SSBG AT-2022-01 Application Model For Social Services Block Grant FY2023

Purpose:

To share with states/territories the fiscal year 2023 guidance for the preparation of SSBG Pre-expenditure Report and Intended Use Plan.

Social Services Block Grant (SSBG) Background:

Each state is responsible for designing and implementing its own SSBG program, within broad federal guidelines. States must administer their SSBG program according to their approved plan, along with amendments, and in conformance with rules, regulations and policies. Each year, states are required to submit the Pre-Expenditure Report and Intended Use Plan as prerequisites to receiving SSBG funds. These submissions outline the planned use of SSBG funds for the provision of services in each state.

Consolidated Block Grant (CBG) Background:

In accordance with the Omnibus Territories Act, Public Law 95-134, Section X of Title XX of the Social Security Act, Public Law 97-81, and 45 Code of Federal Regulations Part 97.10-.17, the U.S. insular areas (hereafter, territories) of American Samoa, the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands may consolidate up to 22 grant programs to form the Consolidated Block Grant (CBG).

Territories may operate the CBG under the Social Services Block Grant authority, meeting the goals set in this flexible grant. CBG authority permits the territories to submit, as state SSBG grant recipients, the Intended Use Plan and Pre-Expenditure Report to receive CBG funding in lieu of individual application requirements for each program included in the consolidated grant. CBG grant recipients must submit a post-expenditure report, as well. There is no match requirement in the CBG, or maintenance of effort — even if such may be required in programs consolidated. Award formulas are based on the amounts set in the original legislation.

A summer 2021 review of administration of the Consolidated Block Grant (CBG) by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) found that account measures for the CBG needed to be further streamlined for federal fiscal year (FFY) 2022 and thereafter.  This streamlining would order the consolidation of grant distribution to provide accounting measures where each territory would receive their award in one account per territory, rather than disbursed across several individual program accounts. The review also noted that policy declarations needed to be more distinct about the CBG for territories as a unique enterprise associated with the SSBG.  As such, the federal agency implemented in fiscal year 2022 adjustments to existing policies to more clearly outline CBG governing policies, laws, and regulations. 

The adjustments include the following:

• Revised SSBG Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) at 93.667 to reference the Consolidated Block Grant (CBG), the authorizing legislation in the Omnibus Territories Act, as amended, and Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1981 creating SSBG, and the associated rules at 45 Code of Federal Regulations Part 97.
• Updated SSBG/CBG Supplemental Terms and Conditions as guidance to auditors reviewing grant awards for territories.
• Established a new, distinct payment code for the CBG when territories access their grant awards in the Payment Management System, with SSBG beginning with SOSR, and territories consolidating now with an access code of SOSC.
• Coordinated the deposit of all program resources requested by the territories for consolidated awards into one account for each territory, instead of separate accounts.

OMB Approved Form for the Intended Use Plan:

The Office of Community Services requested and received approval to expand the Pre-expenditure Report form (OMB Form No. 0970-0234) to include information related to the SSBG Intended Use Plan in fiscal year 2021. The Intended Use Plan was submitted in prior years as a narrative. Establishing a form for the Intended Use Plan standardizes reporting submissions for SSBG, thereby increasing the efficiency in reporting and assessment for grant recipients.

The Office of Community Services will hold a refresher virtual training (webinar) on May 3, 2022 to review the form and provide instructions on its completion using the SSBG Portal. Additional details regarding this training will be disseminated prior to the meeting through separate correspondence.  The webinar will be recorded.

Pre-Expenditure Report and Intended Use Plan Due Date:

An annual Pre-Expenditure Report and Intended Use Plan that describe how the state/territory plans to administer its SSBG/CBG funds for the upcoming year must be submitted prior to receipt of a SSBG/CBG allotment. These reports are required to be submitted no later than 30 days prior to the start of the fiscal year. The due date for states and territories operating on a fiscal year of July 1 to June 30 is June 1, 2022. The due date for states and territories operating on a fiscal year from October 1 to September 30 is September 1, 2022.

Examples:

The report and plan covers Fiscal Year 2023, which runs from July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2023.     FY 2023 Pre- Expenditure Report and Intended Use Plan

Due date: June 1, 2022

The report and plan covers Fiscal Year 2023, which runs from October 1, 2022 to September 30, 2023. FY 2023 Pre-Expenditure Report and Intended Use Plan

Due date: September 1, 2022

Online Submission:

Each state and territory must submit their annual Pre-Expenditure Report and Intended Use Plan form in the SSBG Online Data Portal . Additionally, ACF requires states and territories to use the Online Data Collection System (OLDC) to submit data on the Application for Federal Assistance SF-424 - Mandatory (M). OCS will only consider applications to be official and complete once the SF-424M is submitted through the OLDC system and the Pre-Expenditure Report and Intended Use Plan are submitted through the SSBG Online Data Portal.

At least one program contact should maintain an OLDC account in order to complete and submit the SF-424M. Accounts can be established and/or updated via the OLDC Access Form (see “Files”). The form should be completed, as necessary, and submitted to your Social Services Program Specialist. If you list more than one contact person, make sure to designate which one will be the primary contact.

Additional fiscal reporting documents must be submitted as part of the mandatory submission:

• Standard Form (SF)-425 and
• Form TANF ACF 196.

Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) Transfer:

Funds Transfer Limit:

A state or territory may transfer up to 10 percent of their TANF funds to the SSBG/CBG annually.

Income Limit for Transferred Funds:

Please note the following statutory requirement. Section 404(d)(3)(B) of the Social Security Act, 42 USC 604(d)(3)(B), requires that all funds transferred from TANF to SSBG “shall be used only for programs and services to children or their families whose income is less than 200 percent of the income official poverty line (as defined by the Office of Management and Budget, and revised annually in accordance with section 673(2) of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1981) applicable to a family of the size involved.”

Expenditure Period for TANF Transfer:

The transferred TANF funds and regular SSBG/CBG funds granted are to be spent in the fiscal year awarded, or the subsequent year. Relevant statutes: Section 404(d)(3)(A) and (B) of the Social Security Act. Grant recipients also are subject to the two-year timely filing provisions contained in 45 CFR Part 95.

Example:

A state transferred $100 of fiscal year 2022 funds to the SSBG program. The funds transferred must be liquidated by September 30, 2023. The transfer must be reported on the ACF-196 and the Post-Expenditure Report.

Content:

The Intended Use Plan records how the state or territory proposes to use the SSBG/CBG grant award, including the types of activities (or services) to be supported, and the categories and characteristics of individuals to be served, such as children, adults 59 and younger, adults 60 and older, and the disabled (42 U.S.C. §1397c).

States and territories are encouraged to use the expanded OMB Form No. 0970-0234 for the Intended Use Plan (See “Attachments”). The form must be submitted as an upload through the SSBG Online Data Portal.

The Pre-Expenditure Report provides additional information on the planned expenditure of the SSBG/CBG award. This documentation has basis in the authorizing law.

The Pre-Expenditure Report should be directly entered into the aptly-named Pre-Expenditure Report section of the SSBG Online Data Portal using estimated expenditures and recipient data rather than actual expenditures and recipient data (since this information will not be complete until the end of the fiscal year).

If the plan changes during the year, a revised Intended Use Plan and Pre-Expenditure Report must be submitted to the OCS for approval.

Post-Expenditure Report:

States and territories receiving also are required to submit a Post-Expenditure Report annually. The Post-Expenditure Report is due within six months of the close of each annual reporting period.

States and territories should use the approved OMB form to report in the Post-Expenditure Report, at the end of the fiscal year, actual expenditures, services, and characteristics data.  States and territories are reminded to track expenditures of grant funds from their allotments throughout the year to submit accurate actual expenditure data.

The Post-Expenditure Report, Pre-Expenditure Report, and Intended Use Plan are used for the analysis of the use of the block grant, including the TANF transfer, and the individuals served. This data is aggregated and informs decisions around budget decisions and national policymaking. The aggregated information is compiled and made public each year on the website in annual reports.

The SSBG performance measures and efficiency measures are correlated to the information shared with the national office. For additional information on performance measures for SSBG, please see the HHS and SSBG website .

Related References:

The Social Services Block Grant (SSBG) program is authorized under Title XX of the Social Security Act, as amended, and is codified at 42 USC 1397 through 1397e. See also Title V of the Omnibus Territories Act (Public Law 95-134), as amended. The implementing regulations for this and other block grant programs authorized by Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1981 are published at 45 CFR Part 96. Those regulations include both specific requirements and general administrative requirements in lieu of 45 CFR Part 75 (the HHS implementation of the Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards) for the covered block grant programs. Requirements specific to SSBG are found in 45 CFR Sections 96.70 through 96.74. Additionally, jurisdictions (insular areas) that apply for a consolidated grant are subject to 45 CFR Part 97 — Consolidation of Grants to the Insular Areas.

Address inquiries for

HHS Regions I, II, III, IV, and Territories

Darlene Tart-Scott

Social Services Program Specialist

Telephone: (215) 861-4060

Email: Darlene.Tart-Scott@acf.hhs.gov

Or

HHS Regions V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, and X

Artish Fountain

Social Services Program Specialist

Telephone: (214) 767-8465

Email: Artish.Fountain@acf.hhs.gov