
From the U.S. Code Online via GPO Access
[wais.access.gpo.gov]
[Laws in effect as of January 23, 2000]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
  January 23, 2000 and December 4, 2001]
[CITE: 42USC9908]

 
                 TITLE 42--THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE
 
           CHAPTER 106--COMMUNITY SERVICES BLOCK GRANT PROGRAM
 
Sec. 9908. Application and plan


(a) Designation of lead agency

                           (1) Designation

        The chief executive officer of a State desiring to receive a 
    grant or allotment under section 9905 or 9906 of this title shall 
    designate, in an application submitted to the Secretary under 
    subsection (b) of this section, an appropriate State agency that 
    complies with the requirements of paragraph (2) to act as a lead 
    agency for purposes of carrying out State activities under this 
    chapter.

                             (2) Duties

        The lead agency shall--
            (A) develop the State plan to be submitted to the Secretary 
        under subsection (b) of this section;
            (B) in conjunction with the development of the State plan as 
        required under subsection (b) of this section, hold at least one 
        hearing in the State with sufficient time and statewide 
        distribution of notice of such hearing, to provide to the public 
        an opportunity to comment on the proposed use and distribution 
        of funds to be provided through the grant or allotment under 
        section 9905 or 9906 of this title for the period covered by the 
        State plan; and
            (C) conduct reviews of eligible entities under section 9914 
        of this title.

                       (3) Legislative hearing

        In order to be eligible to receive a grant or allotment under 
    section 9905 or 9906 of this title, the State shall hold at least 
    one legislative hearing every 3 years in conjunction with the 
    development of the State plan.

(b) State application and plan

    Beginning with fiscal year 2000, to be eligible to receive a grant 
or allotment under section 9905 or 9906 of this title, a State shall 
prepare and submit to the Secretary an application and State plan 
covering a period of not less than 1 fiscal year and not more than 2 
fiscal years. The plan shall be submitted not later than 30 days prior 
to the beginning of the first fiscal year covered by the plan, and shall 
contain such information as the Secretary shall require, including--
        (1) an assurance that funds made available through the grant or 
    allotment will be used--
            (A) to support activities that are designed to assist low-
        income families and individuals, including families and 
        individuals receiving assistance under part A of title IV of the 
        Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 601 et seq.), homeless families 
        and individuals, migrant or seasonal farmworkers, and elderly 
        low-income individuals and families, and a description of how 
        such activities will enable the families and individuals--
                (i) to remove obstacles and solve problems that block 
            the achievement of self-sufficiency (including self-
            sufficiency for families and individuals who are attempting 
            to transition off a State program carried out under part A 
            of title IV of the Social Security Act);
                (ii) to secure and retain meaningful employment;
                (iii) to attain an adequate education, with particular 
            attention toward improving literacy skills of the low-income 
            families in the communities involved, which may include 
            carrying out family literacy initiatives;
                (iv) to make better use of available income;
                (v) to obtain and maintain adequate housing and a 
            suitable living environment;
                (vi) to obtain emergency assistance through loans, 
            grants, or other means to meet immediate and urgent family 
            and individual needs; and
                (vii) to achieve greater participation in the affairs of 
            the communities involved, including the development of 
            public and private grassroots partnerships with local law 
            enforcement agencies, local housing authorities, private 
            foundations, and other public and private partners to--
                    (I) document best practices based on successful 
                grassroots intervention in urban areas, to develop 
                methodologies for widespread replication; and
                    (II) strengthen and improve relationships with local 
                law enforcement agencies, which may include 
                participation in activities such as neighborhood or 
                community policing efforts;

            (B) to address the needs of youth in low-income communities 
        through youth development programs that support the primary role 
        of the family, give priority to the prevention of youth problems 
        and crime, and promote increased community coordination and 
        collaboration in meeting the needs of youth, and support 
        development and expansion of innovative community-based youth 
        development programs that have demonstrated success in 
        preventing or reducing youth crime, such as--
                (i) programs for the establishment of violence-free 
            zones that would involve youth development and intervention 
            models (such as models involving youth mediation, youth 
            mentoring, life skills training, job creation, and 
            entrepreneurship programs); and
                (ii) after-school child care programs; and

            (C) to make more effective use of, and to coordinate with, 
        other programs related to the purposes of this chapter 
        (including State welfare reform efforts);

        (2) a description of how the State intends to use discretionary 
    funds made available from the remainder of the grant or allotment 
    described in section 9907(b) of this title in accordance with this 
    chapter, including a description of how the State will support 
    innovative community and neighborhood-based initiatives related to 
    the purposes of this chapter;
        (3) information provided by eligible entities in the State, 
    containing--
            (A) a description of the service delivery system, for 
        services provided or coordinated with funds made available 
        through grants made under section 9907(a) of this title, 
        targeted to low-income individuals and families in communities 
        within the State;
            (B) a description of how linkages will be developed to fill 
        identified gaps in the services, through the provision of 
        information, referrals, case management, and followup 
        consultations;
            (C) a description of how funds made available through grants 
        made under section 9907(a) of this title will be coordinated 
        with other public and private resources; and
            (D) a description of how the local entity will use the funds 
        to support innovative community and neighborhood-based 
        initiatives related to the purposes of this chapter, which may 
        include fatherhood initiatives and other initiatives with the 
        goal of strengthening families and encouraging effective 
        parenting;

        (4) an assurance that eligible entities in the State will 
    provide, on an emergency basis, for the provision of such supplies 
    and services, nutritious foods, and related services, as may be 
    necessary to counteract conditions of starvation and malnutrition 
    among low-income individuals;
        (5) an assurance that the State and the eligible entities in the 
    State will coordinate, and establish linkages between, governmental 
    and other social services programs to assure the effective delivery 
    of such services to low-income individuals and to avoid duplication 
    of such services, and a description of how the State and the 
    eligible entities will coordinate the provision of employment and 
    training activities, as defined in section 101 \1\ of such Act [29 
    U.S.C. 2801], in the State and in communities with entities 
    providing activities through statewide and local workforce 
    investment systems under the Workforce Investment Act of 1998;
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    \1\ See References in Text note below.
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        (6) an assurance that the State will ensure coordination between 
    antipoverty programs in each community in the State, and ensure, 
    where appropriate, that emergency energy crisis intervention 
    programs under title XXVI [42 U.S.C. 8621 et seq.] (relating to low-
    income home energy assistance) are conducted in such community;
        (7) an assurance that the State will permit and cooperate with 
    Federal investigations undertaken in accordance with section 9916 of 
    this title;
        (8) an assurance that any eligible entity in the State that 
    received funding in the previous fiscal year through a community 
    services block grant made under this chapter will not have its 
    funding terminated under this chapter, or reduced below the 
    proportional share of funding the entity received in the previous 
    fiscal year unless, after providing notice and an opportunity for a 
    hearing on the record, the State determines that cause exists for 
    such termination or such reduction, subject to review by the 
    Secretary as provided in section 9915(b) of this title;
        (9) an assurance that the State and eligible entities in the 
    State will, to the maximum extent possible, coordinate programs with 
    and form partnerships with other organizations serving low-income 
    residents of the communities and members of the groups served by the 
    State, including religious organizations, charitable groups, and 
    community organizations;
        (10) an assurance that the State will require each eligible 
    entity in the State to establish procedures under which a low-income 
    individual, community organization, or religious organization, or 
    representative of low-income individuals that considers its 
    organization, or low-income individuals, to be inadequately 
    represented on the board (or other mechanism) of the eligible entity 
    to petition for adequate representation;
        (11) an assurance that the State will secure from each eligible 
    entity in the State, as a condition to receipt of funding by the 
    entity through a community services block grant made under this 
    chapter for a program, a community action plan (which shall be 
    submitted to the Secretary, at the request of the Secretary, with 
    the State plan) that includes a community-needs assessment for the 
    community served, which may be coordinated with community-needs 
    assessments conducted for other programs;
        (12) an assurance that the State and all eligible entities in 
    the State will, not later than fiscal year 2001, participate in the 
    Results Oriented Management and Accountability System, another 
    performance measure system for which the Secretary facilitated 
    development pursuant to section 9917(b) of this title, or an 
    alternative system for measuring performance and results that meets 
    the requirements of that section, and a description of outcome 
    measures to be used to measure eligible entity performance in 
    promoting self-sufficiency, family stability, and community 
    revitalization; and
        (13) information describing how the State will carry out the 
    assurances described in this subsection.

(c) Funding termination or reductions

    For purposes of making a determination in accordance with subsection 
(b)(8) of this section with respect to--
        (1) a funding reduction, the term ``cause'' includes--
            (A) a statewide redistribution of funds provided through a 
        community services block grant under this chapter to respond 
        to--
                (i) the results of the most recently available census or 
            other appropriate data;
                (ii) the designation of a new eligible entity; or
                (iii) severe economic dislocation; or

            (B) the failure of an eligible entity to comply with the 
        terms of an agreement or a State plan, or to meet a State 
        requirement, as described in section 9915(a) of this title; and

        (2) a termination, the term ``cause'' includes the failure of an 
    eligible entity to comply with the terms of an agreement or a State 
    plan, or to meet a State requirement, as described in section 
    9915(a) of this title.

(d) Procedures and information

    The Secretary may prescribe procedures for the purpose of assessing 
the effectiveness of eligible entities in carrying out the purposes of 
this chapter.

(e) Revisions and inspection

                            (1) Revisions

        The chief executive officer of each State may revise any plan 
    prepared under this section and shall submit the revised plan to the 
    Secretary.

                        (2) Public inspection

        Each plan or revised plan prepared under this section shall be 
    made available for public inspection within the State in such a 
    manner as will facilitate review of, and comment on, the plan.

(f) Transition

    For fiscal year 2000, to be eligible to receive a grant or allotment 
under section 9905 or 9906 of this title, a State shall prepare and 
submit to the Secretary an application and State plan in accordance with 
the provisions of this chapter (as in effect on the day before October 
27, 1998), rather than the provisions of subsections (a) through (c) of 
this section relating to applications and plans.

(Pub. L. 97-35, title VI, Sec. 676, as added Pub. L. 105-285, title II, 
Sec. 201, Oct. 27, 1998, 112 Stat. 2735.)

                       References in Text

    The Social Security Act, referred to in subsec. (b)(1)(A), is act 
Aug. 14, 1935, ch. 531, 49 Stat. 620, as amended. Part A of title IV of 
the Act is classified generally to part A (Sec. 601 et seq.) of 
subchapter IV of chapter 7 of this title. For complete classification of 
this Act to the Code, see section 1305 of this title and Tables.
    Section 101 of such Act, referred to in subsec. (b)(5), is probably 
a reference to section 101 of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998, Pub. 
L. 105-220, which is classified to section 2801 of Title 29, Labor.
    The Workforce Investment Act of 1998, referred to in subsec. (b)(5), 
is Pub. L. 105-220, Aug. 7, 1998, 112 Stat. 936, as amended. For 
complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note 
set out under section 9201 of Title 20, Education, and Tables.
    Title XXVI, referred to in subsec. (b)(6), is title XXVI of Pub. L. 
97-35, Aug. 13, 1981, 95 Stat. 893, as amended, known as the Low-Income 
Home Energy Assistance Act of 1981, which is classified generally to 
subchapter II (Sec. 8621 et seq.) of chapter 94 of this title. For 
complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note 
set out under section 8621 of this title and Tables.


                            Prior Provisions

    A prior section 9908, Pub. L. 97-35, title VI, Sec. 679, Aug. 13, 
1981, 95 Stat. 517; Pub. L. 98-558, title II, Sec. 205, Oct. 30, 1984, 
98 Stat. 2886; Pub. L. 99-425, title IV, Sec. 404(a), Sept. 30, 1986, 
100 Stat. 969, related to withholding of funds, prior to the general 
amendment of this chapter by Pub. L. 105-285.
    A prior section 676 of Pub. L. 97-35 was classified to section 9905 
of this title, prior to the general amendment of this chapter by Pub. L. 
105-285.

                  Section Referred to in Other Sections

    This section is referred to in sections 9905, 9914, 9915, 9916, 9917 
of this title.
