E9-5412. State Median Income Estimate for a Four-Person Family: Notice of the Federal Fiscal Year (FFY) 2010 State Median Income Estimates for Use Under the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) (Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance ...

AGENCY:

Administration for Children and Families, Office of Community Services, Division of Energy Assistance, HHS.

ACTION:

Notice of State median income estimates for FFY 2010.

SUMMARY:

This notice announces to LIHEAP grantees the estimated median income of four-person families in each State and the District of Columbia for FFY 2010 (October 1, 2009, to September 30, 2010). LIHEAP grantees that choose to base their income eligibility criteria on these State median income estimates may adopt these estimates (up to 60 percent) on the estimates' date of publication in the Federal Register or on a later date as discussed below. This enables these grantees to implement this notice during the period between the heating and cooling seasons.

However, by October 1, 2009, or the beginning of the grantees' fiscal years, whichever is later, these grantees must adjust their income eligibility criteria so that such criteria are in accord with the FFY 2010 State median income estimates.

This listing of 60 percent of estimated State median incomes provides one of the maximum income criteria that LIHEAP grantees may use in determining a household's income eligibility for LIHEAP.

DATES:

Effective Date: For each LIHEAP grantee, these estimates become effective at any time between their date of publication in the Federal Register and the later of October 1, 2009, or the beginning of that grantee's fiscal year.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Peter Edelman, Office of Community Services, Division of Energy Assistance, 5th Floor West, 370 L'Enfant Promenade, SW.,Washington, DC 20447, Telephone: [phone], E-Mail: [e-mail].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Under the provisions of section 2603(11) of Title XXVI of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1981, Public Law (Pub. L.) 97-35, as amended, HHS announces the estimated median income of four-person families for each State, the District of Columbia, and the United States for FFY 2010 (October 1, 2009, through September 30, 2010).

Section 2605(b)(2)(B)(ii) of this Act provides that 60 percent of the median income for each State and the District of Columbia (State median income, or SMI), as annually established by the Secretary of Health and Human Services, is one of the income criteria that LIHEAP grantees may use in determining a household's eligibility for LIHEAP.

LIHEAP was last authorized by the Energy Policy Act of 2005, Public Law 109-58, which was enacted on August 8, 2005. This authorization expired on September 30, 2007, and reauthorization remains pending.

The SMI estimates that HHS publishes in this notice are three-year estimates derived from the American Community Survey (ACS) conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Department of Commerce (Census Bureau). HHS obtained these estimates directly from the Census Bureau. For additional information about the ACS State median income estimates, see http://www.census.gov/​hhes/​www/​income/​medincsizeandstate.html. For additional information about the ACS in general, see http://www.census.gov/​acs/​www/​ or contact the Census Bureau's Housing and Household Economic Statistics Division at [phone].

Under the advice of the Census Bureau, HHS switched to three-year estimates rather than single-year estimates to reduce the large year-to-year fluctuations that the single-year estimates tend to generate for certain States and the District of Columbia. The change from the single-year to three-year estimates caused the FFY 2010 estimates to drop by about two percent on average. HHS plans to use the Census Bureau's ACS-derived SMI three-year estimates for all fiscal years after 2010. For further information about ACS one-year and three-year estimates, see http://factfinder.census.gov/​jsp/​saff/​SAFFInfo.jsp?​_​content=​acs_​guidance.html.

The State median income estimates, like those derived from any survey, are subject to two types of errors: (1) Nonsampling Error, which consists of random errors that increase the variability of the data and non-random errors that consistently direct the data into a specific direction; and (2) Sampling Error, which consists of the error that arises from the use of probability sampling to create the sample. For additional information about the accuracy of the ACS State median income estimates, see http://www.census.gov/​acs/​www/​Downloads/​ACS/​accuracy2005-2007.pdf.

A State-by-State listing of SMI and 60 percent of SMI for a four-person family for FFY 2010 follows. The listing describes the method for adjusting SMI for families of different sizes as specified in regulations applicable to LIHEAP, at 45 CFR 96.85(b), which were published in the Federal Register on March 3, 1988, at 53 FR 6824 and amended on October 15, 1999, at 64 FR 55858.

Dated: March 5, 2009.

Yolanda J. Butler, PhD,

Acting Director, Office of Community Services.

Estimated State Median Income for a Four-Person Family, by State, for Federal Fiscal Year (FFY) 2010, for Use in the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP)

States	Estimated state median income for a four-person family1	60 Percent of estimated state median income for a four-person family 2 3
Alabama	$60,382	$36,229
Alaska	79,770	47,862
Arizona	66,839	40,103
Arkansas	54,662	32,797
California	76,388	45,833
Colorado	76,200	45,720
Connecticut	97,708	58,625
Delaware	79,709	47,825
District of Columbia	64,678	38,807
Florida	67,014	40,208
Georgia	68,776	41,266
Hawaii	84,438	50,663
Idaho	60,560	36,336
Illinois	77,813	46,688
Indiana	68,410	41,046
Iowa	70,967	42,580
Kansas	69,863	41,918
Kentucky	61,207	36,724
Louisiana	61,438	36,863
Maine	66,948	40,169
Maryland	96,952	58,171
Massachusetts	93,351	56,011
Michigan	75,149	45,089
Minnesota	83,444	50,066
Mississippi	52,870	31,722
Missouri	66,939	40,163
Montana	62,353	37,412
Nebraska	69,854	41,912
Nevada	68,646	41,188
New Hampshire	88,625	53,175
New Jersey	97,326	58,396
New Mexico	53,041	31,825
New York	78,061	46,837
North Carolina	64,591	38,755
North Dakota	67,183	40,310
Ohio	71,063	42,638
Oklahoma	57,247	34,348
Oregon	67,605	40,563
Pennsylvania	75,161	45,097
Rhode Island	83,241	49,945
South Carolina	61,494	36,896
South Dakota	64,930	38,958
Tennessee	61,581	36,949
Texas	62,358	37,415
Utah	65,460	39,276
Vermont	73,550	44,130
Virginia	81,919	49,151
Washington	77,676	46,606
West Virginia	56,430	33,858
Wisconsin	75,111	45,067
Wyoming	72,788	43,673
Note: FFY 2010 covers the period of October 1, 2009, through September 30, 2010. The estimated median income for a four-person family living in the United States for this period is $72,336. These estimates become effective for LIHEAP at any time between the date of this publication and October 1, 2009, or the beginning of a LIHEAP grantee's fiscal year, whichever is later.
1 Prepared by the U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Department of Commerce (Census Bureau), from an average of data from the 2005, 2006 and 2007 American Community Surveys (ACSs). These estimates, like those derived from any survey, are subject to two types of errors: (1) Nonsampling Error, which consists of random errors that increase the variability of the data and non-random errors that consistently direct the data into a specific direction; and (2) Sampling Error, which consists of the error that arises from the use of probability sampling to create the sample.
2 These figures were calculated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Community Services, Division of Energy Assistance (DEA) by multiplying the estimated State median income for a four-person family for each State by 60 percent.
3 To adjust for different sizes of family, 45 CFR 96.85 calls for multiplying 60 percent of a State's estimated median income for a four-person family by the following percentages: 52 percent for one person, 68 percent for two persons, 84 percent for three persons, 100 percent for four persons, 116 percent for five persons, and 132 percent for six persons. For each additional family member above six persons, 45 CFR 96.85 calls for adding 3 percentage points to the percentage for a six-person family (132 percent) and multiply the new percentage by 60 percent of a State's estimated median income for a four-person family.