LIHEAP DCL 2020-12 Reallotment of Federal Fiscal Year (FFY) 2019 Funds

Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program

Dear Colleague Letter

DCL#: LIHEAP-DCL-2020-12

DATE: September 30, 2020

TO: All LIHEAP Grantees

SUBJECT: Reallotment of Federal Fiscal Year (FFY) 2019 LIHEAP Funds

ATTACHMENT(S): (1) Table of awards to states and territories
                                (2) Table of awards to Indian tribes and tribal organizations

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Administration for Children and Families (ACF) Office of Community Services (OCS), Division of Energy Assistance (DEA), released $947,485 as the final funding in FY 2020 for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP).

LIHEAP grantees reported to ACF amounts available for redistribution, "reallotment", from FY 2019. The Office of the Federal Register published a Federal Register Notice on September 4, 2020 providing preliminary notice of this funding distribution and the amounts reported by LIHEAP grantees as available for reallotment. After completing reconciliation of the reports, ACF determined the total amount available to redistribute this year as required by the federal LIHEAP statute.

All FY 2020 grantees that remain active at the time of the release received an award letter, unless their allocation would have been less than $25. ACF determined the allocations to each grantee by distributing the total reallotted funds under the formula Congress set for FY 2020 funding.

Grantees must ensure that the reallotted funds are included in their total FY 2020 LIHEAP funds received for purposes of calculating the LIHEAP caps on administrative costs, Assurance 16 activities, carryover to FY 2021, and their weatherization programs.

Grantees must also ensure that the reallotted funds are included on their FY 2020 the LIHEAP Performance Data Form-Grantee Survey section (for states). All LIHEAP grantees must submit a separate Federal Financial Form (SF-425) for these reallotment funds, which must be separate from the SF-425 submitted for the regular FY 2020 block grant and separate from the SF-425 for the CARES Act funding.

Grantees may carryover up to 10 percent of that combined total, excluding their FY 2020 LIHEAP CARES Act supplemental award, to obligate (legally commit) those funds for LIHEAP purposes in FY 2021 through September 30, 2021. ACF generally advises grantees to budget their program year anticipating a carryover balance that is less than the 10% cap. By leaving room in one’s carryover cap, a grantee can try to include vendor refunds, refunds from subgrantees, and any federal funding awarded in the last quarter in the grantee’s carryover balance without exceeding their carryover limit.

These funds must be obligated by no later than September 30, 2020—or included in the grantee’s carryover into FY 2021 and obligated by September 30, 2021. Grantees must draw down from the correct HHS Payment Management System (PMS) account to support those valid obligations.

This is the final LIHEAP funding distribution for federal FY 2020. A second Federal Register Notice will be published confirming this release.

For grantee-by-grantee breakdowns of these awards see the tables that summarize the awards to (1) states and territories; and (2) Indian tribes and tribal organizations.

Please contact your DEA liaison should you have any questions or need any assistance. To view the DEA liaison contact information, please go to the Division of Energy Assistance Staff Contacts page of ACF’s website.

Thank you for your attention to these matters. OCS looks forward to continuing to provide high quality services to OCS grantees.