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Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance

Program Descriptions

93.569:  Community Services Block Grant (CSBG)

Popular Name:  CSBG

Objectives:  To provide assistance to States and local communities, working through a network of community action agencies and other neighborhood-based organizations, for the reduction of poverty, the revitalization of low-income communities, and the empowerment of low-income families and individuals in rural and urban areas to become fully self-sufficient (particularly families who are attempting to transition off a State program carried out under part A of title IV of the Social Security Act) and (1) To provide services and activities having a measurable and potential major impact on causes of poverty in the community or those areas of the community where poverty is a particularly acute problem; (2) to provide activities designed to assist low-income participants, including the elderly poor, to: (a) secure and retain meaningful employment; (b) attain an adequate education; (c) make better use of available income; (d) obtain and maintain adequate housing and a suitable living environment; (e) obtain emergency assistance through loans or grants to meet immediate and urgent individual and family needs, including health services, nutritious food, housing, and employment-related assistance; (f) remove obstacles and solve problems which block the achievement of self-sufficiency; (g) achieve greater participation in the affairs of the community; and (h) make more effective use of other related programs; (3) to provide on an emergency basis for the provision of such supplies and services, nutritious foodstuffs, and related services, as may be necessary to counteract conditions of starvation and malnutrition among the poor; (4) to coordinate and establish linkages between governmental and other social services programs to assure the effective delivery of such services to low-income individuals; and (5) to encourage the use of entities in the private sector of the community in efforts to ameliorate poverty in the community.

PROGRAM AND AWARD	FINANCIAL AND INFORMATION CONTACTS
ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS	FINANCIAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE INFO.
APPLICATION AND AWARD PROCESS	INFORMATION CONTACTS
RELATED PROGRAMS	ASSISTANCE CONSIDERATIONS
PROGRAM ACCOMPLISHMENTS	POST ASSISTANCE REQUIREMENTS

93.569 ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS:

Applicant Eligibility:  The Secretary is authorized to make grants to States. This means each of the 50 States, DC, Puerto Rico, Guam, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, and the Northern Mariana Islands. The Secretary also provides assistance directly to the governing body of an Indian Tribe or Tribal organization upon application by the tribe. Only State-recognized tribes, as evidenced by a statement to that effect by the Governor, or tribes formally recognized by the Secretary of the Interior under the procedure for such recognition in 25 CFR 54 are eligible to receive direct grants.

Beneficiary Eligibility:  States make grants to locally-based nonprofit community antipoverty agencies and other eligible entities which provide services to low-income individuals and families. The official poverty line as established by the Secretary of Health and Human Services is used as a criterion of eligibility in the Community Services Block Grant program. When a State determines that it serves the objectives of the block grant, it may revise the income limit, not to exceed 125 percent of the official poverty line.

Credentials/Documentation:  None.

93.569 APPLICATION AND AWARD PROCESS:

Preapplication Coordination:  This program is excluded from coverage under E.O. 12372.

Application Procedure:  Each State desiring to receive an allotment for a fiscal year is required to submit an application to the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS). Each application must contain assurances by the Chief Executive Officer of the State that the State will comply with Section 675B of the Community Services Block Grant Act and also meet conditions enumerated in Section 675C. No funds may be allotted to the State unless the legislature of the State conducts public hearings on the proposed use and distribution of funds to be provided under the Act. The latter sets forth the general purpose for which funds will be used, restrictions on administrative expenses, provisions for transfer of funds to other programs, eligible recipients, board requirements for community action agencies and other nonprofit organizations, fiscal control, monitoring, and Federal investigation provisions, coordination between antipoverty programs in each community and certain prohibitions on political activities. The Chief Executive Officer of each State is also required to prepare and submit a plan to the Secretary of HHS describing how the State will carry out the assurances in Section 675c. This program is excluded from coverage under 45 CFR, Part 1050.

Award Procedure:  HHS determines the amount of funds to be allocated as block grants to each State in accordance with the formula set forth in the Community Services Block Grant Act. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has the authority to apportion to the HHS through the course of a year the Congressional appropriation for block grants. Consistent with OMB's apportionment of funds, HHS will assign allotments to the States through individual awards or a series of awards, normally on a quarterly basis.

Deadlines:  States may apply for funds anytime during the fiscal year. Indian Tribes and organizations must apply by September 1 of each year to receive funds in the next Federal fiscal year.

Range of Approval/Disapproval Time:  Not applicable.

Appeals:  Funds may be withheld from any State which does not utilize its allotment substantially in accordance with the provisions of the Community Services Block Grant Act and the assurances provided in its application. This may be done only after adequate notice and an opportunity for a hearing conducted within the affected State.

Renewals:  Not applicable.

Criteria for Selecting Proposals:  Not applicable.

Examples of Funded Projects:  Not applicable.

Range and Average of Financial Assistance:  The range is from $2,815,274 to $46,767,114.

93.569 RELATED PROGRAMS:

• 93.568 Low-Income Home Energy Assistance (LIHEAP);
• 93.571 Community Services Block Grant Discretionary Awards: Community Food and Nutrition;
• 93.600 Head Start;
• 93.045 Special Programs for the Aging: Title III, Part C: Nutrition Services;
• 93.048 Special Programs for the Aging: Title IV: Training, Research and Discretionary Projects and Programs.

93.569 PROGRAM ACCOMPLISHMENTS:

93.569 FINANCIAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE INFO:

Federal Agency:  OFFICE OF COMMUNITY SERVICES, ADMINISTRATION FOR CHILDREN AND FAMILIES, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Type of Assistance:  Formula Grants.

Obligations:  (Grants and Contracts) FY 99 $499,824,321; FY 00 est $527,700,000; and FY 01 est $510,000,000.

Budget Account Number:  75-1504-0-1-506.

Authorization:  Community Opportunities, Accountability, and Training and Educational Services Act of 1998, Title II, Section 201 and Sections 671-679; Public Laws 97-35 and 103-252.

Regulations, Guidelines, and Literature:  45 CFR 16, 45 CFR 74 and 45 CFR 96.

93.569 INFO CONTACTS:

Regional or Local Office:  Not applicable.

Headquarters Office:  Division of State Assistance, Office of Community Services, Administration for Children and Families, Department of Health and Human Services, 370 L'Enfant Promenade, SW., Washington, DC 20447. Phone: (202) 401-9343. Use the same number for FTS.

(See Appendix IV for more contact info.)

93.569 ASSISTANCE CONSIDERATIONS:

Formula and Matching Requirements:  Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1981 (Public Law 97-35) as amended by the Human Services Amendments of 1994, (Public Law 103-252), Title II, The Community Services Block Grant Amendments of 1994, Sections 672, 674 and 681. Not less than one-half of one percent and not more than one percent of the amount appropriated may be reserved by the Secretary for training, technical assistance, planning, evaluation, and data collection activities related to programs or projects carried under this subtitle. Such activities may be carried out through grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements with eligible entities or with organizations or associations whose membership is composed of eligible entities or agencies that administer programs for eligible entities. One-half of one percent of the amount appropriated is apportioned on the basis of need among Guam, American Samoa, the Virgin Islands, the Northern Mariana Islands, and Palau. Of the remaining amount each State, (excluding the above, but including DC and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico) is allotted an amount which bears the same ratio as the amount received by the State for fiscal year 1981 under Section 221 of the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 bore to the total amount received by all States for fiscal year 1981 under Section 221. However, if the appropriation exceeds $345,000,000 after the amount necessary for purposes of discretionary funding under 681(c) and the one-half of one percent set aside for territories and insular areas under section 672(b)(1) are determined, no State receives less than one-half of one percent of the amount appropriated. This program has no matching requirements.

Length and Time Phasing of Assistance:  Entitlement amounts are for a specific fiscal year and the grant funds allotted to the State will be awarded in accordance with apportionment of funds from the Office of Management and Budget. Amounts unobligated by the State at the end of a fiscal year remain available for obligation during the succeeding fiscal year.

Uses and Use Restrictions:  (1) States receive block grants to ameliorate the causes of poverty in communities. The block grant approach gives the States flexibility to tailor their programs to the particular services needs in their communities. (2) States are required to use at least 90 percent of their allocations for grants to "eligible entities" as defined in the Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) Act, as amended; this includes primarily locally-based community action agencies and/or organizations that serve seasonal or migrant farm workers. States are allowed to grant up to 7 percent of the funds available under Section 675 (a)(2)(A)(i) of the CSBG Act to organizations which were not eligible entities in the previous fiscal year. (3) No more than the greater of $55,000 or 5 percent of each State's allocation may be used for administrative expenses at the State level. (4) States may transfer up to 5 percent of their allocation for services under the Older Americans Act, the Head Start program, the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program, or the Temporary Emergency Food Assistance Act of 1983.

93.569 POST ASSISTANCE REQUIREMENTS:

Reports:  The State must prepare a report on the proposed use of block grant funds received, including (1) A statement of goals and objectives; (2) information on the types of activities to be supported, geographic areas to be served, and categories or characteristics of individuals to be served, and (3) the criteria and method established for the distribution of funds to be targeted on the basis of need to achieve the purposes of the block grant funds. The report must include a description of how the State met the goals, objectives and needs in the use of funds for the previous fiscal year. At State option, this report may be combined into a single document with the application for funds and the plan for meeting statutory assurances.

Audits:  States must conduct financial and compliance audits of block grant funds annually in accordance with Section 675 (f) of the Community Services Block Grant Act. In accordance with the provisions of 45 CFR 74, Appendix J, "Audits of State and Local Governments," State and local governments that receive financial assistance of $100,000 or more within the State's fiscal year shall have an audit made for that year. State and local governments that receive between $25,000 and $100,000 within the State's fiscal year shall have an audit made in accordance with 45 CFR 74, Appendix J, or in accordance with Federal laws and regulations governing the programs in which they participate. Insofar as is practicable, the audits will be conducted in accordance with standards established by the Comptroller General for the audits of governmental organizations, programs, activities, and functions.

Records:  States are required to keep records sufficient to permit preparation of the required reports and to permit tracing of funds to a level of expenditure adequate to insure that funds have not been spent unlawfully.