Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 33 / Friday, February 16, 2001 / Notices 10695

accommodations, should contact NBAC

staff at the address or telephone number

listed below as soon as possible.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms.

Jody Crank, National Bioethics Advisory

Commission, 6705 Rockledge Drive,

Suite 700, Bethesda, Maryland 20892–

7979, telephone (301) 402–4242, fax

number (301) 480–6900.

Dated: February 12, 2001.

Eric M. Meslin,

Executive Director, National Bioethics

Advisory Commission.

[FR Doc. 01–3940 Filed 2–15–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4167–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND

HUMAN SERVICES

Office of the Secretary

Annual Update of the HHS Poverty

Guidelines

AGENCY: Department of Health and

Human Services.

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: This notice provides an

update of the HHS poverty guidelines to

account for last (calendar) year’s

increase in prices as measured by the

Consumer Price Index.

EFFECTIVE DATE: These guidelines go into

effect on the day they are published

(unless an office administering a

program using the guidelines specifies a

different effective date for that

particular program).

ADDRESSES: Office of the Assistant

Secretary for Planning and Evaluation,

Room 404E, Humphrey Building,

Department of Health and Human

Services (HHS), Washington, D.C.

20201.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For

information about how the poverty

guidelines are used or how income is

defined in a particular program, contact

the Federal (or other) office which is

responsible for that program.

For general questions about the

poverty guidelines (but NOT for

questions about a particular program—

such as the Hill-Burton Uncompensated

Services Program—that uses the poverty

guidelines), contact Gordon Fisher,

Office of the Assistant Secretary for

Planning and Evaluation, Room 404E,

Humphrey Building, Department of

Health and Human Services,

Washington, DC 20201—telephone:

(202) 690–5880; persons with Internet

access may visit the poverty guidelines

Internet site at <http://aspe.hhs.gov/

poverty/poverty.htm>.

For information about the Hill-Burton

Uncompensated Services Program (nofee or reduced-fee health care services at

certain hospitals and other health care

facilities for certain persons unable to

pay for such care), contact the Office of

the Director, Division of Facilities

Compliance and Recovery, Health

Resources and Services Administration,

HHS, Room 10C–16, Parklawn Building,

5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, Maryland

20857. To speak to a person, call (301)

443–5656. To receive a Hill-Burton

information package, call 1–800–638–

0742 (for callers outside Maryland) or

1–800–492–0359 (for callers in

Maryland), and leave your name and

address on the Hotline recording.

Persons with Internet access may visit

the Division of Facilities Compliance

and Recovery Internet home page site at

<http://www.hrsa.gov/osp/dfcr>. The

Division of Facilities Compliance and

Recovery notes that as set by 42 CFR

124.505(b), the effective date of this

update of the poverty guidelines for

facilities obligated under the HillBurton Uncompensated Services

Program is sixty days from the date of

this publication.

For information about the percentage

multiple of the poverty guidelines to be

used on immigration forms such as INS

Form I–864, Affidavit of Support,

contact the U.S. Immigration and

Naturalization Service. To obtain

information on the most recent

applicable poverty guidelines from the

Immigration and Naturalization Service,

call 1–800–375–5283. Persons with

Internet access may obtain the

information from the Immigration and

Naturalization Service Internet site at

<http://www.ins.usdoj.gov/graphics/

howdoi/affsupp.htm>.

For information about the Department

of Labor’s Lower Living Standard

Income Level (an alternative eligibility

criterion with the poverty guidelines for

certain Workforce Investment Act

programs and services), contact Ronald

E. Putz, U.S. Department of Labor—

telephone: (202) 693–3575—e-mail:

<rputz@doleta.gov>; persons with

Internet access may visit the

Employment and Training

Administration’s Lower Living Standard

Income Level Internet site a <http://

www.wdsc.org/llsil>.

For information about the number of

people in poverty since 1959 or about

the Census Bureau statistical poverty

thresholds, contact the HHES Division,

Room G251, Federal Office Building #3,

U.S. Census Bureau, Washington, DC

20233–8500—telephone: (301) 457–

3242—or send e-mail to <hhesinfo@census.gov>; persons with Internet

access may visit the Poverty section of

the Census Bureau’s Internet site at

<http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/

poverty.html>.

2001 POVERTY GUIDELINES FOR THE

48 CONTIGUOUS STATES AND THE

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Size of family unit Poverty

guideline

1 .................................................... $8,590

2 .................................................... 11,610

3 .................................................... 14,630

4 .................................................... 17,650

5 .................................................... 20,670

6 .................................................... 23,690

7 .................................................... 26,710

8 .................................................... 29,730

For family units with more than 8

members, add $3,020 for each

additional member. (The same

increment applies to smaller family

sizes also, as can be seen in the figures

above.)

2001 POVERTY GUIDELINES FOR

ALASKA

Size of family unit Poverty

guideline

1 .................................................... $10,730

2 .................................................... 14,510

3 .................................................... 18,290

4 .................................................... 22,070

5 .................................................... 25,850

6 .................................................... 29,630

7 .................................................... 33,410

8 .................................................... 37,190

For family units with more than 8

members, add $3,780 for each

additional member. (The same

increment applies to smaller family

sizes also, as can be seen in the figures

above.)

2001 POVERTY GUIDELINES FOR

HAWAII

Size of family unit Poverty

guideline

1 .................................................... $9,890

2 .................................................... 13,360

3 .................................................... 16,830

4 .................................................... 20,300

5 .................................................... 23,770

6 .................................................... 27,240

7 .................................................... 30,710

8 .................................................... 34,180

For family units with more than 8

members, add $3,470 for each

additional member. (The same

increment applies to smaller family

sizes also, as can be seen in the figures

above.)

(Separate poverty guideline figures for

Alaska and Hawaii reflect Office of

10696 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 33 / Friday, February 16, 2001 / Notices

Economic Opportunity administrative

practice beginning in the 1966–1970

period. Note that the Census Bureau

poverty thresholds—the primary version

of the poverty measure—have never had

separate figures for Alaska and Hawaii.

The poverty guidelines are not defined

for Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands,

American Samoa, Guam, the Republic of

the Marshall Islands, the Federated

States of Micronesia, the

Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana

Islands, and Palau. In cases in which a

Federal program using the poverty

guidelines serves any of those

jurisdictions, the Federal office which

administers the program is responsible

for deciding whether to use the

contiguous-states-and-D.C. guidelines

for those jurisdictions or to follow some

other procedure.)

The preceding figures are the 2001

update of the poverty guidelines

required by section 673(2) of the

Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act

(OBRA) of 1981 (Pub. L. 97–35—

reauthorized by Pub. L. 105–285,

Section 201 (1998)). As required by law,

this update reflects last year’s change in

the Consumer Price Index (CPI–U); it

was done using the same procedure

used in previous years.

Section 673(2) of OBRA–1981 (42

U.S.C. 9902(2)) requires the use of these

poverty guidelines as an eligibility

criterion for the Community Services

Block Grant program. The poverty

guidelines are also used as an eligibility

criterion by a number of other Federal

programs (both HHS and non-HHS). Due

to confusing legislative language dating

back to 1972, the poverty guidelines

have sometimes been mistakenly

referred to as the ‘‘OMB’’ (Office of

Management and Budget) poverty

guidelines or poverty line. In fact, OMB

has never issued the guidelines; the

guidelines are issued each year by the

Department of Health and Human

Services (formerly by the Office of

Economic Opportunity/Community

Services Administration). The poverty

guidelines may be formally referenced

as ‘‘the poverty guidelines updated

annually in the Federal Register by the

U.S. Department of Health and Human

Services under the authority of 42

U.S.C. 9902(2).’’

The poverty guidelines are a

simplified version of the Federal

Government’s statistical poverty

thresholds used by the Bureau of the

Census to prepare its statistical

estimates of the number of persons and

families in poverty. The poverty

guidelines issued by the Department of

Health and Human Services are used for

administrative purposes—for instance,

for determining whether a person or

family is financially eligible for

assistance or services under a particular

Federal program. The poverty

thresholds are used primarily for

statistical purposes. Since the poverty

guidelines in this notice—the 2001

guidelines—reflect price changes

through calendar year 2000, they are

approximately equal to the poverty

thresholds for calendar year 2000 which

the Census Bureau expects to issue in

September or October 2001. (A

preliminary version of the 2000

thresholds is now available from the

Census Bureau.)

In certain cases, as noted in the

relevant authorizing legislation or

program regulations, a program uses the

poverty guidelines as only one of

several eligibility criteria, or uses a

percentage multiple of the guidelines

(for example, 125 percent or 185 percent

of the guidelines). Non-Federal

organizations which use the poverty

guidelines under their own authority in

non-Federally-funded activities also

have the option of choosing to use a

percentage multiple of the guidelines

such as 125 percent or 185 percent.

While many programs use the

guidelines to classify persons or families

as either eligible or ineligible, some

other programs use the guidelines for

the purpose of giving priority to lowerincome persons or families in the

provision of assistance or services.

In some cases, these poverty

guidelines may not become effective for

a particular program until a regulation

or notice specifically applying to the

program in question has been issued.

The poverty guidelines given above

should be used for both farm and nonfarm families. Similarly, these

guidelines should be used for both aged

and non-aged units. The poverty

guidelines have never had an aged/nonaged distinction; only the Census

Bureau (statistical) poverty thresholds

have separate figures for aged and nonaged one-person and two-person units.

Definitions

There is no universal administrative

definition of ‘‘family,’’ ‘‘family unit,’’ or

‘‘household’’ that is valid for all

programs that use the poverty

guidelines. Federal programs in some

cases use administrative definitions that

differ somewhat from the statistical

definitions given below; the Federal

office which administers a program has

the responsibility for making decisions

about its administrative definitions.

Similarly, non-Federal organizations

which use the poverty guidelines in

non-Federally-funded activities may use

administrative definitions that differ

from the statistical definitions given

below. In either case, to find out the

precise definitions used by a particular

program, please consult the office or

organization administering the program

in question.

The following statistical definitions

(derived for the most part from language

used in U.S. Bureau of the Census,

Current Population Reports, Series P60–

185 and earlier reports in the same

series) are made available for illustrative

purposes only; in other words, these

statistical definitions are not binding for

administrative purposes.

(a) Family. A family is a group of two

or more persons related by birth,

marriage, or adoption who live together;

all such related persons are considered

as members of one family. For instance,

if an older married couple, their

daughter and her husband and two

children, and the older couple’s nephew

all lived in the same house or

apartment, they would all be considered

members of a single family.

(b) Unrelated individual. An

unrelated individual is a person 15

years old or over (other than an inmate

of an institution) who is not living with

any relatives. An unrelated individual

may be the only person living in a house

or apartment, or may be living in a

house or apartment (or in group quarters

such as a rooming house) in which one

or more persons also live who are not

related to the individual in question by

birth, marriage, or adoption. Examples

of unrelated individuals residing with

others include a lodger, a foster child,

a ward, or an employee.

(c) Household. As defined by the

Bureau of the Census for statistical

purposes, a household consists of all the

persons who occupy a housing unit

(house or apartment), whether they are

related to each other or not. If a family

and an unrelated individual, or two

unrelated individuals, are living in the

same housing unit, they would

constitute two family units (see next

item), but only one household. Some

programs, such as the Food Stamp

Program and the Low-Income Home

Energy Assistance Program, employ

administrative variations of the

‘‘household’’ concept in determining

income eligibility. A number of other

programs use administrative variations

of the ‘‘family’’ concept in determining

income eligibility. Depending on the

precise program definition used,

programs using a ‘‘family’’ concept

would generally apply the poverty

guidelines separately to each family

and/or unrelated individual within a

household if the household includes

more than one family and/or unrelated

individual.

Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 33 / Friday, February 16, 2001 / Notices 10697

(d) Family Unit. ‘‘Family unit’’ is not

an official U.S. Bureau of the Census

term, although it has been used in the

poverty guidelines Federal Register

notice since 1978. As used here, either

an unrelated individual or a family (as

defined above) constitutes a family unit.

In other words, a family unit of size one

is an unrelated individual, while a

family unit of two/three/etc. is the same

as a family of two/three/etc.

Note that this notice no longer

provides a definition of ‘‘income.’’ This

is for two reasons. First, there is no

universal administrative definition of

‘‘income’’ that is valid for all programs

that use the poverty guidelines. Second,

in the past there has been confusion

regarding important differences between

the statistical definition of income and

various administrative definitions of

‘‘income’’ or ‘‘countable income.’’ The

precise definition of ‘‘income’’ for a

particular program is very sensitive to

the specific needs and purposes of that

program. To determine, for example,

whether or not taxes, college

scholarships, or other particular types of

income should be counted as ‘‘income’’

in determining eligibility for a specific

program, one must consult the office or

organization administering the program

in question; that office or organization

has the responsibility for making

decisions about the definition of

‘‘income’’ used by the program (to the

extent that the definition is not already

contained in legislation or regulations).

Dated: February 13, 2001.

Tommy G. Thompson,

Secretary of Health and Human Services.

[FR Doc. 01–4036 Filed 2–15–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4154–05–P

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND

HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention

Working Group; Meeting

The National Center for Infectious

Diseases (NCID), Division of Viral and

Rickettsial Diseases (DVRD), Hepatitis

Branch of the Centers for Disease

Control and Prevention (CDC)

announces the following meeting.

Name: Working Group to Review and

Update Recommendations for the Prevention

and Control of Viral Hepatitis among

Incarcerated Persons.

Times and Dates:

7 p.m.—9:15 p.m., March 5, 2001

8:30 a.m.—4:30 p.m., March 6, 2001

8:30 a.m.—2:30 p.m., March 7, 2001

Place: Crown Plaza Ravinia Perimeter,

4355 Ashford-Dunwoody Road, Atlanta,

Georgia 30346

Status: Open to the public, limited only by

the space available. Registration required.

See contact person for more information.

Purpose: The purpose of this working

meeting is to review and update

recommendations that will serve as a

resource to individuals and organizations

involved in prevention and control of viral

hepatitis in adult and juvenile correctional

settings.

Matters to be Discussed: Participants will

discuss and update recommendations for

infection control and hepatitis B

immunization, and education, testing, and

surveillance of hepatitis B and C in adult and

juvenile incarceration settings. Discussions

will include updating guidelines for medical

evaluation, management and counseling of

incarcerated individuals with chronic

hepatitis B or chronic hepatitis C. The agenda

will include an overview of issues related to

prevention of transmission of these agents

and management of infected patients in

correctional settings and work group sessions

on current and updated recommendations for

infection control practices including

screening and vaccination.

The participants will consist of

representatives from public, private,

voluntary and non-governmental

organizations.

Agenda items are subject to change as

priorities dictate.

Written comments are welcome and should

be received by the contact person(s) listed

below prior to the opening of the meeting.

Contact Persons for More Information:

Katherine Roeder, Cindy Weinbaum, MD, or

Rob Lyerla, PhD, Hepatitis Branch, NCID,

CDC, M/S G–37, 1600 Clifton Road, NE.,

Atlanta, Georgia 30333, telephone 404/371–

5460.

The Director, Management Analysis

and Services Office, has been delegated

the authority to sign Federal Register

Notices pertaining to announcements of

meetings and other committee

management activities, for both the

Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention and the Agency for Toxic

Substances and Disease Registry.

Dated: February 8, 2001.

Carolyn J. Russell,

Director, Management Analysis and Services

Office, Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention.

[FR Doc. 01–3990 Filed 2–15–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4163–18–P

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND

HUMAN SERVICES

Administration for Children and

Families

Proposed Information Collection

Activity; Comment Request

Proposed Projects

Title: Voluntary Establishment of

Paternity.

OMB No. 0970–0175.

Description: The Personal

Responsibility and Work Opportunity

Reconciliation Act of 1996 requires

States to develop procedures for a

simple civil process for voluntarily

acknowledging paternity under which

the State must provide that, before a

mother and putative father can sign a

voluntary acknowledgement of

paternity, the mother and putative

father must be given notice, orally and

in writing, of the alternatives to, the

legal consequences of, and the rights

and responsibilities of acknowledging

paternity, and ensure that due process

safeguards are afforded.

Respondents: Hospitals, birth record

agencies, and other entities participating

in a State’s voluntary paternity

establishment program.

TABLE OF BURDEN ESTIMATES FOR INFORMING PARENTS OF THEIR RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES AND FOR PROVIDING

TRAINING

Notifying entity Number of

disclosures

Number of

disclosures

per

disclosure

Average

burden hours

per

disclosure

Average

burden hours

for training

Total burden

hours

Hospital .......................................................................................... 6,291 35.654 .166 800 38,034

Birth Record Agencies ................................................................... 3,072 3.319 .166 36 1,728

Child Support Agencies ................................................................. 3,072 3.319 .166 36 1,728

Private Health Care Providers ....................................................... 650,000 3.319 .166 36 1,728

Child Care Resource and Referral Centers .................................. 500 3.319 .166 36 1,728

Child Care Providers ...................................................................... 310,000 3.319 .166 36 1,728