Community Services Block Grants
The Washington State Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) program receives state and federal funds to help alleviate poverty, revitalize communities and empower low-income families to become fully self-sufficient through a network of public and nonprofit agencies. The program contracts with community action agencies to administer funds locally and provide assistance.
CSBG eligibility criteria include households with incomes at, or below, 125 percent of the federal poverty level as defined by the Office of Management and Budget and is based on the Census Bureau’s most recent data.
Services include:
- Housing
- Energy assistance
- Nutrition
- Employment
- Training
- Emergency food and shelter
- Asset development
The CSBG State Plan (PDF) for Federal Fiscal Year 2018-20 describes how the state of Washington, in partnership with community action agencies, the Washington State Community Action Partnership, and other community partners, will meet the requirements of federal and CSBG assurances.
States are waiting on the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to obtain approval from HHS’s Online Data Collection to release revised SFY19-20 CSBG State Plan form. As such, Commerce is unable to input current data and post the 2019-2020 Washington state CSBG Plan. The approval should be released soon allowing Commerce to provide the draft 2019-2020 State Plan as soon as possible.
112 STAT. 2736 PUBLIC LAW 105–285—OCT. 27, 1998
‘‘(b) STATE APPLICATION AND PLAN.—Beginning with fiscal year 2000, to be eligible to receive a grant or allotment under section 675A or 675B, 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.”