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Part II: Program Description and Performance Analysis
STRATEGIC GOAL I (con't)
1.3 SOCIAL SERVICES BLOCK GRANT
| Request, Full Costs, & Annual Measures ($ in millions) |
FY 2003 | FY 2004 | FY 2005 |
Budget Request (Program Level) |
$1,700.0 |
$1,700.0 |
$1,700.0 |
| Estimated Full Cost | $1,700.7 | $1,700.7 | $1,700.7 |
| Program Goal: Day Care Services Incorporates measure: 1.3a |
$170.0 | NA | NA |
* The distribution of full costs to performance measures may not equal the full cost of the performance program area.
ALLOCATION METHODOLOGY EXPLANATION: Using the last available annual report (FY 2001), approximately 10% of SSBG resources were attributed to providing daycare services. SSBG does not have performance measures for FY 2004-2005.
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION AND CONTEXT
The purpose of the Social Services Block Grant (SSBG) is to provide states and Federal and state-recognized Indian Tribes with a flexible pool of resources to provide a range of services to address the needs of low income individuals to ameliorate the causes and conditions of poverty. The program was established under title XX of the Social Security Act, as amended by P. L. 97-35. Funds are allocated to the states on the basis of population and support outcomes across the human service spectrum. SSBG outcomes align with several of ACF's strategic goals, including employment, child care, child welfare, adoptions, and youth services. The SSBG resources give states the ability to target services in areas of greatest need, depending on state and local priorities. This reflects SSBG's guiding principles that states, local government, and communities are best able to determine the needs of individuals to help them achieve self-sufficiency, and that social and economic needs are interrelated and must be met simultaneously.
Program Partnerships
SSBG achieves its goals through partnerships at the national, state, and local level. This ensures a more effective targeting of support to meet state- and community-level needs. However, such partnerships also raise considerable challenges for results-based management. Due to the flexibility provided under SSBG, there are minimal reporting requirements.
PROGRAM PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS
| Performance Measures | Targets | Actual Performance | Reference (Relevant strategic goal in the HHS Strategic Plan) |
| 1.3a. Maintain the number of child recipients of day care services funded wholly or in part by SSBG funds at the FY 1998 baseline. % of full cost FY 2003: 10% OTHER: 90% | FY 04: Dropped FY 03: 2,399,827 FY 02: 2,399,827 FY 01: 2,399,827 FY 00: NA FY 99: NA |
FY 03: 4/05 FY 02: 4/04 FY 01: 3,151,000 FY 00: 2,834,703 FY 99: 2,620,938 FY 98: 2,399,827 FY 97: 2,207,622 FY 96: 1,863,160 FY 95: 1,697,606 |
|
| 1.3b. Maintain the number of adult recipients of home based services funded wholly or in part by SSBG funds at the FY 1998 baseline. | FY 03: Dropped FY 02: 339,253 FY 01: 339,253 FY 00: NA FY 99: NA |
FY 02: 4/04 FY 01: 260,937 FY 00: 467,478 FY 99: 506,707 FY 98: 339,253 FY 97: 259,464 FY 96: 258,828 FY 95: 279,497 |
|
| 1.3c. 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 03: Dropped FY 02: 328,729 FY 01: 313,075 FY 00: NA FY 99: NA |
FY 02: 4/04 FY 01: 912,661 FY 00: 974,587 FY 99: 708,129 FY 98: 298,167 FY 97: 470,723 FY 96: 317,101 FY 95: 243,931 |
|
| 1.3d. Maintain the number of recipients of child protective services funded wholly or in part by SSBG funds at the FY 1998 baseline. | FY 03: Dropped FY 02: 1,302,895 FY 01: 1,302,895 FY 00: NA FY 99: NA |
FY 02: 4/04 FY 01: 1,411,427 FY 00: 1,081,446 FY 99: 1,312,736 FY 98: 1,302,895 FY 97: 1,037,860 FY 96: 1,147,397 FY 95: 1,100,303 |
|
| 1.3e. 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 03: Dropped FY 02: 1,348,171 FY 01: 1,321,736 FY 00: NA FY 99: NA |
FY 02: 4/04 FY 01: 1,439,530 FY 00: 1,580,742 FY 99: 1,655,337 FY 98: 1,295,820 FY 97: 815,251 FY 96: 816,734 FY 95: 1,068,087 |
|
| Total Funding (dollars in millions) See detailed Budget Linkage Table in Appendix 12 for line items included in funding totals. | FY 05: $1700.0 FY 04: $1700.0 FY 03: $1700.0 FY 02: $1700.0 FY 01: $1725.0 FY 00: $1775.0 FY 99: $1909.0 |
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Summary of Program Performance
The five SSBG performance measures that are in the above program performance table were first included in the FY 2001 submission of the Performance Plan. Because SSBG supports outcomes across the human services spectrum associated with objectives and targets elsewhere in the plan, e.g. increasing the number of children receiving child care through CCDF, TANF, and SSBG (measure 4.1a), ACF has determined that it is not appropriate to identify specific SSBG outcomes to capture state performance. Therefore, ACF has dropped all SSBG performance measures from its performance plan. Four were dropped in FY 2003 and one in FY 2004.
According to FY 2001 reports, states used $2.663 billion for services that were funded by SSBG (of which 36 percent were funds transferred from TANF), with nearly 13 million individuals served by SSBG resources. Of these individuals, 7,405,000 (58 percent) were children, and 5,421,000 (42 percent) were adults. States spent the two largest portions of SSBG funds on child welfare for child protective services ($314 million) and child foster care services ($270 million). SSBG funding has enabled states to provide enhanced adult protective services. Thirty-two states reported spending $151.5 million in FY 2001 in this program area, achieving a higher service level than otherwise possible since there are few Federal resources available for this purpose.
Data Quality and Availability: Data from FY 2001 are considerably more complete and accurate than data from FY 2000 and previous years. The Department has taken steps to improve the clarity of reporting on services provided with these funds. To improve the data quality for reporting SSBG expenditures, the post-expenditure reporting form has been revised. The revised form and new instructions are intended to improve the consistency of reporting among states and reduce discrepancies in reporting methodology. OMB has approved the revised reporting form, which will be used by states beginning with reporting for FY 2002. SSBG data contain multi-year information and some of the dollars spent on services in FY 2001 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 Office of Community Services (OCS) will continue to coordinate with other agencies and organizations to review and assess shifts in funding priorities in order to project accomplishment of ACF performance targets. The SSBG report in FY 2001 included data from 50 states and the District of Columbia.
During this year, OCS assisted states to improve data collection and reporting. State data are regularly validated. Problems arising through validation are discussed with states and technical assistance is provided where practical. While several difficulties and challenges 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.
Measure by Measure Presentation of Performance
Congress intended that SSBG funding be directed at one or more of five legislated national goals. The decrease in funding has required greater effort to meet these goals which are closely aligned with the key priority goals identified in the ACF annual performance plan. The first goal is to increase employment and economic independence reducing reliance on public welfare programs enabling individuals to move toward self-sufficiency through the pursuit of jobs. One of the primary needs of welfare parents entering the workforce is affordable child care. States can apply funding from SSBG to child day care wholly or in part. The following measure was dropped in FY 2004 and incorporated into the child care measure 4.1d “increasing the number of children receiving child care through CCDF, TANF, and SSBG.”
| FY 2003 Plan | |
| 1.3a. | Maintain the number of child recipients of
day care services funded wholly or in part by SSBG funds at the FY
1998 baseline. Data Source: SSBG expenditure and post-expenditure reports |
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. The following two measures were dropped in FY 2003.
| FY 2002 Plan | |
| 1.3b. | Maintain the number of adult recipients
of home based services funded wholly or in part by SSBG funds at
the FY 1998 baseline. |
| 1.3c. | Increase the number of adult recipients of
special services for the disabled funded wholly or in part by SSBG
funds annually from the FY 1998 baseline. Data Source: SSBG expenditure and post-expenditure reports |
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.
SSBG's child protective services measure focused on state activities to prevent or remedy abuse, neglect, or exploitation, and negligent treatment or maltreatment, including failure to be provided with adequate food, clothing, shelter, or medical care. Component services or activities may include immediate investigation and intervention, emergency medical services, emergency shelter, initiation of legal action (if needed), counseling for the child and the family and other services. Approximately $314 million in SSBG funds were expended by 43 states in FY 2001 to serve 1.4 million children with protective services used more SSBG resources for child protective services in FY 2001 than for any other allowable service area. The following measure was dropped in FY 2004.
| FY 2003 Plan | |
| 1.3d | Maintain the number of recipients of child
protective services funded wholly or in part by SSBG funds at the
FY 1998 baseline. Data Source: SSBG expenditure and post-expenditure reports |
The following measure was dropped in FY 2003. As SSBG funds are reduced in other services, it is anticipated that I & R services will increase.
| FY 2002 Plan | |
| 1.3e. | Increase the number of recipients of information
and referral services funded wholly or in part by SSBG funds annually
from the FY 1998 baseline. Data Source: SSBG expenditure and post-expenditure reports |
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