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The purpose of this message is to provide the Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) Network an update on the status of the Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 CSBG Annual Reports. As of August 25, 2021, 34 percent of states have submitted all three CSBG Annual Reports. We thank you for your efforts to submit the reports by the due date.

Draft recommendations for Federal performance measures were developed by the Urban Institute and the DSA after several meetings with the CSBG Performance Management Task Force, and feedback from the field.  The draft recommended performance measures reflect the primary responsibilities of DSA and include approximately 15 measures.  Eight of the performance measures have been identified as “critical key measures” and, therefore, to be implemented first.

OCS requests further input from the States to refine and identify priority measures for the States.  We request that the States provide feedback about what State measures should be designated as “critical key measures” to be implemented in the short-term.  Feedback should be provided to the Urban Institute at CSBG-Feedback@Urban.org.

This message provides additional detail on the Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) Annual Report requirements. This includes a discussion of reporting related to regularly appropriated CSBG (referred to as regular CSBG) as well as the supplemental CSBG grants awarded as a result of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act of 2020 (referred to as CSBG CARES) and the Additional Supplemental Appropriations for Disaster Relief Act of 2019 (referred to as Disaster Supplemental). 

The purpose of this letter is to provide an update for the Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) Annual Reports, including the CSBG Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Supplemental Annual Report and the CSBG Disaster Supplemental Annual Report.

Each year, the Division of Community Assistance (DCA), within the Office of Community Services (OCS) conducts standard Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) State Assessment reviews as required under Section 678B(c) of the CSBG Act. In December 2020, DCA piloted virtual State Assessments in two states. Given the lessons learned from the virtual State Assessments and the ongoing public health crisis caused by the Coronavirus, this year, all CSBG State Assessments will be conducted virtually. Below is the FY 2021 schedule, which includes the two states monitored during the pilot. The State Assessment Schedule is published for federal and state planning purposes.

FY2020 CSBG Annual Reporting

The purpose of this guidance is to inform CSBG grantees of the option to conduct remote monitoring during the COVID-19 public health crisis. The guidance also offers recommended minimum standards for remote monitoring of CSBG eligible entities.

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.

CSBG State Assessment for Vermont FY 2020 (attached as PDF)

The purpose of this letter is to give you an update on the new State and Federal accountability measures for the Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) Network.  These proposed measures are intended to ensure that both State and Federal administrators of CSBG are accountable to high standards of performance management.   It is our expectation that these State and Federal accountability measures will be implemented alongside the new organizational standards for Community Action Agencies.  In addition, as new Results Oriented Management and Accountability (ROMA) next generation tools and protocols are completed in the next several months, the new State and Federal accountability measures we are proposing will help assure accountability and high quality at all levels.