I 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 3854 

To amend the Community Services Block Grant Act to reauthorize and 

modernize the Act. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 13, 2014 

Mr. FITZPATRICK (for himself, Ms. MCCOLLUM, and Mr. COSTA) introduced 

the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and 

the Workforce 

A BILL 

To amend the Community Services Block Grant Act to 

reauthorize and modernize the Act. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Community Economic 

5 Opportunity Act of 2014’’. 

6 SEC. 2. REAUTHORIZATION. 

7 The Community Services Block Grant Act (42 U.S.C. 

8 8 9901 et seq.) is amended to read as follows: 

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1 ‘‘Subtitle B—Community Services 

2 Block Grant Program 

3 ‘‘SEC. 671. SHORT TITLE. 

4 ‘‘ This subtitle may be cited as the ‘Community Serv5 ices Block Grant Act’. 

6 ‘‘SEC. 672. PURPOSES. 

7 ‘‘The purposes of this subtitle are— 

8 ‘‘(1) to reduce poverty in United States commu9 nities by supporting the activities of community ac10 tion agencies that reduce the causes and conditions 

11 of poverty and persistent economic insecurity by— 

12 ‘‘(A) providing individuals and families 

13 with opportunities to become economically se14 cure; and 

15 ‘‘(B) developing new economic opportuni16 ties in the communities in which low- and mod17 erate-income individuals live; and 

18 ‘‘(2) to accomplish the objectives described in 

19 paragraph (1) by— 

20 ‘‘(A) strengthening community capabilities 

21 for identifying poverty conditions and opportu22 nities to alleviate such conditions and planning 

23 Federal, State, local, and other assistance, in24 cluding private resources, related to the reduc25 tion of poverty so that resources can be used in 

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1 a manner responsive to local needs and condi2 tions; 

3 ‘‘(B) organizing and coordinating multiple 

4 services and resources so as to have a measur5 able and significant impact on the causes of 

6 poverty in the community and to help families 

7 and individuals find and utilize opportunities to 

8 become economically secure; 

9 ‘‘(C) using innovative community-based ap10 proaches to attack the causes and effects of 

11 poverty and to build community social and eco12 nomic assets; 

13 ‘‘(D) empowering residents to respond to 

14 the unique problems and needs within their 

15 communities through civic participation and 

16 partnerships; and 

17 ‘‘(E) broadening the sources and number 

18 of resources directed to the elimination of pov19 erty, so as to promote statewide, regional, and 

20 local partnerships that— 

21 ‘‘(i) achieve the purposes of this sub22 title; and 

23 ‘‘(ii) include— 

24 ‘‘(I) private, religious, charitable, 

25 and neighborhood-based organizations; 

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1 ‘‘(II) individuals, businesses, 

2 labor organizations, professional orga3 nizations, and other organizations en4 gaged in expanding opportunities for 

5 all individuals; and 

6 ‘‘(III) local government leaders; 

7 and 

8 ‘‘(F) by ensuring the maximum feasible 

9 participation of residents of low-income commu10 nities and of members of the groups served by 

11 programs, projects, and services under this sub12 title, in advising and assessing the eligible enti13 ties and in designing their programs, projects, 

14 and services funded under this subtitle. 

15 ‘‘SEC. 673. DEFINITIONS. 

16 ‘‘In this subtitle: 

17 ‘‘(1) COMMUNITY ACTION AGENCY; COMMUNITY

18 SERVICES NETWORK ORGANIZATION; ELIGIBLE ENTI19 TY.— 

20 ‘‘(A) COMMUNITY ACTION AGENCY.—The 

21 term ‘community action agency’ means an eligi22 ble entity (which meets the requirements of 

23 paragraph (1) or (2), as appropriate, of section 

24 681(c)) that is a public charity (other than an 

25 organization described in section 509(a)(4) of 

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1 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986) and that 

2 delivers multiple programs, projects, or services 

3 to a variety of low-income groups. 

4 ‘‘(B) COMMUNITY SERVICES NETWORK OR5 GANIZATION.—The term ‘community services 

6 network organization’ means any of the fol7 lowing organizations funded under this subtitle 

8 ‘‘(i) a grantee; 

9 ‘‘(ii) an eligible entity; or 

10 ‘‘(iii) an organization organized by 

11 multiple grantees or eligible entities, that 

12 is governed by a Board of Directors of 

which at least 3 13 ⁄4 of the members— 

14 ‘‘(I) are employees or other des15 ignees of such a grantee or eligible en16 tity; and 

17 ‘‘(II) are selected by an open and 

18 democratic process by the members of 

19 the organization. 

20 ‘‘(C) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘eligi21 ble entity’ means an entity— 

22 ‘‘(i) that is an eligible entity described 

23 in section 673(1) as in effect on October 

24 26, 1998 or has been designated by the 

25 process described in section 681(a) (includmstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 ing an organization serving migrant or sea2 sonal farmworkers that is so described or 

3 designated); and 

4 ‘‘(ii) that has a tripartite board or 

5 other mechanism described in paragraph 

6 (1) or (2), as appropriate, of section 

7 681(c). 

8 ‘‘(2) COMMUNITY ACTION PROGRAM PLAN.— 

9 community action program plan means a detailed 

10 plan, including a budget, for expenditures of funds 

11 appropriated for a fiscal year under this title for the 

12 activities supported directly or indirectly by such 

13 funds. 

14 ‘‘(3) COMMUNITY ACTION STRATEGIC PLAN.— 

15 The term ‘community action strategic plan’ means a 

16 plan that is adopted as the policy of an eligible enti17 ty and that 

18 ‘‘(A) establishes goals for a period of not 

19 less than 4 years that are based on meeting 

20 needs identified by the entity in consultation 

21 with the residents of the community through a 

22 process of comprehensive community needs as23 sessment; 

24 ‘‘(B) provides detail on how all activities of 

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1 tribute to meeting such goals including, but not 

2 limited to, how such entity will use funding re3 ceived under this subtitle to reduce the impact 

4 of the causes of poverty in the community; and 

5 ‘‘(C) specifies how such activities will be 

6 managed, funded, and measured by the per7 formance measurement system of such entity. 

8 ‘‘(4) GRANTEE.—The term ‘grantee’ means a 

9 recipient of a grant under section 677 or 678 or a 

10 corresponding provision of this subtitle (as in effect 

11 on the day before the date of enactment of the Com12 munity Economic Opportunity Act of 2013). 

13 ‘‘(5) PERFORMANCE BENCHMARK.—The term 

14 ‘performance benchmark’ means a measurable objec15 tive for the operations and activities set out in a 

16 community action program plan or a State plan 

17 under this subtitle. Such annual objectives may be 

18 part of, but not the entirety of, the outcomes identi19 fied by the performance measurement system in 

20 which a community services network organization 

21 participates. 

22 ‘‘(6) PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT SYSTEM.— 

23 The term ‘performance measurement system’ means 

24 a management information system that collects and 

25 reports information about the outcomes of activities 

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1 and investments funded in whole or in part with 

2 funds appropriated under this subtitle, including but 

3 not limited to annual performance benchmarks, com4 pares the actual outcomes with the intended out5 comes, and is used as a basis for management deci6 sions regarding future use of resources provided 

7 under this subtitle. 

8 ‘‘(7) POVERTY LINE.— 

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘poverty 

10 line’ means the official poverty line defined by 

11 the Office of Management and Budget, based 

12 on the most recent data available from the Bu13 reau of the Census, subject to subparagraphs 

14 (C) and (D). The Secretary shall revise the pov15 erty line annually (or at any shorter interval 

16 the Secretary determines to be feasible and de17 sirable). The required revision shall be accom18 plished by multiplying the official poverty line 

19 by the percentage change in the Consumer 

20 Price Index for All Urban Consumers during 

21 the annual or other interval immediately pre22 ceding the time at which the revision is made. 

23 ‘‘(B) COMMUNITY SERVICES BLOCK GRANT

24 ELIGIBILITY CRITERION.—Subject to subpara25 graphs (C) and (D), the poverty line, as defined 

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1 in subparagraph (A), shall be used as a cri2 terion of eligibility in the community services 

3 block grant program established under this sub4 title. 

5 ‘‘(C) WAIVERS FOR STATE USE OF HIGHER

6 ELIGIBILITY LEVEL.—Whenever a community 

7 action plan provides that a program, project, or 

8 service funded under this subtitle requires use 

9 of a higher eligibility standard than the stand10 ard otherwise applicable under this paragraph, 

11 for the purpose of ensuring (for the purposes of 

12 this subtitle) coordination of activities carried 

13 out under with other programs or activities of 

14 eligible entities that are delivered to low-income 

15 individuals, the State shall, as part of the an16 nual application described in Section 680, apply 

17 to the Secretary for a waiver that allows use of 

18 that standard with respect to that program, 

19 project, or service, and the Secretary may ap20 prove the waiver pursuant to the procedures in 

21 Section 680. 

22 ‘‘(D) PROCEDURES FOR CONTINUED ELIGI23 BILITY.—A State may establish procedures to 

24 ensure that a participant in a program, project, 

25 or service funded under this subtitle remains elmstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 igible to participate as long as the participant 

2 is successfully progressing towards achievement 

3 of the goals of the program, project, or service, 

4 regardless of the participant′′s continuing eligi5 bility under subparagraphs (A) through (C). 

6 ‘‘(9) PRIVATE, NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION.— 

7 The term ‘private nonprofit organization’ includes a 

8 religious organization to which the provisions of sec9 tion 690 shall apply. 

10 ‘‘(10) PUBLIC CHARITY.—The term ‘public 

11 charity’ means a domestic or foreign organization 

12 that is— 

13 ‘‘(A) described in section 501(c)(3) of the 

14 Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and exempt 

15 from taxation under section 501(a) of such 

16 Code; and 

17 ‘‘(B) described in paragraph (1), (2), (3), 

18 or (4) of section 509(a) of the Internal Revenue 

19 Code of 1986. 

20 ‘‘(11) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ 

21 means the Secretary of Health and Human Services. 

22 ‘‘(12) SERVICE AREA.—The term service area 

23 means the unique geographic area which the State 

24 has designated as the area to be served by an eligi25 ble entity. 

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1 ‘‘(13) STATE.—The term ‘State’ means any of 

2 the several States, the District of Columbia, the 

3 Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, the United 

4 States Virgin Islands, American Samoa, or the Com5 monwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. 

6 ‘‘SEC. 676. ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMUNITY SERVICES 

7 BLOCK GRANT PROGRAM. 

8 ‘‘(a) .—The Secretary is authorized to establish a 

9 community services block grant program and to make 

10 grants through the program, under sections 677 and 678 

11 to States to support local community action program plans 

12 carried out by eligible entities to ameliorate the conditions 

13 that cause poverty in the communities served by such enti14 ties. 

15 ‘‘(b) The Secretary is authorized to carry out other 

16 community programs described in Section 693 of this title. 

17 ‘‘(c) UNIFORM ADMINISTRATIVE REQUIREMENTS.— 

18 Notwithstanding any other provision of the Omnibus 

19 Budget Reconciliation Act of 1981 (Public Law 97–35), 

20 funds appropriated under this subtitle shall be subject to 

21 the Uniform Administrative Requirements for Grants and 

22 Cooperative Agreements to State, Local, and Tribal Gov23 ernments (part 92 of title 45, Code of Federal Regulations 

24 or any corresponding similar regulation or ruling) and all 

25 other Federal laws and regulation related to intergovernmstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 mental financial transactions and to administration of fed2 erally funded grants and cooperative agreements between 

3 States and nonprofit organizations. 

4 ‘‘SEC. 677. GRANTS TO TERRITORIES. 

5 ‘‘(a) APPORTIONMENT.—The Secretary shall appor6 tion the amount reserved under section 692(c)(1) for each 

7 fiscal year on the basis of need to eligible jurisdictions, 

8 among Guam, American Samoa, the United States Virgin 

9 Islands, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana 

10 Islands. 

11 ‘‘(b) GRANTS.—The Secretary shall make a grant to 

12 each eligible jurisdiction to which subsection (a) applies 

13 for the amount apportioned under subsection (a). 

14 ‘‘SEC. 678. ALLOTMENTS AND GRANTS TO STATES. 

15 ‘‘(a) ALLOTMENTS IN GENERAL.—From the amount 

16 appropriated under section 692(a) for each fiscal year and 

17 remaining after the Secretary makes the reservations re18 quired by section 692(c), the Secretary shall allot to each 

19 eligible State (subject to section 679), an amount that 

20 bears the same ratio to such remaining amount as the 

21 amount received by the State for fiscal year 1981 under 

22 section 221 of the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 bore 

23 to the total amount received by all States for fiscal year 

24 1981 under such section, except as provided in subsection 

25 (b). 

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1 ‘‘(b) MINIMUM ALLOTMENTS.— 

2 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall allot to 

each State not less than 1 3 ⁄2 of 1 percent of the 

4 amount appropriated under section 692(a) for such 

5 fiscal year except as provided in Section 692(c)(1). 

6 ‘‘(2) YEARS WITH GREATER AVAILABLE

7 FUNDS.—If the amount appropriated under section 

8 692(a) for a fiscal year and remaining after the Sec9 retary makes the reservations required by section 

10 692(b) exceeds $850,000,000, no State shall receive 

under this section less than 3 11 ⁄4 of 1 percent of the 

12 remaining amount. 

13 ‘‘(c) GRANTS AND PAYMENTS.—Subject to section 

14 679, the Secretary shall make grants to eligible States for 

15 the allotments described in subsections (a) and (b). The 

16 Secretary shall make payments for the grants in accord17 ance with section 6503(a) of title 31, United States Code. 

18 ‘‘(d) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘State’ 

19 does not include Guam, American Samoa, the United 

20 States Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of the 

21 Northern Mariana Islands. 

22 ‘‘SEC. 679. PAYMENTS TO INDIAN TRIBES. 

23 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

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1 ‘‘(1) INDIAN.—The term ‘Indian’ means a 

2 member of an Indian tribe or of a tribal organiza3 tion. 

4 ‘‘(2) INDIAN TRIBE; TRIBAL ORGANIZATION.— 

5 The terms ‘Indian tribe’ and ‘tribal organization’ 

6 mean a tribe, band, or other organized group recog7 nized in the State in which the tribe, band, or group 

8 resides, or considered by the Secretary of the Inte9 rior, to be an Indian tribe or an Indian organization 

10 for any purpose. 

11 ‘‘(b) RESERVATION.— 

12 ‘‘(1) APPLICATION.—Paragraph (2) shall apply 

13 only if, with respect to any State, the Secretary— 

14 ‘‘(A) receives a request from the governing 

15 body of an Indian tribe or tribal organization 

16 within such State that assistance under this 

17 subtitle be made available directly to such tribe 

18 or organization; and 

19 ‘‘(B) determines that the members of such 

20 Indian tribe or tribal organization would be bet21 ter served by means of grants made directly to 

22 such tribe or organization to provide benefits 

23 under this subtitle. 

24 ‘‘(2) AMOUNT.—The Secretary shall reserve 

25 from amounts allotted to a State under section 678 

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1 for a fiscal year, not less than the amount that bears 

2 the same ratio to the State allotment for the fiscal 

3 year as the population of all eligible Indians for 

4 whom a determination has been made under para5 graph (1)(B) bears to the population of all individ6 uals eligible for assistance through a grant made 

7 under section 678 to such State. 

8 ‘‘(c) AWARDS.—The amount reserved by the Sec9 retary on the basis of a determination made under sub10 section (b)(1)(B) shall be made available by grant to the 

11 Indian tribe or tribal organization serving the Indians for 

12 whom the determination has been made under subsection 

13 (b)(1)(B). 

14 ‘‘(d) PLAN.—In order for an Indian tribe or tribal 

15 organization to be eligible for a grant award for a fiscal 

16 year under this section, the tribe or organization shall sub17 mit to the Secretary a plan for such fiscal year that meets 

18 such criteria as the Secretary may prescribe by regulation. 

19 ‘‘(e) ALTERNATIVE PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT

20 SYSTEM.—The Secretary may promulgate alternative re21 quirements for tribal implementation of the requirements 

22 of section 680(c). 

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1 ‘‘SEC. 680. STATE PLANS AND APPLICATIONS; COMMUNITY 

2 ACTION PROGRAM PLANS AND APPLICA3 TIONS. 

4 ‘‘(a) STATE LEAD AGENCY.— 

5 ‘‘(1) DESIGNATION.—The chief executive officer 

6 of a State desiring to receive a grant under section 

7 677 or 678 shall designate, in an application sub8 mitted to the Secretary under subsection (b), an ap9 propriate State agency that agrees to comply with 

10 the requirements of paragraph (2), to act as a lead 

11 agency for purposes of carrying out State activities 

12 under this subtitle. 

13 ‘‘(2) DUTIES OF LEAD STATE AGENCIES.—The 

14 lead agency shall 

15 ‘‘(A) be authorized by the chief executive 

16 officer to convene State agencies and coordi17 nate— 

18 ‘‘(i) information and activities funded 

19 under this subtitle; and 

20 ‘‘(ii) information and activities of any 

21 State agencies whose State programs are 

22 intended to reduce poverty, including agen23 cies administering resources that support 

24 development of jobs and housing in com25 munities; 

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1 ‘‘(B) develop the State plan to be sub2 mitted to the Secretary under subsection (b), 

3 which shall be based primarily on the commu4 nity action program plans of eligible entities, 

5 submitted to the State as a condition of receiv6 ing funding under this subtitle for approval by 

7 the State; 

8 ‘‘(C) assist eligible entities— 

9 ‘‘(i) in conducting periodic comprehen10 sive community needs assessments, not less 

11 often than every 4 years; 

12 ‘‘(ii) in developing community action 

13 program plans; and 

14 ‘‘(iii) in developing community action 

15 strategic plans; 

16 ‘‘(D) coordinate plans for the activities of 

17 the State and other organizations under this 

18 subtitle, and activities of recipients of training 

19 or technical assistance with the community ac20 tion program plans; 

21 ‘‘(E) in conjunction with the development 

22 of the State plan as required under subsection 

23 (b)— 

24 ‘‘(i) hold at least one hearing in the 

25 State on the proposed plan, to provide to 

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1 the public an opportunity to comment on 

2 the public record on the proposed use and 

3 distribution of funds under the plan; and 

4 ‘‘(ii) not less than 15 days prior to 

5 the hearing, distribute notice of the hear6 ing and a copy of the proposed plan state7 wide to the public and directly to the chief 

8 executive officer and the chairperson of the 

9 Board of Directors of the eligible entities 

10 (or designees) and any subgrantees (or 

11 designees) and other interested parties; 

12 ‘‘(F) not less often than every 3 years, in 

13 conjunction with the development of the State 

14 plan, hold at least 1 legislative hearing; 

15 ‘‘(G) conduct reviews of eligible entities as 

16 required under section 684; 

17 ‘‘(H) adopt and report on State perform18 ance benchmarks, as described in section 

19 680(c); and 

20 ‘‘(I) provided further that, in the event a 

21 lead agency chooses to exercise its option to del22 egate one or more of its duties to another orga23 nization by contract, grant, or cooperative 

24 agreement, such delegation shall not include its 

25 duties under subsection (G). 

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1 ‘‘(b) STATE APPLICATION FOR STATE PROGRAM AND

2 STATE PLAN.—Beginning with the first fiscal year fol3 lowing the transition year, to be eligible to receive a grant 

4 under section 677 or 678, a State shall prepare and sub5 mit to the Secretary for approval an application containing 

6 a State plan covering a period of not more than two fiscal 

7 years. The application shall be submitted not later than 

8 30 days prior to the beginning of the first fiscal year cov9 ered by the plan, and shall contain such information as 

10 the Secretary shall require, including— 

11 ‘‘(1) a description of the manner in which funds 

12 made available through the grant under section 677 

13 or 678 will be used to carry out the State activities 

14 described in section 680A(b) and the State’s commu15 nity action program plans; 

16 ‘‘(2) a summary of the community action pro17 gram plans of the eligible entities serving the State; 

18 ‘‘(3) an assurance that each plan responds to 

19 needs identified in the comprehensive community 

20 needs assessment for the service area assigned to the 

21 entity and is consistent with one or more purposes 

22 described in section 672 and that the plan has been 

23 adopted by the governing body of each eligible enti24 ty; 

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1 ‘‘(4) an assurance that the State has approved 

2 all such community action program plans that are 

3 consistent with the purposes and requirements of 

4 this subtitle; 

5 ‘‘(5) at the State’s option, a statewide strategic 

6 plan that— 

7 ‘‘(A) includes the State’s strategy for im8 plementing its responsibilities under section 

9 680(a); 

10 ‘‘(B) may include the community action 

11 strategic plans of the eligible entities and such 

12 other matters as the State shall determine to be 

13 necessary to complete its strategic plan; 

14 ‘‘(6) a description of the State’s performance 

15 measurement system; 

16 ‘‘(7) a plan for the State’s oversight of eligible 

17 entities, including, but not limited to— 

18 ‘‘(A) the training provided to State over19 sight personnel regarding Federal law, regula20 tions and policy, and applicable State practices; 

21 ‘‘(B) the policies and procedures adopted 

22 for the State’s monitoring: 

23 ‘‘(C) the State’s system for implementing 

24 the training and, when necessary, requiring a 

25 corrective action plan for eligible entities; 

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1 ‘‘(D) the management training and tech2 nical assistance made available to eligible enti3 ties; and 

4 ‘‘(E) the method used for assessing the 

5 quality of such training; 

6 ‘‘(8) an assurance that any eligible entity in the 

7 State that received, in the previous fiscal year, fund8 ing through a grant made under section 677 or 678 

9 will not have such funding withheld, nor reduced 

10 below the proportional share of funding the entity 

11 received from the State in the previous fiscal year, 

12 nor eliminated— 

13 ‘‘(A) except according to the procedures 

14 set forth in subsection (b), (c), (d), or (e) of 

15 section 685; or 

16 ‘‘(B) unless the Secretary, in approving an 

17 application under this section, approves a 

18 change in the proportional distribution of funds 

19 under section 680(A)(a)(1) when included as 

20 part of a State’s application submitted under 

21 section 680(b); 

22 ‘‘(9) a description of the State’s requirements 

23 that ensure that each eligible entity serving the 

24 State establishes procedures that permit low-income 

25 individuals, or a community organization or religious 

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1 organization, that considers low-income individuals 

2 or the organization, respectively, to be inadequately 

3 represented on the Board of Directors of the eligible 

4 entity, to petition for adequate representation of 

5 such individuals or organization, respectively, on the 

6 Board; 

7 ‘‘(10) a description of the State’s requirements, 

8 and financial or other support, for each community 

9 action program plan and community action strategic 

10 plan of an eligible entity in the State and for the 

11 comprehensive community needs assessment de12 scribed in subsection (a)(2)(C) on which the commu13 nity action program plans are based, which assess14 ment may be coordinated with community needs as15 sessments conducted for programs other than the 

16 program carried out under this subtitle; 

17 ‘‘(11) an assurance that the State and all eligi18 ble entities in the State will participate in a perform19 ance measurement system that meets the require20 ments of this subtitle, and a description of the man21 agement and program information that will be used 

22 to measure State and eligible entity performance in 

23 achieving the goals of the State plan and the com24 munity action program plans, respectively; and 

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1 ‘‘(12) an assurance that the State’s perform2 ance measurement system for eligible entities is 

3 based, for each eligible entity, upon the results of 

4 implementing the entity’s own community action 

5 program plan and the achievement of the goals of 

6 the plan and performance benchmarks described in 

7 subsection (c) as adjusted, if necessary, for changes 

8 in available funding. 

9 ‘‘(c) STATE PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS AND

10 BENCHMARKS.— 

11 ‘‘(1) PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS.—Con12 sistent with the requirements of section 687, fol13 lowing the transition period described in subsection 

14 691(a), in order to be eligible for a grant under sec15 tion 677 or 678, each State shall adopt performance 

16 requirements and the performance benchmarks de17 scribed in paragraph (2), to be included as part of 

18 the performance measurement system described in 

19 section 687 and shall provide related training for 

20 State personnel carrying out a State program under 

21 this subtitle. 

22 ‘‘(2) ANNUAL STATE PERFORMANCE BENCH23 MARKS.—Each State shall include in the State plan 

24 submitted under subsection (b), for each fiscal year 

25 after the transition period, performance measuremstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 ments for lead agency management quality including 

2 those promulgated by the Secretary, and the State 

3 annual performance benchmarks regarding pro4 grammatic activities described in section 680A(b) 

5 and other performance measures which shall in6 clude— 

7 ‘‘(A) indicators of timely distribution and 

8 effective management of Federal funds by the 

9 lead agency and of the compliance with the re10 quirements for State personnel and for manage11 ment of activities funded under this subtitle 

12 (other than this subsection); and 

13 ‘‘(B) indicators concerning the results of 

14 activities funded by the State under this sub15 section. 

16 ‘‘(d) APPROVAL.—The Secretary shall notify the chief 

17 executive officer of each State submitting an application 

18 containing a State plan under this section, of the approval, 

19 disapproval, or approval in part, of the application, within 

20 30 days after receiving the application. 

21 ‘‘(1) In the event of a partial approval, the Sec22 retary’s notification shall include a description of 

23 changes necessary for final approval but the Sec24 retary shall not require submission of the State stra25 tegic plan described in subsection (b)(4). In the 

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1 event of such partial approval, the Secretary may 

2 allow grantee use of funds for activities included in 

3 the portions of the plan which the Secretary has ap4 proved. 

5 ‘‘(2) In the event a State application fails to be 

6 approved in whole or in part before the end of the 

7 third month of the State program covered by such 

8 plan the Secretary may allocate funds as provided in 

9 section 685(b)(3)(C). 

10 ‘‘(e) REVISION AND INSPECTION.— 

11 ‘‘(1) REVISIONS.—The chief executive officer of 

12 a State may revise a State plan submitted under 

13 this section and shall submit an application con14 taining the revised plan to the Secretary for ap15 proval according to the procedures described in sub16 sections (b) and (c). 

17 ‘‘(2) PUBLIC INSPECTION.—Each plan and revi18 sion to a State plan prepared under this section 

19 shall be distributed for public inspection as required 

20 under subsection (a)(2)(E), but a State application 

21 for merger incentive funds shall not be considered a 

22 revision. 

23 ‘‘(f) APPLICATION FOR COMMUNITY ACTION PRO24 GRAM AND COMMUNITY ACTION PROGRAM PLAN.—Begin25 ning with the first fiscal year following the transition year, 

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1 to be eligible to receive a subgrant under section 680A(a), 

2 each eligible entity shall prepare and submit to the State 

3 for approval an application containing a community action 

4 program plan or plans covering a period of not more than 

5 two fiscal years. Such application shall be submitted no 

6 later than 90 days before the date for submission of the 

7 State application to the Secretary. The application shall 

8 contain information on the intended implementation of the 

9 eligible entity’s activities, including demonstrating— 

10 ‘‘(1) how the program— 

11 ‘‘(A) meets needs identified in the most re12 cent comprehensive community needs assess13 ment, and is consistent with the entity’s com14 munity action strategic plan for that period; 

15 and 

16 ‘‘(B) achieves the purposes of this subtitle 

17 through programs, projects, and services, which 

18 may include the activities described in section 

19 683. 

20 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE ENTITY PERFORMANCE RE21 QUIREMENTS AND BENCHMARKS.—Not later than 

22 the end of the period described in section 691(a), 

23 each eligible entity participating in a program fund24 ed under this subtitle shall— 

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1 ‘‘(A) adopt performance benchmarks that 

2 include indicators concerning attainment of the 

3 goals of the entity’s annual community action 

4 program plans described in section 673(2), indi5 cators of timely and effective management of 

6 Federal and other funds, and indicators of com7 pliance with the requirements of this subtitle; 

8 ‘‘(B) participate in a statewide perform9 ance measurement system under section 687, 

10 including— 

11 ‘‘(i) contributing to reports on indica12 tors of results as measured by the state13 wide system; 

14 ‘‘(ii) establishing and tracking per15 formance on indicators concerning attain16 ment of the goals of the entity’s commu17 nity action strategic plan and community 

18 action program plan; 

19 ‘‘(ii) measuring the entity’s perform20 ance regarding governance, organizational 

21 development, and professional development 

22 of agency personnel; and 

23 ‘‘(iv) establishing an internal manage24 ment system that incorporates information 

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1 regarding results into subsequent plans, 

2 procedures, and budgets; and 

3 ‘‘(C) conduct community-wide comprehen4 sive community needs assessments including as5 sessments of local opportunities to reduce pov6 erty and use the results as a basis for commu7 nity action strategic plans, for programs, 

8 projects, and services provided by the entity, for 

9 public engagement in addressing the causes of 

10 poverty and the expansion of local economic op11 portunities, and for the development of linkages 

12 among partners that will reinforce initiatives 

13 funded under this subtitle. 

14 ‘‘SEC. 680A. STATE AND LOCAL USES OF FUNDS. 

15 ‘‘(a) STATE SUBGRANTS TO ELIGIBLE ENTITIES AND

16 OTHER ORGANIZATIONS.— 

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A State that receives a 

18 grant under section 677 or 678 shall reserve 2 per19 cent of the funds made available through the grant 

20 for the Community Action Innovations Program de21 scribed in subsection (c) and, of the remainder, use 

22 not less than 90 percent to make subgrants to eligi23 ble entities to enable the entities to implement pro24 grams, projects, or services for a purpose described 

25 in section 672. 

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1 ‘‘(2) OBLIGATIONAL REQUIREMENTS.— 

2 ‘‘(A) DATE OF OBLIGATION.—The State 

3 shall obligate the funds from the portion de4 scribed in paragraph (1) to make subgrants 

5 under paragraph (1) not later than the later 

6 of— 

7 ‘‘(i) the 30th day after the date on 

8 which the State receives from the Sec9 retary a Notice of Funding Availability for 

10 the State’s approved State application 

11 under section 680; or 

12 ‘‘(ii) the first day of the State pro13 gram year for which such funds are ap14 proved to be expended under the State ap15 plication. 

16 ‘‘(B) AVAILABILITY.—Funds allocated to 

17 eligible entities through subgrants made in ac18 cordance with paragraph (1) for a fiscal year 

19 shall be available for obligation by the eligible 

20 entity during that fiscal year and the suc21 ceeding fiscal year, subject to paragraph (3). 

22 ‘‘(3) RECAPTURE AND REDISTRIBUTION OF UN23 OBLIGATED FUNDS.— 

24 ‘‘(A) RECAPTURING FUNDS.—A State may 

25 recapture and redistribute funds distributed to 

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1 an eligible entity for a fiscal year through a 

2 subgrant made under paragraph (1) that are 

3 unobligated at the end of the fiscal year if such 

4 unobligated funds exceed 20 percent of the 

5 amount of funds so distributed to such eligible 

6 entity for such fiscal year unless the community 

7 action program plan approved by the State in8 cluded a higher percentage of unobligated 

9 funds. 

10 ‘‘(B) REDISTRIBUTING FUNDS.—In redis11 tributing funds recaptured in accordance with 

12 this paragraph, a State shall redistribute such 

13 funds to another eligible entity that is a com14 munity action agency and is capable of pro15 viding services similar to the services provided 

16 by the original recipient of funds in the area 

17 served. If no such community action agency is 

18 available, the State may redistribute the funds 

19 to a private, nonprofit organization that has 

20 demonstrated capacity to deliver similar services 

21 to residents of the community and that is lo22 cated in that service area, for activities con23 sistent with the objectives of this subtitle. 

24 ‘‘(b) STATEWIDE ACTIVITIES.— 

25 ‘‘(1) USE OF REMAINDER.— 

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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A State that receives 

2 a grant under section 677 or 678 shall, after 

3 carrying out subsection (a), use the remainder 

4 of the grant funds for activities described in the 

5 State’s application approved by the Secretary 

6 under section 680(b) as described in subpara7 graphs (B) and (C) and for administrative ex8 penses subject to the limitations in paragraph 

9 (2). 

10 ‘‘(B) TRAINING AND TECHNICAL ASSIST11 ANCE.—After applying subsection (a) and sub12 paragraph (C), the State may use the remain13 ing grant funds for the purposes of— 

14 ‘‘(i) providing to eligible entities train15 ing and technical assistance and resources 

16 to respond to specific statewide or regional 

17 conditions that create economic insecurity, 

18 including, but not limited to, emergency 

19 conditions; 

20 ‘‘(ii) supporting professional develop21 ment activities for eligible entities that en22 hance the skills of their local personnel (in23 cluding skills of members of the board of 

24 directors of such entities) that such per25 sonnel need to manage private, nonprofit 

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1 organizations, including skills for designing 

2 and delivering effective support to individ3 uals seeking opportunities for economic se4 curity, and skills for designing and man5 aging programs, projects, or services that 

6 lead to change in the economic and social 

7 assets and opportunities of the community, 

8 giving priority to activities carried out 

9 through partnerships of the organizations 

10 with institutions of higher education; 

11 ‘‘(iii) supporting information and com12 munication resources for the comprehen13 sive community needs assessments de14 scribed in section 680(a)(2)(C); 

15 ‘‘(iv) supporting performance meas16 urement systems consistent with the re17 quirements of sections 680(c) and 682(b), 

18 including establishing systems to measure 

19 the effectiveness of training delivered 

20 under clause (i), and publishing the results 

21 of measurements taken under the systems; 

22 ‘‘(v) promoting coordination and co23 operation among eligible entities in the 

24 State including supporting activities of a 

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1 statewide association of community serv2 ices network organizations; and 

3 ‘‘(vi) supporting the activities of pri4 vate non-profit organizations which meet 

5 the purposes of this title and which coordi6 nate such activities with community serv7 ices network organizations in the State. 

8 ‘‘(C) INNOVATIVE PROJECTS TO REDUCE

9 POVERTY.— 

10 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The State shall 

11 use amounts reserved under Section 

12 680A(a)(1) for a Community Action Inno13 vations Program to award subgrants, con14 tracts, or cooperative agreements to eligi15 ble entities, or their associations, to carry 

16 out innovative projects to test or replicate 

17 promising new practices designed to reduce 

18 poverty conditions and to disseminate the 

19 results of such projects for public use. 

20 ‘‘(ii) EXPENSES.—The funds reserved 

21 for projects under this subparagraph may 

22 be used for reasonable expenses, of States 

23 and subgrantees, associated with adminis24 tration of such projects and dissemination 

25 of their results. 

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1 ‘‘(iii) AWARDS AND OBLIGATION.—A 

2 State shall award and obligate funds re3 served for projects under this subpara4 graph during the first program year for 

5 which the funds are appropriated. Funds 

6 provided under this subparagraph shall re7 main available until expended for an inno8 vative project if the period for that expend9 iture is specified in an approved plan de10 scribed in subparagraph (D) for that inno11 vative project. 

12 ‘‘(iv) MATCHING REQUIREMENTS.—In 

13 the case of innovative projects that are 

14 funded in part by funds authorized under 

15 a Federal law other than this subtitle, that 

16 includes requirements for matching the 

17 Federal funds with non-Federal funds, 

18 funds made available under this subsection 

19 may be deemed to be local funding for pur20 poses of requirements of such law. 

21 ‘‘(v) REAL PROPERTY.—Land or fa22 cilities improved through a project receiv23 ing an award under this subparagraph, for 

24 which the amount of the award is less than 

25 50 percent of the total project cost, shall 

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1 not be subject to the provisions of section 

2 688(a). 

3 ‘‘(vi) ELIGIBILITY.—Activities funded 

4 under this section may include participants 

5 with incomes not exceeding 80 percent of 

6 the area median income. 

7 ‘‘(D) PLAN FOR STATE USE OF TRAINING, 

8 TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE, AND INNOVATION

9 FUNDS.—To be eligible to use grant funds as 

10 described in subparagraph (B) or (C), each 

11 State shall submit, not later than the end of the 

12 transition period described in section 691(a), as 

13 part of the annual State plan submitted under 

14 section 680(b), a training, technical assistance, 

15 and innovation plan, developed in consultation 

16 with the community service network organiza17 tions in the State, that— 

18 ‘‘(i) shall cover up to 2 years; and 

19 ‘‘(ii) shall set forth information de20 scribing the way the requirements of that 

21 subparagraph will be implemented and a 

22 quality assurance system for providers of 

23 the training, technical assistance, or inno24 vation project involved. 

25 ‘‘(2) ADMINISTRATIVE CAP.— 

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1 ‘‘(A) LIMITATION.—No State may spend 

2 more than 5 percent of the remainder of the 

3 funds after the reservation for the State com4 munity action innovations fund as described in 

5 section 680A(a)(1) for administrative expenses. 

6 ‘‘(B) DEFINITION.—In this paragraph, the 

7 term ‘administrative expenses’— 

8 ‘‘(i) means the costs incurred by the 

9 State’s lead agency for carrying out plan10 ning and management activities, including 

11 monitoring, oversight, and reporting as re12 quired by this Act; and 

13 ‘‘(ii) does not include the cost of ac14 tivities conducted under paragraph (1)(B) 

15 other than monitoring. 

16 ‘‘(c) ELIGIBLE ENTITY USE OF FUNDS.—An eligible 

17 entity that receives a subgrant under section 680A(a) shall 

18 use the subgrant funds to carry out a community action 

19 program plan with programs, projects, and services that 

20 shall include— 

21 ‘‘(1) the activities described in section 

22 680(a)(2)(C) regarding periodic assessment of pov23 erty conditions and opportunities to alleviate such 

24 conditions in connection with convening community25 wide planning activities; and activities that achieve 

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1 greater participation of the residents of the commu2 nities served in the affairs of the community and the 

3 organization and one of more of the activities in sub4 section (2) or (3); 

5 ‘‘(2) programs, projects, or services that are de6 signed to assist low-income individuals and families 

7 by providing access to local opportunities for achiev8 ing and maintaining economic security, which may 

9 include opportunities for the individuals and fami10 lies— 

11 ‘‘(A) to secure and retain meaningful em12 ployment at a family-supporting wage; 

13 ‘‘(B) to secure an adequate education, im14 prove literacy and language ability, and obtain 

15 job-related skills; 

16 ‘‘(C) to make better use of available in17 come and build assets; 

18 ‘‘(D) to obtain and maintain adequate 

19 housing and a healthy living environment, in20 cluding addressing the heath care needs of indi21 viduals and families with services and through 

22 changes in local institutions and workplaces (in23 cluding institutions and workplaces managed by 

24 the eligible entity); and 

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1 ‘‘(E) to obtain emergency materials or 

2 other assistance to meet immediate individual 

3 or community urgent needs and prevent greater 

4 or more prolonged economic instability; and 

5 ‘‘(3) programs, projects, or services that im6 prove living conditions, increase employment, and ex7 pand other economic opportunities in the community 

8 served, which may include— 

9 ‘‘(A) activities that develop and maintain 

10 partnerships for the purpose of changing com11 munity, economic, and social conditions of pov12 erty, between the eligible entity and— 

13 ‘‘(i) State and local public entities 

14 (such as schools, institutions of higher edu15 cation, housing authorities, and law en16 forcement agencies); and 

17 ‘‘(ii) private partners, including state18 wide and local businesses, associations of 

19 private employers, and private charitable 

20 and civic organizations; 

21 ‘‘(B) activities that establish linkages 

22 among organizations for coordinating initia23 tives, services, and investments so as to avoid 

24 duplication, and maximize the effective use of 

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1 portunity, including developing lasting social 

2 and economic assets; and 

3 ‘‘(C) activities that mobilize new invest4 ments in the community to reduce the incidence 

5 of poverty, including developing lasting social 

6 and economic assets. 

7 ‘‘SEC. 681. ELIGIBLE ENTITIES AND TRIPARTITE BOARDS. 

8 ‘‘(a) DESIGNATION AND REDESIGNATION OF ELIGI9 BLE ENTITIES IN UNSERVED AREAS.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If any geographic area of a 

11 State is not, or ceases to be, served by an eligible 

12 entity the lead agency shall, in consultation with 

13 local officials and organizations representing the 

14 area, solicit one or more applications and designate 

15 a new community action agency to provide pro16 grams, projects, or services to the area that is— 

17 ‘‘(A) a community action agency that is 

18 geographically located in an area within reason19 able proximity of or contiguous to the unserved 

20 area that is already providing similar programs, 

21 projects, or services, and that has demonstrated 

22 financial capacity to manage and account for 

23 Federal funds; or 

24 ‘‘(B) if no community action agency de25 scribed in subparagraph (A) is available, a primstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 vate, nonprofit organization (which may include 

2 an eligible entity) that is geographically located 

3 in, or in reasonable proximity to, the unserved 

4 area and that is capable of providing a broad 

5 range of programs, projects, or services de6 signed to achieve the purposes of this subtitle 

7 as stated in Section 672. 

8 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENT.—In order to serve as the 

9 eligible entity for the service area, an entity de10 scribed in paragraph (1) shall agree to ensure that 

11 the governing board of directors of the entity will 

12 meet the requirements of subsection (b)(1)(C). 

13 ‘‘(3) COMMUNITY.—A service area referred to 

14 in this subsection or a portion thereof shall be treat15 ed as a community for purposes of this subtitle. 

16 ‘‘(b) MERGERS OF ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.— 

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If two or more eligible enti18 ties determine that the geographic areas of a State 

19 which they serve can be more effectively served 

20 under a single corporate structure, a State shall as21 sist in developing a plan for implementing such 

22 merger, including a budget for transitional costs not 

23 to exceed two years duration, and, upon approving 

24 such plans, may notify the Secretary that the enti25 ties are in need of and eligible for funds from the 

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1 merger incentive fund established in section 

2 683(a)(1)(B)(iv). 

3 ‘‘(2) PLANS.—States may establish require4 ments for merger plans and for a determination that 

5 the merged entity, or entities, will be capable of con6 ducting a program consistent with the comprehen7 sive needs assessments for the areas served. 

8 ‘‘(c) TRIPARTITE BOARDS.— 

9 ‘‘(1) PRIVATE, NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS.— 

10 ‘‘(A) BOARD.—In order for a private, non11 profit organization to be considered to be an eli12 gible entity for purposes of section 673(1), the 

13 entity shall be governed by a tripartite board of 

14 directors described in subparagraph (C) that 

15 fully participates in the development, planning, 

16 implementation, oversight, and evaluation of the 

17 program, project, or service carried out or pro18 vided through the subgrant made under section 

19 680A(a) and all activities of the entity. 

20 ‘‘(B) SELECTION.—The members of the 

21 board referred to in subparagraph (A) shall be 

22 selected by the entity. 

23 ‘‘(C) COMPOSITION OF BOARD.—The board 

24 shall be composed so as to assure that— 

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‘‘(i) 1 1 ⁄3 of the members of the board 

2 are elected public officials holding office on 

3 the date of selection, or their representa4 tives; 

‘‘(ii)(I) not fewer than 1 5 ⁄3 of the mem6 bers are persons chosen in accordance with 

7 democratic selection procedures adequate 

8 to assure that the members referred to in 

9 this clause are representative of low-income 

10 individuals and families in the service area; 

11 and 

12 ‘‘(II) each member who is a represent13 ative of low-income individuals and families 

14 and is also selected to represent a specific 

15 subarea under subclause (I) resides in such 

16 area; and 

17 ‘‘(iii) the remainder of the members 

18 are representatives of business, industry, 

19 labor, religious, educational, charitable, or 

20 other significant private groups in the 

21 community. 

22 ‘‘(D) EXPERTISE.—The eligible entity 

23 shall ensure that the members of the board in24 clude or have direct access to individuals with 

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1 expertise in financial management, accounting, 

2 and law. 

3 ‘‘(E) COMPLIANCE WITH TAX-EXEMPT AND

4 OTHER REQUIREMENTS.—The board of a pri5 vate, nonprofit organization shall ensure that 

6 the board operates and conducts activities 

7 under the subgrant made under section 

8 680A(a) in a manner that complies with— 

9 ‘‘(i) the requirements for maintaining 

10 tax-exempt status under section 501(a) of 

11 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (26 

12 U.S.C. 501(a)) regarding the governance 

13 of charities under section 501(c)(3) of the 

14 Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (26 U.S.C. 

15 501(c)(3)); and 

16 ‘‘(ii) applicable requirements of State 

17 law. 

18 ‘‘(2) PUBLIC ORGANIZATIONS.— 

19 ‘‘(A) BOARD.—In order for a public orga20 nization to be considered to be an eligible entity 

21 for purposes of section 673(1), the organization 

22 shall administer a program, project, or service 

23 under the supervision of a tripartite board of 

24 directors described in subparagraph (C). 

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1 ‘‘(B) SELECTION.—The members of the 

2 board referred to in subparagraph (A) shall be 

3 selected by the organization. 

4 ‘‘(C) COMPOSITION OF BOARD.—The board 

5 shall be composed so as to assure that— 

‘‘(i) not more than 1 6 ⁄3 of the members 

7 of the board are employees of the unit of 

8 government in which the organization is lo9 cated, including elected officials; 

‘‘(ii)(I) not fewer than 1 10 ⁄3 of the mem11 bers are persons chosen in accordance with 

12 democratic selection procedures adequate 

13 to assure that the members referred to in 

14 this clause are representative of low-income 

15 individuals and families in the service area; 

16 and 

17 ‘‘(II) each member who is a represent18 ative of low-income individuals and families 

19 and is also selected to represent a specific 

20 subarea under subclause (I) resides in such 

21 area; and 

22 ‘‘(iii) the remainder of the members 

23 are representatives of business, industry, 

24 labor, religious, educational, charitable, or 

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1 other significant private groups in the 

2 community. 

3 ‘‘(D) EXPERTISE.—The organization shall 

4 ensure that the members of the board include 

5 individuals with expertise in financial manage6 ment, accounting, and law. 

7 ‘‘(E) COMPLIANCE WITH STATE REQUIRE8 MENTS AND POLICY.—The board of a public or9 ganization shall ensure that the board operates 

10 in a manner that complies with State require11 ments for open meetings, financial trans12 parency, and State open records policy. 

13 ‘‘(c) OPERATIONS AND DUTIES OF THE BOARD.— 

14 The duties of a board described in paragraph (1) or (2) 

15 of subsection (b) shall include— 

16 ‘‘(1) in the case of a board for a private, non17 profit organization that is an eligible entity, having 

18 and legal and financial responsibility for admin19 istering overseeing the eligible entity, including mak20 ing proper use of Federal funds; 

21 ‘‘(2) ensuring that the guidance regarding orga22 nizational performance disseminated by the Sec23 retary under section 682(c) (8) is implemented; 

24 ‘‘(3) adopting practices that assure active, inde25 pendent, and informed governance of the eligible enmstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 tity, including establishing a limited number of 

2 terms for officers and adopting a code of ethical con3 duct for members; 

4 ‘‘(4) participating in each comprehensive com5 munity needs assessment, developing and adopting 

6 as a policy for the corresponding eligible entity a 

7 community action strategic plan, including provi8 sions for the use of funds under this subtitle, and 

9 preparing the community action program plan for 

10 the use of funds under this subtitle; 

11 ‘‘(5) ensuring that the eligible entity manages 

12 its activities based on a system of performance man13 agement; 

14 ‘‘(6) ensuring compliance by the eligible entity 

15 with Federal, and applicable State and local, laws, 

16 including regulations; 

17 ‘‘(7) overseeing financial management, account18 ing, and reporting policies, and complying with laws 

19 regarding financial statements, including— 

20 ‘‘(A) selecting an auditor; and 

21 ‘‘(B) monitoring corrective action required 

22 by audit findings and taking other necessary 

23 actions to enable the eligible entity to comply 

24 with accounting policies and laws about finan25 cial statements; 

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1 ‘‘(8) reviewing all major financial expenditures 

2 of the eligible entity, including annually approving 

3 the eligible entity’s operating budget; 

4 ‘‘(9) reviewing all major policies of the eligible 

5 entity, including— 

6 ‘‘(A) conducting annual performance re7 views; and 

8 ‘‘(B) conducting assessments of the eligible 

9 entity’s progress in carrying out programmatic 

10 and fiscal provisions in the community action 

11 program plan, and in taking any corrective ac12 tion; 

13 ‘‘(10) adopting personnel policies and proce14 dures, including policies and procedures for hiring, 

15 annual evaluation, compensation, and termination, 

16 of the Executive Director of the eligible entity; and 

17 ‘‘(11) adopting and periodically updating writ18 ten conflict of interest policies for members of the 

19 board. 

20 ‘‘SEC. 682. OFFICE OF COMMUNITY SERVICES. 

21 ‘‘(a) OFFICE.— 

22 ‘‘(1) The Secretary shall establish an Office of 

23 Community Services in the Department of Health 

24 and Human Services (referred to in this subtitle as 

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1 the ‘Department’) to carry out the functions of this 

2 subtitle. 

3 ‘‘(2) The Office shall be headed by a Director 

4 (referred to in this subtitle as the ‘Director’). 

5 ‘‘(b) GRANTS, CONTRACTS, AND COOPERATIVE

6 AGREEMENTS.—The Secretary, acting through the Direc7 tor, shall carry out the functions of this subtitle through 

8 grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements. 

9 ‘‘(c) DUTIES, MANAGEMENT, AND INTEGRATION.— 

10 The Secretary shall— 

11 ‘‘(1) coordinate the activities of all personnel 

12 and contractors of the Department, concerning mon13 itoring (including inspecting) eligible entities that re14 ceive subgrants under this subtitle and are funded 

15 or monitored by an office of the Department other 

16 than the Office of Community Services, in order to 

17 efficiently organize oversight visits, inspections, and 

18 audits of such entities by conducting joint oversight 

19 operations, as practicable; 

20 ‘‘(2) promulgate skill requirements, for Depart21 ment officials with responsibility for monitoring and 

22 approving State programs under this subtitle, re23 garding the knowledge, skills, and abilities required 

24 to assess and provide technical assistance regarding 

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1 sponsible for implementing multiple Federal and 

2 other community-based initiatives; 

3 ‘‘(3) ensure that personnel and contractors of 

4 the Department with responsibility for State pro5 grams under this subtitle acquire the knowledge, 

6 skills, and abilities described in paragraph (2); 

7 ‘‘(4) establish minimum requirements for the 

8 knowledge and skills of State personnel responsible 

9 for overseeing the activities authorized by this sub10 title; 

11 ‘‘(5) promulgate performance indicators for 

12 State management of the funds, operations and pro13 grammatic requirements of this subtitle; 

14 ‘‘(6) establish and publish uniform procedures 

15 for use by Federal and State monitors of the activi16 ties authorized by this subtitle; 

17 ‘‘(7) promulgate regulations with respect to the 

18 procedures for State and local corrective action 

19 plans described in section 687 (including promul20 gating a definition of a serious deficiency for pur21 poses of that section) to ensure prompt resolution of 

22 deficiencies and adherence to the uniform adminis23 trative requirements described in section 676(b); and 

24 ‘‘(8) disseminate or cause to be disseminated 

25 guidance regarding the organizational practices and 

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1 performance of eligible entities developed jointly by 

2 the Director and the community services network or3 ganizations. 

4 ‘‘(d) FEDERAL PERFORMANCE BENCHMARKS.—The 

5 Secretary shall, prior to the beginning of each fiscal year, 

6 publish Federal performance benchmarks for the Office of 

7 Community Services for such year, which shall include tar8 gets for— 

9 ‘‘(1) the timeliness of— 

10 ‘‘(A) apportionments and allotments of ap11 propriated funds to States; and 

12 ‘‘(B) the use of funds reserved pursuant to 

13 section 692(b); 

14 ‘‘(2) the timeliness of approvals or notifications 

15 concerning State plans and plan revisions described 

16 in section 680; 

17 ‘‘(3) the timeliness of scheduled monitoring of 

18 States and implementation of State corrective action 

19 plans described in section 687; 

20 ‘‘(4) the implementation of the requirements of 

21 the uniform administrative requirements described 

22 in section 676(b) by the Department, the States, 

23 and other grantees; 

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1 ‘‘(5) the implementation of the requirements for 

2 coordinated audits and monitoring by multiple of3 fices of the Department; 

4 ‘‘(6) the improvement achieved by Federal per5 sonnel in acquiring the knowledge, skills, and abili6 ties described in subsection (c)(2) and needed to ef7 fectively carry out subsection (c)(1); 

8 ‘‘(7) the progress made by the Office of Com9 munity Services in achieving each of the require10 ments of this subtitle; and 

11 ‘‘(8) the timeliness of reports required by this 

12 subtitle. 

13 ‘‘SEC. 683. TRAINING, TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE, AND RE14 LATED ACTIVITIES. 

15 ‘‘(a) ACTIVITIES.— 

16 ‘‘(1) The Secretary shall, in accordance with 

17 the plan described in subsection (d)(2)— 

18 ‘‘(A) use amounts reserved under section 

19 692(c)(2)(A) for training, technical assistance, 

20 planning, evaluation, and performance measure21 ment, through States and other community 

22 services network organizations to assist in— 

23 ‘‘(i) development or replication of in24 novative initiatives; 

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1 ‘‘(ii) carrying out professional develop2 ment activities that expand the capacity of 

3 eligible entities; 

4 ‘‘(iii) carrying out performance meas5 urement, reporting, and data collection ac6 tivities related to programs carried out 

7 under this subtitle; and 

8 ‘‘(iv) correcting programmatic defi9 ciencies, including such deficiencies of eli10 gible entities; and 

11 ‘‘(B) the Secretary shall distribute the 

12 amounts reserved under section 692(c)(2)(B) 

13 directly to States, eligible entities, or other com14 munity services network organizations and their 

15 partners, including institutions of higher edu16 cation, that carry out activities to achieve the 

17 goals of the plan described in subsection (b)(2) 

18 for— 

19 ‘‘(i) professional development for key 

20 personnel; 

21 ‘‘(ii) activities to improve program 

22 and financial management practices (in23 cluding practices related to performance 

24 management information systems); 

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1 ‘‘(iii) activities that train individuals 

2 and organizations to effectively address the 

3 needs of low-income families and commu4 nities through place-based strategies for 

5 coordinated investment and integrated 

6 service delivery; and 

7 ‘‘(iv) provided that 7.5 percent of 

8 such reserved amount remain available 

9 until the end of the second quarter of the 

10 year for which funds are appropriated for 

11 grants by the Secretary which shall be 

12 awarded to States upon approval of an ap13 plication by the State as described in sec14 tion 680(b) for funds to support the one15 time costs incurred by two or more eligible 

16 entities for legal, financial and other activi17 ties required to effect a merger of oper18 ations and programs that achieves greater 

19 efficiency and impact for the use of funds 

20 appropriated under this subtitle. Any funds 

21 not designated for such merger incentives 

22 by the end of the second quarter of the fis23 cal year shall be available for other author24 ized purposes of this subsection. 

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1 ‘‘(b) LIMITATION.—None of the funds allocated 

2 under subsection (a) may be used for expenses or salaries 

3 of Federal employees. 

4 ‘‘(c) GRANTS, CONTRACTS, AND COOPERATIVE

5 AGREEMENTS.—The activities described in paragraph 

6 (1)(A) shall be carried out by the Secretary through 

7 grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements with appro8 priate entities, which shall include all statewide associa9 tions of eligible entities that meet the requirements for 

10 receipt of Federal funds. 

11 ‘‘(d) TRAINING AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PROC12 ESS.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In order to determine the 

14 training, technical assistance, and other activities to 

15 be provided or supported under subsection (a), the 

16 Secretary, acting through the Director, shall develop 

17 and carry out the strategic plan described in para18 graph (2), and the activities described in paragraph 

19 (3). 

20 ‘‘(2) OFFICE OF COMMUNITY SERVICES STRA21 TEGIC TRAINING PLAN.— 

22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not less often than 

23 every fourth year the Secretary, acting through 

24 the Director and in consultation with commu25 nity service network organizations, shall demstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 velop, publish, and carry out a strategic plan 

2 for the use of funds reserved for use under sec3 tion 692(c)(2). 

4 ‘‘(B) CONTENTS.—Such a plan shall de5 scribe— 

6 ‘‘(i) the activities that will be sup7 ported (including their goals), the partner8 ships, if any, required to conduct such ac9 tivities, the role of each partner partici10 pating, the system for delivering the in11 tended results, and the timing of such ac12 tivities; 

13 ‘‘(ii) the manner in which the plan en14 sures that the Secretary complies with 

15 each requirement of this subtitle related to 

16 training and technical assistance; 

17 ‘‘(iii) the manner in which the plan 

18 reflects coordination of activities funded 

19 under this section with related training 

20 and technical assistance provided by the 

21 Department, especially for programs, 

22 projects, and services other than those 

23 funded under this subtitle operated by eli24 gible entities; 

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1 ‘‘(iv) the manner in which the results 

2 of such activities will be measured; 

3 ‘‘(v) quality standards for training 

4 and trainers to ensure that only effective 

5 training is funded under this section; and 

6 ‘‘(vi) to the maximum extent feasible, 

7 how the activities funded under this section 

8 address— 

9 ‘‘(I) the needs of eligible entities 

10 and State lead agencies relating to 

11 skills and techniques to ensure the 

12 quality (including quality of financial 

13 management practices) of programs, 

14 projects, and services supported under 

15 this subtitle; and 

16 ‘‘(II) other professional develop17 ment needs of the eligible entities re18 lated to carrying out this subtitle. 

19 ‘‘(3) EVALUATION OF TRAINING AND TECH20 NICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary, acting through 

21 the Director— 

22 ‘‘(A) shall establish a procedure for evalu23 ating the quality and effectiveness of training 

24 and technical assistance provided under this 

25 section related to professional development, 

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1 local organizational development and manage2 ment including, but not limited to financial 

3 management, and State government manage4 ment; and 

5 ‘‘(B) shall use the results of the evalua6 tions as significant criteria for selecting recipi7 ents of funds under this section. 

8 ‘‘SEC. 684. STATE MONITORING OF ELIGIBLE ENTITIES. 

9 ‘‘(a) MONITORING BY STATES.—In order to deter10 mine whether eligible entities receiving subgrants under 

11 this subtitle meet performance benchmarks described in 

12 section 680(f)(2), administrative standards, financial 

13 management requirements, and other requirements under 

14 this subtitle, the State shall conduct the following reviews 

15 of eligible entities: 

16 ‘‘(1) A full onsite review of each eligible entity 

17 at least once during each 3-year period. 

18 ‘‘(2) An onsite review of each newly designated 

19 eligible entity immediately after the completion of 

20 the first year in which such entity receives funds 

21 through the community services block grant program 

22 under this subtitle. 

23 ‘‘(3) Follow-up reviews, including onsite reviews 

24 scheduled in a corrective action plan (including re25 turn visits), within a calendar quarter for eligible enmstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 tities with programs, projects, or services that fail to 

2 meet the State’s performance criteria, standards, fi3 nancial management requirements, and other signifi4 cant requirements established under this subtitle. 

5 ‘‘(4) Other reviews as appropriate, including re6 views of eligible entities with programs, projects, and 

7 services that have had other Federal, State, or local 

8 grants (other than assistance provided under this 

9 subtitle) terminated for cause. 

10 ‘‘(b) TRAINING AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE FOR

11 MONITORING.—The State may request training and tech12 nical assistance from the Secretary as needed to comply 

13 with the requirements of this section. 

14 ‘‘SEC. 685. EVALUATIONS; CORRECTIVE ACTION; WITH15 HOLDING, REDUCTION, OR ELIMINATION OF 

16 FUNDING. 

17 ‘‘(a) EVALUATIONS OF STATES BY THE SEC18 RETARY.— 

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall conduct, in not fewer than 1 20 ⁄3 of the States in each fis21 cal year, evaluations (including investigations) of 

22 State compliance with this subtitle, including re23 quirements relating to the use of funds received 

24 under this subtitle, and especially with respect to 

25 compliance with the requirements of State plans 

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1 submitted under section 680(b) and the uniform ad2 ministrative requirements described in section 

3 676(b) as applied to funds received under this sub4 title. 

5 ‘‘(2) REPORT TO STATES.—The Secretary shall 

6 submit, to each State evaluated, a report con7 taining— 

8 ‘‘(A) the results of such evaluation; and 

9 ‘‘(B)(i) recommendations for improvements 

10 designed to enhance the benefit and impact of 

11 the activities carried out with such funds; and 

12 ‘‘(ii) in the event a serious deficiency is 

13 found regarding a State’s compliance with this 

14 subtitle, including requirements relating to the 

15 use of funds received under this subtitle, a pro16 posed corrective action plan that meets the re17 quirements of subsection (b)(2)(B). 

18 ‘‘(3) STATE RESPONSE.—Not later than 45 

19 days after receiving a report under paragraph (2)— 

20 ‘‘(A) a State that received recommenda21 tions under paragraph (2)(B)(i) shall submit to 

22 the Secretary a plan of action in response to 

23 the recommendations; and 

24 ‘‘(B) a State that received a proposed cor25 rective action plan under paragraph (2)(B)(ii) 

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1 shall carry out the State’s responsibilities under 

2 subsection (b)(2). 

3 ‘‘(4) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—The Secretary 

4 shall submit the results of the evaluations annually, 

5 as part of the report submitted by the Secretary in 

6 6 accordance with section 689(b)(2). 

7 ‘‘(b) DETERMINATION OF STATE FAILURE TO COM8 PLY.— 

9 ‘‘(1) DUTIES OF THE SECRETARY.—If the Sec10 retary finds, on the basis of an evaluation pursuant 

11 to subsection (a), that there is a serious deficiency 

12 regarding a State’s compliance with this subtitle, the 

13 Secretary shall— 

14 ‘‘(A) inform the State, through the report 

15 described in subsection (a)(2) and any proposed 

16 corrective action plan submitted under sub17 section (a)(2)(B), of the deficiency; 

18 ‘‘(B) provide assistance consistent with 

19 section 685 and subsection (c); 

20 ‘‘(C) with respect to each identified serious 

21 deficiency, require that the State— 

22 ‘‘(i) correct the deficiency immediately 

23 if the Secretary finds that the deficiency 

24 threatens the ability of eligible entities to 

25 carry out their community action program 

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1 plans or threatens the integrity of Federal 

2 funds; or 

3 ‘‘(ii) correct the deficiency not later 

4 than 90 days after the identification of the 

5 deficiency if the Secretary finds, in the dis6 cretion of the Secretary, that such a 90 

7 day period is reasonable, in light of the na8 ture and magnitude of the deficiency; and 

9 ‘‘(D) require that the State carry out— 

10 ‘‘(i) the corrective action plan pre11 pared by the Secretary under subsection 

12 (a)(2)(B)(ii); or 

13 ‘‘(ii) a State-proposed corrective ac14 tion plan that is approved under paragraph 

15 (2)(C). 

16 ‘‘(2) CORRECTIVE ACTION PLANS.— 

17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A State that is found 

18 under paragraph (1) to have a serious defi19 ciency shall— 

20 ‘‘(i) agree to implement the corrective 

21 action plan proposed by the Secretary 

22 under subsection (a)(2)(B)(ii); or 

23 ‘‘(ii) propose to the Secretary a dif24 ferent corrective action plan, developed by 

25 the State in a timely manner that the 

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1 State will implement upon approval by the 

2 Secretary under subparagraph (C). 

3 ‘‘(B) CONTENTS.—Any corrective action 

4 plan proposed under this paragraph shall speci5 fy— 

6 ‘‘(i) the serious and other deficiencies 

7 to be corrected; 

8 ‘‘(ii) the actions to be taken to correct 

9 such deficiencies; and 

10 ‘‘(iii) the timetable for accomplish11 ment of the corrective actions specified, 

12 which shall provide that each serious defi13 ciency is corrected by not later than 90 

14 days after the date the State received no15 tice of the finding under subsection (a) 

16 and of the specific deficiency to be cor17 rected. 

18 ‘‘(C) APPROVAL PROCESSES.— 

19 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 15 

20 days after the Secretary receives a State 

21 proposed corrective action plan in accord22 ance with subparagraph (A), the Secretary 

23 shall act— 

24 ‘‘(I) by approving the proposed 

25 plan; or 

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1 ‘‘(II) by notifying the State that 

2 the proposed plan cannot be approved, 

3 providing the reasons for the dis4 approval, and proposing an alternative 

5 corrective action plan. 

6 ‘‘(ii) STATE RESPONSE.— 

7 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—A State 

8 whose corrective action plan has not 

9 been approved under clause (i) shall 

10 respond by agreeing to implement the 

11 alternative corrective action plan, or 

12 by submitting a different proposed 

13 corrective action plan not later than 

14 15 days after receiving notification 

15 from the Secretary under clause (i). 

16 ‘‘(II) INADEQUATE DIFFERENT

17 PROPOSED PLAN.—If the Secretary 

18 determines the different proposed plan 

19 to be inadequate, the Secretary shall 

20 use the procedures to withhold fund21 ing described in paragraph (3)(A) 

22 until the State and the Secretary 

23 agree on, and the State implements a 

24 satisfactory corrective action plan. If 

25 the Secretary makes that determinamstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 tion, the Director, pursuant to para2 graph (3)(C), shall ensure that the af3 fected funds are obligated and made 

4 available to eligible entities on the 

5 same schedule as the State would 

6 have been required to follow if the 

7 Secretary had not made the deter8 mination. 

9 ‘‘(3) ENFORCEMENT.— 

10 ‘‘(A) WITHHOLDING OF FUNDING.—If the 

11 Secretary determines that a State fails to meet 

12 the requirements of this subsection, including a 

13 failure to comply with the terms of a corrective 

14 action plan described in subsection (a)(2)(B) or 

15 approved under paragraph (2) or a failure to 

16 correct a serious deficiency in accordance with 

17 the timing requirements of paragraph (1)(C), 

18 the Secretary may initiate proceedings to with19 hold all or a portion of the amount of the fund20 ing described in section 680A(b)(2)(A), includ21 ing prohibiting the State from using other 

22 funds awarded under this subtitle to carry out 

23 the activities described in such section, until the 

24 State complies with all requirements of this 

25 subsection. 

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1 ‘‘(B) REDUCTION OR ELIMINATION OF

2 FUNDING.—If the Secretary determines, on the 

3 basis of a final decision in a review conducted 

4 under this section that a State fails to meet the 

5 requirements of this subsection, the Secretary 

6 may, after providing adequate notice and an op7 portunity for a hearing, initiate proceedings to 

8 reduce or eliminate the amount of funding de9 scribed in section 680A(b)(2)(A), including pro10 hibiting the State from using other funds 

11 awarded under this subtitle to carry out the ac12 tivities described in such section, unless the 

13 State corrects the failure to meet the require14 ments. 

15 ‘‘(C) USE OF FUNDS.— 

16 ‘‘(i) If the Secretary delays, reduces, 

17 or eliminates funding to a State under sub18 paragraph (B), the Secretary shall award 

19 the amount of the funding to eligible enti20 ties and/or community services network or21 ganizations in the State, to carry out the 

22 activities described in section 680A(b). 

23 ‘‘(ii) In the event a State elects not to 

24 receive funding under this subtitle, includ25 ing a refusal to submit a plan meeting the 

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1 Secretary′′s requirements, the Secretary 

2 shall provide funding directly by grant or 

3 cooperative agreement to eligible entities in 

4 good standing at the end of the last fiscal 

5 year for which the state received an alloca6 tion under this subtitle. 

7 ‘‘(4) TRAINING AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.— 

8 The Secretary shall provide training and technical 

9 assistance to States with respect to the development 

10 or implementation of the States’ corrective action 

11 plans. 

12 ‘‘(c) DETERMINATION OF LOCAL AGENCY FAILURE

13 TO COMPLY.— 

14 ‘‘(1) CORRECTIVE ACTION BY LOCAL AGEN15 CIES.—If the State determines, on the basis of a re16 view pursuant to section 684 or section 686, that 

17 there is a serious deficiency regarding an eligible en18 tity’s compliance with this subtitle, the State shall— 

19 ‘‘(A) inform the entity of the serious defi20 ciencies that shall be corrected and provide 

21 technical assistance for the corrective action; 

22 ‘‘(B) with respect to each identified serious 

23 deficiency, require that the eligible entity— 

24 ‘‘(i) correct the deficiency immediately 

25 if the State finds that the deficiency 

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1 threatens the ability of the eligible entity 

2 to carry out the entity’s community action 

3 program plan or threatens the integrity of 

4 Federal funds; 

5 ‘‘(ii) correct the deficiency not later 

6 than 90 days after the identification of the 

7 deficiency if the State finds that such a 

8 90-day period is reasonable, in light of the 

9 nature and magnitude of the deficiency; or 

10 ‘‘(iii) in the discretion of the State 

11 (taking into consideration the seriousness 

12 of the deficiency and the time reasonably 

13 required to correct the deficiency), comply 

14 with the requirements of paragraph (2) 

15 concerning a corrective action plan; 

16 ‘‘(C) initiate proceedings to withhold, re17 duce, or eliminate the funding described in sec18 tion 680A(a) including, in the case of elimi19 nation of funding, terminating the designation 

20 under this subtitle of the eligible entity unless 

21 the entity corrects the deficiency as required; 

22 and 

23 ‘‘(D) ensure that the State’s definitions, 

24 procedures, and requirements under this section 

25 regarding serious deficiencies of eligible entities 

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1 are in accordance with policies and regulations 

2 promulgated by the Secretary to implement the 

3 uniform administrative requirements described 

4 in section 676(b) with respect to this subtitle. 

5 ‘‘(2) LOCAL CORRECTIVE ACTION PLANS.— 

6 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity that 

7 is found to have a serious deficiency under 

8 paragraph (1) shall develop, in a timely man9 ner, a corrective action plan that shall be sub10 ject to the approval of the State, and that shall 

11 specify— 

12 ‘‘(i) the deficiencies to be corrected; 

13 ‘‘(ii) the actions to be taken to correct 

14 such deficiencies; and 

15 ‘‘(iii) the timetable for accomplish16 ment of the corrective actions specified. 

17 ‘‘(B) APPROVAL PROCESS.— 

18 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 15 

19 days after the State receives an entity’s 

20 proposed corrective action plan in accord21 ance with subparagraph (A), the State 

22 shall review the proposed plan and act 

23 ‘‘(I) by approving the proposed 

24 plan; or 

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1 ‘‘(II) by notifying the entity that 

2 the proposed plan cannot be approved, 

3 providing the reasons for the dis4 approval, and proposing an alternative 

5 corrective action plan. 

6 ‘‘(ii) ENTITY’S RESPONSE.—An entity 

7 whose corrective action plan has not been 

8 approved under clause (i) shall respond by 

9 agreeing to implement the alternative cor10 rective action plan, or by submitting a dif11 ferent proposed corrective action plan, not 

12 later than 10 working days after receiving 

13 notification from the State under clause 

14 (i). 

15 ‘‘(iii) INADEQUATE DIFFERENT PRO16 POSED PLAN.—If the State determines the 

17 different proposed plan to be inadequate, 

18 the State may withhold funding as de19 scribed in paragraph (3) until the entity 

20 implements a satisfactory corrective action 

21 plan. 

22 ‘‘(3) FINAL DECISION.—If the State deter23 mines, on the basis of a final decision in a review 

24 conducted under section 684(a)(3), that an eligible 

25 entity fails to comply with the terms of a corrective 

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1 action plan under paragraph (2) relating to correc2 tion of a serious deficiency for the eligible entity, the 

3 State may, after providing adequate notice and an 

4 opportunity for a hearing, initiate proceedings to 

5 withhold, reduce, or eliminate the funding provided 

6 under section 680A(a) to the eligible entity (includ7 ing, in the case of elimination of funding, termi8 nating the designation under this subtitle of the eli9 gible entity) unless the entity corrects the serious 

10 deficiency. 

11 ‘‘(4) TRAINING AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.— 

12 The State shall provide training and technical assist13 ance to eligible entities with respect to the develop14 ment or implementation of the entities’ corrective ac15 tion plans. 

16 ‘‘(5) SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCE.—In the event 

17 the State has credible evidence that funds have been 

18 expended with fraudulent or other criminal intent, 

19 funding may be suspended while the procedures to 

20 review such evidence are conducted by appropriate 

21 investigative entities or until the State determines 

22 funds will not be at risk, whichever is earlier. 

23 ‘‘(d) REVIEW.— 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A State’s determination 

25 under subsection (c) to terminate such designation 

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1 or reduce such funding of an eligible entity may be 

2 reviewed by the Secretary. The Secretary shall, upon 

3 request, by a community services network organiza4 tion, review such a determination. The review shall 

5 be completed not later than 60 days after the Sec6 retary receives from the State all necessary docu7 mentation relating to the determination except as 

8 provided in paragraph (2). 

9 ‘‘(2) FAILURE TO PROVIDE DOCUMENTATION.— 

10 If the State fails to provide such documentation 

11 within 30 days after the Secretary’s request, the 

12 State may not expend funds for the purposes de13 scribed in section 680A(b)(2) until the State pro14 vides such documentation. The Secretary shall re15 spond to the State with a decision not later than 30 

16 days after receiving the documentation. 

17 ‘‘(e) DIRECT ASSISTANCE.—Whenever the Secretary 

18 determines that a State has violated the assurances de19 scribed in paragraphs (8), (11), or (12) of section 680(b) 

20 and has withheld, reduced, or eliminated the funding pro21 vided under section 680A(a) to an eligible entity prior to 

22 the completion of the State proceedings described in sub23 section (c)(3) and the Secretary’s review as required in 

24 subsection (d), the Secretary shall provide financial assist25 ance under this subtitle to the eligible entity until the viomstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 lation is corrected by the State. In such a case, the grant 

2 for the State under section 677 or 678 for the earliest 

3 appropriate fiscal year shall be reduced by an amount 

4 equal to the financial assistance provided under this sub5 section to such eligible entity. 

6 ‘‘SEC. 686. STATE AND LOCAL FISCAL CONTROLS, AUDITS, 

7 AND WITHHOLDING. 

8 ‘‘(a) FISCAL CONTROLS, PROCEDURES, AUDITS, AND

9 INSPECTIONS.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A State that receives funds 

11 under this subtitle shall— 

12 ‘‘(A) establish fiscal control and fund ac13 counting procedures necessary to assure the 

14 proper disbursal of and accounting for Federal 

15 funds paid to the State under this subtitle, in16 cluding procedures for monitoring the funds 

17 provided under this subtitle; 

18 ‘‘(B) subject to paragraphs (2) and (3), 

19 prepare, not less than once each year, an audit 

20 of the expenditures of the State of amounts re21 ceived under this subtitle; and 

22 ‘‘(C) make appropriate books, documents, 

23 papers, and records available to the Secretary 

24 and the Comptroller General of the United 

25 States, or any of their duly authorized repmstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 resentatives, for examination, copying, or me2 chanical reproduction on or off the premises of 

3 the appropriate entity upon a reasonable re4 quest for the items. 

5 ‘‘(2) INDEPENDENT ENTITY.—Subject to para6 graph (3), each audit required by paragraph (1)(B) 

7 shall be conducted by an entity independent of any 

8 agency administering activities or services under this 

9 subtitle and shall be conducted in accordance with 

10 generally accepted accounting principles. 

11 ‘‘(3) SINGLE AUDIT REQUIREMENTS.— 

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Any audit under this 

13 subsection shall be conducted in the manner 

14 and to the extent provided in chapter 75 of title 

15 31, United States Code (commonly known as 

16 the ‘Single Audit Act Amendments of 1986’) 

17 except in the event a serious financial deficiency 

18 is identified. 

19 ‘‘(B) SERIOUS FINANCIAL DEFICIENCY.— 

20 In the event that such a deficiency is identified, 

21 the Secretary shall order— 

22 ‘‘(i) an audit conducted as described 

23 in subparagraph (A); or 

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1 ‘‘(ii) an audit of each of the accounts 

2 involved, in accordance with paragraphs 

3 (2) and (4). 

4 ‘‘(4) SUBMISSION OF COPIES.—Not later than 

5 30 days after the completion of each such audit in 

6 a State, the chief executive officer of the State shall 

7 submit copies of such audit, at no charge, to any eli8 gible entity that was the subject of the audit, to the 

9 legislature of the State, and to the Secretary. 

10 ‘‘(5) REPAYMENTS.—If the Secretary, after re11 view of the audit, finds that a State has not ex12 pended an amount of funds in accordance with this 

13 subtitle, the State shall immediately use an amount 

14 of State funds equal to the amount of improperly ex15 pended funds for the original purposes for which the 

16 grant funds were intended. 

17 ‘‘(6) RESPONSE TO COMPLAINTS.—The Sec18 retary shall respond in an expeditious and speedy 

19 manner to complaints of a substantial or serious na20 ture that a State has failed to use grant funds re21 ceived under section 677 or 678 in accordance with 

22 the provisions of this subtitle. 

23 ‘‘(7) INVESTIGATIONS.—Whenever the Sec24 retary determines that there is a pattern of com25 plaints regarding failures described in paragraph (6) 

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1 or a complaint of a serious deficiency concerning any 

2 State, the Secretary shall conduct an investigation of 

3 the use of the funds received under this subtitle by 

4 such State in order to ensure compliance with the 

5 provisions of this subtitle. 

6 ‘‘(b) STATE FUNDS.— 

7 ‘‘(1) CORRECTIVE ACTION PLAN.—In the event 

8 the Secretary withholds, reduces, or eliminates fund9 ing pursuant to section 685(b)(3)(A), the Secretary 

10 shall subsequently make the withheld, reduced, or 

11 eliminated funding available to the State not later 

12 than 90 days after the date for correction of the se13 rious deficiency specified in such plan if the State 

14 complies with a corrective action plan described in 

15 section 685(b)(2)(A). 

16 ‘‘(2) APPLICATION.—For purposes of para17 graph (1), failures described in paragraph (1)(a)(6) 

18 shall be considered to be serious deficiencies. 

19 ‘‘SEC. 687. ACCOUNTABILITY AND REPORTING REQUIRE20 MENTS. 

21 ‘‘(a) STATE ACCOUNTABILITY AND REPORTING RE22 QUIREMENTS.— 

23 ‘‘(1) PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT.— 

24 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—By October 1, 2014, 

25 each State that receives funds under this submstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 title shall participate, and shall ensure that all 

2 eligible entities in the State participate, in a 

3 performance measurement system that the Sec4 retary is satisfied meets the requirements of 

5 paragraphs (11) and (12) of section 680(b). 

6 ‘‘(B) LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS.—The State 

7 may elect to have local organizations that are 

8 subgrantees of the eligible entities under this 

9 subtitle participate in the performance measure10 ment system. If the State makes that election, 

11 references in this section to eligible entities 

12 shall be considered to include the local organi13 zations. 

14 ‘‘(C) ELIGIBLE ENTITY REPORTS.—Eligi15 ble entities shall provide the results measured 

16 by their performance measurement system, re17 ports on the achievement of their annual bench18 marks and such other reports as the State may 

19 require. 

20 ‘‘(2) ANNUAL REPORT.—Each State receiving 

21 funds under this subtitle shall annually prepare, and 

22 submit to the Secretary by March 31 of each year, 

23 a report on the performance of the State and eligible 

24 entities in the State, including achievement with re25 spect to the State lead agency performance benchmstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 marks and the local performance benchmarks re2 spectively and to other performance measurements 

3 that were used by community service network orga4 nizations in the State for the prior year. Each State 

5 shall also include in the report— 

6 ‘‘(A) an accounting of the expenditure of 

7 funds received by the State through the com8 munity services block grant program, including 

9 an accounting of funds spent on administrative 

10 or indirect costs by the State and the eligible 

11 entities and funds spent by the eligible entities 

12 on local programs, projects, and services; 

13 ‘‘(B) information on the number and char14 acteristics of clients served under this subtitle 

15 in the State, based on data collected from the 

16 eligible entities; 

17 ‘‘(C) a summary describing the training 

18 and technical assistance offered by the State 

19 under section 680A(b)(1)(B) and 

20 680A(b)(1)(D) during the year covered by the 

21 report and the State′′s progress toward meeting 

22 its training and technical assistance plan goals; 

23 ‘‘(D) the State′′s management performance 

24 benchmark results; 

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1 ‘‘(E) information on the total budget and 

2 activities of the eligible entities receiving sub3 grants from the State under this subtitle, in4 cluding local and private resources available for 

5 a purpose described in section 672; 

6 ‘‘(F) a report on the Community Action 

7 Innovations Program in the State; and 

8 ‘‘(G) a report on the manner in which the 

9 State and eligible entities and other recipients 

10 of funds under this subtitle have implemented 

11 results oriented management practices based on 

12 their performance measurement systems. 

13 ‘‘(b) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.— 

14 ‘‘(1) CONTENTS.—Not later than September 30 

15 of each fiscal year, the Secretary shall, directly or by 

16 grant or contract, prepare a report containing— 

17 ‘‘(A) the information included in the State 

18 annual reports under subsection (a)(2) for the 

19 preceding fiscal year; 

20 ‘‘(B) a report on the performance of the 

21 Department in the preceding fiscal year regard22 ing the performance benchmarks established 

23 under section 682(d); 

24 ‘‘(C) a description of the training and tech25 nical assistance activities funded by the Secmstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 retary under section 683 and the results of 

2 those activities, including a report on progress 

3 toward achieving the goals of the Secretary′′s 

4 strategic plan for training and technical assist5 ance described in section 683(d)(2); and 

6 ‘‘(D) any additional information that the 

7 Secretary considers to be appropriate to carry 

8 out this subtitle. 

9 ‘‘(2) SUBMISSION.—The Secretary shall submit 

10 to the Committee on Education and the Workforce 

11 of the House of Representatives and to the Com12 mittee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

13 of the Senate the report described in paragraph (1) 

14 and any recommendations the Secretary may have 

15 with respect to such report. 

16 ‘‘(3) ELECTRONIC DATA SYSTEM FOR REPORTS

17 TO STATES AND ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—The Sec18 retary shall provide technical assistance, including 

19 support for development and maintenance of an elec20 tronic data system for the reports under this section, 

21 to the States and eligible entities to enhance the 

22 quality and timeliness of reports submitted under 

23 this subtitle. The system shall be coordinated and 

24 consistent with the data systems established for 

25 other programs of the Department that are managed 

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1 by eligible entities, including all programs of the Ad2 ministration for Children and Families or successor 

3 administrative units in which the office is located. 

4 ‘‘SEC. 688. LIMITATIONS ON USE OF FUNDS. 

5 ‘‘(a) CONSTRUCTION OF FACILITIES.— 

6 ‘‘(1) LIMITATIONS.—Except as provided in 

7 paragraph (2) and in section 680(b)(1)(C), grants or 

8 subgrants made under this subtitle may not be used 

9 by the State, or by any other person with which the 

10 State makes arrangements to carry out a purpose 

11 described in section 672, for the purchase or im12 provement of any building or other facility. 

13 ‘‘(2) WAIVER.—The Secretary may waive the 

14 limitation contained in paragraph (1) upon a State 

15 request for such a waiver if the Secretary finds that 

16 the request describes extraordinary circumstances to 

17 justify the purchase or improvement of land, or the 

18 purchase, construction or permanent improvement of 

19 any building or other facilities, and that permitting 

20 the waiver will contribute to the ability of the State 

21 and eligible entities to carry out a purpose described 

22 in section 672 at substantially reduced costs. 

23 ‘‘(b) POLITICAL ACTIVITIES.— 

24 ‘‘(1) TREATMENT AS A STATE OR LOCAL AGEN25 CY.—For purposes of chapter 15 of title 5, United 

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1 States Code, any entity that assumes responsibility 

2 for planning, developing, and coordinating activities 

3 under this subtitle and receives assistance under this 

4 subtitle shall be deemed to be a State or local agen5 cy. For purposes of paragraphs (1) and (2) of sec6 tion 1502(a) of such title, any entity receiving as7 sistance under this subtitle shall be deemed to be a 

8 State or local agency. 

9 ‘‘(2) PROHIBITIONS.—An entity carrying out a 

10 program, project, or service assisted under this sub11 title, and any individual employed by, or assigned to 

12 or in, such a program, project, or service (during the 

13 hours in which the individual is working on behalf 

14 of the program, project, or service) shall not engage 

15 in— 

16 ‘‘(A) any partisan or nonpartisan political 

17 activity or any political activity associated with 

18 a candidate, or contending faction or group, in 

19 an election for public or party office; or 

20 ‘‘(B) any activity to provide voters or pro21 spective voters with transportation to the polls 

22 or similar assistance in connection with any 

23 such election. 

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1 ‘‘(3) REGISTRATION.—None of the funds appro2 priated to carry out this subtitle may be used to con3 duct voter registration activities. 

4 ‘‘(c) NONDISCRIMINATION.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—No person shall, on the 

6 basis of race, color, national origin, or sex be ex7 cluded from participation in, be denied the benefits 

8 of, or be subjected to discrimination under, any pro9 gram, project, or service funded in whole or in part 

10 with funds made available under this subtitle. Any 

11 prohibition against discrimination on the basis of 

12 age under the Age Discrimination Act of 1975 9 (42 

13 U.S.C. 6101 et seq.) or with respect to an otherwise 

14 qualified individual with a disability as provided in 

15 section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 12 

16 U.S.C. 794), or title II of the Americans with Dis17 abilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12131 et seq.) shall 

18 also apply to any such program, project, or service. 

19 ‘‘(2) ACTION OF SECRETARY.—Whenever the 

20 Secretary determines that a State that has received 

21 a payment under this subtitle has failed to comply 

22 with paragraph (1) or an applicable regulation, the 

23 Secretary shall notify the chief executive officer of 

24 the State and shall request that the officer secure 

25 compliance. If within a reasonable period of time, 

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1 not to exceed 60 days, the chief executive officer 

2 fails or refuses to secure compliance, the Secretary 

3 is authorized to— 

4 ‘‘(A) refer the matter to the Attorney Gen5 eral with a recommendation that an appropriate 

6 civil action be instituted; 

7 ‘‘(B) exercise the powers and functions 

8 provided by title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 

9 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000d et seq.), the Age Dis10 crimination Act of 1975 (42 U.S.C. 6101 et 

11 seq.), section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 

12 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794), or title II of the Ameri13 cans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 

14 11 12131 et seq.), as may be applicable; or 

15 ‘‘(C) take such other action as may be pro16 vided by law. 

17 ‘‘(3) ACTION OF ATTORNEY GENERAL.—When a 

18 matter is referred to the Attorney General pursuant 

19 to paragraph (2), or whenever the Attorney General 

20 has reason to believe that the State is engaged in a 

21 pattern or practice of discrimination in violation of 

22 the provisions of this subsection, the Attorney Gen23 eral may bring a civil action in any appropriate 

24 United States district court for such relief as may 

25 be appropriate, including injunctive relief. 

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1 ‘‘SEC. 689. DRUG AND CHILD SUPPORT SERVICES AND RE2 FERRALS. 

3 ‘‘(a) DRUG TESTING AND REHABILITATION.— 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this subtitle 

5 shall be construed to prohibit a State from testing 

6 participants in programs, projects, or services car7 ried out or provided under this subtitle for controlled 

8 substances. A State that conducts such testing shall 

9 inform the participants who test positive for any of 

10 such substances about the availability of treatment 

11 or rehabilitation services and refer such participants 

12 for appropriate treatment or rehabilitation services. 

13 ‘‘(2) NON-ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—Any 

14 funds provided under this subtitle expended for such 

15 testing shall not be considered to be expended for 

16 administrative expenses and shall not be subject to 

17 the limitation specified in section 680A(b)(2). 

18 ‘‘(3) DEFINITION.—In this subsection, the term 

19 ‘controlled substance’ has the meaning given the 

20 term in section 102 of the Controlled Substances 

21 Act (21 U.S.C. 802). 

22 ‘‘(b) CHILD SUPPORT SERVICES AND REFERRALS.— 

23 During each fiscal year for which an eligible entity receives 

24 a subgrant under section 680A(a), such entity shall— 

25 ‘‘(1) inform custodial parents in single-parent 

26 families that participate in programs, projects, or 

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1 services carried out or provided under this subtitle 

2 about the availability of child support services; and 

3 ‘‘(2) refer eligible parents to the child support 

4 offices of State and local governments. 

5 ‘‘SEC. 690. OPERATIONAL RULES. 

6 ‘‘(a) RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONS INCLUDED AS NON7 GOVERNMENTAL PROVIDERS.—For any program carried 

8 out by the Federal Government, or by a State or local 

9 government under this subtitle, the government shall con10 sider, on the same basis as other nongovernmental organi11 zations, religious organizations to provide the assistance 

12 under the program, so long as the program is implemented 

13 in a manner consistent with the Establishment Clause of 

14 the first amendment to the Constitution. Neither the Fed15 eral Government nor a State or local government receiving 

16 funds under this subtitle shall discriminate against an or17 ganization that provides assistance under, or applies to 

18 provide assistance under, this subtitle, on the basis that 

19 the organization has a religious character. 

20 ‘‘(b) RELIGIOUS CHARACTER AND INDEPEND21 ENCE.— 

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A religious organization 

23 that provides assistance under a program described 

24 in subsection (a) shall retain its religious character 

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1 and control over the definition, development, prac2 tice, and expression of its religious beliefs. 

3 ‘‘(2) ADDITIONAL SAFEGUARDS.—Neither the 

4 Federal Government nor a State or local government 

5 shall require a religious organization— 

6 ‘‘(A) to alter its form of internal govern7 ance, except (for purposes of administration of 

8 the community services block grant program) as 

9 provided in section 681C; or 

10 ‘‘(B) to remove religious art, icons, scrip11 ture, or other symbols; in order to be eligible to 

12 provide assistance under a program described in 

13 subsection (a). 

14 ‘‘(3) EMPLOYMENT PRACTICES.—A religious 

15 organization′′s exemption provided under section 702 

16 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e– 

17 1) regarding employment practices shall not be af18 fected by its participation in, or receipt of funds 

19 from, programs described in subsection (a). 

20 ‘‘(c) NONDISCRIMINATION AGAINST BENE21 FICIARIES.—A religious organization providing assistance 

22 under any program described in subsection (a) of this sec23 tion shall not, in providing such assistance, discriminate 

24 against a program beneficiary or prospective program ben25 eficiary on the basis of religion or religious belief. 

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1 ‘‘(d) LIMITATIONS ON USE OF FUNDS FOR CERTAIN

2 PURPOSES.—No funds provided directly to a religious or3 ganization to provide assistance under any program de4 scribed in subsection (a) shall be expended for sectarian 

5 worship, instruction, or proselytization. 

6 ‘‘(e) FISCAL ACCOUNTABILITY.— 

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para8 graph (2), any religious organization providing as9 sistance under any program described in subsection 

10 (a) shall be subject to the same regulations as other 

11 nongovernmental organizations to account in accord 

12 with generally accepted accounting principles for the 

13 use of such funds provided under such program. 

14 ‘‘(2) LIMITED AUDIT.—Such organization shall 

15 segregate government funds provided under such 

16 program into a separate account. Only the govern17 ment funds shall be subject to audit by the govern18 ment. 

19 ‘‘(f) TREATMENT OF ELIGIBLE ENTITIES AND

20 OTHER INTERMEDIATE ORGANIZATIONS.—If an eligible 

21 entity or other organization (referred to in this subsection 

22 as an ‘intermediate organization’), acting under a con23 tract, or grant or other agreement, with the Federal Gov24 ernment or a State or local government, is given the au25 thority under the contract or agreement to select nonmstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 governmental organizations to provide assistance under 

2 the programs described in subsection (a), the intermediate 

3 organization shall have the same duties under this section 

4 as the government. 

5 ‘‘SEC. 691. REGULATIONS AND TRANSITION PERIOD. 

6 ‘‘(a) TRANSITION PERIOD.—The Secretary shall ex7 peditiously announce a schedule for adopting any changes 

8 in regulation, procedure and reporting required by this 

9 subtitle and for the availability of Federal training for 

10 States and eligible entities, especially with respect to 

11 adopting Uniform Practices for Administration, which pe12 riod may not extend further than 3 months prior to the 

13 start of the second fiscal year after the effective date of 

14 this subtitle and may include final adoption of new re15 quirements prior to the final date of the period as deter16 mined by the Secretary to be appropriate. 

17 ‘‘(b) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall promul18 gate regulations implementing this subtitle, by administra19 tive hearing open to the public including regulations re20 garding— 

21 ‘‘(1) State and community action programs and 

22 plans including the form and information required 

23 for State and community action programs and plans; 

24 ‘‘(2) State monitoring of eligible entities; and 

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1 ‘‘(3) reports to the Secretary described in sec2 tion 687. 

3 ‘‘(c) GUIDANCE.—The Secretary shall promulgate 

4 guidance regarding State and community performance 

5 measurement systems including— 

6 ‘‘(1) STATE MANAGEMENT PERFORMANCE

7 BENCHMARKS.—The Secretary, in consultation with 

8 community service network organizations, shall pro9 mulgate common State management performance in10 dicators which shall include indicators concerning— 

11 ‘‘(A) timely obligation and distribution and 

12 effective oversight of Federal funds; 

13 ‘‘(B) compliance with the requirements for 

14 minimum skills of State personnel and compli15 ance with the uniform administrative require16 ments described in section 676(b); 

17 ‘‘(C) effective management of the activities 

18 funded under this subtitle; and 

19 ‘‘(D) the results of activities funded by the 

20 State under this subsection 680A(b). 

21 ‘‘(2) COMPREHENSIVE ANALYSIS OF POVERTY

22 CONDITIONS.—The Secretary shall provide guidance 

23 (including models) for comprehensive community 

24 needs assessments described in subsection 

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1 munity action strategic plans. The guidance shall in2 clude methods for preparing an analysis of all pov3 erty conditions affecting the community and of local 

4 and regional assets for alleviating such conditions; 

5 and 

6 ‘‘(3) such other guidance as may be required by 

7 this subtitle. 

8 ‘‘SEC. 692. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

9 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be ap10 propriated to carry out sections 671 through 691 of this 

11 subtitle $850,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2014 

12 through 2018 and such sums as may be necessary for fis13 cal years 2019 through 2023. 

14 ‘‘(b) There are authorized to be appropriated such 

15 sums as may be necessary to carry out section 693 for 

16 fiscal years 2014 through 2023. 

17 ‘‘(c) RESERVATIONS BY THE SECRETARY.—Of the 

18 amounts appropriated under subsection (a) for each fiscal 

19 year, the Secretary shall reserve— 

‘‘(1) 1 20 ⁄2 of 1 percent for carrying out section 

21 677 (relating to grants to territories); and 

22 ‘‘(2) 2 percent for activities authorized in sec23 tion 683, of which— 

‘‘(A) not less than 1 24 ⁄2 of the amount re25 served by the Secretary under this paragraph 

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1 shall be awarded through grants, contracts, or 

2 cooperative agreements under section 683(c), to 

3 eligible entities, community action agencies, and 

4 State and regional community service network 

5 organizations, for the purpose of carrying out 

6 activities described in section 683(a)(1)(A); and 

7 ‘‘(B) the remainder of the amount reserved 

8 under this paragraph shall be distributed under 

9 section 683(a)(1)(B)(c) to States, eligible enti10 ties, other community services network organi11 zations, or other entities, for the purpose of 

12 carrying out activities described in section 

13 683(a)(1)(B). 

14 ‘‘SEC. 693. DISCRETIONARY COMMUNITY PROGRAMS. 

15 ‘‘(a) GRANTS, CONTRACTS, ARRANGEMENTS, LOANS, 

16 AND GUARANTEES.— 

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall, from 

18 funds appropriated under section 692(b), make 

19 grants, loans, or guarantees to States and public 

20 agencies and private, nonprofit organizations, or 

21 enter into contracts or jointly financed cooperative 

22 arrangements with States and public agencies and 

23 private, nonprofit organizations (and for-profit orga24 nizations, to the extent specified in paragraph 

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1 (2)(E)) for each of the objectives described in para2 graphs (2) through (4). 

3 ‘‘(2) COMMUNITY ECONOMIC DEVELOP4 MENT.— 

5 ‘‘(A) ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ACTIVI6 TIES.—The Secretary shall make grants de7 scribed in paragraph (1) on a competitive basis 

8 to private, nonprofit organizations that are 

9 community development corporations to provide 

10 technical and financial assistance for economic 

11 development activities designed to address the 

12 economic needs of low-income individuals and 

13 families by creating employment and business 

14 development opportunities. 

15 ‘‘(B) CONSULTATION.—The Secretary 

16 shall exercise the authority provided under sub17 paragraph (A) after consultation with other rel18 evant Federal officials. 

19 ‘‘(C) GOVERNING BOARDS.—For a commu20 nity development corporation to receive funds to 

21 carry out this paragraph, the corporation shall 

22 be governed by a board that shall consist of 

23 residents of the community and business and 

24 civic leaders and shall have as a principal pur25 pose planning, developing, or managing low-inmstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 come housing or community development 

2 projects. 

3 ‘‘(D) GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION.—In 

4 making grants to carry out this paragraph, the 

5 Secretary shall take into consideration the geo6 graphic distribution of funding among States 

7 and the relative proportion of funding among 

8 rural and urban areas. 

9 ‘‘(E) RESERVATION.—Of the amounts 

10 made available to carry out this paragraph, the 

11 Secretary may reserve not more than 1 percent 

12 for each fiscal year to make grants to private, 

13 nonprofit organizations or to enter into con14 tracts with private, nonprofit or for-profit orga15 nizations to provide technical assistance to aid 

16 community development corporations in devel17 oping or implementing activities funded to carry 

18 out this paragraph and to evaluate activities 

19 funded to carry out this paragraph. 

20 ‘‘(3) RURAL COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT AC21 TIVITIES.—The Secretary shall provide the assist22 ance described in paragraph (1) for rural community 

23 development activities, which shall include pro24 viding— 

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1 ‘‘(A) grants to private, nonprofit corpora2 tions to enable the corporations to provide as3 sistance concerning home repair to rural low-in4 come families and concerning planning and de5 veloping low-income rural rental housing units; 

6 and 

7 ‘‘(B) grants to multistate, regional, pri8 vate, nonprofit organizations to enable the orga9 nizations to provide training and technical as10 sistance to small, rural communities concerning 

11 meeting their community facility needs. 

12 ‘‘(4) NEIGHBORHOOD INNOVATION

13 PROJECTS.—The Secretary shall provide the assist14 ance described in paragraph (1) for neighborhood in15 novation projects, which shall include providing 

16 grants to neighborhood-based private, nonprofit or17 ganizations to test or assist in the development of 

18 new approaches or methods that will aid in over19 coming special problems identified by communities 

20 or neighborhoods or otherwise assist in furthering 

21 the purposes of this subtitle, and which may include 

22 providing assistance for projects that are designed to 

23 serve low-income individuals and families who are 

24 not being effectively served by other programs. 

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1 ‘‘(b) EVALUATION.—The Secretary shall require all 

2 activities receiving assistance under this section to be eval3 uated for their effectiveness. Funding for such evaluations 

4 shall be provided as a stated percentage of the assistance 

5 or through a separate grant awarded by the Secretary spe6 cifically for the purpose of evaluation of a particular activ7 ity or group of activities. 

8 ‘‘(c) ANNUAL REPORT.—The Secretary shall compile 

9 an annual report containing a summary of the evaluations 

10 required in subsection (b) and a listing of all activities as11 sisted under this section. The Secretary shall annually 

12 submit the report to the Chairperson of the Committee 

13 on Education and the Workforce of the House of Rep14 resentatives and the Chairperson of the Committee on 

15 Health, Education, Labor and Pensions of the Senate.’’. 

Æ 

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