Community Services Block Grant (CSBG)

Community Services Block Grantis an appropriation from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to help communities address poverty issues.  States are allocated money on a formula basis and are directed to fund anti-poverty agencies statewide to address the local issues of poverty within their communities.  There are nine agencies statewide that receive funding from CSBG. Every county in the state is served by one of these agencies.

CSBG is a flexible source of funding for these grantees to allow each community to properly address the issues of poverty found therein.  Grantees operate under the direction of a tri-partite board comprised of elected officials, business representatives, and low-income individuals. These boards are charged with identifying the specific problems in the community and developing work plans and structuring programs to address these issues.

CSBG Grantees account for their success within six national goals:

1. Low-income people become more self-sufficient
2. The conditions in which low-income people live are improved
3. Low-income people own a stake in their community
4. Partnerships among supporters and providers of services to low-income people are achieved.
5. Agencies increase their capacity to achieve results
6. Low-income people, especially vulnerable populations, achieve their potential by strengthening family and other supportive environments.

Outcomes for 2004 for CSBG Grantees include:

• 7,037 Utahns became more self-sufficient through employment, education, health care or budgeting programs
• 57 Community Programs or Facilities were improved or maintained through advocacy efforts of grantees, improving the conditions of living for thousands of low-income people within their communities.
• 86,453 Volunteer Hours were donated to Community Action to help support the mission of solving poverty.
• 165 Partnerships exist among the grantees to increase the capacity to serve clients of Grantee organizations.
• $54,912,351 was leveraged to support anti-poverty efforts of CSBG Grantees.

Links:

• List of 2005 Grantees
• Utah Community Action Partnership Association (UCAPA)
• CSBG Discretionary RFP 2007