Skip Navigation
acfbanner  
ACF
Department of Health and Human Services 		  
		  Administration for Children and Families
          
ACF Home   |   Services   |   Working with ACF   |   Policy/Planning   |   About ACF   |   ACF News   |   HHS Home

  Questions?  |  Privacy  |  Site Index  |  Contact Us  |  Download Reader™Download Reader  |  Print Print      


Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program skip to primary page content assistance with heating and cooling costs
Four young women, clients of Assets for Independence.
Main Menuskip to page content
skip to page content
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
 

Grantees

Funding

Grantee Contacts

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services distributes block grant funds to LIHEAP Grantees to assist eligible low income households in meeting their home energy costs. LIHEAP Grantees include:

  • States (including the District of Columbia)
  • Indian Tribes (Approximately 140, including Alaska Native Villages) or Tribal Organizations
  • Insular Areas (American Samoa, Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, and U.S. Virgin Islands)

LIHEAP Grantees, not the Federal government, take applications, determine eligibility, and provide benefits for LIHEAP to the the citizens that they serve. For this reason, the public needs to contact the LIHEAP Grantee in their jurisdiction for LIHEAP assistance.

Deadlines

The authorizing statute for the LIHEAP program (Title XXVI of Public Law 97-35, as amended) and the implementing regulations (45 CFR Part 96) contain many deadlines and due dates that grantees must meet in administering the LIHEAP program. In addition, a recent amendment to the regulations added a new deadline for LIHEAP application submission for State and territorial grantees and a deadline for submitting any additional information necessary to complete an application for all grantees. In order to assist grantees in planning and administering the program and to avoid missed deadlines, we have put together a list of the significant statutory and regulatory activities and dates (see attached list).

The list starts on August 1, which is the deadline for submission of the Carryover and Reallotment Report. Under the terms of the 1994 amendments to the statute (Human Services Amendments of 1994, Public Law 103-252), grant awards for the following fiscal year will not be released until the Carryover and Reallotment Report is received. Thus, August 1 can be considered the beginning of the grant cycle.

The list covers the significant dates from August 1 through September 30 of the following year, which is the deadline for submitting plan amendments concerning leveraging activities taking place in one fiscal year in order to qualify for leveraging incentive grants the following fiscal year. Thus, September 30 can be considered the end of the grant cycle. The list thus covers a period of 14 months, which means that the due dates for August and September are repeated on the list and may involve requirements relating to both the current and the following fiscal year plans. This list will give grantees a complete picture of what is required.

Ongoing Activities : OCS conducts out on-site and in-house compliance reviews of LIHEAP grantees throughout the fiscal year, in some cases in conjunction with reviews of the grantees' CSBG programs. Specific grantees and timetables will be worked out in coordination with Federal and grantee staff, taking into account available travel funds.

September 1 : Deadline for State, Tribal, and Insular Area grantees to submit their block grant applications/plans for the following fiscal year (date established by regulation). This date may be extended for Tribal grantees if the State(s) in which the Tribe is located agrees to a later date. The date may be extended for State or Insular Area grantees if HHS agrees to a later date. The application must include preliminary data on the number and income levels of households applying for or receiving assistance during the previous fiscal year, and the number of households assisted that have members who are elderly, disabled, or young children. Tribal and Insular Area applicants need submit information only on the number of households receiving assistance for each program component. HHS may not release grant funds for the following fiscal year until this report is received.

September 1 : Deadline for State grantees to submit estimates of their funding needs for the next fiscal year, by percentage per fiscal quarter. States that do not submit the estimates receive no more than 25% of their allocation per quarter. (This requirement does not apply to Tribal and Insular Area grantees that receive an allocation of less than $1 million per year.)

September 30 : Deadline for all grantees to amend their current fiscal year plans for purposes of describing leveraging activities meeting the requirements of Section 96.87(d)(2)(ii) and (iii) of the block grant regulations (regarding activities conducted under the grantee's LIHEAP program or coordinated and integrated with the grantee's LIHEAP program, respectively), in order to qualify for leveraging incentive awards in the following fiscal year (date established by regulation).

November 30 : Deadline for all grantees to submit their application/reports on leveraging activities carried out during the previous fiscal year in order to qualify for a share of the current fiscal year's leveraging incentive grant funds (date established by statute). No exceptions can or will be granted.

Early December : Target date for State grantees to submit for the previous Fiscal Year the LIHEAP Grantee Survey and LIHEAP Household Report (with final data).

December 15 : Deadline for State, Tribal, and Insular Area grantees to submit additional information to complete their block grant application/plans. This date may be extended for Tribal grantees if the State(s) in which the Tribe is located agrees to a later date. The date may be extended for State or Insular Area grantees if HHS agrees to a later date.

January 31 : Date after which grantees may submit a preliminary request for a waiver of the statutory limit of 15% on the amount of LIHEAP funds that may be spent on weatherization and other low-cost energy-related home repair activities, in order to spend up to 25% on such activities (date established by regulation). The statute provides that the final waiver request may not be submitted to HHS before April 1.

Mid-March : Target date for HHS to publish State Median Income estimates in the Federal Register , based on information provided by the Census Bureau, and to distribute the information to grantees in an information memorandum.

Mid-March : Target date for HHS to issue an information memorandum to grantees providing them a copy of the latest Poverty Income Guidelines, as published by HHS in the Federal Register .

March 15 : Required date until which grantees must hold available a reasonable amount of funds, based on data from prior years, for crisis assistance (date established by statute).

March 15 : Required date until which grantees must allow public comment on a proposed request for a waiver of the statutory limit of 15% on the amount of LIHEAP funds that may be spent on weatherization and other low-cost energy-related home repair activities, in order to spend up to 25% on such activities (date established by regulation).

April 1 : Earliest date that grantees may submit a final request for a waiver of the statutory limit of 15% on the amount of LIHEAP funds that may be spent on weatherization and other low-cost energy-related home repair activities, in order to spend up to 25% on such activities (date established by statute). A preliminary waiver request may be submitted after January 31.

April 1 : Due date for HHS to issue a model application plan to grantees (date established by statute.)

August 1 : Deadline for all grantees to submit Carryover and Reallotment Reports for the current fiscal year (date established by statute). HHS may not release grant funds for the following fiscal year until this report is received.

Forms

The forms below are for use by State, Tribal, and Insular Area LIHEAP grantees. Electronic forms are either in a word processing or spreadsheet format.

Grantees may submit completed forms by postal mail, e-mail, or by fax. Forms sent by e-mail can greatly reduce transcription errors and also facilitate our processing of the information. However, a hard copy should be submitted whenever a form requires the signature of the grantee's Chief Executive Officer or his/her designee in certifying to LIHEAP statutory assurances.

  • Financial Reports - LIHEAP grantees are required to complete and submit annually the financial forms.
  • Funding Applications - LIHEAP grantees must apply for LIHEAP funds using these forms and information. (LIHEAP grantees do not apply for LIHEAP emergency contingency funds.) Click here for an explanation of the types of LIHEAP funding.
  • Grantee Survey
  • Household Report