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1.5 SOCIAL SERVICES BLOCK GRANT
Program Description, Context, Legislative Intent and Broad Program Goals
The Social Services Block Grant (SSBG) provides funding to States for a broad array of services. The SSBG is based on two fundamental principles: (1) State and local governments and communities are best able to determine the needs of individuals to help them achieve self sufficiency; and (2) social and economic needs are interrelated and must be met simultaneously.
Due to the nature of the program, SSBG has minimal reporting requirements. However, SSBG funds support outcomes across the human service spectrum and these outcomes are associated with strategic goals and objectives elsewhere in this plan, e.g., employment, child care, child welfare, adoptions, and youth services. A block grant by definition frees its recipients, in this case, States, to invest the funds flexibly and generally carries limited oversight and reporting requirements.
SSBG funds are used for direct services listed in the charts below. SSBG funds also help States improve and integrate services, create community-based partnerships, and stimulate innovations. In effect, they help hold the human services delivery system together. SSBG grants are made directly to the 50 States, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, Guam, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands to fund social services tailored to meet the needs of individuals and families residing within the jurisdiction. Grants are determined by a statutory formula based on each State’s population. States are fully responsible for determining the use of their funds.
Program-wide Performance
The following chart shows FY 1999 expenditures for Federal dollars in various SSBG service areas as reported by States. The data represent reports from 50 States and the District of Columbia.
| SSBG SERVICE CATEGORIES | 1999 SSBG EXPENDITURES | SSBG SERVICE CATEGORIES | 1999 SSBG EXPENDITURES |
| Adoption services | $ 27,068,798 | Independent/transitional living | $ 20,610,925 |
| Case management | $132,908,772 | Information and referral | $ 33,198,634 |
| Congregate meals | $ 3,128,588 | Legal services | $ 13,257,282 |
| Counseling services | $ 44,044,719 | Pregnancy and parenting | $ 9,356,380 |
| Day care-adults | $ 14,201,956 | Prevention/intervention | $278 673,733 |
| Day care-children | $396,584,900 | Protective services--adult | $111,314,875 |
| Education/training services | $ 9,189,814 | Protective services--child | $269,305,785 |
| Employment services | $ 56,365,891 | Recreation services | $ 1,087,531 |
| Family planning service | $ 49,777,461 | Residential treatment | $ 83,492,341 |
| Foster care services--adult | $ 8,411,802 | Special services--youth at risk | $ 78,748,868 |
| Foster care services--child | $315,198,587 | Special services--disabled | $234,646,054 |
| Health related services | $ 20 452,552 | Substance abuse services | $ 13,859,456 |
| Home based services | $208,251,875 | Transportation | $ 25,460,287 |
| Home delivered meals | $ 17,358,222 | Other services | $159,469,855 |
| Housing services | $ 17,226,143 | Administrative Costs | $234,601,526 |
| *SSBG expenditures include funds transferred from TANF. Only 4 States (MI, MN, NJ and UT) were unable to report how funds transferred from TANF were spent by category of service. | Uncategorized TANF transfer expenditures* | $169,160,349 | |
| Total SSBG Expenditures 1/ | $3,056,413,963 | ||
| 1/ SSBG include all expenditures of SSBG funds as well as funds transfered in from TANF. Approximately $1.7 billion were tranferred from TANF into SSBG in FY1999. | |||
Data Issues
SSBG data contain multi-year information and some of the dollars spent on services in FY 1999 may have been transferred from previous years or other programs.
States report both total expenditures and SSBG expenditures. Total expenditures include all other Federal, State and local funds for each service that received SSBG funds. The complexity of many States' financial systems makes it difficult for them to provide accurate data on other sources of funds being applied to each of these services. The SSBG report in FY 1998 included data from 50 States and the District of Columbia. Although all States submitted post-expenditure reports, many States were unable to provide information on total expenditures in their post-expenditure reports, so including this item would have excluded many more States from the analyses.
During this year, the Office of Community Services (OCS) assisted States to improve performance in this area. Post-expenditure data received from States are regularly validated. Problems arising through validation are discussed with States and technical assistance is provided where practical. While several problems exist, considerable improvement has been made to assist more States to report and continuous progress is being made to increase validation rates and make the data more usable. OCS will continue to coordinate with other agencies and organizations to review and assess shifts in funding priorities in order to project accomplishment of performance targets. The five SSBG performance measures that are in the summary table that follows were first included in the FY 2001 submission of the Performance Plan.
Summary Table
| Performance Measures | Targets | Actual Performance | Reference (page # in printed document) |
| 1.5a. Maintain the number of child recipients of day care services funded wholly or in part by SSBG funds at the FY 1998 baseline. | FY 02: 2,399,827 FY 01: 2,399,827 FY 00: NA FY 99: NA |
FY 02: FY 01: FY 00: 5/02 FY 99: 5/01 FY 98: 2,399,827 FY 97: 2,207,622 FY 96: 1,863,160 FY 95: 1,697,606 |
Px M-51 |
| 1.5b. Maintain the number of adult recipients of home based services funded wholly or in part by SSBG funds at the FY 1998 baseline. | FY 02: 339,253 FY 01: 339,253 FY 00: NA FY 99: NA |
FY 02: FY 01: FY 00: 5/02 FY 99: 5/01 FY 98: 339,253 FY 97: 259,464 FY 96: 258,828 FY 95: 279,497 |
Px M-51 |
| 1.5c. Increase the number of adult recipients of special services for the disabled funded wholly or in part by SSBG funds by 5% annually from the FY 1998 baseline. | FY 02: 328,729 FY 01: 313,075 FY 00: NA FY 99: NA |
FY 02: FY 01: FY 00: 5/02 FY 99: 5/01 FY 98: 298,167 FY 97: 470,723 FY 96: 317,101 FY 95: 243,931 |
Px M-51 |
| 1.5d. Maintain the number of recipients of child protective services funded wholly or in part by SSBG funds at the FY 1998 baseline. | FY 02: 1,302,895 FY 01: 1,302,895 FY 00: NA FY 99: NA |
FY 02: FY 01: FY 00: 5/02 FY 99: 5/01 FY 98: 1,302,895 FY 97: 1,037,860 FY 96: 1,147,397 FY 95: 1,100%,303 |
Px M-52 |
| 1.5e. Increase the number of recipients of information and referral services funded wholly or in part by SSBG funds by 2% annually from the FY 1998 baseline. | FY 02: 1,348,171 FY 01: 1,321,736 FY 00: NA FY 99: NA |
FY 02: FY 01: FY 00: 5/02 FY 99: 5/01 FY 98: 1,295,820 FY 97: 815,251 FY 96: 816,734 FY 95: 1,068,087 |
Px M-52 |
| 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: $1725.0 FY 00: $1775.0 FY 99: $1909.0 |
Bx: budget
just. section D Px: page # performance plan |
|
Performance Measures for FY 2002 and Final Measures for FY 2001
Congress intended that SSBG (initially Title XX) funding be directed at one or more of five legislated national goals. These goals are closely aligned with the key priority goals identified in the ACF annual performance plan. The first goal is to achieve or maintain economic self-support to prevent, reduce, or eliminate dependency. One of the primary needs of parents who previously relied on welfare support in entering the workforce is affordable child care. States can apply funding from SSBG to child day care wholly or in part.
1.5a. FY 2001: Maintain the number of child recipients of day care services funded wholly or in part by SSBG funds at the FY 1998 baseline of 2,399,827.
FY 2002: Maintain the number of child recipients of day care services funded wholly or in part by SSBG funds at the FY 1998 baseline of 2,399,827.
A second national goal is to prevent or reduce inappropriate institutional care by providing for community-based care, home-based care or other forms of less intensive care. Several services to which SSBG funding can be applied are intended to increase independent living among disabled or low-income individuals. Such services increase opportunities for individuals to maintain successful and healthy lives within the community, and reduce the need for placement in more restricted environments. These services include independent living services, home-based services, home-delivered meals, housing services, and special services for individuals with disabilities. Data indicates an increasing demand for special services to individuals with disabilities.
1.5b. FY 2001: Maintain the number of adult recipients of home based services funded wholly or in part by SSBG funds at the FY 1998 baseline of 339,253.
FY 2002: Maintain the number of adult recipients of home based services funded wholly or in part by SSBG funds at the FY 1998 baseline of 339,253.
1.5c. FY 2001: Increase the number of adult recipients of special services for the disabled funded wholly or in part by SSBG funds by 5% annually from the FY 1998 baseline of 298,167.
FY 2002: Increase the number of adult recipients of special services for the disabled funded wholly or in part by SSBG funds by 5% annually from the FY 1998 baseline of 298,167.
NOTE: Increases are anticipated due to the recent (1999) Supreme Court Decision (Olmstead ) which essentially asserts the right of persons with disabilities to live in less restricted settings. Secondly, as State TANF programs reach out to more hard-to-serve populations, both demand for child care from mothers who have children with special disabilities and the demand for job readiness preparation for persons with mild retardation are expected to increase. A program such as SSBG might be anticipated to help respond to this demand.
A third national goal is to prevent or remedy neglect, abuse or exploitation of children and adults unable to protect their own interests and preserve, rehabilitate or reunite families. SSBG funds can be applied to a range of child welfare services and are a valuable source to States of funding for this critical area. These services include child protective services, child foster care services, and adoption services. In addition, prevention and intervention services, special services for individuals with disabilities and special services for youth at risk are very important to the child welfare population. It is anticipated that this critical service will be maintained at the baseline level.
1.5d. FY 2001: Maintain the number of recipients of child protective services funded wholly or in part by SSBG funds at the FY 1998 baseline of 1,302,895.
FY 2002: Maintain the number of recipients of child protective services funded wholly or in part by SSBG funds at the FY 1998 baseline of 1,302,895.
It is anticipated that as SSBG funds are reduced in other services, I & R services will increase.
1.5e. FY 2001: Increase the number of recipients of information and referral services funded wholly or in part by SSBG funds by 2% annually from the FY 1998 baseline of 1,295,820.
FY 2002: Increase the number of recipients of information and referral services funded wholly or in part by SSBG funds by 2% annually from the FY 1998 baseline of 1,295,820.
Data source for measures1.4a-e: SSBG post-expenditure reports from the States.
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