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8.3 LOW-INCOME HOME ENERGY ASSISTANCE (LIHEAP)

Program Description, Content, Legislative Intent, and Broad Program Goals

Program Description: The Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) is one of six block grant programs authorized by the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1981 (OBRA). States, eligible Indian Tribes/Tribal organizations, and Insular areas that wish to assist low-income households in meeting the costs of home energy may apply for LIHEAP block grant funds. The LIHEAP statute requires that LIHEAP benefits be limited to assisting eligible households in meeting their heating and cooling costs, not their total residential energy bill, which includes such things as lighting and appliances.

LIHEAP benefits include the following: (1) heating or cooling assistance (i.e., fuel subsidies) to increase the affordability of low-income households to heat or cool their homes; (2) energy crisis intervention to assist low-income households to cope with weather-related and supply-shortage home energy emergencies, and other household energy-related emergencies; and (3) low-cost residential weatherization and other energy-related home repairs to assist low-income households in safely increasing the efficiency of their home energy consumption, thus lowering their home energy bills and making their homes more comfortable.

Content: As a block grant, LIHEAP grantees design their own programs within very broad Federal guidelines. LIHEAP grantees have the authority to determine how to implement or target their programs and how best to carry out the purposes of LIHEAP. ACF has a limited role in determining how LIHEAP funds are spent.

The need for energy assistance is affected by the severity of the weather, fluctuations in home heating or cooling fuel costs, the economy, and the impact of restructuring the utility industry on low-income households. However, LIHEAP is not an entitlement program. LIHEAP appropriations are allocated to LIHEAP grantees on the basis of a statutory formula that gives greater weight to cold temperatures and results in great discrepancies in per capita funding. This in turn leads to large differences among LIHEAP grantees in average benefits and the number of households receiving LIHEAP assistance.

Legislative Intent: The Human Services Amendments of 1994 (P.L. 103-252) clarified that the purpose of LIHEAP is "to assist low-income households, particularly those with the lowest income, that pay a high proportion of household income for home energy, primarily in meeting their immediate home energy needs." Congress further indicated that LIHEAP grantees need to ensure that LIHEAP benefits are targeted to those low-income households that have the highest energy costs or needs.

"LIHEAP targeting" can be defined as serving eligible households that have the highest energy costs or needs at a higher rate than the total eligible household population. "Highest home energy needs" is defined by the LIHEAP statute as "the home energy requirements of a household determined by taking into account both the energy burden of such household and the unique situation of such household that results from having members of "vulnerable" populations, including very young children, individuals with disabilities, and frail older individuals. However, the statute does not define the terms, "young children," "individuals with disabilities," and "frail older individuals."

Broad Program Goals: LIHEAP's broad program goals include: (1) minimizing health and safety risks that result from high home energy burdens: such risks include unsafe home temperatures, loss of home energy due to inability to pay, weather-related and supply shortage home energy emergencies, or inoperative/faulty heating or cooling equipment; and (2) targeting energy assistance to low-income households, especially those households which have the highest energy costs or needs, to assist them in meeting their immediate home energy needs.

Program Activities, Strategies and Resources

ACF is committed to working with the States to improve program performance in targeting LIHEAP assistance to eligible households, which have the highest energy, costs or needs. LIHEAP targeting serves as a proxy for measuring program outcome. Improved targeting performance addresses the LIHEAP statute's purpose of primarily assisting those eligible households with the lowest incomes in meeting their immediate home energy needs. ACF is assisted in this endeavor by the LIHEAP Advisory Committee. The ongoing tasks of the Advisory Committee are: (1) to collaborate with ACF in developing recommendations on cost-effective performance goals and measures for LIHEAP that will meet the requirements of GPRA, and (2) to enhance program management practices through "Managing for Results."

Program Activities: By the end of FY 2001, ACF expects its LIHEAP Advisory Committee on Managing for Results to complete the following program activities:

• Implement the Committee's work plan to increase the number of States setting measurable performance goals for vulnerable LIHEAP households.
• Design separate case studies concerning the feasibility of collecting data which would measure: (1) program targeting of eligible households with the lowest incomes and highest energy costs, (2) the increase in home energy affordability for low-income households receiving fuel assistance, (3) the effects of energy crisis intervention in assisting low-income households cope with home energy-related emergencies, and (4) the increase in home energy affordability and comfort for those households receiving low-cost weatherization and other energy-related home repairs. The implementation of the case studies will be planned for FY 2002.
• Identify at least two LIHEAP performance measures that can be used cost-effectively in "Managing for LIHEAP Results."
• Contact LIHEAP State officials to identify further their technical assistance needs for measuring and analyzing the results of LIHEAP performance.
• Draft a workbook that will examine the opportunities for integrating LIHEAP benefits and Low Income Weatherization Assistance Program (LIWAP) benefits with public energy service programs that a number of States are creating as a result of electric and/or natural gas restructuring.

By the end of FY 2001, ACF expects to complete the following program activities:

• Expand the information on its LIHEAP web site about the various aspects of performance measurement and "Managing for Results." Current information is available at: www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/liheap/perform.htm.
• Develop an electronic forum for LIHEAP grantees to exchange technical assistance requests, plans, experiences, and results of their performance measurement activities.
• Provide technical assistance to LIHEAP State offices on collecting data to measure and analyze their program's performance.
• Develop an inventory of Federal programs that serve LIHEAP-eligible vulnerable households. Contact will be made initially with at least 25% of the programs to seek their cooperation in disseminating Federal LIHEAP outreach information to their local service delivery systems.
• Prepare and disseminate a LIHEAP Information Memorandum that addresses whether LIHEAP grantee expenditures on information technology and computerization for performance measurement and analysis can be excluded from the 10% limit on use of LIHEAP funds for administrative costs.

Program Strategies: Given that LIHEAP is a Federal block grant, ACF does not require State LIHEAP grantees to report on LIHEAP targeting performance. Instead, ACF is working with its Advisory Committee on Managing for Results and the National Energy Assistance Directors' Association (NEADA) to encourage, assist, and guide State LIHEAP agencies in measuring and analyzing LIHEAP targeting performance. ACF is working to create a "multiplier effect" whereby State LIHEAP grantees can receive peer assistance to replicate States that have successfully used LIHEAP targeting data in the management of their LIHEAP programs.

Program Resources: ACF staff and financial resources are limited in providing direct technical assistance to State LIHEAP agencies in measuring and analyzing their LIHEAP program's targeting performance. About $43,000 in LIHEAP T&TA funds is available for FY 2001 LIHEAP performance measurement activities. Currently, one ACF staff member devotes about 25% of his time to LIHEAP performance measurement.

LIHEAP grantees are limited to spending no more than 10% of their LHEAP allotments on planning and administration costs. Thus, they have limited capabilities to redesign their data collection and processing systems to collect, tabulate, and analyze performance data that are especially useful in measuring program outcomes.

The LIHEAP regulations [45 CFR 96.88(a)] published in 1997 address limitations on the use of LIHEAP funds for administrative costs. The regulations state that any expenditure for governmental functions normally associated with administration in a public assistance program must be included in determining administrative costs subject to the statutory limitation on administrative costs. However, the final regulation published in April 1999 for the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program [45 CFR 263.13(b)] are somewhat more flexible allowing grantees to improve information technology capacity outside the administrative cost cap. LIHEAP grantees may adopt the TANF administrative cost definitions for their LIHEAP project and ACF will work with them to help improve their performance measurement capacity where possible.

Program Coordination, Partnerships and Crosscutting Issues

Program Coordination: ACF will coordinate in FY 2002 its LIHEAP performance measurement activities through the following activities:

• Implement a project to have certain Federal agencies disseminate LIHEAP information to low-income vulnerable households. The project involves including such agencies as:
• the Administration on Aging for elderly households, Head Start for young children, and the Developmental Disabilities Administration for disabled persons. The project will develop a Federal LIHEAP outreach packet and will convene a meeting before the 2001-2002 winter heating season with the identified Federal agencies to determine if they can disseminate the Federal LIHEAP outreach packet through their service delivery providers.
• Pursue a process with the National Weather Service about publicizing the availability of LIHEAP with a focus on low-income, vulnerable households that can be adversely affected by severe weather conditions.
• Implement a project to coordinate knowledge of energy assistance services among LIHEAP and other Federal programs that provide some sort of energy assistance, e.g., the Department of Energy's Low Income Weatherization Assistance Program (LIWAP), the Department of Housing and Urban Development's Rental Assistance Program, the Department of Agriculture's Disaster Aid Program, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
• Investigate the status of utility restructuring and/or the feasibility of collecting data on the impact of utility restructuring on low-income households with other Federal programs and organizations, e.g., the Department of Energy, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the National Association of Regulatory Commissioners.

Program Partnership: ACF is a member on the Board of the National Low-Income Energy Consortium (NLIEC), which focuses on low-income energy issues. NLIEC brings together public, private, and nonprofit sector organizations for the common purpose of reducing the residential energy hardships and crises faced by low-income consumers.

ACF collaborates with national organizations whose State or local members provide energy assistance services to low-income households. In addition to NEADA, such organizations include the National Fuel Fund Network, American Public Human Services Association, National Association of Community Action Agencies, National Association for State Community Services Programs, and the National Community Action Foundation.

Finally, ACF and the Department of Energy are examining the opportunities for coordination between LIHEAP and LIWAP regarding the new State energy benefit programs for low-income households brought about by utility restructuring.

Crosscutting Issues:The need for energy assistance affects a range of issues for low-income households, such as health, safety, nutrition, education, and homelessness. Studies have shown the following:

• Between 2.5 million to 4.9 million elderly Americans suffered from "food insecurity" (having no food in the house and no money to buy food) and had to "skip meals or had to forego food in order to buy medicine, pay the rent, or pay the utilities." (Burt, M. Hunger. Among the Elderly. Urban Institute: Washington, D.C., 1993)
• The number of clinically underweight children brought to the emergency room increased by 30% in the period immediately following the coldest months of the year. Once chronic disease was ruled out, researchers theorized the weight loss must be due to the cold and economic burden imposed by high heating costs. (Frank, D., Napoleone, M., Meyers, A., Roos, N., Peterson, K., & Cupples, L. Seasonal Changes in Weight for Age in a Pediatric Emergency Room: A Heat or Eat Effect? Boston Hospital, unpublished study, 1992).
• People who live in unbearably hot living quarters increase their risk of hyperthermia. The July 1995 heat wave in Chicago killed 522 individuals. (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Heat Wave Workshop Report, co sponsored on September 18-19, 1996, by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. NOAA: Washington, D.C., 1996)
• After termination of residential electric service in Philadelphia, 32% of the homes were abandoned within one year. After termination of residential gas service in Philadelphia, 22 % of the homes were abandoned. According to 49% of the Philadelphia emergency housing providers, loss of utility service is a factor in homelessness. Over 11% said it is frequently a factor. (Robinson, L. An Examination of the Relationship Between Utility Terminations, Housing Abandonment, and Homelessness. Institute for Public Policy Studies, Temple University: Philadelphia, 1991)
• Of the 1.7 million U.S. low-income households that had heat interruptions during the 1983-84 winter due to an inability to pay, 55% were non-welfare, poor households and 69% were households with children. When these households experienced a heat interruption, 54% went without heat, 39% heated one or two rooms with fireplaces, cooking stoves and/or portable heaters. Cooking stoves, which 1.8 million households reported using to keep warm, are dangerous, expensive, and ineffective for heat. (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), LIHEAP Report to Congress for FY 1987. HHS: Washington, D.C., 1988)
• Nationally, heating was the third leading cause of civilian fire deaths in 1994. While total home heating fires fell by 60% from 1980 to 1992-- by contrast, portable heater fires increased by 4%. Portable heaters, other space heaters and related equipment account for three-fourths of all home heating fires and four out of the five associated deaths. (Hall, Jr., J. U.S. Home Heating Fire Patterns and Trends Through 1992. National Fire Protection Association: Quincy, Massachusetts, 1994)
• Across the U.S., elderly households are 28% more likely than all households to occupy homes built before 1940. Older homes are typically less energy efficient and more expensive to heat and cool than newer homes. Many low-income elderly households substitute alternative devices (room heaters, fireplaces and wood burning stoves) for central heating to reduce heating costs. Thirty-three percent to 51% of heating related fire deaths for people over 65 were caused by portable heating units. (Jenkens, R. Older Persons Energy Costs and LIHEAP. American Association of Retired Persons: Washington, DC, February 1994)
• More than half of frequent movers claim unaffordable heating bills as an important factor contributing to their most recent move. Third graders who change schools frequently are two and one-half times more likely to repeat a grade and almost twice as likely to be low achievers in reading and math than are children who never changed schools. (Fisher, R: Belmont, Massachusetts The Road Oft Taken: Unaffordable Home Energy Bills, Forced Mobility and Childhood Education in Missouri. Fisher, Sheehan & Colton: Belmont, Massachusetts, 1995)
• A survey of LIHEAP recipients in Iowa found that the problems arising from unaffordable energy bills included households going without such basic necessities as food and medical care, or falling behind in paying their rent or mortgage in order to pay their home heating bill. (Mercier Associates. Iowa's Cold Winters: LIHEAP Recipient Perspective. Iowa Department of Human Rights: Des Moines, Iowa, 2000)

Program-wide Performance

In June 2000, the Advisory Committee sent the States its 2000 LIHEAP Survey on Managing for Results to determine, in part, how many States had set measurable performance goals or other LIHEAP performance goals in FY 2000. Results from the survey indicated that a small number of States established FY 2000 performance goals for vulnerable households, i.e., a number or percent of recipient households that included an elderly member or young child. Some States indicated that their goal was to "increase the number of vulnerable households served," while others indicated that they had a performance goal, but did not specify a performance target for the goal. In FY 2000, only five States reported establishing performance goals for measure 8.3a and four reported meeting that performance; two States set and met their performance goals for measure 8.3b. An increase in the number of States establishing and reporting on LIHEAP performance goals will require additional T&TA and further work with ACF's partners to demystify the field of performance measurement. ACF intends to analyze the results of LIHEAP performance measurement when at least 25% of the States implement LIHEAP measurement systems and report their performance results and analyses.

Data Issues

ACF's ability to affect program-wide achievement is limited, as it does not provide energy assistance directly to eligible low-income households. ACF relies on the efforts of its LIHEAP grantees for delivery of services and achieving program performance. The measurement of block grant performance has been examined by the General Accounting Office in its report, Managing for Results: Measuring Program Results That Are Under Limited Federal Control, (December 1998, GGD-99-16). This report identifies data verification and validation problems inherent in applying GPRA requirements to Federally-funded programs where the States have extensive flexibility.

The LIHEAP statute provides for the collection of several types of data that could be used in the measurement of LIHEAP targeting performance. Congress established annual LIHEAP reporting requirements to track the home energy use, cost, and consumption of LIHEAP-eligible households; and the number, income, and presence of vulnerable household members of LIHEAP-recipient households receiving LIHEAP assistance. As described below, there are several issues concerning data collection:

LIHEAP Eligible Households

• Uniform State reporting of home energy data for LIHEAP-eligible households is unpractical, unreliable and costly. In addition, home energy data are not collected through the Decennial Census. Instead, ACF arranges each year for the calculation of home energy data estimates for low-income households at the national and regional levels through the combination of data from the Bureau of the Census' March Current Population Survey (CPS) and the Energy Information Administration's Residential Energy Consumption Survey (RECS).
• Uniform State-reporting on the number and demographics of LIHEAP-eligible households also would be unpractical, unreliable, and costly. There are no standardized definitions for the LIHEAP-vulnerable groups of "frail elderly" and "disabled." However, standardized definitions of elderly, disabled, and young children are available from the March CPS to derive national and regional level estimates of the number of LIHEAP-eligible households with vulnerable populations and could be used.

LIHEAP Recipient Households

• Most State LIHEAP programs do not gather data on the home energy expenditures of LIHEAP-recipient households. Instead, most States employ proxies such as fuel type, housing type, and geographical location to reflect variability in home energy costs in determining the amount of LIHEAP household benefits. Gathering actual expenditure data on primary and secondary heating or cooling fuels is costly and difficult, especially for bulk fuels such as fuel oil or propane. A number of households have their home energy costs included in their rent. Such households would not know the amount expended for heating their rental unit. Finally, any attempt to measure energy burden based on home heating and cooling costs would require the application of sophisticated computer modeling of each household's total residential energy bill.
• As part of their annual LIHEAP application for receiving regular LIHEAP funding for the following Federal fiscal year, State LIHEAP grantees must submit their LIHEAP Household Report for the previous Federal fiscal year. The States are required to report for each type of LIHEAP assistance provided the number of LIHEAP-recipient households, the number of LIHEAP recipient households that have members who are elderly, disabled, or a young child, as well as data on the income levels of the recipient households. The data are reviewed for mathematical accuracy. The data are also reviewed for consistency with State estimates of the uses of LIHEAP funds for the corresponding fiscal year. The estimates are provided through ACF's voluntary survey, LIHEAP Grantee Survey. However, there is a backlog of tabulating and editing the data from both the LIHEAP Household Report and LIHEAP Grantee Survey due to staff shortages. ACF has begun using the LIHEAP Clearinghouse to assist in tabulating the backlog of data. ACF has hired a data input specialist position to work on the data backlog.
• Aggregation and comparison of performance data among LIHEAP grantees will be affected by differences in eligibility cutoffs and other program criteria selected by LIHEAP grantees
• Verification of State-reported data on LIHEAP-recipient households is difficult. There are no Federal quality control or audit requirements for LIHEAP-recipient household data. ACF will investigate whether the independent audits required for each State's LIHEAP program may be expanded to validate the accuracy of State-reported data on LIHEAP-recipient households.

Summary Table

Performance Measures		Targets		Actual Performance	Reference (page # in printed document)
PROGRAM GOAL:Increase the availability of LIHEAP fuel assistance to eligible households having at least one member whose health is vulnerable (60 years or older, or five years old or under) by living in a home without sufficient heating or cooling.
8.3a. Increase the percent of LIHEAP grantees that have set a goal for the participation rate of LIHEAP-eligible households having at least one member who is 60 years or older, and are successful in meeting that goal.		FY 02: 75% FY 01: 75% FY 00: 75% FF 99: 75%		FY 02 FY 01: FY 00: 80%* FY 99: 50% FY 98***	Px M-154
8.3b. Increase the percent of LIHEAP grantees that have set a goal for the participation rate of LIHEAP-eligible households having at least one member who is age 5 years or younger, and are successful in meeting that goal.		FY 02: 75% FY 01: 75% FY 00: 75% FY 99: 75%		FY 02: FY 01: FY 00:100%** FY 99: 25% FY 98***	Px M-154
*In FY 2000, five States set targets for households having at least one member 60 years or older. Four of the States reported meeting their target, resulting in a percentage of 80% (4/5); in FY 1999, ten States set performance targets and five met them, resulting in a percentage of 50% (5/10). **In FY 2000, two States set targets for households having at least one member age 5 years or younger. Both State reported meeting their target, resulting in a percentage of 100%; in FY 1999, four States set the target and one State met the target (1/4=25%). ***FY 1998 baseline provided States with data to calculate the number or percent of LIHEAP-assisted households having at least one member who was 60 years or older or 5 years or younger. The data provided a starting point for States in setting performance targets.
Total Funding (dollars in millions) See detailed Budget Linkage Table in Appendix 6 for line items included in funding totals.	FY 02: $1700.0 FY 01: $1700.5 FY 00: $2000.0 FY 99: $1275.3		Bx: budget just. section F Px: page # performance plan

Performance Measures for FY 2002 and Final Measures for FY 2001

The protection of the health and safety of vulnerable members is a key LIHEAP program goal. Therefore, ACF will continue with this program goal for FY 2001 and FY 2002-"to increase the availability of LIHEAP fuel assistance to eligible households with at least one member whose health or safety is vulnerable (60 years or older, or 5 years or younger) by living in a home without sufficient heating or cooling." Improved targeting performance addresses the LIHEAP statute's purpose of helping those most in need to meet their immediate home energy needs.

The manner in which the LIHEAP targeting goals are stated continue to reflect the flexibility of the block grant approach by allowing each State to set its own targeting goal for vulnerable households.

PROGRAM GOAL: Increase the availability of LIHEAP fuel assistance to eligible households with at least one member whose health is vulnerable to a home without sufficient heating or cooling.

8.3a. FY 2002: At least 75% of grantees that have set a goal for the participation rate of eligible households having at least one member in the household who is 60 years or older are successful in meeting that goal. (Baseline data is FY 1999.)

FY 2001: At least 75% of grantees that have set a goal for the participation rate of eligible households having at least one member in the household who is 60 years or older are successful in meeting that goal.

8.3b. FY 2002: At least 75% of grantees that have set a goal for the participation rate of eligible households having at least one member in the household who is age 5 years or younger are successful in meeting that goal. (Baseline data is FY 1999.)

FY 2001: At least 75% of grantees that have set a goal for the participation rate of eligible households having at least one member in the household who is age 5 years or younger are successful in meeting that goal.

Data sources: Results from the Advisory Committee's FY 2001 LIHEAP Survey on Managing for Results.

ACF also is developing "targeting indexes" as a potential additional measure of LIHEAP targeting performance. ACF has been producing State-level estimates of the number of LIHEAP-eligible households having at least one person 60 years or older and at least one child five years old or younger. The State-level estimates are calculated using weighted averages from three consecutive years of March CPS data. The Census Bureau uses a similar methodology in providing annual State-level estimates of the number of low-income students for use in the Federally-subsidized School Lunch Program.

LIHEAP targeting indexes are calculated by using (1) the weighted averages from the most recent three consecutive years of data from the March CPS and (2) State-reported data on LIHEAP recipients.

ACF will calculate LIHEAP targeting indexes for FY 2001 at the national, Census region, and Census division level, using March 2000, March 2001, and March 2002 CPS data; and State-reported LIHEAP-recipient household data for FY 2001.

Calculate baseline targeting indexes (at the national, Census region, and Census division level) for the number of LIHEAP households receiving home energy assistance that have at least one member who is age 60 years or older, or 5 years or younger. (Developmental)

Data sources: (1) LIHEAP-recipient household counts by vulnerable group, as reported in States' LIHEAP Household Report for FY 2001, (2) annual estimates of LIHEAP income eligible households by vulnerable group from the three year weighted averages calculated from the March 2000, March 2001, and March 2002 Current Population Survey.

 

 

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