Like other block grants, CSBG funds are allocated to the states and other jurisdictions (including tribes, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and territories) through a formula, with less federal oversight and fewer federal requirements than categorical grants.
The CSBG formula determines each jurisdiction's funding level based on poverty population; once disbursed, most of the money is passed by the states and other jurisdictions to CAAs and other designated organizations to be spent on employment, education, income management, housing, nutrition, emergency services, and health.
The nine new block grants were budgeted about 25% less than the programs they replaced (Conlan, qtd.
The CSBG legislation was amended in 1998 by the Coats Human Services Reauthorization Act of 1998, P.L.
[3] In early 2011, for the FY 2012 United States Budget, President Obama proposed $350 million in reductions to the Community Service Block Grant Program, cutting its allocation in half.