDF)

/s/
Nick St. Angelo
Director
Division of Energy Assistance
Office of Community Services