DATA COLLECTION AND REPORTING

Sec. 411. [42 U.S.C. 611] (a) Quarterly Reports by States.—

(1) General reporting requirement.—

(A) Contents of report.—Each eligible State shall collect on a monthly basis, and report to the Secretary on a quarterly basis, the following disaggregated case record information on the families receiving assistance under the State program funded under this part (except for information relating to activities carried out under section 403(a)(5)):

(i) The county of residence of the family.

(ii) Whether a child receiving such assistance or an adult in the family is receiving—

(I) Federal disability insurance benefits;

(II) benefits based on Federal disability status;

(III) aid under a State plan approved under title XIV (as in effect without regard to the amendment made by section 301 of the Social Security Amendments of 1972^[46]));

(IV) aid or assistance under a State plan approved under title XVI (as in effect without regard to such amendment) by reason of being permanently and totally disabled; or

(V) supplemental security income benefits under title XVI (as in effect pursuant to such amendment) by reason of disability.

(iii) The ages of the members of such families.

(iv) The number of individuals in the family, and the relation of each family member to the head of the family.

(v) The employment status and earnings of the employed adult in the family.

(vi) The marital status of the adults in the family, including whether such adults have never married, are widowed, or are divorced.

(vii) The race and educational level of each adult in the family.

(viii) The race and educational level of each child in the family.

(ix) Whether the family received subsidized housing, medical assistance under the State plan approved under title XIX, supplemental nutrition assistance program^[47], or subsidized child care, and if the latter 2, the amount received.

(x) The number of months that the family has received each type of assistance under the program.

(xi) If the adults participated in, and the number of hours per week of participation in, the following activities:

(I) Education.

(II) Subsidized private sector employment.

(III) Unsubsidized employment.

(IV) Public sector employment, work experience, or community service.

(V) Job search.

(VI) Job skills training or on-the-job training.

(VII) Vocational education.

(xii) Information necessary to calculate participation rates under section 407.

(xiii) The type and amount of assistance received under the program, including the amount of and reason for any reduction of assistance (including sanctions).

(xiv) Any amount of unearned income received by any member of the family.

(xv) The citizenship of the members of the family.

(xvi) From a sample of closed cases, whether the family left the program, and if so, whether the family left due to—

(I) employment;

(II) marriage;

(III) the prohibition set forth in section 408(a)(7);

(IV) sanction; or

(V) State policy.

(xvii) With respect to each individual in the family who has not attained 20 years of age, whether the individual is a parent of a child in the family.

(B) Use of samples.—

(i) Authority.—A State may comply with subparagraph (A) by submitting disaggregated case record information on a sample of families selected through the use of scientifically acceptable sampling methods approved by the Secretary.

(ii) Sampling and other methods.—The Secretary shall provide the States with such case sampling plans and data collection procedures as the Secretary deems necessary to produce statistically valid estimates of the performance of State programs funded under this part. The Secretary may develop and implement procedures for verifying the quality of data submitted by the States.

(2) Report on use of federal funds to cover administrative costs and overhead.—The report required by paragraph (1) for a fiscal quarter shall include a statement of the percentage of the funds paid to the State under this part for the quarter that are used to cover administrative costs or overhead, with a separate statement of the percentage of such funds that are used to cover administrative costs or overhead incurred for programs operated with funds provided under section 403(a)(5).

(3) Report on state expenditures on programs for needy families.—The report required by paragraph (1) for a fiscal quarter shall include a statement of the total amount expended by the State during the quarter on programs for needy families, with a separate statement of the total amount expended by the State during the quarter on programs operated with funds provided under section 403(a)(5).

(4) Report on noncustodial parents participating in work activities.—The report required by paragraph (1) for a fiscal quarter shall include the number of noncustodial parents in the State who participated in work activities (as defined in section 407(d)) during the quarter, with a separate statement of the number of such parents who participated in programs operated with funds provided under section 403(a)(5).

(5) Report on transitional services.—The report required by paragraph (1) for a fiscal quarter shall include the total amount expended by the State during the quarter to provide transitional services to a family that has ceased to receive assistance under this part because of employment, along with a description of such services.

(6) Report on families receiving assistance.—The report required by paragraph (1) for a fiscal quarter shall include for each month in the quarter—

(A) the number of families and individuals receiving assistance under the State program funded under this part (including the number of 2-parent and 1-parent families);

(B) the total dollar value of such assistance received by all families; and

(C) with respect to families and individuals participating in a program operated with funds provided under section 403(a)(5)—

(i) the total number of such families and individuals; and

(ii) the number of such families and individuals whose participation in such a program was terminated during a month.

(7) Regulations.—The Secretary shall prescribe such regulations as may be necessary to define the data elements with respect to which reports are required by this subsection, and shall consult with the Secretary of Labor in defining the data elements with respect to programs operated with funds provided under section 403(a)(5).

(b) Annual Reports to the Congress by the Secretary.—Not later than 6 months after the end of fiscal year 1997, and each fiscal year thereafter, the Secretary shall transmit to the Congress a report describing—

(1) whether the States are meeting—

(A) the participation rates described in section 407(a); and

(B) the objectives of—

(i) increasing employment and earnings of needy families, and child support collections; and

(ii) decreasing out-of-wedlock pregnancies and child poverty;

(2) the demographic and financial characteristics of families applying for assistance, families receiving assistance, and families that become ineligible to receive assistance;

(3) the characteristics of each State program funded under this part; and

(4) the trends in employment and earnings of needy families with minor children living at home.

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^[46]  P.L. 92-603; 86 Stat. 1329.

^[47]  P.L. 110-246, §4002(b)(1)(E), struck out “food stamps” and substituted “supplemental nutrition assistance program benefits”, effective October 1, 2008.

P.L. 110-234, §4002(b)(1)(E), which made the same amendment, was repealed, effective May 22, 2008 pursuant to P.L. 110-246, §4(a).