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Presentation, discussion, and possible action on the reprogramming of Program Year 2024 Community Services Block Grant Administrative funds
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RECOMMENDED ACTION
recommendation
WHEREAS, Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) funds are awarded annually to the State of Texas by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS);
WHEREAS, upon the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (the Department) receipt of the State’s annual award of CSBG funds, it reserves 90% of the allotment for CSBG eligible entities to provide services/assistance to the low-income population in all 254 counties; 5% for state administration expenses; and the remaining 5% for state discretionary use;
WHEREAS, the Department has determined that there remains $925,000 in unused Department administrative funds;
WHEREAS, the Department wishes to expend the funds prior to the expenditure deadline of September 30, 2025, and therefore the funds warrant prompt reprogramming, and staff is recommending that the funds be used for direct client assistance;
WHEREAS, 12 CSBG eligible entities have achieved expenditure rates on their annual CSBG allocation of 100% within the original contract term and are therefore in a position to spend additional funds, and are not ineligible under 10 TAC §1.21; and
WHEREAS, 12 CSBG eligible entities are being recommended for an award of these reallocated funds subject to a positive recommendation or a recommendation with conditions through the Previous Participation Review and Approval Process (PPRAP);
NOW, therefore, it is hereby
RESOLVED, that the Board approves of the reprogramming of remaining 2024 CSBG administrative funds totaling $925,000, which will be allocated to 12 CSBG eligible entities for the provision of direct services to low-income individuals;
FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Executive Director and his designees each of them be and they hereby are, authorized, empowered, and directed, for and on behalf of the Department, to issue contracts for these funds, only upon confirmation of previous participation review (PPR) by the Compliance Division, and subject to a positive recommendation through the PPRAP and subject to any PPRAP conditions, consistent with the policy noted herein; and
FURTHER RESOLVED, that should any funds designated for these or other 2024 CSBG-D activities remain unused after August 31, 2025, those funds, along with any additional unused CSBG-Discretionary or CSBG Administrative funds from 2024 or prior years, may also be redistributed to these entities at the discretion of the Executive Director or designee, within the limitations of 10 TAC §1.302(l), or used for the Department’s administrative activities.
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BACKGROUND
As a result of its biennial CSBG State Plan being approved by USHHS, the Department receives an annual award of CSBG funds, of which 5% is reserved for state administrative expenses. For Program Year (PY) 2024, $925,000 of state administrative expenses has been identified as unexpended and available for reprogramming.
Proposed Use of Unexpended Funds
Staff recommends that these funds be reprogrammed and directed only to those eligible entities who have expended the greatest proportion of their existing contracts, as they not only have a proven track record for expending the funds, but also have the least remainder of their current contracts to still expend. This approach of identifying the eligible entities with the highest expenditures on their current contracts to receive the reallocated funds has been used consistently in prior years.
This year, the Department recommends reprogramming the $925,000 to 12 CSBG eligible entities that have expended 100% of their contracted PY2024 CSBG funds by the original end date in the contract, and that were not ineligible under 10 TAC §1.21. Full expenditure of the reprogrammed funds must be achieved by August 31, 2025. The 12 entities meeting these criteria are listed in Attachment A with the approximate amounts to be distributed to each entity. Of the total amount of reprogrammed funds, $925,000 will be utilized for the provision of direct services to low-income individuals and will be allocated to 12 entities proportionally, using the allocation formula described in 10 TAC §6.203.
The Previous Participation Rule (10 TAC, Chapter 1, Subchapter C, §1.302) includes a review of CSBG awards prior to contract execution. At the time of Board Book posting, all awards described herein are still in the Previous Participation Review process. To ensure contracts are executed as quickly as possible, staff is requesting authorization of awards contingent upon a positive PPRAP recommendation or a recommendation with conditions, and subject to any PPRAP conditions. If an entity disagrees with a PPRAP recommendation with conditions, it should follow the dispute process in 10 TAC §1.303. No contracts will be entered into without having gone through the PPRAP first and a positive PPRAP recommendation or recommendation with conditions. Conditions may have to be met before contracts may begin.