LIHEAP AT 2015-2 Performance Data Form FY 2014
LOW-INCOME HOME ENERGY ASSISTANCE
Action Transmittal
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families Office of Community Services
Division of Energy Assistance 370 L'Enfant Promenade, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20447
/programs/ocs/liheap
Transmittal No. LIHEAP-AT-2015-02 Date: January 5, 2015
TO: LOW INCOME HOME ENERGY ASSISTANCE PROGRAM (LIHEAP) STATE GRANTEES AND OTHER INTERESTED PARTIES
GUIDANCE
INTENDED FOR: X STATES
X TRIBES/TRIBAL ORGANIZATIONS
X TERRITORIES
SUBJECT: LIHEAP Performance Data Form for Fiscal Year (FY) 2014
RELATED
REFERENCES: Section 2610(b) of the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Act, Title XXVI of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1981, Public Law 97- 35, as amended; ACF’s annual LIHEAP Performance Data Form, as approved by OMB (Control No. 0970-0449; Expiration Date — October 31, 2017); LIHEAP Action Transmittal (AT) AT-2014-4.
PURPOSE: To advise State LIHEAP Grantees that the deadline for submitting the LIHEAP Performance Data Form for FY 2014 (for the period of October 1, 2013 to September 30, 2014) is January 30, 2015.
To advise State LIHEAP Grantees that the LIHEAP Grantee Survey is now part of the LIHEAP Performance Data Form for FY 2014.
To advise State LIHEAP Grantees about submitting the LIHEAP Performance Data Form for FY 14 using the ACF Online Data Collection (OLDC) system.
To advise State LIHEAP Grantees about the technical assistance that is available through Office of Community Services (OCS) in completing and submitting the LIHEAP Performance Data Form for FY 2014. The recording of the webinar will be posted to the LIHEAP Performance Measurement Website.
BACKGROUND: State LIHEAP Grantees are required to submit their LIHEAP Performance Data Form for FY 2014 to OCS so that OCS may prepare the LIHEAP Report to Congress for FY 2014. This report is in response to Section 2610(b) of the LIHEAP statute which requires the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to submit, no later than June 30 of each federal fiscal year, a Report to Congress on LIHEAP for the prior federal fiscal year. The completeness, accuracy, consistency, and timeliness of responses to data collections are required to:
1. Provide reliable and complete fiscal and household data to Congress in the Department’s LIHEAP Report to Congress for FY 2014;
2. Respond to questions from the Congress, Department, OMB, White House, and other interested parties in a timely manner; and report LIHEAP performance results as part of the Administration’s annual Congressional Justification.
On November 18, 2014, OCS published a Dear Colleague Notice on the OCS LIHEAP website notifying State LIHEAP grantees unlike previous LIHEAP Grantee Surveys, the survey is now part of the LIHEAP Performance Data Form. As a clarification, the fiscal year (FY) references in the Dear Colleague Notice and this Action Transmittal refer to federal fiscal year.
Like the LIHEAP Grantee Survey for FY 2013, Sections I, II, III, and IV of the LIHEAP Performance Data Form collect LIHEAP data on sources and uses of funds, average benefits, and maximum income cutoffs for 4-person households for each type of LIHEAP assistance provided by each State for FY 2014. For FY 2014 grantees are required to complete these sections, with the exception of Section IV, A. Line 5 — ’Average Annual Total LIHEAP Benefit per Household.’
Sections V, VI, VII, and VIII of the LIHEAP Performance Data Form collect LIHEAP data on energy burden targeting, restoration of home energy service, and prevention of loss of home energy service. Using FY 2014 data, these sections are optional for grantees to complete in OLDC by January 2015. These sections are optional for grantees to complete by January 2016 using FY 2015 data. State LIHEAP grantees using FY 2016 data, will be required to complete these sections by January 2017. OCS would like to make sure State LIHEAP grantees have sufficient time to build systems and capabilities to collect the necessary data starting October 01, 2015.
Like the LIHEAP Household Report for FY 2014, State LIHEAP grantees are required to submit their LIHEAP Performance Data Form for FY 2014 through the On-Line Data Collection System (OLDC) which is available now at https://extranet.acf.hhs.gov/ssi/. Use of the OLDC will assist States and OCS in reducing and eliminating reporting delays and data errors.
As with the LIHEAP Household Report for FY 2014, we have contracted with APPRISE to assist State grantees in completing their LIHEAP Performance Data Form. APPRISE also will contact States, if necessary, to correct data errors and/or missing data identified through OLDC. The goal of the technical assistance available from our office and our contractor, APPRISE, is to assist grantees with both identifying and resolving issues in order to facilitate successful and timely submission of data through OLDC.
OLDC has built-in validations in the LIHEAP Performance Data Form for FY 2014 to help grantees ensure that data submitted to OCS is accurate. Once all data is entered and the Form is validated in OLDC, State LIHEAP grantees will be notified of validation issues, if any. The OLDC system will not allow grantees to submit their LIHEAP Performance Data Form if it contains certain validation issues. There are two types of validations in OLDC — “Warnings” and “Errors”:
1. A “Warning” notifies the grantee of a possible inconsistency or mistake in the data. Grantees are encouraged to double check the fields described in the “Warning” to make sure all information is correct and include a note in the ’notes’ section of the form to explain the inconsistency, if necessary. Grantees will be able to “Certify” and “Submit” the report without changing any data that led to a “Warning.”
2. An “Error” notifies the grantee of a mistake that must be corrected prior to the report being submitted to our office. OLDC will not allow a report to be “Certified” and “Submitted” until the Error has been addressed.
CONTENT: The deadline to submit the Grantee Survey section of the LIHEAP Performance Data Form is January 30, 2015. Please be advised Sections V, VI, VII, and VIII of the LIHEAP Performance Data Form are optional but OCS encourages State LIHEAP grantees to complete and submit these sections if data is available. We will notify those States that fail to meet the deadline of January 30, 2015. This date may be extended for States that request an extension before the deadline and if our office agrees to a reasonable extension. There may be States that fail to submit their Performance Data Form or respond in a timely manner to our requests for clarification of their data. Those States will be noted as having incomplete data in the LIHEAP Report to Congress for FY 2014 and in responses to fiscal data requests. In addition, we will consider such failure as a violation of Section 2605(b)(14) of the LIHEAP statute regarding State cooperation with ACF data collection and reporting.
Webinars
On January 6, 2015, at 3 PM EST, our contractor, APPRISE, will host a webinar for State grantees on how to complete and submit the FY 2014 LIHEAP Performance Data Form. A reminder notice will be sent in advance of the webinar with instructions on how to join the webinar. The recording of the webinar will be posted to the LIHEAP Performance Measurement website (https://liheappm.ncat.org/) by January 9, 2015.
Staff in the OCS are available to assist States with using OLDC to submit the Performance Data Form. For questions regarding accessing OLDC, contact your LIHEAP regional liaison.
Our contractor, APPRISE, is also available to help any State grantee who needs assistance with data collection, reporting, or submission of their 2014 LIHEAP Performance Data Form. If you have questions, or would like assistance, please contact:
Nicolas Cavallo (nicolas-cavallo@appriseinc.org) or Trayvon Braxton (trayvon-braxton@appriseinc.org)
Reporting Tips
Please review the following reporting tips as they will enhance the quality and timeliness of submitting and finalizing State-reported LIHEAP data to our office:
1. Meet the reporting deadline. If necessary, contact our office before the deadline if the data will be delayed. We will consult with your office to establish a reasonable alternate date. Timely follow up in meeting this alternate date will help in compliance with the LIHEAP statute’s Assurance (14) that deals with cooperation in the federal collection and reporting of LIHEAP data to Congress. We will work with States that seek help in a timely manner in completing and submitting their data reports.
2. Read and review the reporting instructions. Contact our office to clarify any instructions that are not clear. Understanding the reporting instructions will minimize our need to contact you for clarification or correction of your State’s reported data, saving both our agencies time and effort. This also will enhance our timeliness in compiling, editing, and reporting the data.
3. Cross check for consistency. Check that the types of LIHEAP assistance reported on the Household Report and Performance Data Form match each other. Also, the types of LIHEAP assistance provided in FY 2014 need to be consistent with what is indicated in the State Plan for FY 2014, as amended. Indications of unobligated funds carried over to the next FY in the Performance Data Form should match the State’s FY 2014 Carryover & Re-allotment Report.
4. Use the ’notes’ section. Clarify data in the ’notes’ section of the Form to explain why there may be missing or incomplete data and what is being done to rectify the problem(s).
Important Points
1. “Uses of Funds” represent a State’s obligation of LIHEAP funds, not expenditure of LIHEAP funds. In some cases, obligated block grant funds are not actually expended until after the end of the FY.
2. Report the annual or annualized maximum income cutoff for a 4- person household in effect on October 1, 2013 for each type of LIHEAP assistance provided in FY 2014.
3. Exclude the U.S. Department of Energy’s weatherization assistance funds in reporting on obligated LIHEAP weatherization assistance funds, if any, in Section IV, A. 4 of the Form.
4. Report on all funds used to provide “other LIHEAP assistance.” For the most part, this would include “other crisis assistance” to provide furnace or air conditioner repairs or replacements.
5. Report on all funds obligated for “Other Permitted Uses of LIHEAP Funds.” This would include Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) households that were provided a nominal non-crisis LIHEAP payment to increase the amount of SNAP benefits that they received. Report these obligations in Section IV, B. 6 of the Form.
The staff members who completed and submitted the LIHEAP Household Report for your State may be different from the staff member who will complete and submit the LHEAP Performance Data Form. Consequently, the State LIHEAP Director may need to set up an additional OLDC account if someone else will be completing and submitting the Form.
Once the LIHEAP Performance Data Form for FY 2014 has been submitted, we will notify a State of any reporting deficiencies not identified or resolved through OLDC and request a plan for remedial action. At the same time, we will continue to work with States that seek help in completing their reports.
INQUIRIES TO: For questions regarding accurate completion of the LIHEAP Performance Data Form, contact:
Leon Litow, Lead Energy Assistance 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
For questions regarding accessing OLDC, contact your LIHEAP regional liaison.
SUBMISSION TO: The deadline for all grantees to submit their LIHEAP Performance Data Form for FY 14 is January 30, 2015. Please submit the form in OLDC at: https://extranet.acf.hhs.gov/ssi/
/s/
Jeannie L. Chaffin Director
Office of Community Services
Attachments:
LIHEAP Performance Data Form for Federal Fiscal Year (FFY) 2014 (XLSX)
Instructions for the LIHEAP Performance Data Form for FY2014 (PDF)