white paper on performance management for community ... - FACA

NASCSP 2013
Percentage of low-income households within a 30-minute commute of regional
employment centers
Median household housing plus transportation costs
MEASURING THE IMPACT OF CSBG DOLLARS ALONE
Recently, there has been an increased interest in exploring different ways to present the use of
CSBG funds. Historically, the CSBG Information Systems (IS) Survey data on the expenditures of
CSBG funds has been presented around the ten service categories from the CSBG Statute. These
service categories lack details about the use of the funds and highlight more generally the
outcomes that may be achieved. For example, the “Education” category may include funds that
were used to pay the salary of a teacher or for the necessary materials and resources for a GED
program. However, the CSBG funds used to pay for the program staff registering people for
classes or agency program staff that planned and designed the GED program would also be
included in the same category. On the following pages, we provided some options to potentially
change the way data on the use of CSBG funds is reported.
The use of service categories is a typical practice in Federal block grant reporting. The
Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funded by the Department of Housing and Urban
Development (HUD) reports on the use of funds within 8 service categories with 97
subcategories. The 8 categories are: Acquisition; Administrative & Planning; Economic
Development; Housing; Public Improvements; Public Services; Repayments of Section 108
Loans; Other. The subcategories delve into specifics within each main category. The Social
Services Block Grant (SSBG) funded by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
also uses 29 different service categories to report on the expenditures of funds. The categories
include Adoption Services, Education and training services, Employment services, and Legal
services among others.
As we explore potential changes to the reporting system, there are a few overarching goals to
pursue in strengthening the system. Reporting on the use of CSBG funds specifically provides an
opportunity to clarify how the CSBG is different from other funding streams. Clearer definitions
of the service categories or subcategories that further define the use of funds can assist in the
communication of results as well as provide a more valuable tool for States to monitor on how
local agencies are using their CSBG funds. A clearer report can also provide analysis for a CSBG
performance measure that more accurately reflects the goals of the CSBG Statute, as opposed
to the current measure that relates simply to agency use of CSBG funds for administrative
purposes. Lastly, there is an opportunity to further facilitate discussion between State CSBG
Offices and local agencies on the use of CSBG funds for agency capacity building and meeting
organizational standards.
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