TANF-ACF-IM-1998-06 (Children in Foster Homes and Children in Families Receiving Payments in Excess of the Poverty Income Level from a State Program Funded Under Part A of Title IV of the Social Security Act)
TO:
STATE AGENCIES ADMINISTERING CHILD WELFARE AND PUBLIC ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS
SUBJECT:
Children in Foster Homes and Children in Families Receiving Payments in Excess of the Poverty Income Level from a State Program Funded Under Part A of Title IV of the Social Security Act
REFERENCES:
Section 1124(c)(5) of Title I of Public Law 89-10 the 034Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, 034 as amended by Section 110(j) of Public Law 104-193, the 034Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1966034
PURPOSE:
To alert State and local agencies that the subject information will be needed by the Department of Education by December 31, 1998, to prepare the formula for allocation of Title I entitlements.
BACKGROUND:
Under provisions of the cited public laws, the Secretary of Health and Human Services is directed to collect and, by January I of each year, to transmit to the Secretary of Education certain specified data concerning the number of children who, in October of the preceding fiscal year, were (1) living in foster homes supported by public funds, or (2) receiving payments from a State program funded under part A of title IV of the Social Security Act (Temporary Assistance for Need Families [TANF]). The data collected constitute a part of the formula used by the Department of Education to allocate funds to State and local educational agencies to meet the special educational needs of educationally deprived children.
Because of changes in the law, data for the month of October 1998 will be collected by local educational agency (LEA) as well as by county. There is no change in the categories of children about whom data are collected. These are: (1) the number of children in living foster homes and supported by public funds, and (2) the number of children in TANF families receiving payments in excess of the poverty income level. 'Children' is defined as those ages 5-17 inclusive, i.e., a child who reaches 5 in the month of October is included, one who reaches 18 is not. 'Public funds is defined as any Federal, State, and/or local monies used by public assistance agencies to support foster children
The monthly 'poverty income level' is derived from the 'Annual Update of the HHS Poverty Guidelines,' a simplified version of the Federal Government's statistical poverty thresholds issued by the Bureau of the Census. For purposes of this report, the level is set at 1/12 of the annual poverty threshold for a non-farm family of four. Applicable amounts for the October 1998 report are:
$1,370.83 for all 48 contiguous States and the District of Columbia
$1,714.17 for Alaska
$1,576.67 for Hawaii.
Payments 'in excess of the poverty income level' are public assistance payments which exceed the amounts listed above and which are made under the TANF Program from Federal, State, and/or local funds. This refers to cash assistance payments only; vendor payments, assistance in kind, and income from from other sources are not considered. Unless such cash assistance brings a family's income above the level specified, children in that family should not be counted for this report.
Children should be reported as belonging to the county and to the LEA in which they attend school rather than to the area in which they, live. The exception to this is that children who reside in other States should not be counted at all. Each county and LEA has an assigned reporting code which will be needed as part of the reports for both categories of children (foster care and TANF).
Under separate cover, we are mailing lists of counties and LEAs and the reporting codes for them. Lists for each individual State will be sent to the director of the State's public assistance agency and to the person who, according to our files, completed Form ACF4125 last year. These lists are also available in the form of Excel spreadsheets. Anyone who would like a copy of the Excel file may obtain it by contacting Evelyn Mills.
The Administration for Children and Families has revised Form ACF-4125 to reflect the need for data by LEA as well as by county and is currently in the process of obtaining form approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). The revised form and instructions will be sent to you immediately upon receipt of OMB clearance.
INQUIRIES:
If you have questions or need further information, please contact:
Evelyn Mills
ACF/OPRE/Division of Data Collection and Analysis:
Phone: 202/401-4055
FAX: 202/205-3598
E-mail: emflls @acf.dhhs. gov
Mail: 370 LEnfant Promenade, SW
7th Floor West
Washington, DC 20447
/s/
____________________________
Howard Rolston
Director
Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation