CSBG-DCL-2020-12 FY 2018 Annual Report Modules 2 - 4 Review Status

Publication Date: February 10, 2020
Current as of:

Dear Colleagues,

The purpose of this message is to provide an update on the status of the review for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2018 Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) Annual Report, Modules 2 — 4. As previously stated, OCS’ goal was to send initial feedback for Modules 2 — 4 by December 31, 2019. Though we did not meet that goal, we are working to have all feedback to states as soon as possible.

Modules 2 and 4

OCS will send feedback for Modules 2 and 4 no later than February 14. The feedback email will come from CSBGStates@acf.hhs.gov, and will include:

  • FY 2018 SmartForms for each eligible entity with outstanding warnings and errors;
  • Feedback form for Module 2; and
  • Feedback form for Module 4.

Additional information and instructions will be included in the feedback email.

Module 3

On April 6, 2018, OCS released the Dear Colleague Letter titled CSBG Annual Report - Module 3 Stage Implementation announcing a staged implementation for the first two years (FY2018 and FY2019) of Module 3 submissions, with the first year focused on implementation, review, and technical assistance.

In FY2018, OCS received 816 Module 3 submissions. OCS conducted a preliminary review of the submissions to validate whether submissions were complete based on the following criteria (as originally noted in the aforementioned Dear Colleague Letter):

  • Complete Submission: Any CSBG eligible entity currently implementing a community-level change initiative and completed the entire Community Initiative Status form.[1]
  • Partial Submission: Any CSBG eligible entity currently implementing a community-level change initiative and responded to at least questions 1-7 of the Community Initiative Status Form.
  • Incomplete: Any submissions that did not include responses to at least questions 1 — 7 were considered incomplete[2] .

After much consideration, OCS determined we need additional time to complete a more in-depth review. Therefore, next year will be a continued Quality Assurance year. This review will allow us time to review the content of the submissions and assess whether they reflect CSBG-funded community level impact. It will also afford OCS the opportunity to provide technical assistance to help ensure future submissions align with the intent of Module 3. OCS believes this will lead to the long-term success of Module 3.

OCS understands the hard work that went into submitting FY2018 Module 3 data. Given the number of submissions, the hard work already completed by the CSBG Network, and the desired success for Module 3, OCS will take the following next steps:

  1. OCS will provide feedback to all states on the FY2018 Module 3 submissions no later than February 21. This feedback will also address FY2018 submissions that states should not resubmit for FY2019;
  2. OCS will better define a Community-Level Initiative for the purposes of Module 3, taking into consideration feedback from the CSBG Network; and
  3. OCS will continue to review the FY2018 Module 3 submissions to provide additional guidance as we prepare for the FY2019 submissions.

OCS will send additional guidance for Module 3 in the upcoming weeks. If you have any questions, please contact Monique Alcantara.

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

/s/
J. Janelle George
Acting Deputy Director
Office of Community Services

 For the purposes of this review, OCS defined “complete” as having at least 1 — 12 filled out within the Community Initiative Status Form.

This was not defined in the Dear Colleague message, but we felt that it was important to define for the purposes of this review.