CSBG AT-2021-02 CY 2021 ACSI Survey for Eligible Entities

Publication Date: February 22, 2021
Current as of:

Community Services Block Grant

Action Transmittal


DCL#: CSBG-AT-2021-02

DATE: February 22, 2021

TO: States, Territories, Eligible Entities, Federal Partners

SUBJECT: 2021 ACSI Survey for CSBG Eligible Entities

ATTACHMENT(S): ACSI Eligible Entity Survey Instrument


Dear Colleagues,

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 State Plan, as approved by OMB (Control No. 0970-0382; Expiration Date – June 30, 2021), CSBG Information Memorandum No. 151.

PURPOSE: To notify Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) state grantees, eligible entities, and federal training and technical assistance grantees that the 2021 American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) Survey for CSBG Eligible Entities will be made available online on Tuesday, February 23, 2021 and will remain open through Tuesday, March 23, 2021. To provide information on key actions for CSBG state grantees, eligible entities, and federal training and technical assistance grantees.

BACKGROUND: The Office of Community Services (OCS) requires state CSBG grantees to submit a state plan to OCS as cited with the CSBG Act Section 678E. Since 2015, OCS has implemented the process of surveying the eligible entities and the data obtained from the surveys are used by the states to develop their state plans, and to make operational improvements, as appropriate. OCS used the initial 2015 survey data to develop CSBG IM No. 151 Training and Technical Assistance Strategy, published in 2017.

As part of our ongoing effort to assess and improve performance across the CSBG Network, OCS is once again seeking feedback through the ACSI survey from CSBG eligible entities. The feedback received from this survey is important for the following reasons:

  • Presents a snapshot of the eligible entities’ customer experience.
  • Highlights the success of the states in meeting the needs of grantees.
  • Informs progress on the state accountability measures.
  • Provides information to states to inform future training and technical (T&TA) planning when developing their CSBG state plans.
  • Supports continuous quality improvement by identifying the operational areas most in need of improvement and with the greatest impact on customer service.

ACTION: OCS is encouraging nationwide participation of the survey because it is critical to providing feedback on a state-by-state basis. It is important to have a statistically significant response rate from each state in the survey as this will allow the Claes Fornell International (CFI) Group, the survey administrators, to provide customized feedback to each State CSBG Lead Agency, a critical benefit of the ACSI survey.

Key actions to maximize survey participation:

  • Actions for State CSBG Lead Agencies – Distribute this Action Transmittal to all CSBG eligible entities within your state and encourage participation by eligible entities.
  • Actions for CSBG Federal Technical Assistance Providers – Distribute this Action Transmittal to your contact lists and encourage participation by CSBG eligible entities.
  • Actions for CSBG Eligible Entities – Complete the survey according to the instructions provided below. Please note that the survey will go to executive directors in each eligible entity and should not be transferred to other parties.

OCS expects the survey will be available online to all eligible entities on Tuesday, February 23, 2021 and will remain open through Tuesday, March 23, 2021. Eligible entities will receive official notification via email from the CFI Group on behalf of OCS with the email address of: noreply@invite.cfigroup.com. The subject line will read: Office of Community Services Survey of CSBG Eligible Entities. Completing the survey should take less than 20 minutes. OCS is requesting eligible entities to be on the lookout for the survey, check their junk or spam files,  and to complete the survey as soon as possible.

OCS expects the states will receive their ACSI reports in April 2021, to inform the development of the FY2022 CSBG State Plan, which is due by September 1, 2021.

NEXT STATE GRANTEE SURVEY: OCS intends to conduct a survey of the states about how well OCS is meeting the federal accountability measures in fall 2021. We will keep the network informed as the details are worked out.

Should you have any questions, please contact Roneika Carr at 202-401-4595 or at Roneika.Carr@acf.hhs.gov .

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

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