83 FR 55894 - Data Exchange Standards for Improved Interoperability of Multiple Human Service Programs

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Administration for Children and Families

Federal Register Volume 83, Issue 217 (November 8, 2018)

A series of statutory changes \1\ in recent years require ACF to issue a regulation to establish standards for data exchange for the Social Security Act Title IV programs for child welfare and foster care (title IV-B and IV-E), child support (title IV-D), and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF, title IV-A). ACF is seeking public comment on the most effective approaches and technological tools to meet the statutory requirements, support program objectives, and expand the ability of these programs to use, share, and analyze data for improved outcomes. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 217 (Thursday, November 8, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55894-55896]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2018-24459]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Administration for Children and Families


Data Exchange Standards for Improved Interoperability of Multiple 
Human Service Programs

AGENCY: Office of Planning, Research & Evaluation (OPRE), 
Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Department of Health 
and Human Services (HHS).

ACTION: Request for comments.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: A series of statutory changes \1\ in recent years require ACF 
to issue a regulation to establish standards for data exchange for the 
Social Security Act Title IV programs for child welfare and foster care 
(title IV-B and IV-E), child support (title IV-D), and Temporary 
Assistance for Needy Families (TANF, title IV-A). ACF is seeking public 
comment on the most effective approaches and technological tools to 
meet the statutory requirements, support program objectives, and expand 
the ability of these programs to use, share, and analyze data for 
improved outcomes.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ Public Law 112-34 for child welfare programs (SSA Title IV-
B); Public Law 112-96 for TANF programs (SSA Title IV-A); Section 
304 of Public Law 113-183 for child support programs (SSA Title IV-
D); and Public Law 115-123 to amend the prior TANF (IV-A) language 
and add language for foster care programs (SSA Title IV-E).

DATES: Written comments must be submitted to the office listed in the 
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
ADDRESSES section below on or before January 7, 2019.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons may submit written comments by any of the 
following methods:
     Email: [email protected]. Please include ``Comments on 
Data Exchange Standards Federal Register Notice'' in the subject line 
of the message.
     Mail or Courier Delivery: c/o Chris Traver, Senior 
Advisor, Division of Data & Improvement, Office of Planning, Research, 
and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families, 330 C Street 
SW, Washington, DC 20201.
    Instructions: We urge you to submit comments electronically to 
ensure they are received in a timely manner. All comments received may 
be posted publicly including any personal information provided. Please 
be aware that mail via the U.S. Postal Service may take an additional 3 
to 4 days to process. If you choose to use an express, overnight, or 
other special delivery method, please ensure first that they are

[[Page 55895]]

able to deliver to the above address during the normal workweek.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Chris Traver, Senior Advisor, Division 
of Data & Improvement, Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation, 
Administration for Children and Families, 330 C Street SW, Washington, 
DC 20201; (202) 401-4835.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Background: Purpose of Data Exchange Standardization Requirement.
    The purpose of the statutory requirements and corresponding 
regulation is to ensure that state human service programs are able to 
effectively share data, both at the state level and with the federal 
government. For instance, states find significant value in the ability 
to share or link case level data from one information system to another 
on the same individuals receiving benefits and/or services in order to 
support a holistic, wrap-around services approach for individuals and 
families. To achieve this in an efficient manner, each agency must 
agree to describe the shared data in a common way. As a simple example, 
if an agency records in its information system a client's birthdate as 
12/11/10, it could be interpreted by another agency's information 
system as December 11, 2010, and by another agency as November 12, 
2010, or something else entirely. Those agencies must also agree on the 
mechanisms for sharing the data, such as secure interfaces (including 
APIs) \2\ or file transfers. Therefore, it is critical to reach 
agreement beforehand regarding the definitions and structures of data 
that is shared across programs and systems. Under the required 
regulation, ACF would work with the states to develop and implement 
data exchange standards for certain categories of information that 
would improve the quality and consistency of human services data 
sharing implementation nationwide.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \2\ Application Programming Interface--https://www.techopedia.com/definition/24407/application-programming-interface-api.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    In human services, data sharing is increasingly relied upon to 
enable coordination across programs and information/system silos, 
especially for effective integrated case management and prevention of 
improper payments. For example, if a single mother of two children is 
receiving a TANF benefit but the two children are subsequently removed 
and placed into foster care, data sharing across information systems 
would allow the TANF agency to know that the children are no longer 
living in the household and the mother may no longer be eligible for 
the same level of benefit.
    Data sharing also improves the quality of service delivery. For 
example, a child welfare caseworker might be able to retrieve a 
family's current address from child support data to locate the family 
for an in-person visit or locate the absent parent for possible 
placement of the children. Additionally, a data exchange between a 
child welfare agency with care and custody of a child and a child-
placing agency with physical custody would ensure both agencies have 
the most current information on the child in care.
    The importance of data sharing may be well understood. However, the 
preferred implementation method may vary by agency. The greater the 
degree of standardization, the easier it is to share data across 
organizations. While more effective and cost effective in the long run, 
this approach requires a standardized format, structure, and methods 
for sharing the data prior to implementation and may initially 
introduce additional considerations that influence time and cost. 
Therefore, the final regulation will seek the appropriate balance 
between the benefits of standardization and ease of implementation.

Regulation Development

    The Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation (OPRE) will lead 
the drafting of the regulation with subject matter expertise from the 
ACF Children's Bureau (CB), Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE), 
and Office of Family Assistance (OFA). Additionally, OPRE will consult 
with other agencies that may be impacted by the regulation through 
existing or future data exchange relationships, such as the Centers for 
Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Health Resources and 
Services Administration (HRSA).

Definitions (for the Purposes of This Request for Comment)

    Data Exchange should refer to any sharing of information, whether 
through transfer of data, expanded access to data, or any other 
mechanism that increases the utilization of information. Data exchange 
could include sharing for the purposes of case management, program 
administration, data reporting, analytics, etc. It is generally thought 
to refer to exchange of data across program, organizational, or 
jurisdictional boundaries, but this is not strictly necessary to be 
considered an exchange of information. In this context, data exchange 
typically refers to the electronic exchange of data via automated data 
systems, rather than through more traditional, often paper-based, 
means.
    Standards should refer to any documented, consistent, and 
repeatable method for exchanging data, either through technical or non-
technical means. There are technical standards for the electronic 
exchange of data (such as through tools including the National 
Information Exchange Model (NIEM),\3\ and there are also standards of 
practice in the context of business process. These are often codified 
in policies, interagency agreements, memoranda of understanding, 
service-level agreements, etc.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \3\ https://www.niem.gov/communities/human-services.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

What We Are Looking for in Public Comments

    ACF is committed to providing state agencies with flexibility to 
implement standards for economical, efficient, and effective 
information systems that support policy and practice. Therefore, we are 
soliciting comments from interested parties on setting standards for 
data exchanges that affect the SSA Title IV programs for child welfare 
and foster care (title IV-B and IV-E), child support (title IV-D), and 
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF, title IV-A). But we are 
also interested in receiving input affecting additional programs. 
Please comment on any aspects of the planned Data Exchange Standards 
Regulation that you wish.
    We are particularly interested in obtaining responses to the 
following questions:
    1. The ability to share data is often impacted by state or federal 
law, policies, or other governing frameworks. Are there individual 
programs or agencies that are particularly impacted by their existence 
or absence? What are the key enablers and/or barriers to automated data 
exchange in your program or agency?
    2. To what degree, if any, are data exchange efforts negatively 
impacted by a lack of standardization? In other words, where would 
greater consistency of data (definitions, format, and structure) help 
improve existing or planned data exchanges?
    3. Have you considered adopting a standards-based approach to data 
exchange? If so, were any existing standards frameworks (such as the 
National Information Exchange Model) considered, and what influenced 
the decision for or against? What are some of the benefits (planned or 
achieved) of adopting a standards-based approach?
    4. What factors should be considered before committing to a 
standards-based

[[Page 55896]]

approach to data exchange? This might include timing (procurement, 
fiscal year, or legislative cycles), cost, availability of required 
expertise, needed regulatory change, impacts on current practices, etc.
    5. If a more standards-based approach to data exchange were 
adopted, what kinds of technical assistance or training would you 
anticipate needing, if any?
    ACF appreciates any and all comments on the above questions, or 
related recommendations. Comments will be considered carefully and used 
to inform the development of a planned Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, 
which is anticipated to be published in the spring of 2019.

    Dated: October 25, 2018.
Lynn A. Johnson,
Assistant Secretary for Children and Families.
[FR Doc. 2018-24459 Filed 11-7-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4184-79-P