2020-16893. Proposed Information Collection Activity; Voluntary Acknowledgment of Paternity and Required Data Elements for Paternity Establishment Affidavits

AGENCY:

Office of Child Support Enforcement, Administration for Children and Families, HHS.

ACTION:

Request for Public Comment.

SUMMARY:

The Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE), Administration for Children and Families (ACF), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is requesting a 3-year extension of the Voluntary Acknowledgment of Paternity and Required Data Elements for Paternity Establishment Affidavits (OMB #0970-0171). There are no changes requested to the form.

DATES:

Comments due within 60 days of publication. In compliance with the requirements of Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, ACF is soliciting public comment on the specific aspects of the information collection described above.

ADDRESSES:

Copies of the proposed collection of information can be obtained and comments may be forwarded by emailing [e-mail]. Alternatively, copies can also be obtained by writing to the Administration for Children and Families, Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation (OPRE), 330 C Street SW, Washington, DC 20201, Attn: ACF Reports Clearance Officer. All requests, emailed or written, should be identified by the title of the information collection.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Description: Section 466(a)(5)(C) of the Social Security Act requires states to enact laws ensuring a simple civil process for voluntarily acknowledging paternity via an affidavit. The development and use of an affidavit for the voluntary acknowledgment of paternity would include the minimum requirements of the affidavit specified by the Secretary of Health and Human Services under section 452(a)(7) of the Social Security Act and give full faith and credit to such an affidavit signed in any other state according to its procedures. The state must provide that, before a mother and putative father can sign a voluntary acknowledgement of paternity, the mother and putative father must be given notice, orally and in writing of the alternatives to, the legal consequences of, and the rights (including any rights, if one parent is a minor, due to minority status) and responsibilities of acknowledging paternity. The affidavits will be used by hospitals, birth record agencies, and other entities participating in the voluntary paternity establishment program to collect information from the parents of nonmarital children.

Respondents: The parents of nonmarital children, state and tribal agencies operating child support programs under Title IV-D of the Social Security Act, hospitals, birth record agencies, and other entities participating in the voluntary paternity establishment program.

Annual Burden Estimates

Instrument	Annual number of respondents	Annual number of responses per respondent	Average annual burden hours per response	Annual burden hours
Training	134,685	1	1	134,685
Paternity Acknowledgment Process	1,471,079	1	0.17	250,083
Data Elements	54	1	54	54
Ordering Brochures	2,693,695	1	.08	215,496
Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 600,318.

Comments: The Department specifically requests comments on (a) whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the information shall have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of information; (c) the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on respondents, including through the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology. Consideration will be given to comments and suggestions submitted within 60 days of this publication.

Authority: 42 U.S.C. 666(a)(5)(C) and 652(a)(7).

John M. Sweet Jr.,

ACF/OPRE Certifying Officer.