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CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION Under the Social Services Block Grant (SSBG) program, funds are provided to States for use in supporting services directed toward meeting the needs of individuals and families residing in the State. This report discusses the expenditure of SSBG funds by States and the number of recipients of services funded by this program in 1999. This first chapter provides a history of the SSBG and States' responsibilities to report on their use of SSBG funds. |
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1.1 Background |
On January 4, 1975, legislation was signed into law establishing title XX of the Social Security Act. Prior to title XX, Federal funding for social services was largely limited to specific categories of programs. Title XX was designed to give maximum flexibility to the States by allowing them to use Federal funds to fill the gaps in funding for needed services. In 1981, the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (Public Law 97-35) amended title XX to establish the Social Services Block Grant program, under which grants are allocated to the 50 States, the District of Columbia, and other eligible jurisdictions, on the basis of population. Funding for social services and for staff training for those providing social services were combined in this block grant.1 Federal funds in this block grant are not contingent on matching funds provided by the State. On November 15, 1993, the Department of Health and Human Services published a final rule implementing requirements for States to report on their use of SSBG funding and providing uniform definitions of 29 services for which SSBG funds may be expended. Under the final rule, States were given considerable discretion to determine the services to be provided and the groups eligible for services, usually low-income families and individuals. However, services funded by SSBG are to be directed at one or more of five broad goals:
On November 15, 1993, the Department of Health and Human Services published a final rule implementing new reporting requirements for States. For reporting purposes, these rules also provided uniform definitions of the following 29 services:
Definitions of these services appear in appendix A. These definitions do not limit the flexibility of each State to determine which of the services to provide. Public Law 97-35 also gave States the authority to transfer up to 10 percent of their annual SSBG allotment to one or any combination of the three health care block grants and the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Block Grant. Reciprocally, most other block grant regulations allow States to transfer funds into the SSBG. In 1996, Public Law 104-193 replaced the Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program with a block grant to States called Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). States were allowed to transfer TANF funds to either the SSBG or to the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG). States were required to transfer $2 to the CCDBG for every dollar transferred to the SSBG, with a maximum transfer of 30 percent of the State TANF allotment. The Balanced Budget Act of 1997 (Public Law 105-33) revised this provision so that States are allowed to transfer up to 10 percent of their TANF allotment to the SSBG, regardless of how much, if any, they transfer to the CCDBG.2 The regulation stipulates that any TANF funds transferred to the SSBG be used for families with incomes no higher than 200 percent of the Federal poverty guidelines.3 According to the TANF report for the fourth quarter of 1999, 40 States transferred funds from TANF into the SSBG in 1999. Because of the considerable flexibility States have in their use of SSBG funds, expenditures vary among States and from year to year for each State. In some States, the SSBG is used to fund one or two services in their entirety; in others, the SSBG supplements other funds. The authorized spending level for the SSBG program has been reduced significantly during the past several years. In FY 1995, $2.800 billion was appropriated for SSBG; in FY 1997, $2.500 billion; in FY 1999, it was 1.909 billion. 4,5 |
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| 1.2 Annual SSBG Reporting |
States are required to report their annual SSBG expenditures on a standard post-expenditure report (appendices B and C) within 6 months of the end of their reporting year, i.e., either the Federal fiscal year or the State fiscal year. States must report on the total number of adults and children served and expenditures in each of 29 service categories for the reporting period. The Office of Community Services (OCS), in the Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, administers the SSBG program and provides technical assistance to States on reporting issues as needed. On the annual post-expenditure form, States record expenditures in two columns: SSBG expenditures and total expenditures. SSBG expenditures include all expenditures of SSBG funds, as well as expenditures of funds transferred in from TANF. Total expenditures are to include SSBG expenditures plus expenditures of State funds and other Federal funds for each appropriate SSBG service category. However, because program expenditures are often distributed among several State and local agencies and departmental units, some States are unable to gather complete data on expenditures for a service category.6 Individual agencies may incorporate different program definitions, have different reporting requirements, or may record expenditures using varying time periods (such as State or Federal fiscal year). The number of recipients for each service is based on the count provided by each State. State counts include persons who have received services that have been paid for, in whole or in part, by the SSBG. In other words, in each State, for each service, the SSBG may have paid for the total cost of serving the reported number of recipients or may have paid for a portion of the total cost of serving these clients.
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| 1.3 Method for Data Collection and Analysis |
Analyses in this report are based on post-expenditure reports for 1999. Post-expenditure reports were received from all 51 States (in this report, "States" includes the District of Columbia)7, entered into a database, and validated. . Because of the Congress's past concerns about the lack of information on the effectiveness of the SSBG in accomplishing its stated program goals, the Department has taken steps in the past year to improve the quality of reporting on services provided with these funds. All States were contacted to resolve any data questions or other problems with their post-expenditure reports and to confirm the State's methods for counting recipients, total expenditures, and TANF transfers. Appendix D contains a page for each State containing its data, contact information, and reporting methodology. This communication with States, which has been more systematic than in previous years, has resulted in more complete and accurate data. |
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1.4 Overview of This Report |
The purpose of this report is to summarize State reporting on how they have spent their SSBG funds in 1999. States' post-expenditures reporting for 1999 has improved considerably over previous years. However, readers should be aware of certain limitations to the analyses of these data:
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1 The allotments for Puerto Rico, Guam, the Virgin Islands, and the Northern Marianas are based on their allocation for fiscal year 1981 adjusted to reflect the new total funding level.back 2 P.L. 105-78 (the Transportation Equity Act of 1998) reduced the TANF transfer amount to 4.25 percent beginning in fiscal year 2001. However, the appropriation for 2001 restored the amount that States can transfer from TANF to SSBG to the 10 percent level for 2001.back 3 Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Program (TANF); Final Rule. 45 CFR Part 260, et al.back 4 Congressional Research Service, U.S. Library of Congress.back 5 In FY 2000, funding was reduced to $1.775 billion. For the current FY 2001, the total allotment is $1.725 billion; this represents a 38-percent reduction in funding since 1995. back 6 Also, because different programs may have different reporting requirements, the amount of money reported under "total expenditures" for a specific service may differ from numbers reported by the States under requirements of other programs. back 7 Thus far, Guam, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, the Virgin Islands and the Northern Marianas have not been included in the SSBG annual reports.back 8 Beginning with FY 2000 reporting, States will be required to submit OMB Standard Form 269A, Financial Status Report (short form), which does include such an accounting.back 9In order to further improve the data, a revised reporting form is currently being developed.back 10 Beginning with FY 2000, States will be required to submit OMB Standard Form 269A, Financial Status Report (short form), which does include such an accounting. back |
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| Go to Chapter 2 Return to Table of Contents | |
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