OFFICE OF COMMUNITY SERVICES

DIVISION OF TRIBAL SERVICES

TANF Guidance

PART D: DATA COLLECTION AND REPORTING REQUIREMENTS


Under 411(a)(1)(A) and 412(g) of the Act each Indian tribe operating a TANF program must collect on a monthly basis, and report on a quarterly basis, the following disaggregated case record information on the families receiving assistance under the Tribal program:

o   the county of residence of the family;

o   whether a child receiving such assistance or an adult in the family is receiving:

   - Federal disability insurance benefits;

   - benefits based on Federal disability status;

   - aid under a State plan approved under title XIV (as in effect without regard to the amendment made by section 301 of the Social Security Amendments of 1972));

   - aid or assistance under a State plan approved under title XVI (as in effect without regard to such amendment) by reason of being permanently and totally disabled; or

   - supplemental security income benefits under title XVI (as in effect pursuant to such amendment) by reason of disability.

o   the ages of the members of such families;

o   the number of individuals in the family, and the relation of each family member to the head of the family;

o   the employment status and earnings of the employed adult in the family;

o   the marital level of the adults in the family, including whether such adults have never married, are widowed, or are divorced;

o   the race and educational level of each adult in the family;

o   the race and educational status of each child in the family;

o   whether the family received subsidized housing, medical assistance under the State plan approved under title XIX, food stamps, or subsidized child care, and if the latter 2, the amount received;

o   the number of months that the family has received each type of assistance under the program;

o   if the adults participated in, and the number of hours per week of participation in, the following activities;

   -   education;

   -   subsidized private sector employment;

   -   unsubsidized employment;

   -   public sector employment, work experience, or community service;

   -   job search;

   -   job skills training or on-the-job training;

   -   vocational education;

o   information necessary to calculate participation rates;

o   the type and amount of assistance received under the program, including the amount of and reason for any reduction of assistance (including sanctions);

o   any amount of unearned income received by any member of the family;

o   the citizenship of the members of the family;

o   from a sample of closed cases, whether the family left the program, and if so, whether the family left due to:

   -   employment;

   -   marriage;

   -   the prohibition set forth in section 408(a)(7);

   -   sanction; or

   -   Tribal policy, or if applicable, State policy.

o     for each individual in the family who has not attained age 20, whether the individual is a parent of a child in the family.

Pub. L. 105-33, the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, amended section 411(a) by adding additional data collection and reporting requirements for Tribes that receive Welfare-to-Work grants authorized under section 403(a) of the Act.  The additional requirements for disaggregated case data are as follows:

o   for each family participating in a Welfare-to-Work program:

   -   any activity described in section 403(a)(5)(C)(i) engaged in by a family member;

   -   the total amount expended during the month on the family member for each such activity;

   -   if the family member is engaged in subsidized employment or on-the-job training under the program, the wage paid to the family member and the amount of any wage subsidy provided to the family member from Federal or State funds; and

   -   if the participation of a family member in the program was ended during a month due to the family member obtaining employment, the wage of the family member in the employment and whether the participation was ended due to the family member obtaining unsubsidized employment, obtaining subsidized employment, receiving an increased wage, engaging in a work training activity funded under a program funded other than under section 403(a)(5), or for other reasons.

In addition, section 411 of the Act states that each quarterly report shall include a statement of the:
   -   percentage of the funds paid to the Indian tribe that are used to cover administrative costs or overhead;

   -   total amount expended by the Indian tribe on programs for needy families;

   -   number of noncustodial parents in the Tribal service area who participated in work activities (as defined in section 407(d)) during the quarter;

   -   total amount expended by the Indian tribe during the quarter to provide transitional services to a family that has ceased to receive assistance under this part because of employment, along with a description of such services;

   -   the number of families and individuals receiving assistance under the Tribal program (including the number of 2-parent and 1-parent families; and

   -   the total dollar value of TANF assistance received by all families.

As mentioned above, Pub, L. 105-33 amended section 411 to require States and Tribes to collect and report additional data related to Welfare-to-Work grants.  The additional requirements for aggregated data are as follows:

   -   a separate statement of the percentage of such funds that are used to cover administrative costs or overhead incurred for programs operated with funds provided under section 403(a)(5);

   -   a separate statement of the total amount expended by the Tribe during the quarter on programs operated with funds provided under section 403(a)(5);

   -   a separate statement of the number of such parents who participated in programs operated with funds provided under section 403(a)(5);

   -   with respect to families and individuals participating in a program operated with funds provided under section 403(a)(5):

   o   the total number of such families and individuals;

   o   the number of such families and individuals whose participation in such a program was terminated during a month.


Regulations will be forthcoming to define the data elements with respect to the reports required by section 411.

PART A: INTRODUCTION

Background
TANF Program
Tribal TANF Eligibility

PART B: TRIBAL TANF PLAN CONTENT AND PROCESS

Plan Content
Plan Process
Inquiries
Paperwork Reduction Act

PART C: PROGRAM INFORMATION AND CONSIDERATIONS

Tribal TANF Funding
Data Collection and Reporting Requirements
Cash Assistance Program
Coordination with the State
Penalties
Nondiscrimination Provisions
Tribal TANF Program Timeline

ATTACHMENT 1

ACF Regional Officials: Names and Addresses

ATTACHMENT 2

Section 412: Direct Funding and Administration by Indian Tribes
Section 419(a): Definitions

ATTACHMENT 3 - Certifications

Certifications

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