Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 141 / Friday, July 23, 2010 / Notices 43187 

Monitoring and Enforcement Program 

The NIH will develop a monitoring 

and enforcement program to ensure that 

all practicable mitigation measures 

developed for under the Selected 

Alternative are fully implemented. 

Conclusion 

Based upon review and careful 

consideration, the NIH has decided to 

implement the Selected Alternative. 

The decision was based upon review 

and careful consideration of the 

potential impacts identified in the FEIS 

and public comments received 

throughout the NEPA process. 

Date: July 19, 2010. 

Daniel G. Wheeland, 

Director, Office of Research Facilities 

Development and Operations, National 

Institutes of Health. 

[FR Doc. 2010–18106 Filed 7–22–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4140–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES 

Administration for Children and 

Families 

Request for Public Comment and 

Consultation Meetings on the Adoption 

and Foster Care Analysis and 

Reporting System (AFCARS) 

AGENCY: Department of Health and 

Human Services, Administration for 

Children and Families, Administration 

on Children, Youth and Families, 

Children’s Bureau. 

ACTION: Request for Public Comment 

and Consultation Meetings on the 

Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and 

Reporting System (AFCARS). 

SUMMARY: Section 479 of the Social 

Security Act (the Act) requires that the 

Administration for Children and 

Families (ACF) develop and write 

regulations to implement a system for 

the collection by title IV–E agencies of 

data relating to adoption and foster care. 

The resultant Adoption and Foster Care 

Analysis and Reporting System 

(AFCARS) has been operating since 

1994 and is administered by the 

Children’s Bureau (CB) in ACF. 

AFCARS collects case level information 

on all children in foster care for whom 

the title IV–E agency has responsibility 

for placement and care and on children 

adopted under the auspices of the title 

IV–E agency. We issued a Notice of 

Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on 

January 11, 2008 (73 FR 2082) that 

proposed to amend the AFCARS 

regulations at 45 CFR 1355.40 and the 

appendices to part 1355 [http:// 

edocket.access.gpo.gov/2008/E7- 

24860.htm]. The proposal would modify 

the requirements for title IV–E agencies 

to collect and report data to ACF on 

children in out-of-home care and in 

subsidized adoption or guardianship 

arrangements with the title IV–E agency. 

Due to the enactment of the Fostering 

Connections to Success and Increasing 

Adoptions Act of 2008 (Pub. L. 110– 

351) and the substantial changes it 

introduced in title IV–E, we intend to 

issue a new AFCARS NPRM. To inform 

development of the new NPRM we 

request that interested parties comment 

on the questions below. 

DATES: Written comments must be 

submitted to the office listed in the 

ADDRESSES section below on or before 

October 21, 2010. Please see 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for 

additional details on consultation 

meetings. 

ADDRESSES: Interested persons may 

submit written comments by any of the 

following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments. 

• E-mail: CBComments@acf.hhs.gov. 

Please include ‘‘Comments on AFCARS 

Federal Register Notice’’ in the subject 

line of the message. 

• Mail or Courier Delivery: Jan 

Rothstein, Division of Policy, Children’s 

Bureau, Administration on Children, 

Youth and Families, Administration for 

Children and Families, 1250 Maryland 

Avenue, SW., 8th Floor, Washington, 

DC 20024. 

Instructions: Please be aware that mail 

sent to us may take an additional 3–4 

days to process due to changes in mail 

handling resulting from the anthrax 

crisis of October 2001. If you choose to 

use an express, overnight, or other 

special delivery method, please ensure 

first that they are able to deliver to the 

above address. We urge you to submit 

comments electronically to ensure they 

are received in a timely manner. All 

comments received will be posted 

without change to http:// 

www.regulations.gov including any 

personal information provided. 

Comments provided to us during a 

meeting or in writing in response to this 

Federal Register notice will receive 

equal consideration by ACF. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jan 

Rothstein, Children’s Bureau, 1250 

Maryland Ave., SW., 8th Floor, 

Washington, DC 20024; (202) 401–5073. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Please 

respond to any or all of the questions 

below. It would be helpful if your 

comment identifies the question to 

which you are responding. If you have 

additional comments, please identify 

them by citing to 45 CFR part 1355 or 

the 2008 NPRM, as applicable. 

Reporting Population 

Fostering Connections provides 

Tribes with the option to operate a 

foster care, adoption assistance and, at 

tribal option, a kinship guardianship 

assistance program under title IV–E of 

the Social Security Act (the Act). The 

Secretary is to apply title IV–E of the 

Act to Tribes operating the program 

directly in the same manner as to States 

except where directed by law. Further, 

Tribes continue to have the ability to 

enter into title IV–E agreements with 

States to operate part of the program on 

behalf of Indian children. 

1. How should data collection and 

reporting requirements in AFCARS 

change for State and Tribal title IV–E 

agencies, if at all, to provide a 

comprehensive national picture of 

children in foster care and those 

adopted with the involvement of a title 

IV–E agency? 

In the 2008 NPRM, we proposed 

expanding the reporting populations to 

include children placed in the child 

welfare agency’s responsibility for 

placement and care wherever they are 

placed and to include children in 

subsidized guardianships. We believed 

this information would facilitate a 

greater understanding of a child’s entire 

out-of-home care experience, which in 

turn affects the foster care experience 

and permanency outcomes. 

2. Under what circumstances should 

a child be included in the AFCARS 

reporting population for foster care, 

adoption or guardianship? 

• What are the barriers to obtaining 

information on all children in a child 

welfare agency’s placement and care 

responsibility? 

• What information should an agency 

collect on children in its placement and 

care responsibility who are placed in 

detention, psychiatric facilities and 

other settings other than foster family 

homes, group homes and child care 

institutions? 

• What information do agencies 

currently collect on children in 

finalized adoptions and guardianships? 

Federal Oversight Activities 

The Children’s Bureau uses AFCARS 

data to support a number of our 

oversight activities in relation to the 

title IV–B and IV–E plans, including the 

Child and Family Services Reviews. 

3. What case level data on foster care, 

adoption and guardianship is important 

for agencies to collect and report to ACF 

on an ongoing basis that can inform 

future Federal monitoring activities, 

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43188 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 141 / Friday, July 23, 2010 / Notices 

such as the Child and Family Services 

Reviews? 

• Is there data related to safety, 

permanency and well-being that is 

essential to monitoring activities that is 

not collected currently? 

Fostering Connections to Success and 

Increasing Adoptions Act 

Fostering Connections created a 

number of new title IV–E plan 

provisions and provided Federal funds 

for agencies that choose to support older 

youth up to age 21 and children in 

guardianships. 

4. What case level data would support 

the monitoring of compliance by title 

IV–E agencies and outcomes for 

children in relation to the new 

provisions? 

• Fostering Connections requires that 

an agency ensure that children receiving 

title IV–E are enrolled in school or have 

graduated, that an educational stability 

plan is in place for children in foster 

care; and, provides Federal 

reimbursement of some costs to 

transport a child in foster care to his/her 

original school. What data would be 

important to collect with regard to a 

child’s education in relation to these 

provisions? 

• Fostering Connections allows 

agencies to provide extended assistance 

up to age 21 for youth in foster care, and 

certain youth adopted or in 

guardianships when such youth reach 

age 18 if they participate in education 

or employment activities or are unable 

to do so. What data would be important 

to collect with regard to these youth in 

relation to these provisions? 

• Fostering Connections requires 

agencies to notify relatives when a child 

is placed into foster care and offer them 

information on how they can be a 

placement resource for the child and 

also encourages agencies to place 

siblings together or facilitate frequent 

contact, unless doing so is 

inappropriate. What data is important to 

collect with regard to relatives and 

siblings in relation to these provisions? 

Circumstances Prior to Removal 

In the 2008 NPRM, we proposed 

detailed data describing the members of 

the household or the facilities in which 

children resided prior to entering foster 

care. 

5. What data, if any, should be 

collected from child welfare agencies to 

provide insight into from whom, or from 

what environment a child is removed 

for the purposes of foster care and the 

circumstances that surround the child’s 

removal? 

Circumstances During Stay in Foster 

Care 

In the 2008 NPRM, we requested that 

agencies provide us detailed 

information on circumstances, such as 

lack of housing, substance abuse, and 

mental health issues, facing a child and 

family during several points during the 

child’s stay in foster care. 

6. What data, if any, should be 

collected from child welfare agencies to 

provide insight into why a child 

remains in foster care or why a child’s 

permanency plan is selected or 

changed? 

Caseworker Visits 

The title IV–B, subpart 1 child welfare 

services program requires agencies to 

ensure that children are visited by 

caseworkers at least monthly and that 

the majority of those visits occur in the 

child’s residence. 

7. What information, if any, about 

caseworker visits with a child is 

essential to collect? 

Please provide information on any 

additional factors we should consider in 

proposing revisions to AFCARS. ACF 

will analyze the comments and utilize 

them to determine the necessary next 

steps to improve AFCARS. 

Additional Consultation 

Opportunities: In addition to this 

opportunity to inform development of 

the new NPRM, we plan to hold four inperson consultations in ACF Regions VI, 

VII, VIII, and X and two webinars. 

We invite State representatives and 

Tribal leaders and/or their 

representatives of federally recognized 

Tribes to attend the in-person meetings 

or webinars to provide their input on 

the questions raised above. 

Teleconference lines will also be 

available during these in-person 

sessions. Any person who would like to 

attend one of the Regional consultation 

sessions in-person or via phone must 

register at least one week in advance of 

the meeting date by contacting the 

applicable Children’s Bureau (CB) 

Regional Program Manager. Registered 

participants for the consultation session 

may submit written remarks in advance, 

or present them in oral or written form 

at the consultation session. Any person 

who would like to participate in one of 

the webinars should register via the 

website for each webinar below. Persons 

may also provide written comments as 

noted in the ADDRESSES section, 

regardless of their participation in an inperson session or webinar. Finally, 

please note that Federal representatives 

attending the consultation sessions will 

not be able to respond directly during 

the session to the concerns or questions 

raised by participants. The consultation 

sessions and contact information are 

listed below: 

Webinar #1: September 8, 2010 2:30 

EDT. 

Webinar #2: September 15, 2010 2:30 

EDT. 

Register for the webinar of your 

choice by contacting the National 

Resource Center for Data and 

Technology at http://www.nrccwdt.org. 

Region VI—October 5, 2010, 9:30–11:30 

CDT 

1301 Young Street, Room 1119, 

Dallas, TX 75202; Contact: Janis Brown, 

CB Regional Program Manager, phone 

(214) 767–9648 or e-mail 

janis.brown@acf.hhs.gov. 

Region VII—September 17, 2010, 9:30– 

11:30 CDT 

601 E 12th Street, Kansas City, MO 

64106; Contact: Rosalyn Wilson, CB 

Regional Program Manager, phone (816) 

426–3981 or e-mail 

rosalyn.wilson@acf.hhs.gov. 

Region VIII—September 22, 2010, 9:30– 

11:30 MDT 

Byron Rogers Federal Building, 1961 

Stout Street, Denver, CO 80294; Contact: 

Marilyn Kennerson, CB Regional 

Program Manager, phone (303) 844– 

3100 or e-mail 

marilyn.kennerson@acf.hhs.gov. 

Region X—September 23, 2010, 9:30– 

11:30 PDT 

2201 Sixth Avenue, Seattle, WA 

98121–1827; Contact: Tina Minor, CB 

Regional Program Manager, phone (206) 

615–2482 or e-mail 

tina.minor@acf.hhs.gov. 

Dated: July 15, 2010. 

Bryan Samuels, 

Commissioner, Administration on Children, 

Youth and Families. 

[FR Doc. 2010–18042 Filed 7–22–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4184–25–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES 

Administration for Children and 

Families 

Request for Public Comment 

Concerning the Redesign of Statewide 

Automated Child Welfare Information 

System (SACWIS) Requirements 

AGENCY: Department of Health and 

Human Services, Administration for 

Children and Families, Administration 

on Children, Youth and Families, 

Children’s Bureau. 

ACTION: Request for Public Comment 

Concerning the Redesign of Statewide 

WReier-Aviles on DSKGBLS3C1PROD with NOTICES