Revised OCSS-396 and OCSS-34 Forms —expire June 30, 2027

ACF-OCSS-AT-24-11

Publication Date: December 20, 2024
Current as of:

ACTION TRANSMITTAL

ACF-OCSS-AT-24-11

DATE: December 20, 2024

TO: State and Tribal IV-D Agencies

SUBJECT: Revised OCSS-396 and OCSS-34 Forms —expire June 30, 2027

ATTACHMENTS:

The Office of Management and Budget approved revised forms and instructions for OCSS-396 Quarterly Financial Report and OCSS-34 Quarterly Collection Report (OMB No. 0970-0510). The new expiration date is June 30, 2027.

States use Form OCSS-396 to report quarterly expenditures made in the previous quarter and to estimate program expenditures to be made and incentive payments to be earned in the upcoming quarter. States and tribes use Form OCSS-34 to report quarterly collections made under Title IV- D of the Social Security Act.

In addition to minor text changes and updates to the program name and contacts on both forms, we updated the OCSS-396 form and instructions as indicated below to improve clarity and ensure accuracy of reported data.

OCSS-396 Form

  • Line 1d: Changed the word “Waiver” to “Exemption.”
  • Funding Categories Footnotes: Replaced the word “Waiver” with “Exemption” and removed the last footnote.

OCSS-396 Instructions 

Part 1 Definitions:

Non-Federal Share (State Share) (Line 15)

  • Added the following clarifying instructions: It may include funds appropriated by the State legislature or donated funds. Donated funds and funds transferred from another public agency or expenditures made by another public agency and certified as applicable under the title IV-D State plan may be part of the non-Federal share of funding for this program. (See 45 CFR 304.30) Third party in-kind contributions may not be used as the non-Federal share of any program expenditure.

Prior Quarter Adjustments (Cols. C and D)

  • Added the following clarifying sentence in the “Claiming Deadline” section: Prior quarter adjustments may impact FFP received; however, as noted above, for the purpose of incentive calculations and publication of statistical data, only data received by December 31 (three months after the end of each fiscal year) will be used by OCSS.

Section A. Expenditures

  • Line 1c: Added this comment under the Note: (See OCSS Policy Interpretation 
    Question PIQ-10-01, published October 21, 2010, for further details on what may or may not qualify for FFP.)
  • Line 1d: Changed “Waiver” to “Exemption” throughout this section.

ACF is coordinating with GrantSolutions to update the form and instructions in the Online Data Collection (OLDC) system.

Updates to the OLDC form and instructions will not impact the timeline for submission of either form.

ACTION REQUIRED: You can begin using revised forms OCSS-396 and OCSS-34 immediately. Electronic submission is required through OLDC in GrantSolutions. PDF copies of the forms are included for reference only and should not be used for submission.

SUPERSEDES: AT-22-01

EFFECTIVE DATE: Immediately

INQUIRIES: OCSS Data Analytics Branch at OCSS_DFS_DAB@acf.hhs.gov and ACF Office of Grants Management at DMG@acf.hhs.gov.

Tanguler Gray 
Commissioner
Office of Child Support Services