[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 189 (Thursday, September 30, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60471-60473]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-24587]
[[Page 60471]]
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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Administration for Children and Families
Statement of Organization, Functions, and Delegations of
Authority
This notice amends Part K of the Statement of Organization,
Functions, and Delegations of Authority of the Department of Health and
Human Services (HHS), Administration for Children and Families (ACF) as
follows: Chapter K, Administration for Children and Families, as last
amended at 71 FR 59117-59123, dated October 6, 2006; Chapter KA, Office
of the Assistant Secretary for Children and Families, as last amended
at 72 FR 31072-31073, dated June 5, 2007; and Chapter KH, the Office of
Family Assistance (OFA), as last amended at 71 FR 59117-59123, dated
October 6, 2006. This reorganization will transfer the Child Care
Bureau (KHJ) in its entirety, from the Office of Family Assistance
(KH), and retitle it as the Office of Child Care (KV) reporting
directly to the Assistant Secretary for Children and Families. It also
establishes the Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary and Inter-
Departmental Liaison for Early Childhood Development. The changes are
as follows:
I. Amend Chapter K, Administration for Children and Families, as
follows:
A. Delete Section K.10 Organization, in its entirety and replace
with the following:
K.10 Organization. The Administration for Children and Families
(ACF) is a principal operating division of the Department of Health
and Human Services (HHS). The Administration is headed by the
Assistant Secretary for Children and Families, who reports directly
to the Secretary. The Assistant Secretary also serves as the
Director of Child Support Enforcement. In addition to the Assistant
Secretary, the Administration consists of the Principal Deputy
Assistant Secretary, the Deputy Assistant Secretary for
Administration, the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy and
External Affairs, the Deputy Assistant Secretary and Inter-
Departmental Liaison for Early Childhood Development, and Staff and
Program Offices. ACF is organized as follows:
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Children and Families (KA)
Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy and External
Affairs (KL)
Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Administration (KP)
Administration on Children, Youth and Families (KB)
Administration on Developmental Disabilities (KC)
Administration for Native Americans (KE)
Office of Child Support Enforcement (KF)
Office of Community Services (KG)
Office of Family Assistance (KH)
Office of Regional Operations (KJ)
Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation (KM)
Office of Public Affairs (KN)
Office of Refugee Resettlement (KR)
Office of Legislative Affairs and Budget (KT)
Office of Head Start (KU)
Office of Child Care (KV)
II. Amend Chapter KA, Office of the Assistant Secretary, as
follows:
A. Delete KA.10 Organization, in its entirety and replace with the
following:
KA.10 Organization: The Office of the Assistant Secretary for
Children and Families is headed by the Assistant Secretary for
Children and Families who reports directly to the Secretary and
consists of:
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Children and Families (KA)
President's Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities
Staff (KAD)
Executive Secretariat Office (KAF)
Office of Human Services Emergency Preparedness and Response
(KAG)
Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary and Inter-Departmental
Liaison for Early Childhood Development (KAH)
B. Amend KA.20 Functions, add the following new paragraph:
KA.20 Functions E. Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary and
Inter-Departmental Liaison for Early Childhood Development (KAH):
The Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary and Inter-Departmental
Liaison for Early Childhood Development is responsible for handling
a variety of assignments requiring knowledge and expertise in
advising the Assistant Secretary, ACF, in the formulation of policy
views, positions, and implementation strategies related to early
childhood programs and services under the purview of ACF. The
incumbent will also serve as a key liaison and representative to the
Department for early childhood development on behalf of the
Assistant Secretary, ACF, and to other agencies across the
government on behalf of the Department.
III. Amend Chapter KH, Office of Family Assistance, as follows:
A. Delete KH.00 Mission, in its entirety and replace with the
following:
KH.00 Mission: The Office of Family Assistance (OFA) advises the
Secretary, through the Assistant Secretary for Children and
Families, on matters relating to the Temporary Assistance for Needy
Families (TANF) program under title IV-A of the Social Security Act.
This program provides temporary assistance and promotes economic
self-sufficiency for families with children. The Office provides
leadership direction and technical guidance, with ACF Regional
Offices, to the States, Tribes, and Territories on the TANF program,
the Native Employment Works program, and the Aid to the Aged, Blind
and Disabled program in Guam, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.
The Office focuses efforts to increase economic independence and
productivity for families. It develops legislative, regulatory and
budgetary proposals; and identifies and implements operational
planning objectives and initiatives related to the TANF program. It
provides direction and guidance in the collection and dissemination
of performance and other valuable data for these programs; reviews
State and Tribal planning for administrative and operational
improvement; assesses program performance, and recommends actions to
improve effectiveness. It provides guidance, direction, and
technical assistance to its discretionary grantees and monitors
their progress.
B. Delete KH.10 Organization, in its entirety and replace with the
following:
KH.10 Organization. The Office of Family Assistance is headed by a
Director who reports to the Assistant Secretary for Children and
Families. The Office is organized as follows:
Office of the Director (KHA)
TANF Bureau (KHB)
Division of State Policy (KHB1)
Division of State and Territory TANF Management and Technical
Assistance (KHB2)
Division of Data Collection and Analysis (KHB3)
Division of Tribal TANF Management (KHB4)
TANF Bureau Regional Program Units (KHBDI-X)
C. KH.20 Functions, delete Paragraph A in its entirety and replace
with the following:
A. Office of the Director (KHA): The Office of the Director is
directly responsible to the Assistant Secretary for Children and
Families for carrying out OFA's mission and providing direction,
leadership, guidance, and general supervision to the principal
components of OFA. The Deputy Director assists the director in
carrying out the responsibilities for the Office. The Associate
Director for the TANF Bureau reports to the OFA Director. The
Office: (1) Provides public information services by responding to
inquiries from the public and private sectors from both domestic and
international entities via written and electronic communication; (2)
coordinates and organizes the printing and distribution of policy
and guidance documents and responds to Freedom of Information Act
requests; (3) manages the formulation and execution of the budgets
for OFA programs and for Federal administration; (4) serves as the
focal point for operational and long-range planning; (5) functions
as Executive Secretariat for OFA, including managing correspondence,
correspondence systems, and electronic mail requests; and (6)
provides management and administrative services and advice, by
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coordinating human resources activities, developing policy and
procedures relating to these activities.
D. KH.20 Functions, delete Paragraph C. Child Care Bureau and
subsequent paragraphs 1 through 4 in its entirety.
IV. Add Chapter KV, Office of Child Care.
A. Create KV.00 Mission, in its entirety:
KV.00 Mission. The Office of Child Care (OCC) advises the
Assistant Secretary for Children and Families on matters relating to
child care, early education programs, and school-age care programs,
focusing on the twin goals of providing support for working families
and improving the quality of child care to promote healthy
development, school readiness, and school success for children. It
has primary responsibility for the operation of child care programs
authorized under the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG)
Act and section 418 of the Social Security Act. It develops
legislative, regulatory and budgetary proposals; identifies and
implements operational planning objectives and initiatives related
to child care; provides technical assistance and guidance to States,
Territories, and Tribes regarding implementation of child care
programs; and directs, manages, and oversees the progress of the
Office's mission and activities. The OCC supports State, Tribal, and
Territorial grantees to provide child care financial assistance to
low-income families so that their children can access high quality
care while they are at work or attending training and education. The
OCC also works with grantees to develop comprehensive, cross-sector
systems of quality improvement so that child care programs can
improve overall quality and individual educators achieve higher
levels of education and training. It provides leadership and
coordination for child care issues within ACF, within HHS, and with
relevant agencies across the Federal, State, local and Tribal
governments, and non-governmental organizations at the Federal,
State and local levels.
B. Create KV.10 Organization, in its entirety.
KV.10 Organization. The Office of Child Care is headed by a Director
who reports to the Assistant Secretary for Children and Families.
The Office is organized as follows:
Office of the Director (KVA)
Division of Technical Assistance (KVA1)
Division of Program Operations (KVA2)
Division of Policy (KVA3)
Office of Child Care Regional Program Units (KVADI-X)
C. Create KV.20 Function, in its entirety.
KV.20 Functions A. Office of the Director (KVA): The Office of
Child Care has responsibility for: (1) Overseeing the operation of
child care programs authorized under the Child Care and Development
Block Grant (CCDBG) Act and section 418 of the Social Security Act;
(2) developing legislative, regulatory, and budgetary proposals; (3)
presenting operational planning objectives and initiatives related
to child care, and overseeing the progress of approved activities;
(4) providing leadership and coordination for child care within ACF
and linkages with other agencies on child care issues, including
agencies within HHS, relevant agencies across the Federal, State,
local, and Tribal governments, and non-governmental organizations at
the Federal, State, and local levels; and (5) overseeing the
leadership, planning, and management of the Office's mission and
activities.
The Office of the Director serves as the principal advisor to
the Assistant Secretary for Children and Families on the
administration of child care programs. The Office is directly
responsible for carrying out OCC's mission and providing direction,
leadership, guidance, and general supervision to the principal
components of OCC. The Deputy Director assists the Director in
carrying out the responsibilities for the Office. The Office of the
Director: (1) Provides public information services by responding to
inquiries from the public and private sectors; (2) identifies areas
for research, demonstration, and developmental activities; (3)
conducts outreach and maintains relationships with Department
officials, other Federal departments, State and Tribal and local
officials, and private organizations and individuals; (4)
coordinates and plans child care activities to maximize program
effectiveness; and (5) manages large-scale or high profile
activities involving multiple OCC areas of responsibility.
Management Operation Staff is responsible for: (1) Managing the
execution of the budgets for OCC operated programs and for Federal
administration of the OCC program; (2) serving as the central
control point for operational and long-range planning of the needs
of the OCC; (3) planning for and coordinating the provision of staff
development and training; (4) providing support for OCC's personnel
administration, including staffing, employee and labor relations,
performance management, and employee recognition; (5) managing
procurement planning and providing technical assistance regarding
procurement; (6) managing OCC-controlled space, facilities, and
equipment, including providing for health and safety; (7) planning
for, acquiring, distributing, and controlling OCC supplies; (8)
functioning as Executive Secretariat for OCC, including managing
correspondence, correspondence systems, and electronic mail
requests; and (9) overseeing processes related to approval and
payment of travel.
B. Division of Technical Assistance (KVA1): The Division of
Technical Assistance supports State, Tribal, and Territorial
grantees in providing child care subsidy systems that are responsive
to the needs of low-income families and support a variety of high
quality child care settings that promote child development and
learning. The Division of Technical Assistance: (1) Provides
technical assistance to States, Territories, and Tribes concerning
the administration of the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF);
(2) provides strategic leadership, coordination, and grant and
contract oversight for technical assistance projects that comprise
the Child Care Technical Assistance Network; (3) oversees technical
assistance events, such as peer learning roundtables, forums,
conferences, and webinars; (4) uses publications, multimedia tools,
and comprehensive Internet resources to communicate with CCDF
grantees, national, State, regional and local child care
organizations, and the general public about the latest developments
in the child care field; (5) works closely with State, Tribal and
Territorial CCDF Lead Agencies to assess their technical assistance
needs and tailor approaches that reflect State, Tribal, and
Territorial flexibility; (6) supports the ability of grantees to
find innovative solutions and uses its contracts, events, and
publications to identify and promote replication of effective
practices; (7) supports the use of research in CCDF implementation;
(8) forges partnerships with public and private organizations to
improve the ability of child care systems to respond effectively to
the needs of low-income working families; and (9) works in
partnerships across programs to improve outcomes for children by
furthering the quality and coordination of early childhood services
across the Federal government in order to build a diversified system
that promotes school readiness across all early childhood settings
and school success for school-age children. Key partners include
State, Territorial and Tribal CCDF programs, Office of Head Start,
the Maternal and Child Health Bureau, and the U.S. Department of
Education.
C. Division of Program Operations (KVA2): The Division of
Program Operations is responsible for: (1) Regional liaison
activities, including communicating on a regular basis with Regional
Program Unit staff, including oversight of the review and approval
process for the Biennial CCDF Plans of States, Territories, and
Tribes, responding to questions on policy and other issues by
consulting or referring to other staff; (2) tracking progress of
grantee programs in coordination with the regions; (3) collecting
and maintaining information related to grantee program
implementation, management and accountability measures, and
technical assistance efforts; (4) tracking program achievements,
problems, and gaps; (5) identifying latest trends and activities of
major significance; (6) preparing background material, fact sheets,
and reports to provide information to the Director and other ACF and
HHS officials, grantees, and the general public; (7) tracking and
supporting special initiatives; (8) establishing partnerships with
public and private entities to improve access to quality child care;
(9) coordinating program activities with other government and non-
governmental agencies; and (10) managing and overseeing cooperative
ventures with other entities.
D. Division of Policy (KVA3): The Division of Policy: (1)
Develops, interprets, and issues national policies and regulations
governing CCDF programs and other OCC-operated programs; (2)
provides clarification of the statutes, regulations, and policies;
(3) issues
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program instructions and information memoranda; (4) recommends and
drafts legislative and budgetary proposals and materials; (5)
prepares Congressional reports and briefing materials for hearings
and testimony; (6) develops and tracks performance measures to
ensure the responsiveness of the program to children and families;
(7) manages processes related to administrative data reporting by
grantees, including providing direction and guidance; (8) compiles,
analyzes, and disseminates program data; (9) reviews and gives
guidance to the Regional Program Units on CCDF plans and
applications (10) researches child care policy issues; (11)
coordinates policies and procedures with the Division of Program
Operations (including updates of the Biennial Child Care Plan
Preprint) and other Federal agencies; (12) provides policy training,
guidance, and clarification to the Regional Program Units in
carrying out policy functions; (13) coordinates with the grants
office on financial management issues, including grantee allocations
and expenditure reporting.
E. Office of Child Care Regional Program Units (KVADI-X): Each
OCC Regional Program Unit is headed by an OCC Regional Program
Manager who reports to the Deputy Director, OCC. The Regional
Program Manager, through subordinate regional staff, in
collaboration with program components, is responsible for: (1)
Providing program and technical administration of OCC block and
discretionary programs; (2) collaborating with the OCC Central
Office, States, and other grantees on all significant policy
matters; (3) providing technical assistance to entities responsible
for administering OCC programs to resolve identified problems; (4)
ensuring that appropriate procedures and practices are adopted; (5)
working with appropriate State, Tribal, and local officials to
develop and implement outcome-based performance goals that further
the OCC mission of supporting children and families by increasing
access to affordable, high quality child care; and (6) monitoring
the programs to ensure their efficiency and effectiveness, and
ensuring that these entities conform to Federal laws, regulations,
policies, and procedures governing the programs.
V. Continuation of Policy: Except as inconsistent with this
reorganization, all statements of policy and interpretations with
respect to organizational components affected by this Notice within the
Administration for Children and Families, heretofore issued and in
effect on this date of this reorganization are continued in full force
and effect.
VI. Delegation of Authority: All delegations and redelegations of
authority made to the officials and employees of affected
organizational components will continue in them or their successors
pending further redelegations, provided they are consistent with this
reorganization.
VII. Funds, Personnel and Equipment: Transfer of organizations and
functions affected by the reorganization shall be accompanied in each
instance by direct and support funds, positions, personnel, records,
equipment, supplies and other resources.
This reorganization will be effective upon date of signature.
Dated: September 24, 2010.
David A. Hansell,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Children and Families.
[FR Doc. 2010-24587 Filed 9-29-10; 8:45 am]
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