Proposed Information Collection Activity; ACF-700 Tribal Annual Report

AGENCY: Office of Child Care, Administration for Children and Families, Department of Health and Human Services. ACTION: Request for public comments. SUMMARY: The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) is requesting Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to reinstate approval of the ACF-700: Tribal Annual Report (OMB #0970-0430) with proposed revisions. ACF requests changes to the form that reduce annual burden hours. DATES: Comments due August 7, 2026. ADDRESSES: In compliance with the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, ACF is soliciting public comment on the specific aspects of the information collection described above. You can obtain copies of the proposed collection of information and submit comments by emailing infocollection@acf.hhs.gov. Identify all requests by the title of the information collection. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Description: Tribal Lead Agencies (TLA) for the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) are required on an annual basis to submit aggregate information on services provided via the ACF-700 CCDF Tribal Annual Report. This report offers the Office of Child Care (OCC) insight into how CCDF program dollars are being spent. The ACF-700 report collects administrative data about the number of children and families served. The report also asks specific questions that collect programmatic information about tribal quality activities, coordination for activities with other early childhood programs, compliance with health and safety standards, and pursuit of accreditation. The information collected from this report allows OCC to generate and analyze aggregate information, thereby giving OCC a more comprehensive understanding of tribal program activities more easily. The data are essential for demonstrating the accomplishments of tribal child care programs. OCC has revised the previous version of the ACF-700 to reduce administrative burden for tribes. Specifically: Part 2: Tribal Narrative on the form was reduced due to repetitive questions. Part 3: American Rescue Plan (ARP) was deleted since OCC is no longer collecting ARP data. Respondents: Tribal Grantees receiving CCDF funding. Tribes that operate child care under Public Law 102-477 Indian Employment, Training, and Related Services Plan are exempt from ACF-700. Annual Burden Estimates OCC has revised the burden estimates based on the proposed revisions and to reflect the current number of TLAs. In prior years, burden was broken out by the size of the TLA, with small allocation tribes estimated to take less time to complete the request than medium/large allocation tribes. OCC is no longer differentiating between TLAs with small and medium/large allocations because most TLAs (74 percent) receive small allocations. Due to this and based on the revisions, OCC estimates an average time per response for all TLAs, regardless of size, of 13 hours. Overall, the proposed revisions result in a 40 percent decrease in burden compared to the currently approved information collection. Comments: The Department specifically requests comments on (a) whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the information shall have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of information; (c) the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on respondents, including through the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology. Consideration will be given to comments and suggestions submitted within 60 days of this publication. Authority:42 U.S.C. 9857 et seq. Mary C. Jones, ACF/OPRE Certifying Officer.