Quarterly Performance and Management Report

10

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Administration for Children and Families

Office of Community Services (OCS)

Division of Energy Assistance (DEA)

Instructions for Completion of the Quarterly Performance and Management Report

for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP)

The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995

This information collection (OMB Control No. xxxx-xxxx; Expiration Date: xx/xx/xxxx) is conducted in accordance with the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) statute (Title XXVI of P.L. 97-35), as amended. Information received from this collection provides data to the Administration and Congress in its oversight of recipients' performance in administering the LIHEAP program.

Public reporting burden for this information collection (the LIHHAP Quarterly Performance and Management Report) is estimated to be an average burden of 36 hours per respondent. The estimates include the time for reviewing instructions, and gathering, editing, maintaining, and reporting the data.

The responses to this information collection are required in order to obtain LIHEAP data in accordance with the LIHEAP statute (42 U.S.C. 8621). This information collection is required of all recipients that receive LIHEAP funds.

This information is not considered confidential; therefore, no additional safeguards are considered necessary beyond what is customarily applied to routine government information. An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number.

LIHEAP data is submitted through the LIHEAP Quarterly Performance and Management Report Excel form. The complete set of instructions for reporting the required data is available in the next section of this document.

OVERVIEW

The LIHEAP Quarterly Performance and Management Report is a tool for HHS to receive data and information about LIHEAP during the current Fiscal Year (FY), including successes, challenges, needs, and innovations, in somewhat real time. The quarterly reports will focus on assisted households, performance management, obligation of funding, changes made due to anticipated increase in energy bills, collaboration with other utility assistance programs, and training and technical assistance needs.

On May 4, 2021, HHS notified recipients that OCS has awarded 100 percent of the LIHEAP funding available to recipients under the American Rescue Act of 2021. All 50 states, the District of Columbia, five U.S territories, and almost all Native American tribal organizations that are current LIHEAP recipients received a supplemental award. This notification was published in a Dear Colleague Letter (DCL) FY 2021 Supplemental LIHEAP Funding Release under the American Rescue Plan Act, 2021 and notified recipients that LIHEAP recipients must track, account for, and report on their ARP supplemental funding separate from (1) the rest of their FY 2021 funding; and (2) any FY 2020 CARES Act funding that they obligate in FY 2021.

More information on LIHEAP can be found in the LIHEAP Statute and Regulations.

GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS

An Excel workbook entitled the LIHEAP Quarterly Performance and Management Report has been developed for states, territories, and tribes to report LIHEAP data for all four quarters. Recipients are required to submit their quarterly data submissions using the Excel workbook.

Reporting Periods and Quarterly Report Due Dates - The LIHEAP Quarterly Performance and Management Report will be due one month after the end of each quarter (quarters are based on the federal fiscal year).

FY 2022 (October 1, 2021 – September 30, 2022) reporting periods:

Quarter 1 & 2: October 2, 2021 – March 31, 2022 (Report due on April 29, 2022)

Quarter 3: April 1, 2022 – June 30, 2022 (Report due on July 29, 2022)

Quarter 4: July 1, 2022 – September 30, 2022 (Report due on October 31, 2022)

Data Consistency - The data will be checked for consistency against the type of LIHEAP assistance that recipients report in their LIHEAP Model Plan and with the data reported in each recipient’s LIHEAP Household and LIHEAP Performance Data Forms.

Key Definitions

Household - The unit for LIHEAP counting is the household; not the head of household or persons in the households. LIHEAP household counts need to be consistent with Section 2603(5) of the LIHEAP statute that defines the term "household" as “any individual or group of individuals who are living together as one economic unit for whom residential energy is customarily purchased in common or who make undesignated payments for energy in the form of rent.” Household members are those individuals who comprise the household unit.

Recipient - A Recipient is defined as the LIHEAP lead agency for a state, territory, or tribe. Recipient is

synonymous with grantee, a term used previously in OCS communications.

Subrecipient - A Subrecipient is an organization that receives a portion, or sub-award, of the LIHEAP grant funding (usually through a contract or grant) from the LIHEAP lead agency for a state, territory, or tribe. While the LIHEAP lead agency retains responsibility and accountability for all activities carried out under the grant award, the state, territory, or tribe may select sub-recipient organizations to serve as local administering agencies who are subject to all terms and conditions of the award.

SECTION-BY-SECTION INSTRUCTIONS

Recipient Information – Include all of the information being requested (i.e., name, phone number, and email address) for the individual who is filling out the quarterly data report/the person who should be contacted if OCS has questions concerning the report.

Section I: Total Households Assisted

This question requires the recipient to report the total number of households assisted, across all program components, during the quarter (or quarters for Quarters 1 & 2). An assisted household is one that applied for and received LIHEAP assistance. Households that have applied for a LIHEAP benefit but have not received one by the end of the quarter should be counted in the quarter(s) that the household actually receives their benefit(s).

Recipients are also asked to report the total number of households assisted, across all program components, during the same quarter (or quarters for Quarters 1 & 2) last year. Please note that OCS will stop asking for this data once we have data from the prior year’s quarters. Because the first two quarters are collapsed for the first reporting year, OCS will stop asking grant recipients to report prior quarter data after Quarter 2 in FY 2023.

Grant recipients should report unduplicated counts for both the total number of assisted households and the total number of assisted households during the same quarter in the prior year. An unduplicated count of household means that each LIHEAP household is counted only once, even if the household received more than one type of LIHEAP service, or received LIHEAP services multiple times. This count will help OCS quantify the unique number of households reached by LIHEAP.

*Quarters 3 and 4 will include a section for “Total Cumulative Households Assisted,” this number will be automatically calculated based on the information the recipient provided in prior quarterly reports.

Section II: Performance Management

One core purpose of LIHEAP is to ensure that low-income households have access to necessary home energy services. By restoring services to clients who do not currently have access to home energy, the program is eliminating a significant risk to the health and safety of low-income households. This section includes two questions that focus the total occurrences where LIHEAP prevented the loss of home energy or restored home energy. Total occurrence will include every time a household received assistance to prevent or restore home energy and will include duplicate counts of households that received this assistance more than once. For example, a household may receive crisis assistance in November to restore services and then returns in February for additional crisis assistance to prevent disconnection should be counted as two total occurrences of restoration of home energy for reporting in Quarters 1 and 2.

*OCS recognizes that many tribes do not collect performance management data as specified above. OCS will provide training and technical assistance to help all grant recipients be able to report this information.

Section III: Estimated Use of Funds

This section requires the recipient to report use of LIHEAP funding by funding source that has been obligated during the reporting period. Grant recipients are required to provide estimates of obligation for the LIHEAP FY 2022 Non-Supplemental funds (i.e., the regular annual appropriation released November 1, 2021) and the American Rescue Plan Act, 2021 funds (released May 4, 2021) separately.

In reporting their obligation of funds to date, grant recipients should follow their state, territory, or tribal definition of obligation.

Section IV: LIHEAP Program Implementation and Support

This section asks grant recipients to provide information on program implementation and support. The structure of the sections and the questions vary by quarter.

Questions in Section IV for Quarter 1 and Quarter 2:

The section for quarters 1 and 2 has a total of 10 questions; the first 7 questions should be answered by using the Yes/No dropdown menu in the cells in Column B. If grant recipients respond “Yes” to any of these 7 questions, they should provide an explanation of what changes were made, when they were made, and why they were made in the response space provided below each question. Please note that is not necessary to provide an extensive paragraph response. OCS is looking for a brief explanation with enough detail to understand the changes made.

If grant recipients answer “No” to any of the first 7 questions, they can skip the “provide a brief explanation” response cell. Questions 8-10 ask for a narrative response only. Different questions are asked for questions 8-10 in quarters 3 and 4 and all ask for narrative responses only.

The first 7 questions ask:

1. Since submitting your Grantee Plan, have you made any changes to your income eligibility requirements?

2. Since submitting your Grantee Plan, have you made any changes to your income verification/documentation requirements?

3. Since submitting your Grantee Plan, have you made any changes to your outreach strategies?

4. Since submitting your Grantee Plan, have you made any changes to your benefit matrix and/or have you increased your crisis maximum amounts? *Note: for grant recipients that have made changes in both of these areas, please indicate the changes made to both areas and whether the changes were made for heating or cooling assistance or both.

5. Since submitting your Grantee Plan, have you made any changes to how you are prioritizing vulnerable populations (i.e., the elderly, disabled, and young children)?

6. Since submitting your Grantee Plan, have you made any other changes to your policies on arrearage forgiveness (i.e., paying off a client’s outstanding energy debt in full)?

7. Since submitting your Grantee Plan, have you made any other changes to your LIHEAP policies?

Questions 8-10 below ask for a narrative response only.

8. Are you collaborating or coordinating with other utility assistance programs (i.e., the Emergency Rental Assistance Program, Low Income Household Water Assistance Program, Community Services Block Grant, utility funded energy assisted programs, Homeowners Assistance Fund)? If so, please provide a brief explanation of your collaboration/coordination efforts.

For this question recipients should report their collaborative efforts with other utility assistance programs.

9. Do you have any training and/or technical assistance needs for which you would like the Office of Community Services Division of Energy Assistance to offer support? If so, please list these in the response.

Recipients are encouraged to highlight any training and technical assistance they may need to successfully administer LIHEAP at the state, territory, tribal and/or local level.

10. Please provide a quote on the impact of LIHEAP from a member of a LIHEAP household.

Grant recipients are asked to provide a quote on the impact of LIHEAP from a different stakeholder in each quarter. For the first two quarters, please submit a quote from a member of a LIHEAP household.

Changes to the Questions in Section IV for Quarter 3:

Quarter 3 also contains 10 questions that are similar to those asked for Quarters 1 and 2. The first 7 questions are nearly identical to those asked in the prior reporting period. However, they ask grant recipients to report on any new/other chances made since Quarters 1 and 2. These questions should be answered by using the Yes/No dropdown menu in the cells in Column B. If grant recipients respond “Yes” to any of these 7 questions, they should provide an explanation of what changes were made, when they were made, and why they were made in the response space provided below each question. Please note that is not necessary to provide an extensive paragraph response. OCS is looking for a brief explanation with enough to detail to understand the changes made.

If grant recipients answer “No” to any of the first 7 questions, they can skip the “provide a brief explanation” response cell. Questions 8-10 ask for a narrative response only.

The first 7 questions ask:

1. Since reporting in Q 1 & 2, have you made any new/other changes to your income eligibility requirements?

2. Since reporting in Q 1 & 2, have you made any new/other changes to your income verification/documentation requirements?

3. Since reporting in Q 1 & 2, have you made any new/other changes to your outreach strategies?

4. Since reporting in Q 1 & 2, have you made any new/other changes to your benefit matrix and/or have you increased your crisis maximum amounts? *Note: for grant recipients that have made changes in both of these areas, please indicate the changes made to both areas and whether the changes were made for heating or cooling assistance or both.

5. Since reporting in Q 1 & 2, have you made any new/other changes to how you are prioritizing vulnerable populations (i.e., the elderly, disabled, and young children)?

6. Since reporting in Q 1 & 2, have you made any other new/other changes to your policies on arrearage forgiveness (i.e., paying off a client’s outstanding energy debt in full)?

7. Since reporting in Q 1 & 2, have you made any other new/other changes to your LIHEAP policies?

Questions 8-10 below ask for a narrative response only.

8. Please provide any information on the results, if any, of the changes you reported in section IV for Quarters 1 and 2.

For this question, if recipients made any changes to their programs reported for the prior two quarters, please provide relevant information regarding the results of these changes.

9. Are you starting or continuing to collaborate with other utility assistance programs (e.g., the Emergency Rental Assistance Program, Low Income Household Water Assistance Program, Community Services Block Grant, utility funded energy assisted programs, Homeowners Assistance Fund), if so please indicate how this collaboration is working and provide any examples of successful collaboration.

For this question grant recipients should specify if they are starting or continuing a collaboration with another utility assistance program. Grant recipients should then provide updates on the collaboration. Collaboration partners can include the Emergency Rental Assistance Program, Low Income Household Water Assistance Program, Community Services Block Grant, utility funded energy assisted programs, Homeowners Assistance Fund. Recipients are encouraged to provide information if the collaboration provides additional assistance for households' energy needs and share best practices.

10. Please provide a quote on the impact of LIHEAP in your state/territory/tribe from a staff member, government official, or stakeholder.

Grant recipients are asked to provide a quote on the impact of LIHEAP from a different stakeholder in each quarter. For the third quarter, please submit a quote from a member of a staff member, government official, or stakeholder.

Changes to the Questions in Section IV for Quarter 4:

Quarter 4 contains 12 questions. The first 7 questions are follow-up questions to the first 7 questions asked in the preceding quarters. However, rather than asking whether changes were made, this set of questions asks for the results of the changes made. Please note that is not necessary to provide an extensive paragraph response, OCS is looking for a brief explanation with enough to detail to understand the results of the changes made.

If grant recipients did not make a particular change, they should enter “N/A” into the response cell.

The first 7 questions ask:

1. If you made any changes to your income eligibility requirements this fiscal year, what was the result of those changes?

2. If you made any changes to your income verification/documentation requirements this fiscal year, what was the result of those changes?

3. If you made any changes to your outreach strategies this fiscal year, what was the result of those changes?

4. If you made any changes to your benefit matrix and/or your crisis maximum amounts this fiscal year, what was the result of those changes? *Note: for grant recipients that made changes in both of these areas, please indicate the results of each change and whether the changes/results were for heating or cooling assistance or both.

5. If you made any changes to how you are prioritizing vulnerable populations (i.e., the elderly, disabled, and young children) this fiscal year, what was the result of those changes?

6. If you made any changes to your policies on arrearage forgiveness (i.e., paying off a client’s outstanding energy debt in full) this fiscal year, what was the result of those changes?

7. If you made any changes to your other LIHEAP policies this fiscal year, what was the result of those changes?

Questions 8-12 below ask for narrative response only.

8. Describe up to three notable accomplishments/successes achieved by LIHEAP implementation during this fiscal year. Please include a participant success story, if applicable.

Recipients should report on accomplishments that they believe are notable, including accomplishments related to increases in assisted households, collaborative partnerships, innovations, policies, procedures, outreach, and/or outcomes.

9. Describe any challenges with administering LIHEAP this year.

Recipients should describe any challenges they have experienced with administering LIHEAP this year. This could include increased energy cost, intake issues, assisted households decreasing, or obligating funding.

10. Please list and describe up to three lessons learned during this past year as it relates to administering LIHEAP.

Recipients are encouraged to add information about their lessons learned planning for, implementing, and administering LIHEAP.

11. What can OCS do to better assist you in the upcoming fiscal year?

Recipients are encouraged to highlight anything OCS can do to assist you in the new fiscal year; in particular, OCS welcomes suggestions on training and technical assistance grant recipients may need to successfully administer LIHEAP at the state and/or local level.

12. Please provide a quote on the impact of LIHEAP from a utility provider.

Grant recipients are asked to provide a quote on the impact of LIHEAP from a different stakeholder in each quarter. For the fourth quarter, please submit a quote from a LIHEAP utility provider.

Section V: Remarks

If the recipient has concerns about the reliability or the validity of the data they provided in the quarterly report, they should provide an explanation of these concerns in section V.

Section VI: Certification

This is where the authorizing official that is inputting the data in the LIHEAP Quarterly Performance and Management Report certifies that the information provided is true, complete, and accurate to the best of their knowledge. The authorizing official is required to provide their name, job title, and electronic or written signature. Information from Microsoft Support on providing an electronic signature in Excel is available at this link. The report will be considered incomplete and not accepted unless this information is included. Recipients should submit their completed LIHEAP Quarterly Performance and Management Report as an Excel file via email to their LIHEAP program specialist by the due date outlined in these instructions.