2020 LIHEAP - RECS Data Match

ACTION:

ACF’s contractor, APPRISE, will ask your state to participate in the extension of the FY 2015 RECS LIHEAP Administrative Data Matching to FY 2020 project through the procedures discussed below.

Step 1:

Provide ACF’s contractor, APPRISE, a file of LIHEAP households that received fuel assistance in FY 2020 for one of the following data populations:

1. All FY 2020 LIHEAP recipients for your entire state/service area;

2. All FY 2020 LIHEAP recipients only in the counties from your state that are part of the RECS sample (a list will be provided separately); or

3. All FY 2020 LIHEAP recipients only in the ZIP codes from your state that are part of the RECS sample (a list will be provided separately).

Step 2:

Provide ACF’s contractor, APPRISE, the data needed to facilitate the 2020 RECS LIHEAP Supplement through one of the following two steps.

Option A: One-Step Approach

Provide ACF’s contractor, APPRISE, a file with all of the required data items noted below, and as many of the optional data items as you have available, for all of your FY 2020 LIHEAP recipient households at whatever level you choose (see options A, B, and C, above).

Option B: Two-Step Approach

Provide ACF’s contractor, APPRISE, a file of LIHEAP households that provides only the name and address (including ZIP code) of all FY 2020 LIHEAP recipients at whatever level you choose (see options A, B, and C, above).

Later, you will also provide ACF’s contractor, APPRISE, a second file that lists a subset of these LIHEAP recipients who completed a RECS interview. That second file must include all of the required data items noted below, and as many of the optional data items as you have available, for those households.

Required Data Items:

• Name

• Address (must include ZIP code)

• Gross Income;

• Household Size;

• Household or Client ID;

• Heating assistance awarded ;

• Amount of heating assistance;

• Date of heating assistance;

• Cooling assistance awarded;

• Amount of cooling assistance;

• Date of cooling assistance;

• Crisis assistance awarded;

• Amount of crisis assistance;

• Date of crisis assistance;

• Other assistance awarded;

• Amount of other assistance;

• Date of other assistance;

• Presence of children 5 or younger;

• Presence of adult 60 or older; and

• Presence of disabled person.

Optional Data Items:

The following data will enrich the analyses ACF's contractor, APPRISE, will conduct using the RECS data. Please furnish the following data if they are available in your database(s):

• Tenancy (i.e., own or rent);

• Type(s) of fuel used; or

• Heat included in rent.

Data Format:

Provide the data noted above in one of the following acceptable formats:

• MS Excel;

• MS Access;

• SAS; or

• Stata.

If you are unable to submit data in one of these four formats, you must provide a written explanation of why submission in a different format is necessary and the format you intend to use. OCS will then determine if we have the ability to accept the data in the suggested format.