CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION
The Social Services Block Grant (SSBG) program disperses funds to States to support social services for adults and children. This report discusses SSBG expenditures and the number of recipients of services during 2004.1 This chapter provides a brief history of the SSBG and summarizes the SSBG reporting requirements of the States.
Background
On January 4, 1975, title XX of the Social Security Act authorized an entitlement to States for providing social services. Prior to title XX, States received matching Federal funds for specified categories of services, with eligibility for the services limited to receipt of public assistance under several titles of the Social Security Act. Title XX gave States increased flexibility to offer a wider range of services to a broader population of adults and children. The statute also included requirements for planning, public participation, income eligibility, and administration.
In 1981, Congress amended title XX to establish the SSBG program. The SSBG gave States greater flexibility in their use of the entitlement funds. States determine what services are provided, the eligible populations of adults and children, the locations in which each service is provided, and whether the services are provided by State or local agency staff or through grants or contracts with private organizations.
The Federal Government allocates funds to the 51 States as block grants to support the delivery of social services.2 Designated State agencies administer the SSBG program. (See appendix A.) The SSBG is a consolidated Federal assistance program to States for social services, the purpose of which is to increase State flexibility in using social services grants. It encourages each State, as far as practicable under the conditions in that State, to furnish services directed at five statutory goals:
- Achieving or maintaining economic self-support to prevent, reduce, or eliminate dependency;
- Achieving or maintaining self-sufficiency, including reduction or prevention of dependency;
- Preventing or remedying neglect, abuse, or exploitation of children and adults unable to protect their own interests or preserving, rehabilitating, or reuniting families;
- Preventing or reducing inappropriate institutional care by providing for community-based care, home-based care, or other forms of less intensive care; and
- Securing referral or admission for institutional care when other forms of care are not appropriate or providing services to individuals in institutions.3
Funding for the SSBG
| Figure 1-1 SSBG Appropriations 2000-2004 (in millions) | |
| Year | SSBG Appropriations |
|---|---|
| 2000 | $1,775 |
| 2001 | $1,725 |
| 2002 | $1,700 |
| 2003 | $1,700 |
| 2004 | $1,700 |
The appropriation for the SSBG program for 2004 was $1.700 billion, 4 percent less than the appropriation for 2000 ($1.775 billion). (See figure 1-1.)
The regulations for the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Block Grant allow a State to transfer up to 10 percent of its annual TANF allocation into its SSBG program. The TANF regulation stipulates that any TANF funds transferred to the SSBG shall be used only for programs and services to children or their families whose income is less than 200 percent of the income official poverty line (as defined by the Office of Management and Budget).4 Funds transferred into the SSBG from TANF are subject to the statute, regulations, and reporting requirements of the SSBG. During Federal fiscal year (FFY) 2004, 45 States transferred funds from TANF to the SSBG program.
SSBG Reporting Requirements
Before a State receives SSBG funds, it must submit a report on the intended use of the block grant, including information on the types of activities to be supported and the categories or characteristics of individuals to be served.5 This preexpenditure report is submitted annually to the Office of Community Services (OCS), Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which administers the SSBG program and provides technical assistance to the States.
In addition, regulations require each State to submit an annual SSBG postexpenditure report either 6 months after the end of the reporting period or at the time that the State submits the preexpenditure report for the reporting period beginning after that 6-month period.6 The States may report data for either the Federal or State fiscal year. States are required to submit information on the services provided, the total number of adults and children served, and the amounts expended for each service. (See appendices B, C, and D.)
History of SSBG Reporting
Reporting requirements for the SSBG have evolved since 1975. Table 1-1 provides a brief history of the reporting requirements for title XX and the SSBG.
| Table 1-1 History of Title XX and SSBG Reporting Requirements | |
|---|---|
| 1975 | Reporting requirements for title XX included the Social Services Reporting Requirements. States submitted quarterly and annual reports that included unduplicated counts of recipients by service, by eligibility category, by expenditure of funds, by method of provision, and by title XX goal, as well as special reports on child day care. |
| 1981 | The SSBG retained the original title XX requirement that each State must report biennially on activities carried out under the SSBG, including the purposes for which funds were spent and the extent to which expenditures were consistent with the State's preexpenditure report. |
| 1988 | The Family Support Act of 1988 added specific reporting requirements for the SSBG, which required each State to submit an annual report containing the following information:
|
| 1990 | HHS published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on April 5, 1990, to implement the new reporting requirements enacted in the Family Support Act of 1988. |
| 1993 | HHS issued a final rule on November 15, 1993, to implement annual reporting requirements for the SSBG program. It also included uniform definitions of services. |
| 1999 | HHS issued a final rule that amended the SSBG regulations.
|
| 2001 | OCS issued an Information Memorandum instructing the States to include the expenditure of funds transferred from TANF into SSBG in the "Expenditures -- SSBG" column of their postexpenditure reports. |
| 2002 | OMB approved a revised postexpenditure reporting form with new instructions (OMB No. 0970-0234, Expiration Date March 2005). States used this form to report data for 2002-2004. |
Services Funded by the SSBG
The 1993 regulation included uniform definitions for 28 social services.7 These definitions do not constrain a State's use of SSBG funds or restrict the services a State may provide; rather, they provide guidelines for reporting purposes. If a service falls outside of the 28 definitions, States report the data under "other services."
The 29 service categories (28 social services plus the "other services" category) are listed below.
- Adoption services
- Case management
- Congregate meals
- Counseling services
- Day care -- adult
- Day care -- child
- Education/training
- Employment services
- Family planning services
- Foster care services -- adult
- Foster care services -- child
- Health-related services
- Home-based services
- Home-delivered meals
- Housing services
- Independent/transitional living
- Information and referral
- Legal services
- Pregnancy and parenting
- Prevention/intervention
- Protective services -- adult
- Protective services -- child
- Recreation services
- Residential services
- Special services -- youth at risk
- Special services -- disabled
- Substance abuse services
- Transportation
- Other services
Because of the considerable flexibility of the SSBG, States vary in how they use SSBG funds and what services they provide. States use the SSBG to supplement additional funds or to fully support the delivery of a service.
Data Items
The following data items provide the basis for the analyses presented in this report.
SSBG Expenditures
For the purposes of this report, the term SSBG expenditures refers to the sum of two columns of data on the postexpenditure report--expenditures of the SSBG allocation and expenditures of the funds transferred into SSBG.
- SSBG Allocation. States reported dollars from the SSBG allocation spent for services and administrative costs.8
- TANF Transfer. States reported any expended dollars transferred from other block grants into SSBG and indicated the block grant(s) from which they transferred these funds. During 2004, all transfers into the SSBG were made from the TANF block grant, so these expenditures are referred to as TANF transfer expenditures.9
Other Federal, State, and Local Funds
States reported the total amount of other Federal, State, and local funds spent for each service supported with the SSBG.
Total Expenditures
Total expenditures is the sum of expenditures for SSBG-supported services and includes SSBG expenditures, as well as other Federal, State, and local funds.
Figure 1-2 illustrates the relationships among the data items.
| Figure 1-2 Expenditure Terminology | |
|---|---|
 |
D |
Number of Recipients
States reported the total number of adult and child recipients for each service category funded in whole or in part with SSBG expenditures. In addition, States were asked to report on adult recipients in two categories--age 59 years and younger and age 60 years and older.
- Children. States reported the actual or estimated number of children who received each service.10
- Adults Age 59 Years and Younger. States reported the actual or estimated number of adults age 59 years and younger who received each service.
- Adults Age 60 Years and Older. States reported the actual or estimated number of adults age 60 years and older who received each service.
- Adults of Unknown Age. For States that did not report adults in the two age categories, this is the total number of adults. For States in which age categories for adult recipients were only partially available, this item is the total number of adult recipients less the number of adult recipients for whom age is known.
Appendix E contains State data pages, which present the annual expenditures, number of recipients, contact information, and additional notes on reporting methodologies for each State.
Validation
Data from the State postexpenditure reports were entered into a database and validated to identify errors or inconsistencies. All States were contacted to resolve any data issues and to verify their definitions of data items. In addition, States were given an opportunity to explain divergences from the reporting requirements. These explanations are included as notes to the State data pages.
Table 1-2 displays all data items used for analyses, specifies whether the States reported or calculated the item, and indicates the specific validation issues addressed.
Table 1-2 SSBG Data Items and Validation Rules |
|||
| Expenditures | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Data Items | Reported | Calculated | Data Calculation And Validation |
| SSBG Allocation |  |
||
| TANF Transfer | |
||
| SSBG Expenditures | |
SSBG expenditures were calculated as the sum of SSBG allocation and TANF transfer. If these data were missing, data in all other fields were deleted. | |
| Other Federal, State, and Local Funds | |
If these data were missing, the State was omitted from analyses comparing SSBG expenditures to expenditures of other sources of funds. | |
| Total Expenditures | |
||
| Recipients | |||
| Data Items | Reported | Calculated | Data Calculation And Validation |
| Total Recipients | |
If data on recipients were missing, expenditure data were accepted and included in the analyses, but the State was asked to provide an explanation for the missing data. Despite the variations in methods for determining recipient counts, data from all States were included in the analyses. | |
| Children | |
||
| Adults Age 59 and Younger | |
If data for these categories were missing, all adults were counted as adults of unknown age. | |
| Adults Age 60 and Older | |
||
| Adults of Unknown Age | |
Adults of unknown age was calculated as the sum of children, adults age 59 and younger, and adults age 60 and older, subtracted from total recipients. | |
Structure of the Report
This report contains the additional chapters listed below.
- Chapter 2. Preexpenditure Reports. This chapter discusses States' reports on their intended use of SSBG funds and provides examples of how States plan to administer their SSBG program funds and how they link the service categories to the five broad SSBG goals.
- Chapter 3. Expenditures. This chapter summarizes findings on State SSBG expenditures and provides analyses of expenditures by State and by service.
- Chapter 4. Service Recipients. This chapter summarizes findings on the recipients of services funded in whole or in part by the SSBG, and provides analyses of recipients by State and by service.
- Chapter 5. Services. This chapter provides a detailed analysis of each service category funded with the SSBG.
Appendices include a list of the State agencies that administer the SSBG, a copy of the postexpenditure reporting form and instructions, a data page for each State, and supplementary data tables.
1 In this report, the year always refers to fiscal year.
2 In this report, "States" includes the District of Columbia. The territories of Guam, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, the Virgin Islands, and the Northern Mariana Islands also receive funds from the SSBG, but their data are not included in this report.
3 42 U.S.C. 1397 or Section 2001 of the Social Security Act.
4 Section 404 (d)(3)(B) of the Social Security Act / 42 U.S.C. 604 (d)(3)(B).
5 42 U.S.C. 1397c or section 2004 of the Social Security Act.
6 42 C.F.R. 96.17
7 Social Services Block Grant Program, Final Rule, 58 Fed. Reg. 218, 60117–60133 (November 15, 1993), (codified at 45 C.F.R. pt. 96,net al.)
8 The total of this column may differ from the amount of the annual SSBG allocation if the full amount was not expended in the fiscal year during which it was allocated, or if a portion of the SSBG allocation from the previous year was expended during the reporting year.
9 The total of this column may differ from the total amount transferred, as reported by States in the Fiscal Year 2004 TANF Financial Data Report http://www.acf.dhhs.gov/programs/ofs/data/tanf_2004.html (accessed 9/13/05), if the full transfer was not expended during the year it was transferred, or if funds transferred during the previous year were expended during the reporting year.
10 The age of child recipients is defined by each State, but children usually refers to individuals younger than 18 years.