ACF-OCS-CSBG-AT-25-01 Annual Report Submission FY24

Publication Date: October 9, 2024
Current as of:

Community Services Block Grant

Action Transmittal

AT#: ACF-OCS-CSBG-AT-25-01

DATE: October 9, 2024

TO: CSBG States and Territories

SUBJECT: FY24 CSBG Annual Report Submission

ATTACHMENT(S): CSBG Annual Report Module 1 Template


RELATED REFERENCES:

Section 678E of the Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) Act, Title VI, Subtitle B, of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1981, Public Law 97-35, as amended; Human Services Amendments of 1994, P.L. 103-252; the FY 1996 CSBG Appropriation Legislation, P.L. 104-134; CFR Title 45, Part 96; Coats Human Services Reauthorization Act of 1998, P. L. 105-285, Department of Health and Human Services Block Grant Regulations and Current Poverty Income Guidelines; Administration for Children and Families (ACF) CSBG Annual Reports, as approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) (Control No. 0970-0492; Expiration Date — August 31, 2027).

PURPOSE:

To notify states and territories (grant recipients) of the requirements for the Fiscal Year 2024 (FY24) CSBG Annual Report. CSBG grant recipients must submit the FY24 CSBG Annual Report by March 31, 2025, using the approved online CSBG format through the ACF GrantSolutions On-Line Data Collection (OLDC).

BACKGROUND

Per the CSBG Act Section 678E, CSBG grant recipients are required to submit an annual report to the Office of Community Services (OCS). Additional information may be found in CSBG-Information Memorandum (IM)-152CSBG Annual Report.

SUBMISSION CONTENT AND REQUIREMENTS

The CSBG Annual Report documents critical activities and outcomes; tracks results from year to year; and assures accountability for performance at the local, state, and federal levels of the CSBG Network. Grant recipients must report directly to OCS through OLDC via GrantSolutions.gov .

This CSBG Annual Report submission is for activities completed during FY24 (October 1, 2023 — September 30, 2024)[1]. The deadline for all CSBG recipients to submit their complete FY24 CSBG Annual Report is March 31, 2025. A complete submission includes:

  • State Administration (Module 1) REQUIRED
  • Agency Expenditures, Capacity, and Resources (Module 2) REQUIRED
  • Community Level (Module 3) RECOMMENDED
  • Individual and Family Level (Module 4) REQUIRED

Pre-Populated Information and CSBG Eligible Entities

As this year’s CSBG Annual Report submission is for FY24 activities, the CSBG-eligible entity information is based on the information from the federal FY24 CSBG State Plan and is pre-populated in OLDC.

Changes to the CSBG Annual Report

On April 22, 2024, OCS announced a public comment period through the Federal Register  on proposed revisions to the current CSBG Annual Report as discussed in ACF-OCS-CSBG-DCL-24-15, CSBG Annual Report and PRA Clearance Process Updates. This public comment period included the current version of the CSBG Annual Report (2.1) and a version of the Annual Report with substantial revisions (3.0). OCS remains committed to addressing the burden on grant recipients and subrecipients to ensure the data collected is meaningful, equitable, and compliant. Furthermore, OCS aims to ensure all comments submitted in relation to Annual Report 3.0 are addressed and therefore has delayed the submission for a final 30-day comment period. All states and territories will complete CSBG Annual Report 2.1 (PDF) for the FY24 CSBG Annual Report submission.

TOOLS, TRAINING, AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE 

Tools

States and territories have tools available to ensure a complete and timely submission to include SmartForms and the OLDC system.

In November, OLDC will open for all CSBG grant recipients, and OCS will release SmartForms for all CSBG grant recipients with a completed FY23 CSBG Annual Report.

OCS encourages all grant recipients to review OLDC access information and ensure correct assignments for all staff for the CSBG Annual Report submission process. Each state and territory should identify at least one individual assigned as the Grant Administrator. OCS does not require the Authorized Official to certify the CSBG Annual Report; therefore, the Grant Administrator is able to certify the report.

If the state or territory requires any individual to obtain a new account, they should complete the Recipient User Account Request Form  (PDF) and the OLDC Access Form (DOCX) (DOCX), and submit both to the GrantSolutions Helpdesk to request a new account. If you have questions regarding OLDC access or submissions, please send an email to CSBGData@acf.hhs.gov.

Training 

OCS will host a series of training webinars to focus on understanding the report and leverage systems and tools to ensure a complete and timely submission of the FY24 CSBG Annual Report. All webinars require advance registration, and additional information is available on the CSBG Events Calendar page. Recordings and slides will be added to the site after the webinar for on-demand access.

Understanding the CSBG Annual Report for Performance

DateTimeWebinar TitleObjective
October 15, 20242:00-3:30 p.m. ETFY2024 CSBG Annual Report Kick-OffShare highlights of data from the previous Annual Report, status updates on the congressional reporting, performance reporting, lessons learned, and overview of the process to review data. 
October 23, 20241:00-2:30 p.m. ETSubmitting the State Administration (Module 1)Intended for State and Territory Administrators and state and territory program staff completing Module 1 of the CSBG Annual Report. The webinar will review the requirements and their connection to the CSBG State and Territory Plan. 
November 14, 20242:00-3:30 p.m. ET

Explaining Eligible Entity Expenditures, Capacity and Resources (Module 2)

 

Intended for CSBG eligible entities completing Module 2 of the CSBG Annual Report. The webinar will review the requirements for capturing expenditures and the resources for eligible entities. 
November 19, 20241:00-2:30 p.m. ETCapturing Community Level Transformation (Module 3)Intended for CSBG eligible entities and state completing and reviewing Module 3 of the CSBG Annual Report. The webinar will review recommended strategies and the changes to the feedback process. 
November 21, 20242:00-3:30 p.m. ETCollecting Individual and Family Characteristics (Module 4)Intended for CSBG eligible entities completing Module 4 of the CSBG Annual Report to review the reporting of services, performance indicators, and characteristics data of individuals and families served. 

Leveraging Systems and Tools for Annual Report Submission

DATETIMEWEBINAR TITLEOBJECTIVE
December 3, 20241:00-2:00 p.m. ETUsing the State Systems for ReportingTo provide guidance on submitting the FY24 CSBG Annual Report using your state database system.
December 5, 20242:00-3:00 p.m. ETUnderstanding and Troubleshooting SmartForms Intended for state, territory, and eligible entity staff utilizing SmartForms for the submission of Modules 2-4. This webinar will review common technical issues with SmartForms, strategies to troubleshoot, and best practices for a timely submission. 
December 9, 20242:00-3:00 p.m. ETAccessing the Online Data CollectionIntended for states and territories to understand how to request new user accounts, navigate OLDC, and troubleshoot common issues. 

Technical Assistance

In addition to the webinars available both live and on-demand, OCS is pleased to offer two additional methods for targeted training and technical assistance (TTA): OCS Annual Report Office Hours and OCS Targeted TTA referrals. 

OCS will host office hours to support states and territories in submitting their annual report on the following dates:

  • Tuesday, March 4, 2025, 10:30 — 11:30 a.m. ET
  • Thursday, March 6, 2025, 3:00 — 4:00 p.m. ET

States and territories will receive additional information on registration for Annual Report Office Hours in February 2025. 

As part of OCS’ commitment to providing effective training and technical assistance, states and territories may request targeted TTA with an OCS-funded TTA provider available at no-cost by submitting a request to their assigned Data and Evaluation Specialist and copying CSBGData@acf.hhs.gov.

Support

Additional resources are available in the CSBG Annual Report Toolkit. If you have any questions regarding this communication or your CSBG Annual Reports, please contact your assigned Data and Evaluation Specialist. We ask that you copy CSBGData@acf.hhs.gov to ensure an expedited response.

Submitting the FY24 CSBG Annual Report by March 31, 2025, not only ensures grant recipient compliance as outlined in Section 678(b) of the CSBG Act, but also that the effectiveness and outcomes of the CSBG Network are included in the FY24 OCS Annual Report. 

Thank you for your attention to these matters. OCS looks forward to continuing to provide high-quality services to OCS partners.

/s/
Charisse Johnson
Director, Division of Community Assistance
Office of Community Services 


[1] This is different from the state reporting period. However, states may report Modules 2-4 on the state fiscal year (July 1, 2023 — June 30, 2024) or the calendar year (January 1, 2024 — December 31, 2024).