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2012 CSBG State Plan (Draft) (pdf)

What is the Community Services Block Grant?

The Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) remains one of the major efforts of the War on Poverty that succeeded several federally administered programs. The CSBG aims to help individuals and families living in poverty to become self-sufficient, strengthen local communities, and increase the capacity for Ohioans to create their own opportunities.

The State of Ohio administers the CSBG through the Ohio Department of Development's Community Services Division (CSD) and its Office of Community Assistance (OCA). CSBG funds are granted to nonprofit Community Action Agencies. The success of Community Action Programs flows from the historic mission of Agencies to coordinate and link public and private resources and to focus these resources on specific poverty issues at the community level.

Who Benefits from the Community Services Block Grant?

By definition, a "low-income" household has income less than 125 percent of the federal poverty guidelines. In 2010, a family of four making less than $27,562.50 per year was considered low-income.

What are the Types of Services the Community Services Block Grant Offers?

As authorized by the CSBG Act, funds are expended for a broad range of services; some of which are employment, education, income management, housing, emergency services, nutrition, and linkages (information and referral, counseling, outreach, senior services, and family development). Grantees establish priorities based on assessed needs and determine the resources available to the Community Action Agencies.

Who are the Local CSBG Providers?

Community Action Agencies were first incorporated with the advent of the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964.  They are locally controlled private nonprofit organizations whose purpose is to reduce poverty and to help low-income people become self-sufficient. There are more than 1,100 Community Action Agencies in the United States.

Currently, there are 50 Community Action Agencies in Ohio, with every county receiving service. During the last program year, they administered $506,481,844 in resources aimed at alleviating the problems of poverty in Ohio's Communities. Nationally, Ohio ranks fifth in the amount of resources developed by its Community Action Agency Network.

A list of the Local CSBG Provider is available. The web page shows a map of the state. To see the contact information for local CSBG Providers, click on the desired county.

How Do I Apply for CSBG Services?

Persons interested in applying for CSBG services or obtaining additional information should contact the Local CSBG Provider in the county where they reside. 

How are CSBG Services Reported?

In response to the Governmental Performance Review Act of 1993 (GPRA), the Monitoring and Assessment Task Force (MATF) was convened by the Federal Office of Community Services. GPRA required that federally funded programs must demonstrate measurable impacts. The product that resulted from the MATF effort was the Results-Oriented Management for Accountability (ROMA).

ROMA is an approach to management that builds accountability into the daily activities of employees and the daily operations of an organization. ROMA is an avenue for organizations to continually evaluate the effectiveness of their programs and plot a course for improvements in agency capacity and performance.

ROMA provides a framework for results-based planning and evaluation that is a shared responsibility of federal, state, and local partners. Since 1994, the Community Services Network has been guided by six broad anti-poverty goals established by the MATF. 

• Goal 1:  Low-income people become more self-sufficient.

• Goal 2:  The conditions in which low-income people live are improved.

• Goal 3:  Low-income people own a stake in their community.

• Goal 4:  Partnerships among supporters and providers of service to low-income people are achieved.

• Goal 5:  Agencies increase their capacity to achieve results.

• Goal 6:  Low-income people, especially vulnerable populations, achieve their potential by strengthening family and other supportive systems.