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Office of community services skip to primary page contentincreasing the capacity of individuals, families and communities

Notable Grant Features

The OCS grant funds have a number of notable features, as follows:

  • Amount of Grant --The EZ/EC SSBG grants are quite large. OCS provided $40 million for each rural Round One Empowerment Zone and $100 million for each Round One Urban Empowerment Zone. It granted $2.95 million for each Round One Enterprise Community.
  • Grant Period --The grant period is very long. The grants are available for local EZ/EC programs for the period between December 21, 1994 and December 21, 2004.
  • State Agency Role --State agencies have an important role in administering the EZ/EC SSBG grant funds. As required by federal statute, OCS awarded the funds to appropriate State agencies with the stipulation that they pass them through to designated localities for EZ/EC projects. Many state agencies are actively engaged with the localities in implementing their neighborhood renewal projects, and several are providing the localities with additional state funding and other forms of assistance. OCS requires the state agencies to provide annual reports about the EZ/EC SSBG grants, including the amounts used by local sub-grantees and additional amounts (if any) supplied by the state agency.
  • Fiscal Management Flexibility --The authorizing statute requires OCS to administer the EZ/EC SSBG grants within the well-established flexible regulations of the Social Services Block Grant program. That framework is such that states and their subgrantees are essentially free of administrative requirements that usually apply to federal grant funds. For example, the applicable OCS regulations and guidance allow states to impose their own administrative requirements and procedures concerning the EZ/EC SSBG grants, thereby disregarding the otherwise standard Office of Management and Budget requirements. Of course, any non-standard procedures used in lieu of the OMB requirements must be reasonable and fiscally prudent.
  • Oversight by HUD and USDA --Both HUD and USDA entered into three-party Memorandums of Agreement (MOA) with each EZ and EC locality and their state agencies. The MOA terms concern numerous program issues, including each organization's roles and responsibilities related to program administration. HHS was not a party to the MOAs, as those agreements have no effect on fiscal management aspects of the EZ/EC SSBG grants.
  • Other HUD and USDA Responsibilities --USDA and HUD are responsible for ensuring that the designated localities follow applicable requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act and related statutes when they use EZ/EC SSBG grant funds to support EZ/EC projects.
  • Office of Community Services Responsibilities --The OCS is responsible for ensuring that state-level pass through agencies comply with the letter and spirit of the authorizing statute, applicable Congressional guidance and HHS regulations concerning the EZ/EC SSBG grants. OCS works to honor the federal government's pledge to give localities significant flexibility, within legal limits, concerning their uses of the grant funds. OCS also works to help the EZ/EC localities about real and lasting positive change in their neighborhoods. Finally, OCS is steadfast in its commitment to ensure that states and local EZ and EC entities are subject to no duplicative requirements or other burdens regarding these grant funds.