Kids' Grants Get Easier Forms: ACF's Paperwork Purge
Published Date: 12/29/2025
Notice
Summary
The Administration for Children and Families wants to simplify how grant applicants describe their projects by using one easy-to-understand form instead of two. This change affects anyone applying for ACF funding and aims to make the process smoother without adding extra costs or delays. Public comments are open until February 27, 2026, before the new form gets a one-year extension.
Analyzed Economic Effects
3 provisions identified: 2 benefits, 1 costs, 0 mixed.
Paperwork Burden: 57.9 Hours Per Application
ACF estimates the streamlined UPD will be used by 2,672 respondents, with an average of 57.9 hours per response and a total annual burden of 154,709 hours. These hours represent the annual paperwork time associated with completing the SimplerNOFO UPD.
Single Simplified UPD for Grant Applicants
ACF proposes to switch fully to the simplified Uniform Project Description (called the SimplerNOFO UPD) so all applicants to ACF discretionary Notices of Funding Opportunities will use one streamlined form. ACF will keep two sets of instructions briefly, but the simplified UPD becomes the single form used going forward.
Plain-Language and Clarification Edits
ACF will make minor revisions to the UPD instructions for clarification and to use plain language. These edits aim to make the instructions easier to understand for applicants responding to ACF discretionary NOFOs.
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