Office of Community Services

The Office of Community Services (OCS) is a division of the US Executive Branch under the Administration for Children and Families within the Department of Health and Human Services.[1]^: 79 It is the direct successor of the Office of Economic Opportunity, an independent agency created in 1964.[2]

OCS logo as of 2018

OCS administers six programs which provide funding for community development and poverty alleviation for private and public agencies:[1]^: 79[3]^: 346

• The Assets for Independence program, which provides matching contributions to Individual Development Accounts for those eligible for the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program.[4] The program was funded at $18.9 for the 2016 fiscal year.[5] Participants in the program's first year saw a median increase in saving of $657, a drop in experiences of economic hardship by 34%, and a 39% drop in the use of payday loans.[6]
• The Community Economic Development Program, which provides funding for non-profits with the principal goal of supporting low-income housing or community economic development. The program was funded at $19.75 million for the 2017 fiscal year.[7] This program includes separate funding as part of the Healthy Food Financing Initiative, a partnership between the Department of Health and Human Services, the Treasury Department, and the Department of Agriculture to increase access healthy food.[8]
• The Community Services Block Grant, which was created in 1981 in a consolidation of over 200 government programs, and provides funding directly to states to distribute.[9]^: 191 The program was funded at $715 million in the 2016 fiscal year.[10]
• The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, which "provides grants to states to fund fuel payment assistance and home energy efficiency improvements for low-income households."[11]^: 13 The program was funded at $3.39 billion in the 2016 fiscal year.[5]
• The Rural Community Development Program which provides funding for water management and wastewater treatment. The program was funded at $7.45 million in the 2016 fiscal year.[12]
• The Social Services Block Grant, used to support a wide range of activities. As of 2010, the most highly supported of which were child care, foster care, and services for the disabled.[13] The grant is authorized by Title XX of the Social Security Act, and funding is allocated according to population.[14]^: 93 The program was funded at $1.6 billion for the 2016 fiscal year.[15]