[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]



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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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