Proposed Information Collection Activity; Office of Community Services Community Economic Development Performance Progress Report

<NOTICE> DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES <SUBAGY>Administration for Children and Families</SUBAGY> <DEPDOC>[OMB #: 0970-0386]</DEPDOC> <SUBJECT>Proposed Information Collection Activity; Office of Community Services Community Economic Development Performance Progress Report</SUBJECT> <HD SOURCE="HED">AGENCY:</HD> Office of Community Services, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. <HD SOURCE="HED">ACTION:</HD> Request for public comments. <SUM> <HD SOURCE="HED">SUMMARY:</HD> The Office of Community Services (OCS), Administration for Children and Families (ACF), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is requesting a 3-year extension of the Community Economic Development (CED) Performance Progress Report (PPR) (Office of Management and Budget (OMB) #: 0970-0386, expiration date February 28, 2026) with revisions to support a quarterly reporting schedule. This request revises the burden estimates to reflect new reporting requirements for quarterly reporting. While the core CED PPR form remains unchanged and will still be submitted semi-annually, new awardees must now report quarterly. In alternate quarters (Q1 and Q3), they will complete a shorter version of the form with narrative updates only. </SUM> <DATES> <HD SOURCE="HED">DATES:</HD> <E T="03">Comments due</E> October 28, 2025. </DATES> <HD SOURCE="HED">ADDRESSES:</HD> 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 <E T="03">infocollection@acf.hhs.gov.</E> Identify all requests by the title of the information collection. <SUPLINF> <HD SOURCE="HED">SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:</HD> <E T="03">Description:</E> OCS is seeking to extend the CED PPR (OMB #0970-0386), with revisions, for three years. This extension will permit OCS to continue collecting the performance progress information about projects funded through the CED Program from current and future grant recipients. The CED PPR collects information regarding the implementation and outcomes of CED projects to support program monitoring, the provision of training and technical assistance, and the fulfillment of congressional reporting requirements. The report tracks quantitative information, including measures of job creation and project expenditures, along with narrative descriptions of project activities, challenges, and changes. The CED PPR will continue to be administered to all active grant recipients of the CED Program. Grant recipients will complete this report based on activities completed through the second and fourth quarters of each project year. This request revises the burden estimates to reflect new reporting requirements for quarterly reporting. The burden estimates reflect quarterly reporting for new awardees as well as a shorter response time for quarterly reporters in alternate quarters when they will only be required to complete a subset of items on the form. This request makes no changes to the current approved CED PPR form that all grant recipients will be required to complete semi-annually. The current approved CED PPR is cumulative and covers activities completed through the second and fourth quarters of each project year. For the first and third quarters of each project year, quarterly reporters will complete a subset of items to provide narrative updates on project progress. Currently, grant recipients submit the CED PPR semi-annually. Through this request, OCS proposes to change the reporting requirements to collect information on CED project progress on a quarterly basis. This will allow OCS to monitor grant recipient progress more frequently and to support the timely provision of training and technical assistance. The reporting schedule for CED projects will be identified in the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) under which projects are funded. Currently, CED NOFOs identify a semi-annual reporting schedule. OCS anticipates that quarterly reporting requirements will be included in NOFOs beginning in federal fiscal year (FFY) 2026. To reduce the burden for quarterly reporters, OCS will only require grant recipients to complete a subset of items from the CED PPR in the first and third quarters of each project year. The burden estimates for the subset of items are included in the annual burden estimates for the CED PPR Short Form. The CED PPR Short Form does not include the quantitative measures and focuses on narrative descriptions of project activities, challenges, and changes. <E T="03">Respondents:</E> The CED <E T="03">PPR</E> will be completed by all CED grant recipients active during the 3-year extension. The CED PPR Short Form will be completed by grant recipients receiving awards through an application to a NOFO requiring quarterly reporting. <HD SOURCE="HD1">Annual Burden Estimates</HD> OCS anticipates including quarterly reporting requirements in NOFOs published in FFY 2026 and later. Because CED projects are funded for 3- to 4-year project periods, OCS anticipates that only half of active grant recipients will be required to complete the short-form during the extension period. These assumptions are reflected in the burden estimates below. <GPOTABLE COLS="5" OPTS="L2,tp0,i1" CDEF="s50,12,12,12,12"> <TTITLE> </TTITLE> <CHED H="1">Instrument</CHED> <ENT>1.5</ENT> <ENT>237</ENT> </ROW> <ROW RUL="n,s"> <ENT I="01">CED PPR Short Form</ENT> <ENT>48</ENT> <ENT>2</ENT> <ENT>0.5</ENT> <ENT>48</ENT> </ROW> <ROW> <ENT I="03">Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours</ENT> 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. <E T="03">Authority:</E> Section 680(a)(2), Community Services Block Grant Act, 42 U.S.C. 9921. <SIG> <NAME>Mary C. Jones,</NAME> ACF/OPRE Certifying Officer. </SIG> </SUPLINF> <FRDOC>[FR Doc. 2025-16584 Filed 8-28-25; 8:45 am]</FRDOC> </NOTICE>