Notice2026-11834
Submission for Office of Management and Budget Review; Annual Report on Households Assisted by the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP)
Primary source
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Published
June 12, 2026
Issuing agencies
Health and Human Services DepartmentChildren and Families Administration
Abstract
The Office of Community Services (OCS), Division of Energy Assistance, is requesting to reinstate the Annual Report on Households Assisted by the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) (LIHEAP Household Report; Office of Management and Budget (OMB) #: 0970-0060). The current OMB expiration date is March 31, 2026. Submission of the completed report is one requirement for LIHEAP grant recipients applying for federal LIHEAP block grant funds; the next report is due September 2026. OCS proposes changes to reduce the number of items requested and, therefore, related administrative and reporting burden.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 113 (Friday, June 12, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 113 (Friday, June 12, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35691-35692]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-11834]
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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Administration for Children and Families
[Office of Management and Budget #: 0970-0060]
Submission for Office of Management and Budget Review; Annual
Report on Households Assisted by the Low Income Home Energy Assistance
Program (LIHEAP)
AGENCY: Office of Community Services, Administration for Children and
Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
ACTION: Request for public comments.
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SUMMARY: The Office of Community Services (OCS), Division of Energy
Assistance, is requesting to reinstate the Annual Report on Households
Assisted by the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP)
(LIHEAP Household Report; Office of Management and Budget (OMB) #:
0970-0060). The current OMB expiration date is March 31, 2026.
Submission of the completed report is one requirement for LIHEAP grant
recipients applying for federal LIHEAP block grant funds; the next
report is due September 2026. OCS proposes changes to reduce the number
of items requested and, therefore, related administrative and reporting
burden.
DATES: Comments due July 13, 2026.
ADDRESSES: The public may view and comment on this information
collection request at: <a href="https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAViewICR?ref_nbr=202606-0970-007">https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAViewICR?ref_nbr=202606-0970-007</a>. You can also obtain copies of the
proposed collection of information by emailing
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#ee878088818d8182828b8d9a878180ae8f8d88c086869dc0898198"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="0861666e676b6764646d6b7c61676648696b6e2660607b266f677e">[email protected]</span></a>. Identify all emailed requests by the title
of the information collection.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Description: States, the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth
of Puerto Rico are required by the Low-Income Energy Assistance Act of
1981 (42 U.S.C. 8624, sec. 2610) to report statistics for the previous
federal fiscal year on the following:
<bullet> Assisted and applicant households, by type of LIHEAP
assistance and funding source.
<bullet> Assisted households receiving nominal payments of $50 or
less, by funding source.
<bullet> Assisted households receiving only utility payment
assistance, by funding source; this information will automatically be
transferred to the grant recipient's Performance Data Form.
<bullet> Assisted households, regardless of the type(s) of LIHEAP
assistance or funding source, excluding households that only receive
nominal payments of $50 or less.
<bullet> Assisted households, by type of LIHEAP assistance and
funding source, having at least one vulnerable member who is at least
60 years or older, disabled, or 5 years old or younger.
[[Page 35692]]
<bullet> Assisted households, by type of LIHEAP assistance and
funding source, with at least one member age 2 years or under.
<bullet> Assisted households, by type of LIHEAP assistance and
funding source, with at least one member ages 3 years through 5 years.
<bullet> Assisted households, regardless of the type(s) of LIHEAP
assistance or funding source, having at least one member 60 years or
older, disabled, or 5 years old or younger.
Indian tribal grant recipients are required to submit data only on
the number of households, by funding source, receiving heating,
cooling, energy crisis, and/or weatherization benefits. To account for
this difference, tribal grant recipients use the Annual LIHEAP
Household Report Short Format.
The information is being collected for the department's annual
LIHEAP report to Congress. The data also provides information about the
need for LIHEAP funds. Finally, the data are used in the calculation of
LIHEAP performance measures under the Government Performance and
Results Act of 1993. The data elements will allow for the accuracy of
measuring LIHEAP targeting performance and LIHEAP cost efficiency.
OCS proposes revisions to reduce the administrative burden and
length of form. The proposed revisions include the following:
<bullet> Remove reporting requirements related to sex, race, and
ethnicity, which are not required for statutory LIHEAP reporting or
performance measurement.
<bullet> Remove data elements associated with supplemental LIHEAP
funding provided under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic
Security Act and the American Rescue Plan Act, as these funding sources
have expired and are no longer applicable to ongoing program
operations.
Additionally, OCS proposes to adjust the burden estimates to no
longer account for burden at the household level. This report is an
administrative request for grant recipients, and the LIHEAP statute
gives grant recipients flexibility on how they collect household data.
Overall, these targeted changes reduce respondent burden, improve
clarity of reporting instruments, and ensure the collection remains
focused on current statutory and programmatic requirements.
Respondents: State governments, tribal governments, U.S.
territories, and the District of Columbia.
Annual Burden Estimates
Burden estimates have been updated to reflect the changes described
above, which include revisions to the report as well as an adjustment
to the burden estimates for respondents, to reduce burden at the
household level. This burden has been reduced by analyzing fiscal year
2026 LIHEAP Model Plans to calculate how grant recipients determine
eligibility. Based on LIHEAP Model Plans, 25 of the 52 state grant
recipients use categorical eligibility to determine LIHEAP household
eligibility. LIHEAP categorical eligibility makes a household
automatically income-eligible for energy assistance if any member
receives benefits from programs like Temporary Assistance for Needy
Families, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or Supplemental
Security Income, bypassing the typical income test, though income is
still used to set benefit amounts. This simplifies and reduces the
burden on households. Based on past average data, those 25 states make
up about 55 percent of all assisted households. To calculate this
burden, we used an estimate for the annual number of LIHEAP household
applicants multiplied by an average of \1/3\ of an hour to provide the
data required by the Household Report. The estimated time per response
for the short format, completed by tribal governments some small
territories, was reduced from 10 hours to six hours per response. The
long format, completed by all states, District of Columbia, and Puerto
Rico, was reduced from 67 hours to 41 hours per response.
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Annual number Average hour
Instrument Number of of responses burden per Annual burden
respondents per respondent response hours
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Long Format..................................... 52 1 41 2,132
Short Format.................................... 133 1 6 798
Household Application........................... 6,160,000 1 .3 1,848,000
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Total Annual Burden Hours................... .............. .............. .............. 1,850,930
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Authority: U.S.C. 8629 and 45 CFR 96.82.
Mary C. Jones,
ACF/OPRE Certifying Officer.
[FR Doc. 2026-11834 Filed 6-11-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4184-80-P
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