Child Care Bureau: Laws, Policies, Program Instructions, and Allocations

Financial Reporting for Indian Tribes

Announcement of Online Data Collection (OLDC) System (also available in Word and PDF)

August 12, 2004

Dear CCDF Tribal Grantee:

We are pleased to announce the next step in the evolution of financial reporting at the Administration for Children and Families (ACF). Grantees may now submit financial reports using the new Internet-based Online Data Collection (OLDC) system. Beginning October 1, 2004, the Child Care and Development Fund Financial Reports for Tribes, the ACF-696T, will become part of the system. At that time, grantees who wish to use OLDC may enter and retrieve financial information for their grants for fiscal years 2002, 2003 and 2004.

To use OLDC, you will need access to the Internet. Access may be available through your Lead Agency, another agency of tribal government, a public library, or other local option. Access to the system is controlled by user names, passwords, and job types as well as user roles. A single job type may encompass several user roles. It is the role designation that determines the degree of access within the system and reflects the duties and responsibilities of an individual staff member. A copy of the Help Sheet "Grant Administrator Overview and List of Roles" is enclosed to assist you in determining the correct role designations for staff who will submit information through the system.

It is important to note that three roles are not automatically assigned by the system when a job type is designated. They are "Certify," "Submit" and "Unsubmit." The "Certify" role is to be reserved for someone with formal signatory authority. It allows for confirmation that a submission is official. The "Submit" role allows staff with submit authority to convey electronic reports to ACF. At least one staff member must have this role. And the "Unsubmit" role allows for the withdrawal of a previous submission for revision. These roles must be identified separately. To ensure that you and your staff are recognized by the system in the roles you will play, please complete the enclosed OLDC Request Form and return it to your Regional Office specialist. A list of contacts is enclosed for your use.

You must submit a separate OLDC Request Form for each staff member who will use the system. Please indicate whether an individual will play Certify, Submit and/or Unsubmit roles in addition to the job type. Roles will be formally assigned during the creation of a User ID by ACF staff. Once an OLDC User ID and password have been created, ACF will send an e-mail message to the new user providing access information.

Submitting ACF financial reports through OLDC will reduce grant paperwork and allow for quicker and more accurate processing. The system will automatically complete required calculations and check submissions for errors. For ease in processing, the electronic forms closely resemble ACF's paper forms.

To encourage the fullest possible participation in the new system, ACF has extended the FY 2004 financial reporting deadline for electronically submitted forms. Manually submitted forms must be received no later than December 29, 2004. Grantees who choose to use the system will have up to March 31, 2005 to submit their financial reports (ACF-696T). In order to have access to the system in time to meet the extended deadline, OLDC Request Forms must be received no later than February 25, 2005.

We encourage you to explore the advantages of the OLDC system. If you have questions or need assistance, your ACF Regional CCDF specialist will be available to help you get started.

Sincerely,

//signed//

Curtis L. Coy
Deputy Assistant Secretary
for Administration

Enclosures

OLDC Request Form and Instructions
OLDC Help Sheets - Combined