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Community Services Block Grants: How They Work

cenlahomeless.org

There are a several substantial pots of federal grant dollars Louisiana receives each year. One of them, from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is known as “Community Services Block Grants”. Bryan Moore, director of the Office of Workforce Development which administers the program, explains how it works.

“The funding comes through our office as pass-through funds to these community action agencies, that’s going to people who live in poverty.”

Moore says 42 agencies serve the state’s 64 parishes.

“21 of them are public agencies, so they are part of that parish government. 21 of them are private agencies, so they’re private non-profit organizations that receive funding on behalf of people living in poverty in that particular parish or parishes that they represent.”

Every two years the state revises its formula for distributing these funds.

“The formula that’s used now is poverty per parish, against the total population of people in poverty throughout the state of Louisiana.”

It comes out to about $17.40 per person per year, at current funding levels.

“If your area has 100-thousand people living in poverty, it would be 100-thousand times 17-point-four-zero. And that’s what your agency would receive,” Moore explains. “So your larger cities like New Orleans, and Shreveport and Monroe – those areas that are not only heavily populated, but heavily populated with people living in poverty -- will receive the most money.”

He adds, “We have a floor, so there’s no community action agency that will receive less than $50,000.”

The programs supported by the grants include Head Start, citizenship classes, adult literacy, summer feeding and youth employment, job fairs, elderly assistance and help for the homeless. Louisiana received $15-million in Community Services Block Grants last year.