May 3 -- The Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE), Administration for Children and Families (ACF), is requesting the federal Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to approve the National Directory of New Hires (NDNH), with minor changes to the Multistate Employer Registration form, for an additional three years. Comments to OMB by June 2, 2022 are invited.
The National Directory of New Hires (NDNH) is a federally mandated national repository of employment, unemployment insurance, and quarterly wage information submitted by state directories of new hires (SDNH), state workforce agencies (SWA), and federal employers. Collecting NDNH information is necessary to fulfill the federal child support enforcement requirements and to assist congressionally authorized state and federal agencies administer certain benefit programs.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE) operates the NDNH under 42 U.S.C. § 653(i)(1). The information collection activities pertaining to the NDNH are authorized by: 1) 42 U.S.C. § 653a(b)(2)(A), which requires employers to report all newly hired employees to the SDNH within 20 days after hiring; 2) 42 U.S.C. § 653a(e), which requires states to enter the new hire information into the SDNH within five days of receipt from the employer; 3) 42 U.S.C. § 653a(g)(2)(A), which requires the SDNH to transmit the new hire information to the NDNH within three business days of the data being entered in the SDNH; 4) 26 U.S.C. § 3304(a)(16)(B) and 42 U.S.C. § 503(h)(1)(A), which require state unemployment compensation agencies to report wage and claim information to the NDNH; 5) 42 U.S.C. § 653a(g)(2)(B), which requires the SDNH to report wages and other compensation to the NDNH quarterly; 6) 42 U.S.C. § 653(n) and 42 U.S.C. § 653a(b)(1)(C), which require federal employers to report all newly hired employees to the NDNH within 20 days after hiring; 7) 42 U.S.C. § 653(n), which requires federal agencies to submit quarterly wages paid to employees during the previous quarter to the NDNH, except for those employees performing intelligence or counterintelligence functions, if the head of the agency determines that such report would endanger the employee or compromise an investigation or intelligence mission; and (8) 42 U.S.C 653a(b)(1)(B), which requires multistate employers to notify the HHS Secretary about the state it designates for submissions.
State child support agencies, courts, parents, certain agents, attorneys, and foreign reciprocating countries use information reported to the NDNH to obtain locate, employment, and unemployment compensation benefits information pertaining to parents with child support obligations who reside and work in other states. Child support agencies use this information to establish, modify, or enforce a child support order. NDNH information is matched with child support case abstracts transmitted by child support agencies to the Federal Case Registry of child support orders within two business days. The results of the comparisons are transmitted to the appropriate state child support agency. 42 U.S.C. §§ 653(a)(2), and 653a(h)(1) and (f)(2).
Legally authorized state and federal agencies, researchers, and data matching partners also use NDNH information to:
Enforce state and federal law for unlawfully taking or restraining a child or making or enforcing a child custody or visitation determination. 42 U.S.C. § 653(a)(3).
Administer the Earned Income Tax Credit program. 42 U.S.C. § 653(i)(3).
Compare data among different components of the Federal Parent Locator Service (FPLS) to facilitate Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF), child and family services, child support, foster care, and adoption. 42 U.S.C. § 653(j)(3).
Administer the Social Security program. 42 U.S.C. § 653(j)(4).
Conduct research that would contribute to TANF or child support programs. Any data provided to researchers would not include personal identifiers. 42 U.S.C. § 653(j)(5).
Match individual student loan borrowers who are in default or have an obligation to refund an overpayment of a grant. 42 U.S.C. § 653(j)(6).
Verify the employment and income of individuals participating in certain federal housing programs. 42 U.S.C. § 653(j)(7).
Administer the unemployment compensation program. 42 U.S.C. § 653(j)(8).
Collect federal (non-tax) debts. 42 U.S.C. § 653(j)(9).
Administer the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. 42 U.S.C. § 653(j)(10).
Verify the employment and income of individuals applying for, or receiving, certain Veterans Administration benefits, compensation, or services. 42 U.S.C. § 653(j)(11).
Administer child support programs by foreign reciprocating countries. 42 U.S.C. § 659a(c)(2) and (3).
Locate a parent for purposes of the International Child Abduction Remedies Act. 22 U.S.C. § 9006(d) and 42 U.S.C. § 659(c)(3).
The NDNH may also be used by entities such as law enforcement, the Department of Justice, courts, other adjudicative bodies for critical issues pertaining to legal matters and national security, and by contractors who are required to have access in the event of a security breach.
A Guide to the National Directory of New Hires:
https://www.acf.hhs.gov/css/training-technical-assistance/guide-national-directory-new-hires
Submission to OMB:
https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAViewICR?ref_nbr=202204-0970-006 Click IC List for data collection instruments, View Supporting Statement for technical documentation. Submit comments through this site.
FRN:
https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2022-09461
For AEA members wishing to submit comments to OMB, the AEA Committee on Economic Statistics offers "A Primer on How to Respond to Calls for Comment on Federal Data Collections" at
https://www.aeaweb.org/content/file?id=5806