CSBG AT-2017-01 Submission of Module 1 of the CSBG Annual Report for Fiscal Year (FY) 2016

Publication Date: February 17, 2017
Current as of:

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Administration for Children and Families
Office of Community Services
Division of State Assistance
330 C Street, SW, 5th Floor
Washington, D.C. 20201

www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ocs/programs/csbg

Community Services Block Grant
Action Transmittal

Re: Transmittal No. CSBG-AT-2017-01

Date: February 17, 2017

TO: COMMUNITY SERVICE BLOCK GRANT (CSBG) STATE GRANTEES

GUIDANCE
INTENDED FOR: X STATES
                                TRIBES/TRIBAL ORGANIZATIONS
                                TERRITORIES

SUBJECT: Submission of Module 1 of the CSBG Annual Report for Fiscal Year (FY) 2016

RELATED REFERENCES: Section 678E of the 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; ACF’s CSBG Annual Report, as approved by OMB (Control No. 0970-0492; Expiration Date — January 31, 2020).

PURPOSE: To notify state CSBG Grantees that the online submission through the Online Data Collection (OLDC) system for Module 1 of the CSBG Annual Report for FY 2016 is expected to begin on February 28, 2017, and the deadline for submission (March 31) is being extended to April 7, 2017. And to provide information on related training and technical assistance.

BACKGROUND: State CSBG grantees are required to submit an annual report to OCS as cited within the CSBG Act Section 678E. In FY 2015, OCS began the process of implementing a new CSBG Annual Report designed to complete the CSBG Performance Management Framework that includes 1) organizational standards for local CSBG eligible entities, 2) accountability measures for states and OCS, and 3) the Results Oriented Management and Accountability Next Generation (ROMA NG).

The information in the new CSBG Annual Report will be used to provide general oversight and accountability at local, state, and national levels to improve performance, track results from year to year and assure accountability for critical activities and outcomes at each level of the CSBG Network. States currently submit this information through the CSBG Information Survey (IS), which is collected and monitored by National Association for State Community Services Programs (NASCSP), an OCS cooperative agreement grantee. The new CSBG Annual Report will replace the CSBG IS, and will be reported directly to OCS through OLDC.

The new Annual Report is sectioned into four Modules. Module 1, the State Administration section, includes information on state administration of CSBG funding, including information on distribution of funds to eligible entities, use of state administrative funds and discretionary funds for training and technical assistance, as well as information on eligible entity organizational standards progress, and the state’s progress meeting accountability measures related to state monitoring, training and technical assistance and other critical areas.

OCS is implementing the new CSBG Annual Report in two phases. During the first phase, states will submit Module 1 through OLDC while also completing the IS Survey for Modules 2-4 beginning February 28. Phase two work on Modules 2-4 is currently ongoing, and the Annual Report is expected to be fully implemented by March 2019.

More information about the CSBG Annual Report is provided in Information Memorandum (IM) No. 152, available at /ocs/resource/csbg-im-152-annual-report.

SUBMISSION: CSBG Annual Report — Module 1 data is submitted through ACF’s OLDC system, a component of GrantSolutions.gov.

The expected launch date for the CSBG Annual Report will be February 28, 2017. The deadline for all grantees to submit their CSBG Annual Report is March 31 of each FY. However, OCS is granting a one-time extension through April 7, 2017, for the first year of online submission. OLDC can be accessed at https://home.grantsolutions.gov/home/ . OCS will notify those states that fail to meet the deadline.

Once the CSBG Annual Report data for FY 2016 has been submitted, OCS will notify states of any reporting deficiencies not identified or resolved through OLDC and request a plan for remedial action, as applicable. At the same time, OCS will continue to work with states seeking help in completing their reports.

WEBINARS: On February 23, 2017 at 3:30 PM EST and February 27, 2017 at 3 PM EST, OCS and NASCSP, will host three webinars for state grantees on how to complete and submit Module 1 of the FY 2016 Annual Report. A save-the-date notice will be sent in advance of the webinars with instructions on how to join the webinars. The recordings of the webinars will later be posted to the NASCSP CSBG Services and Technical Assistance website: http://www.nascsp.org/CSBG/595/CSBG-Services-and-Technical-Assista... .

ADDITIONAL ASSISTANCE: Throughout the submission period, various OCS staff will be available to assist the states with completing Module 1. OCS staff will offer assistance in accessing OLDC, completing Module 1, and content-related questions.

As with the CSBG Annual Report for FY 2015, NASCSP will be available to assist state grantees in completing their CSBG Annual Report. NASCSP will contact states, if necessary, to correct data errors and/or missing data identified through OLDC. The goal of the technical assistance available from our office and our contractor, NASCSP, is to assist grantees with both identifying and resolving issues in order to facilitate successful and timely submission of data through OLDC.

Seth Hassett
Director, Division of Community Assistance
Office of Community Services