CRS Examines Federal Programs for Low-Income Taxpayers

The Congressional Research Service (CRS) regularly receives requests about the number, size, and programmatic details of federal benefits and services targeted toward low-income populations, and the characteristics of people who participate. This report attempts to identify and provide information about such programs, including their federal spending during FY2008-FY2013. The report does not discuss social insurance programs such as Social Security, Medicare, or Unemployment Insurance, but includes only programs with an explicit focus on low-income people or communities. Tax provisions, other than the refundable portion of two tax credits, are excluded. Key findings include the following:

• No single label best describes all programs with a low-income focus, and no single trait characterizes those who benefit. Programs are highly diverse in their purpose, design, and target population. Readers should use caution in making generalizations about the programs described in this report.

• Total federal spending on low-income programs rose sharply between FY2008 and FY2009 as the Great Recession took hold. Spending ultimately peaked in FY2011, dropped in FY2012, and edged up again in FY2013.

• Total low-income spending in FY2013 totaled $744 billion, significantly higher than the FY2008 level of $561 billion but below the FY2010 level of $750 billion. Peak spending over the six years was $764 billion in FY2011.

• Health care is the single largest category of low-income spending, accounting for nearly half of the total, and drives overall trends. The single largest program within the health category is Medicaid. Cash aid and food assistance are the next largest categories, with food assistance seeing the largest growth over the six-year period. Other categories (in descending size) are education, housing and development, social services, employment and training, and energy assistance.

• Most low-income spending (82% in FY2013) is classified in budgetary terms as "mandatory" (or "direct"), which means the amount spent is a function of eligibility and payment rules established by Congress in authorizing laws. Congress determines the amount spent for the remaining "discretionary" programs through the annual appropriations process.

• Four programs accounted for 65% of low-income spending in FY2013, and 10 programs made up 82%. Medicaid alone contributed 39% of the total. In addition to Medicaid, the top four include the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Supplemental Security Income (SSI), and the refundable portion of the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC).

• The disabled receive the single largest share of federal low-income spending, based on an analysis of spending for the top 10 programs in FY2011. The disabled received almost a third of such spending, primarily for health care and secondarily for cash aid. Working families with children received the next largest share of spending (including from the EITC and Additional Child Tax Credit), followed by the elderly. The bulk of spending for low-income elderly was in the health category. Less than 12% of total low-income spending in FY2011 went to families with nonelderly nondisabled adults who were not working.

The size and composition of federal spending directed toward low-income people is a focus of public policy. Particularly in a budget-conscious environment, policymakers want to know what the federal government spends on programs to help needy populations, including the types of assistance provided and the characteristics of those who benefit. This report attempts to identify and provide information about federal programs that are targeted in some way toward low-income people and communities. An earlier version of the report looked at low-income programs and spending in FY2008 and FY2009;¹ this version extends that analysis through FY2013.

Programs included in this report are distinct from social insurance programs such as Social Security, Medicare, or Unemployment Insurance. Those programs are financed largely by contributions from workers and employers² and benefits are earned on the basis of an individual's work history. Social insurance plays a major antipoverty role in the United States, but participation is generally meant to be universal (providing insurance to the population at large against becoming poor) and not specifically targeted toward low-income people.³

In contrast to social insurance, programs examined in this report are funded through general revenues and provide benefits and services to people with limited income either by tying eligibility to a specific measure of income, or by targeting assistance through funding allocation formulas or other need-related mechanisms.⁴ Some programs are highly targeted with detailed eligibility rules for individuals or households, while others encourage or prioritize services to low-income people within a broader target population group, such as the elderly.

These programs attempt to ameliorate or mitigate the effects of low income by providing cash or noncash benefits to help people meet basic needs, such as food, housing, and health care. They also seek to address root causes of economic disadvantage by providing education, training, and other services to improve people's employability and earnings capacity. Some programs target assistance to communities with high concentrations of low-income people to compensate for their low tax capacities, and to help finance benefits and services for residents.

Important Caveats

While they share the common feature of an explicit low-income focus, programs discussed in this report are highly diverse in their purpose, design, and target population. They were established at different times, in response to different policy challenges, and not necessarily in coordination with one another. Readers should exercise caution in any attempt to generalize about these programs or draw conclusions from the information presented in this report.

No single label accurately describes all programs in the report. Terms such as "social welfare" and "social safety net" are often understood to include social insurance programs, and are thus broader than the programs included here. "Public welfare" and "public assistance" are typically understood as a more narrow set of programs that primarily provide cash or near-cash benefits to low-income people. While such programs are included, programs that provide in-kind benefits and services also are discussed. "Income-tested" or "means-tested" might be used to describe these programs, but some target assistance toward low-income communities and do not apply a specific income or means test to individual participants or beneficiaries.

The report examines programs by category, but the categories themselves are diverse. For example, the health category includes primary care for poor children and their families along with nursing home care for the elderly and disabled whose health costs may have depleted other income and assets. Cash aid includes traditional "welfare" in the form of cash assistance to needy families, but also includes pensions for needy veterans and two refundable tax credits for households with earnings, the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and the Additional Child Tax Credit (ACTC).⁵ Food assistance includes the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), as well as subsidized meals for low-income schoolchildren and home-delivered meals for the elderly.

Similarly, no single trait characterizes the people served by these programs. They include elderly and disabled individuals, children and their families, single adults and couples without children, workers and nonworkers, veterans, homeless people, refugees, students, and others. While some popular perceptions of "welfare" assume that beneficiaries are unemployed able-bodied adults of working age, the report demonstrates that people with disabilities actually account for the single largest share of spending under the 10 largest low-income programs. Families with children where an adult is working account for the next largest share of spending, followed by the elderly. Households where no able-bodied adult is working account for a relatively small share of spending under these programs. Readers should also note that most of the programs included in this report are relatively small, and serve a fraction of their potentially eligible target population.

The report refers to the collective target population of the programs as persons with "low" or "limited" income, rather than "poor" people. Although some programs limit participation to individuals with income below federal poverty guidelines, income eligibility criteria vary widely and frequently include people with income above the official federal definition of poverty.

Organization of Report

Key findings of this report are presented in the Summary, above. The body of the report is organized as follows:

• The report begins with an overview of trends in federal spending for low-income programs over the six-year period from FY2008 through FY2013.

• It continues with a brief descriptive overview of federal low-income programs by major category (health care, cash aid, food assistance, etc.). Following sections discuss spending trends by category and by budgetary classification ("mandatory" or "discretionary").

• The next section looks specifically at spending and trends over the six-year period for the 10 largest programs included in the report, which together accounted for 82% of all low-income spending in FY2013. Key features of the 10 programs are summarized.

• Still focusing on the 10 largest programs, the next section presents an analysis of spending by the population groups served, including the elderly and disabled, families with children, and childless adults and couples. Nonelderly nondisabled households are further examined by whether they include working adults.

• A "related reading" section lists additional CRS reports that provide information on federal low-income policy, programs, and spending.

• The report concludes with several appendixes. Appendix A discusses the methodology used to create the database of low-income programs and spending, and Appendix B explains the methodology used to prepare the analysis of spending by population group. Appendix C provides overview tables of the programs included in the report, and Appendix D is a series of short fact sheets on each program.

Federal spending for low-income programs totaled $561 billion in FY2008 and jumped to $708 billion the next year, as the Great Recession of 2007-2009 took hold.⁶ The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA, P.L. 111-5) aimed to stimulate the economy with additional federal funding and was responsible for nearly 60% of the increased spending on low-income programs between FY2008 and FY2009. Caseloads also grew as unemployment rose and incomes declined, making more people eligible for such benefits as SNAP and Medicaid. Federal spending for low-income programs peaked in FY2011 at $764 billion, dropped in FY2012, and edged up again in FY2013. By that year, spending for low-income benefits and services had receded below FY2010 levels, but remained a third higher than comparable spending in FY2008. (See Figure 1 and Table 1.)

 

Figure 1. Federal Spending on Benefits and Services

 

for People with Low Income,

 

FY2008-FY2013

 

 

 

Note: ARRA = American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, P.L. 111-5.

    Table 1. Federal Spending by Major Category on Benefits and Services for

The following sections briefly describe the programs included in each major category of benefits and services, organized by size of spending in FY2013. Tables in Appendix C list and highlight key features of the programs, and brief fact sheets on each program are provided in Appendix D. As noted earlier, these programs are highly diverse and provide a range of benefits and services to a variety of target populations (see "Important Caveats").

Health Care

Just as health care dominates total federal spending on low-income programs, Medicaid dominates the health category. Medicaid accounted for 83% of health care spending in FY2013 and is the single largest program included in this report (accounting for 39% of total FY2013 low-income spending). Medicaid is intended to help specified categories of people who lack the income and resources to afford necessary medical care. Low-income parents, dependent children, the elderly, and individuals with disabilities have been the primary target populations served by Medicaid, although the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (ACA, P.L. 111-148) expanded Medicaid eligibility to include most nonelderly, nonpregnant individuals with income below a specified level.⁷ The program finances the delivery of a wide range of primary and acute medical services as well as long-term supports and services such as nursing home care. The State Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) provides health coverage for low-income children who lack health insurance but whose family income exceeds Medicaid eligibility levels.

Other large health programs include the low-income subsidy under Medicare Part D, which helps low-income seniors and individuals with disabilities pay for prescription drugs, and medical care for low-income veterans without service-connected disabilities. The latter program pays for an array of primary care, specialized care, and related social and support services provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The Indian Health Service also offers a variety of health services to its target population, who are American Indians or Alaska Natives living on reservations or within a specified service delivery area. Consolidated Health Centers offer primary and other health services to low-income populations in medically underserved areas, and the Maternal and Child Health block grant supports preventive and primary health care services for low-income women, infants, and children.

The Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program is intended to address the unmet care and treatment needs of individuals living with HIV or AIDS who lack insurance or resources to pay for core medical services, including prescription drugs, and related support services. Additional programs focus on specific health services, such as family planning and early breast and cervical cancer detection, or specific populations, such as refugees.

Cash Aid

Three programs account for the bulk of cash aid spending, and each ranks among the 10 largest of all programs for low-income people. Supplemental Security Income (SSI), which aims to provide a minimum income for aged, blind, or disabled individuals with very low income and resources, accounted for nearly 40% of cash aid spending in FY2013. The refundable portion of the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) accounted for another 38% of cash aid spending, and more than 14% came from the refundable Additional Child Tax Credit (ACTC). The EITC subsidizes the wages of low-income workers, with most benefits going to those with children. The ACTC is a refundable credit for families whose tax liability is too low for them to fully benefit from the regular nonrefundable Child Tax Credit.

Cash aid also includes part of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), the welfare reform program that replaced Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) in 1996. As AFDC's successor, TANF is still sometimes viewed as traditional welfare for poor families; however, the majority of TANF expenditures are for activities other than cash aid. TANF aims to increase the flexibility of states in meeting several statutory goals, including assisting needy families so that children can remain in their homes; ending dependence of needy parents through job preparation, work, and marriage; preventing and reducing incidence of out-of-wedlock pregnancies; and encouraging the formation and maintenance of two-parent families. In this report, TANF spending has been allocated among three categories -- cash aid, social services, and employment and training -- based on states' reporting of their actual expenditures. Finally, cash aid programs include pensions for needy elderly or disabled veterans and their dependents or survivors.

Food Assistance

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly food stamps) dominates spending for food assistance, accounting for almost three-quarters of obligations in this category and ranking as the second largest low-income program in FY2013. SNAP attempts to alleviate hunger and malnutrition and to help low-income households purchase food to support a healthy diet. The next largest area of food assistance spending is for programs that subsidize the costs of breakfast and lunch served to low-income schoolchildren; these programs aim to support learning readiness, promote healthy eating, and protect the health and well-being of low-income children. Related programs subsidize the costs of meals and snacks for children in child care and other out-of-school settings (and some low-income elderly and disabled adults in adult care settings) and for children during the summer when they lack access to school-based meal programs. Another program helps elementary schools with high concentrations of low-income students provide fresh fruit and vegetable snacks during the school day.

Food assistance also includes the Special Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC), which provides supplemental food and nutrition education to low-income pregnant, postpartum, or breastfeeding women and their infants and young children who are at nutritional risk. The program seeks to protect children's health during critical developmental stages, prevent health problems, and improve health status. Food assistance programs also include congregate and home-delivered meals for the elderly to reduce hunger and promote socialization and well-being for older individuals, and emergency food assistance in the form of commodities for individuals defined by their states as needy.

Education

The Federal Pell Grant Program is the largest education program for people with limited incomes, accounting for 58% of targeted federal education spending in FY2013 and ranking as the fifth largest program in this report. Pell Grants are one of several ways the federal government helps subsidize the costs of higher education for needy students. Other programs with similar goals include Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants and Federal Work-Study.⁸ In addition to direct assistance to students, the federal government provides institutional aid to help expand the capacity of colleges and universities that serve high proportions of low-income and minority students. Federal TRIO Programs offer grants to institutions of higher education and other organizations to motivate and support disadvantaged students as they move from high school through college. GEAR-UP serves low-income elementary and secondary school students who are at risk of dropping out, and aims to increase the number of such students who enter and succeed in higher education. College Access Challenge Grants pursue a similar goal, through partnerships between government agencies and philanthropic groups.

The second largest education program included in the report (also one of the 10 largest low-income programs) is Title I-A of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, which accounted for more than one-fourth of targeted federal education spending in FY2013. Title I-A provides grants to local educational agencies with high concentrations of disadvantaged children and aims to ensure that all children have an opportunity to obtain a high-quality education and reach at least minimum proficiency on challenging academic achievement standards. Separate programs have similar goals for children of migrant workers, Indian children, and students in rural school districts. The Bureau of Indian Education operates programs to meet the educational needs of Indian children living on or near reservations. Other elementary and secondary education programs aim to increase student achievement through improvements in teacher and principal quality and to improve teacher knowledge and student performance in mathematics and science.

Literacy is the focus of Adult Basic Education, which helps adults to become literate and obtain the skills necessary for employment and self-sufficiency and to become partners in their own children's educational development. Finally, 21^st Century Community Learning Centers are intended to provide a wide range of remedial education and academic enrichment opportunities during non-school hours for children in high-poverty and low-performing schools.

Housing and Development

The federal government supports the housing needs of low-income people primarily by subsidizing the cost of rental units in the private market. Section 8 housing vouchers and project-based rental assistance together accounted for nearly two-thirds of all housing and development spending in FY2013. (The voucher component of Section 8 is one of the 10 largest low-income programs.) The overarching goal of Section 8 is to provide low-income people with decent, safe, and sanitary housing. Public Housing, which represented 14% of spending in this category in FY2013, achieves a similar goal by making publicly owned rental units available to low-income tenants at affordable prices. The Public Housing account supports the capital needs and operating costs of publicly owned housing developments, as well as the HOPE VI program and Choice Neighborhoods, which demolish, rehabilitate, and replace distressed public housing units. Additional housing programs are intended to expand the supply of supportive housing for low-income elderly and disabled households, as well as individuals living with AIDS. Homeless Assistance Grants attempt to meet the needs of homeless individuals and families, including individuals with disabilities, for basic shelter, short-term and long-term housing, and related support services.

Two block grants -- HOME and the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) -- target federal assistance toward communities with high rates of poverty and aging housing stock (among other factors) to help meet the housing needs of low-income homeowners, homebuyers, and renters (HOME) and to expand the community's supply of decent housing and economic development activities (CDBG). An additional block grant provides housing assistance and helps develop private housing finance mechanisms on Indian lands.

To address housing needs in rural areas, loans are available to help low-income households purchase, build, or renovate homes, and rental subsidies are available for low-income tenants. Low-interest loans and grants also are available to support new and improved water and waste disposal facilities in low-income rural communities. Finally, the housing and development category includes the Public Works and Economic Development program, which provides grants to distressed communities to help them revitalize, expand, and upgrade their physical infrastructure to attract new industries, expand businesses, diversify their economies, and generate job and investment growth.

Social Services

The social services category is diverse and includes a wide range of activities to support low-income or otherwise vulnerable populations.⁹ Of spending categorized as social services in this report, the vast majority -- more than 90% in FY2013 -- is focused directly on children and youth or their families. Services funded by TANF are the largest single activity in this category, accounting for more than a quarter of the social services spending in this report. As noted in the earlier discussion of cash aid, TANF is often thought of as traditional welfare for poor families. However, states have flexibility in spending their TANF grants, and the majority of funds are used for noncash aid, including various social services for families with children. TANF spending also includes obligations under competitive grants for promotion of healthy marriage and responsible fatherhood.

Head Start is the second largest program in this category, accounting for more than 20% of social services spending for low-income populations. Head Start aims to promote school readiness for young children through a full array of educational, health, nutritional, social, and other services to children and their families. The Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF), accounting for 14% of social services spending in FY2013, subsidizes the cost of child care for low-income parents while they work or attend school. Additional programs targeted toward children and families include Child Support Enforcement, which assists custodial parents who are seeking child support from their children's noncustodial parent. Foster Care grants are used by states to provide temporary homes for children who cannot remain safely with their families; Adoption Assistance helps facilitate the adoption of children with special needs as defined by their state; and the Chafee Foster Care Independence Program helps current and former foster children transition to a self-sufficient adulthood. The Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program is intended to promote a range of outcomes, including maternal and newborn health, child protection and prevention of child injuries, school readiness and achievement, reduction in crime or domestic violence, and family economic self-sufficiency.

Of social services programs not specifically targeted toward children and families, the Social Services Block Grant (SSBG) is the largest and most flexible. The program supports a continuum of services to promote self-sufficiency, but decisions about target populations and services are left to the states. Other social services programs focus on specific target populations. For example, the Older Americans Act authorizes social services for the elderly and the Bureau of Indian Affairs provides various human services for American Indians. Programs that target services at the community level include the Community Services Block Grant (CSBG), which aims to reduce poverty and empower low-income individuals and families to become self-sufficient, and Emergency Food and Shelter Grants, which provide services for homeless and hungry individuals in high-need communities. Finally, the Legal Services Corporation attempts to ensure equal access to the justice system for people who are otherwise unable to afford legal counsel.

Employment and Training

Two programs serving disadvantaged youth comprised 43% of the FY2013 employment and training spending included in this report. Specifically, youth activities under the Workforce Investment Act (WIA)¹⁰ provide a variety of services to improve the educational and skill competencies of eligible youth and to develop connections with employers and mentoring opportunities with adults. Job Corps focuses on those disadvantaged youth who can benefit from an intensive residential program to become employable and productive. This category also includes work-related services for needy families with children under TANF, a small employment and training program for recipients of SNAP benefits, and a program that provides employability and related services to help refugees and other humanitarian entrants find jobs quickly. Remaining programs include WIA's adult activities program; Community Service Employment for Older Americans, which helps older individuals (age 55 or older) become self-sufficient through community service jobs and training; and Foster Grandparents, which provides stipends for low-income older individuals to provide services to children with special needs.

Energy Assistance

Two programs make up the energy assistance category. The Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) helps low-income households pay their heating and cooling expenses, and the Weatherization Assistance Program helps increase the energy efficiency of homes occupied by low-income people to reduce energy costs and improve health and safety.

Trends in Low-Income Spending by Category

Health care is by far the largest category of low-income spending, accounting for nearly half of all expenditures in each of the six years from FY2008 through FY2013. Cash aid has consistently been the second largest category (20% in FY2013), followed by food assistance (more than 14% in FY2013); however, spending for these two categories combined still falls short of spending for low-income health programs. Education, housing and development, and social services rank next in size, accounting for 7%, 6%, and 5%, respectively, of total low-income spending in FY2013. The last two categories -- employment and training and energy assistance -- each constituted less than 1% of low-income spending in FY2013. (See Figure 2 and Table 2.)

 

Figure 2. Percent of Federal Spending by Major Category on

 

Benefits and Services for People with Low Income, FY2008-FY2013

 

 

 

     Table 2. Percent of Federal Spending by Major Category on Benefits and

 

Figure 3. Federal Spending by Major Category on Benefits and

 

Services for People with Low Income, FY2008-FY2013

 

 

 

 

Figure 4. Federal Spending on Major Categories of Benefits and

 

Services for People with Low Income, FY2008-FY2013

 

 

 

Trends in Low-Income Spending by Budgetary Classification

Of total low-income spending in FY2013, about 82% was classified in budget terms as "mandatory" (also called "direct" spending) and the remainder as "discretionary."¹¹ This was a slight shift from FY2008, when 78% of low-income spending was mandatory and 22% was discretionary. In mandatory programs, many of which are entitlements to individuals or units of government, Congress defines eligibility and payment rules in authorizing laws.¹² These rules determine the amount of spending that will occur, so Congress generally must amend the authorizing law in order to control federal spending. The amount of federal spending for discretionary programs, on the other hand, is determined by Congress through the annual appropriations process.¹³

Mandatory spending may be structured as open-ended or capped. In an open-ended entitlement program, no predetermined ceiling is imposed on federal expenditures; instead, federal payments are made to all eligible beneficiaries for eligible expenditures as defined in law. (Medicaid is an example of an open-ended entitlement program.) In a capped program, the authorizing law limits the total amount of federal spending that can occur. (TANF is an example of a capped entitlement program.) Of mandatory spending discussed in this report, 90% was through open-ended programs in FY2013.

The pattern of mandatory versus discretionary spending differs by major category of benefits and services. The three largest categories -- health care, cash aid, and food assistance -- are dominated by mandatory spending, while the smaller categories (with the exception of social services) are primarily or exclusively discretionary. In the top three categories, spending occurs largely through open-ended entitlement programs. Social services spending is a mixture; about two-thirds of such spending in FY2013 was classified as mandatory and the rest discretionary. Of mandatory social services spending, most (about three-fourths) was capped and the balance open-ended.

Trends in Spending for the 10 Largest Programs

This report describes a large number of programs, but it is important to note that just a few account for the vast majority of spending. (See Figure 5.) The four largest programs accounted for nearly two-thirds (65%) of total low-income spending in FY2013, and the top 10 comprised almost 82%. The dominance of these large programs has grown somewhat since FY2008, when the same top four made up 61% of total low-income spending, and the top 10 accounted for 78%. Spending for Medicaid -- the single largest program -- went from 37% of the total in FY2008 to 39% in FY2013, and SNAP grew from 7% to 11%. (See Table 3.)

 

Figure 5. Spending for Federal Benefits and Services for People

 

with Low Income by Size of Program, FY2013

 

 

 

   Table 3. Spending for the 10 Largest Programs for People with Low Income,

Among the 10 largest programs, seven are entitlements, or mandatory spending programs. Of those seven, all but one are open-ended entitlements to individuals. As noted above, this means their spending levels are determined by the number of people who are eligible and apply for the program, rather than the amount Congress chooses to provide through the appropriations process. One mandatory programs -- TANF -- is a capped entitlement to states (rather than individuals), which means that states are entitled to receive a fixed amount each year that is established in the authorizing law. Table 4 provides an overview of key features of each of these top 10 programs.

               Table 4. Key Features of the 10 Largest Programs

Many low-income assistance programs target their benefits not only on the basis of financial need but also to certain populations, such as the aged, the disabled, or families with children. Other low-income assistance programs -- while not explicitly restricting their benefits to certain groups -- provide the bulk of assistance to them.

Figure 6 provides estimates of federal spending in FY2011 by population group under the 10 largest low-income assistance programs identified in the previous section. The analysis uses FY2011 because it is the latest year for which data to divide spending among population groups are available for Medicaid. Estimates are provided for federal spending under the top 10 programs for the aged, the disabled, families with children, and childless adults and couples. Childless adults and couples represent nonelderly nondisabled adults in families without children. For families with children and for childless adults and couples, additional estimates are made for those with and without earnings. The figure also provides detail on the type of assistance received by each population group (e.g., health, food, housing, cash).

As the figure shows, the population group benefitting from the most federal spending under the top 10 programs is the disabled, who received an estimated $208 billion in federal dollars in FY2011, or 33% of all federal spending under the 10 largest programs. Disabled individuals received $136 billion in health care assistance alone. The population group that received the second most federal dollars was families with children with earnings, whose federal spending from the top 10 programs totaled $171 billion. This included $77 billion in cash assistance from the two refundable tax credits (EITC and ACTC), which are targeted to low-income families with children and are restricted to such families with earnings.

The aged received $96 billion in low-income aid from the top 10 programs, predominantly in the health care category. Families with children but without wage earners received an estimated $61 billion from the top 10, largely from noncash programs. Childless adults received the least aid from the 10 largest programs; those with earnings received an estimated $9.7 billion in benefits and those without earnings an estimated $12.9 billion, mostly in the form of noncash benefits.

Pell Grants, one of the 10 largest low-income assistance programs, provided student aid in FY2011 totaling $41.5 billion, and grants to states for services (education and TANF services) totaled $23 billion. (These are shown in Figure 6 and Table 5 as "Education and Services," rather than in a specific population category.)

 

Figure 6. Estimated Federal Spending for 10 Largest Low-Income

 

Assistance Programs by Population Category, FY2011

 

 

 

Table 5 shows the estimates of federal spending for each of the top 10 low-income assistance programs by population category in FY2011. For two programs, all spending was categorized for a single population group; the ACTC is only available for families with children with earners, and Pell Grants are only available for college students (shown in the "Education and Services" category). For the other eight programs, spending was allocated among population groups based on available data. (For a discussion of the methodology used to prepare these estimates by population groups, see Appendix B.)

  Table 5. Estimated Federal Spending for the 10 Largest Low-Income Programs,

The following CRS reports provide related information on federal low-income policy, programs, and spending. Additional CRS reports are cited in footnotes, and each of the program fact sheets in Appendix D includes a reference to a relevant program-specific CRS report.

• CRS Report R41625, Federal Benefits and Services for People with Low Income: Programs, Policy, and Spending, FY2008-FY2009: includes a brief history of federal low-income policy; a detailed discussion of concepts used to define individual eligibility for benefits and services (e.g., federal poverty guidelines and others); a discussion of mechanisms used to target resources on the basis of need (e.g., formula allocation factors and cost-sharing rules); and a discussion of the types of federal grants (formula, competitive, direct benefits to individuals) used to provide assistance, and related policies such as matching requirements.

• CRS Report R41823, Low-Income Assistance Programs: Trends in Federal Spending: analyzes spending trends for the 10 largest low-income programs (similar but not identical to the top 10 programs identified in this report) from FY1962-FY2013, with projections through FY2024.

• CRS Report R43731, Poverty: Major Themes in Past Debates and Current Proposals: provides a short history of key federal policies enacted over the past century to address poverty, presents several overarching themes that have recurred in antipoverty policy debates over time, and highlights selected current proposals in the context of these themes.

• CRS Report RL33069, Poverty in the United States: 2013: presents detailed statistics on the incidence of poverty among various demographic groups and by geography, and compares measures of poverty under the official federal poverty guidelines and the "research supplemental poverty measure."

• CRS Report R41187, Poverty Measurement in the United States: History, Current Practice, and Proposed Changes: provides a history of the current official federal poverty measure, and discussion of alternatives.

Selection of Low-Income Programs

Programs were selected for inclusion in this report if they (1) have provisions that base an individual's eligibility or priority for service on a measure (or proxy) of low or limited income; (2) target resources in some way (e.g., through allocation formulas, variable matching rates) using a measure (or proxy) of low or limited income; or (3) prioritize services to low-income segments of a larger target population.

A few programs without an explicit low-income provision were included because either their target population is disproportionately poor or their purpose clearly indicates a presumption that participants will be low income. Such programs that serve disproportionately low-income people include the Indian Health Service, Homeless Assistance Grants, Indian Education programs, Title I Migrant Education, and Indian Human Services. Programs with purposes that presume a low-income target population include Adult Basic Education and Social Services Block Grants.

Federal student loan programs were considered for inclusion because they determine benefit levels through the same need-analysis system that is used for Pell Grants and several smaller postsecondary education programs. However, this system results in students from relatively well-off families receiving assistance, as there is no absolute income ceiling on eligibility. Pell Grants are structured in such a way that the majority of recipients are low-income and the lowest-income students receive the largest benefits. Student loan programs are not as strongly targeted and therefore are not included in the report.

On the other hand, deliberations about whether to include the Additional Child Tax Credit (ACTC) reached a different conclusion. The regular Child Tax Credit (CTC) is a nonrefundable credit and phases out at relatively high income levels. The ACTC is a refundable credit that allows families with no or insufficient tax liability to get all or part of the benefit they would otherwise receive from the CTC. Because of the refundable nature and other design features of the ACTC, it serves predominantly lower-income families. For example, for tax year 2012, 90% of returns that claimed the ACTC were filed by families with adjusted gross income (AGI) below $40,000 and 89% of the credit went to such families.¹⁵ Thus, the ACTC is included in the report.

Because the report includes only programs with direct spending, it does not include tax provisions, with the exception of direct spending for the refundable portion of the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and the refundable ACTC.

Finally, one program -- Developmental Disabilities Support and Advocacy Grants -- was included in the 2011 version of this report (CRS Report R41625) but dropped in the current version. Only one component of that program had a low-income targeting provision, and that component was below the $100 million threshold for inclusion in this analysis (see below).

Categorization of Programs

Most programs are easily assigned to broad categories, such as health, cash aid, food assistance, or education. A few, however, have multiple purposes or allowable activities. For some of these programs, spending can be disaggregated into the relevant categories. For example, using state reporting of actual expenditures, it is possible to estimate the amount of TANF obligations attributable to cash aid, social services, and employment and training. Other programs cannot be disaggregated and must be assigned to a single category. For example, Transitional Cash and Medical Services for Refugees was categorized as health care, and Indian Human Services was categorized as social services although it also provides cash and housing assistance.

The social services category, in general, is not well-defined and some analysts might assign some programs -- and therefore dollars -- differently. Head Start, for example, could be considered an education program, since its purpose is to promote school readiness; however, it supports a very broad range of activities (including activities for children ages 0-3 in its Early Head Start component) that can best be characterized collectively as social services. Foster Care and Adoption Assistance both give cash to families or other care providers, but income support is not these programs' purpose or sole use of funding. Foster Care subsidizes maintenance payments and administrative activities (including case planning) on behalf of children who cannot remain safely at home, and Adoption Assistance helps facilitate the adoption of children who would otherwise lack permanent homes. Thus, these programs were categorized as social services and not cash assistance. Likewise, Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting is included in social services, rather than health care, because of the broad range of its intended purposes.

Selection of Spending Measure

New obligations incurred in the indicated fiscal year were chosen as the measure of spending for this report, although for many programs readers may be more accustomed to seeing appropriations (budget authority) or outlays. These spending concepts are related. Congress and the President enact budget authority through appropriations measures or other authorizing laws. Budget authority in turn allows federal agencies to incur obligations, through actions such as entering into contracts, employing personnel, and submitting purchase orders. Outlays represent the actual payment of these obligations, usually in the form of electronic transfers or checks issued by the Treasury Department.¹⁶ Obligations are used in this report because they are the most consistent measure available at the necessary level of detail for the majority of programs. The source of obligations data is the U.S. Budget Appendix for the second fiscal year (e.g., FY2015 budget appendix for final FY2013 obligations, FY2014 budget appendix for final FY2012 obligations, etc.).

Obligations were either not available or not appropriate for a small number of programs. Because obligations were not available at the necessary program level, appropriations were used for the following: Transitional Cash and Medical Services for Refugees, Breast/Cervical Cancer Early Detection, the Title I Migrant Education Program, Social Services and Targeted Assistance for Refugees, and Foster Grandparents.

For veterans' medical care, the Budget Appendix shows obligations for the entire program, not solely the income-tested component. Thus, estimated obligations for Priority Group 5 veterans (needy veterans without service-connected disabilities) were calculated from Department of Veterans Affairs data on obligations for Priority Groups 1-6 and 7-8 and the number of patients receiving care by individual priority group.

The Budget Appendix also does not show obligations solely for the low-income subsidy portion of the Medicare Part D prescription drug program. Therefore, the report uses aggregate reimbursements for the low-income subsidy for the calendar year (instead of fiscal year), available from the annual report of the Medicare trustees.¹⁷

As noted above, TANF obligations provided in the Budget Appendix were disaggregated into the categories of cash aid, social services, and employment and training, based on states' reporting to the Department of Health and Human Services of their actual expenditures.

The Budget Appendix includes obligations for the Section 502 single-family rural housing loan program in combination with other programs in an aggregate amount for the Rural Housing Insurance Fund Account. Thus, loan subsidy budget authority (also found in the Budget Appendix) was used for the Section 502 program in this version of the report. In the 2011 version, loan subsidy outlays were used, adjusted for re-estimates provided in the Federal Credit Supplement to the U.S. Budget for the relevant years; however, budget authority has now been chosen as a better measure.

Finally, the report uses obligations from the Budget Appendix for the ACTC in FY2009-FY2013. However, for FY2008, ACTC obligations shown in the Budget Appendix also include an unspecified amount for a one-time $300 per child tax rebate, authorized by the Economic Stimulus Act of 2008 (P.L. 110-185), which was not targeted on low-income families. That figure, which overstates the amount spent for the ACTC alone, was used in the 2011 version of this report with appropriate caveats. For the current version, however, data from the Internal Revenue Service Statistics of Income for tax year 2007 are used to provide a more accurate picture of the ACTC in FY2008.

Spending Threshold

Programs are included in this report if they had obligations in any year from FY2008 through FY2013 of at least $100 million. To simplify the analysis without significantly changing the overall picture, smaller programs were excluded, even if they met the low-income criteria. A few programs had spending above the threshold in some years but not in others.¹⁸ Spending totals cited throughout this report include these programs only for the years in which their obligations equaled or exceeded $100 million. In other words, each year's spending total is a snapshot of spending in that year for low-income programs that -- in that year -- had obligations totaling at least $100 million. (See Table C-1 for all spending amounts for all programs in each year.)

Comparison with Predecessor CRS Report Series

From 1979 to 2006, the Congressional Research Service (CRS) issued a series of reports, typically every other year, called Cash and Noncash Benefits for Persons with Limited Income. The series was conceived and produced (except for the last edition in 2006) by Vee Burke, Specialist in Social Policy, who retired from CRS in 2004. In 2011, CRS published CRS Report R41625, Federal Benefits and Services for People with Low Income: Programs, Policy, and Spending, FY2008-FY2009, as a replacement for the Cash and Noncash series. The current report is an update to the 2011 version.

The new report series uses different methodologies to select and categorize programs and measure spending; therefore, it cannot be considered an update of Cash and Noncash for various reasons. For example, the older series did not include certain programs that are now included, such as the low-income subsidy under Medicare Part D, Title I-A of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, and Community Development Block Grants. The older series also had no minimum spending threshold, so it included smaller programs that are not included here. In addition, the older series included student loans, which are no longer included for reasons explained above. Several programs were also categorized differently in the previous series (e.g., Head Start was categorized as education, Foster Care and Adoption Assistance as cash aid, and Homeless Assistance Grants as social services). The older series used different measures of spending for different programs, while the new series uses obligations wherever possible. The older series also provided estimates of state-local spending, which are not included here.

Finally, the older series traced spending back to 1968, which is beyond the scope of the current series. Changes in programs and appropriations accounts over time make it virtually impossible to trace obligations backward with precision. However, an analysis of long-term spending trends for 10 major needs-tested programs, using outlays, is available in CRS Report R41823, Low-Income Assistance Programs: Trends in Federal Spending, by Gene Falk.

The allocations of federal spending in FY2011 under the 10 largest low-income programs by population groups (see "Spending for the 10 Largest Programs by Population") are estimates based on a specific methodology and available data. These estimates also rely upon certain simplifying assumptions and hence, represent an approximate division of spending among the population groups.

Note that for most programs, data collected in conjunction with the administration of a program (administrative data) were used as the basis of making the allocations among population groups. However, programs use different definitions of "elderly" and "disabled" to determine eligibility and program requirements, so the population groupings are not consistent among all programs. For example, Medicaid uses age 65 to determine who is elderly, while a person is considered elderly for purposes of the SNAP program at age 60.

Medicaid

As noted earlier, the analysis uses FY2011 because it is the latest year for which data to divide spending among population groups are available for Medicaid. The allocation of Medicaid spending is based on a combination of administrative data and data from the Census Bureau's March 2011 Current Population Survey (CPS). FY2011 Medicaid administrative data report that, of total Medicaid expenditures in that year, 23% was received by the elderly and 43% by disabled recipients. These percentages were directly used to allocate federal Medicaid spending among those two population categories.

However, Medicaid administrative data are not sufficient for allocating spending to the population groups representing nonelderly and nondisabled beneficiaries. (For example, they do not include information on whether a family had earnings.) An analysis of March 2011 CPS data was used to determine the allocation of federal spending among those population groups. The CPS identifies individuals covered by Medicaid, and the Census Bureau provides an estimate of the "market value" of Medicaid for those covered.²⁰ The CPS also provides background demographic and economic characteristics of the population, including age, disability, whether the individual is in a family with children, and whether the individual was working or not. These background characteristics were used to identify Medicaid beneficiaries in families with children, as well as childless adult recipients (not aged or disabled) and whether any adult (aged 18 or older) in the family was employed in March 2011. Total Medicaid "market values" were computed for each population category, which determined each population category's share of total Medicaid market values for the nonelderly, nondisabled population. These shares were then applied to the 34% of Medicaid spending that remained, after spending was allocated to the elderly and disabled, to determine how much federal Medicaid spending was allocated to the population categories of families with children and childless adults and couples.

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program

The allocation of federal SNAP spending is based on an analysis of the FY2011 SNAP Quality Control Data files, administrative data that include information on the demographic and economic characteristics of SNAP participants and households. The information is for the full fiscal year, but the data are collected monthly and tabulations of them represent a monthly average.

SNAP households were placed into six categories that were totally inclusive and mutually exclusive in the following order: households with an aged member, households with a disabled member, households with children and earnings, households with children without earnings, childless adults or couples with earnings, childless adults or couples without earnings. If a household could be classified in multiple categories, it was placed in the first category for which it met criteria for inclusion. For example, if the household had an aged member but also had children, it was placed in the "aged" category.

Supplemental Security Income

The allocation of federal SSI spending to the elderly and disabled is based on administrative data collected and published by the Social Security Administration. The share of spending for the aged and disabled in this report are from Table 2, SSI Annual Statistical Report, 2013.

Earned Income Tax Credit

For the purpose of this report, EITC spending reflects obligations for the refundable portion of the tax credit. The Internal Revenue Service collects and publishes information on the refundable portion of the EITC in its Statistics of Income (SOI) data, derived from information on filed tax forms. The information in this report is based on the division of the refundable portion of the EITC for tax year 2010 (which would be paid in FY2011) between those filers who claimed the credit based on the presence of children versus those who claimed the credit based on having no children.

Medicare Part D Low-Income Subsidy

The allocation of the Medicare Part D prescription drug Low-Income Subsidy between the elderly and disabled is based on unpublished information obtained by CRS from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). They estimated that the elderly account for 55% of the total low-income subsidy, with the disabled accounting for the remaining 45% of the subsidy.

Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers²¹

The allocation of Section 8 spending among the population groups is based on an analysis of administrative data collected by the Department of Housing and Urban Development. FY2011 data were not available for Section 8; thus FY2010 data were used for these estimates. As with the SNAP information, households were categorized into population groups in the following order: households with an elderly member; households with a disabled head or child; households with children with earnings; households with children without earnings; households without children (or aged or disabled members) with earnings; and households without children (or aged or disabled members) without earnings.

The Section 8 administrative data use an annual accounting period, representing the characteristics of a household over a year rather than in a month. Thus, families with earnings represent those who had any earnings over a year, rather than earnings in a month. Additionally, the disability information available for Section 8 households was more limited than that for SNAP, with the data only permitting identification of households with a disabled head or disabled child. Rent subsidies were tallied for each of these population shares, with federal Section 8 spending allocated based on each population's share of total subsidies.

Temporary Assistance for Needy Families

This report divides TANF spending among three categories: cash assistance, social services, and employment and training. For the analysis of spending by population group, social services and employment and training expenditures were placed in the "Education/Services" category.

TANF cash assistance was allocated among the population groups based on TANF administrative data, which include information on demographic and other characteristics of families receiving TANF cash assistance. The information is for the full fiscal year, but the data are collected monthly and tabulations of them represent a monthly average. Using these data, TANF families were classified into three population groups:

• Disabled, representing families with a parent receiving SSI (not TANF cash), and a cash supplement paid on behalf of the children in the family from TANF;

• Families with children with earnings, representing those families with adult TANF recipients who had earnings;

• Families with children without earnings, representing families with adult TANF recipients who had no earnings and families without adult recipients (other than those with parents receiving SSI).

The following three tables provide specific information about programs included in this report. Programs are organized by category and listed within categories according to their Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) number. (Program fact sheets in Appendix D are presented in the same sequence.)

Table C-1 shows obligations (or another measure of spending, as noted) for each program from FY2008 through FY2013. ARRA amounts are included in the totals for each program, and are also shown in separate columns. The table also indicates the federal administering agency for each program.

Table C-2 identifies, for each program, the general target population and the concept(s) used to determine individual income eligibility and (if relevant) the concept used to target federal resources broadly based on need. The table indicates the general concept used but not the specific application. For example, the table might indicate that federal poverty guidelines (FPG) are used as a concept in determining income eligibility for a particular program, but it does not indicate the specific percent of FPG that is used. Likewise, the table might show that a program uses formula allocation factors to direct federal resources toward areas with the greatest need, but it does not identify the specific factors or their weighting. Readers are referred to the fact sheets in Appendix D, relevant CRS reports, or the statutes themselves for these details.

Table C-3 shows the type of federal assistance provided (typically formula grants, competitive or discretionary grants, or direct benefits) and the immediate recipients of this assistance. As noted in the table, "immediate" recipient refers to the level of government or the organization that directly receives the federal grant or award. Many programs require that funds be further distributed (by formula or other criteria) to other units of government or organizations. For example, federal grants may be awarded by formula to states, but states are then required to subaward these funds to local governments or other entities. This table only shows the "immediate" grantee. The table also indicates whether a program has provisions for participation by U.S. territories or residents or organizations located within the territories. The specific details of these provisions are not provided in the table; readers are referred to statutory language or the federal agency that administers the program for this information.

Notes: FPG = federal poverty guidelines. AMI = area median income. SMI = state median income. LLSIL = lower living standard income levels.

Notes: "Immediate" grantee refers to the level of government or other organization that directly receives the grant or award from the federal government. Many programs require that funds be further distributed (by formula or other criteria) to other units of government or organizations. For example, federal grants may be awarded by formula to states, but states are then required to subaward these funds to local governments or other entities. This table only shows the "immediate" grantee. "States" include the District of Columbia.

The following fact sheets provide brief information about each program included in this report's analysis. Efforts were made to present the information in a relatively consistent manner; however, the programs are sufficiently different that the fact sheets vary in scope and level of detail. Readers should note that the number of programs included in this report is not necessarily meaningful. While fact sheets are presented for 87 "programs," some could have been characterized as more than one program and others could have been consolidated.

For each program, the following information is provided: Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) number(s); statutory and regulatory citations; the name of the federal administering agency and (where relevant) the specific office within that agency; the program's purpose; the type of benefit or service provided; criteria used to determine individual eligibility; the form and recipient of federal assistance (note that "state" includes the District of Columbia); the allocation formula used if relevant; any matching or related nonfederal spending requirements; the amount of new obligations in FY2013; the budgetary classification of the program's spending; some limited detail on program participation; and citations to relevant CRS reports. Information was derived from statutes, regulations, agency websites, and budget documents. Programs are organized by category, and presented in order of their CFDA number. (Note that some programs have multiple CFDA numbers; they may not necessarily be inclusive of all CFDA numbers associated with a particular program.)

Readers should note that participation data are provided to give a sense of scope for each program; however, these data use different time periods and units of measurement and therefore are not consistent from one program to another. They should not be totaled or compared.

Only selected information is included in these fact sheets. Programs are generally described as they existed in FY2013, with references to major enacted changes that are effective in subsequent years. Certain programs are no longer funded and are described as they existed in their final year. For complete information about a particular program of interest, readers are referred to the legal citations provided, the federal administering agency, or the identified CRS report(s).

The following table provides a list of programs and page numbers, for easier reference to individual program fact sheets.

       Table D-1. Guide to Program Fact Sheets and Page Numbers

Medical Care for Veterans without Service-Connected Disability (CFDA #64.009)

Authority: Statute: 38 U.S.C. Part 2, Chapter 17. Regulations: 38 C.F.R. Part 17.

Federal administering agency: Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration.

Purpose of program: To provide primary care, specialized care, and related social and support services to eligible veterans.

Benefit/service: Standardized medical benefits package including preventive services, such as immunizations, screening tests, and health education and training classes; primary health care diagnosis and treatment, prescription drugs, comprehensive rehabilitative services, mental health services, including professional counseling, home health care, respite (inpatient), hospice and palliative care; and emergency care. Some veterans also may receive long-term care, including nursing home care, domiciliary care, adult day care, and limited dental care.

Individual eligibility criteria: In general, eligibility for VA health care is based on veteran status, service-connected disabilities or exposures, and other factors such as veterans who were former prisoners of war or who are awarded the Purple Heart. Veterans with no service-connected conditions and who are Medicaid-eligible, or who have income below a certain VA means-test threshold and below a median income threshold for the geographic area in which they live are eligible to enroll in the VA health care system. These veterans are classified as Priority Group 5 veterans.

Form and recipient of federal assistance: Services are provided directly by the VA in VA facilities or through contracts.

Allocation formula: Not applicable.

Matching or related requirements: None.

New obligations (FY2013): $12,546 million (estimated obligations on behalf of Priority Group 5 veterans).

Budgetary classification: Discretionary.

Participation data (most recent available): In FY2013, 1,409,341 Priority Group 5 veteran patients received care from the VA.

CRS reports: CRS Report R43547, Veterans' Medical Care: FY2015 Appropriations, by Sidath Viranga Panangala; and CRS Report R42747, Health Care for Veterans: Answers to Frequently Asked Questions, by Sidath Viranga Panangala and Erin Bagalman.

Family Planning (CFDA #93.217)

Authority: Statute: Title X of the Public Health Service Act, established in the Family Planning and Services and Population Research Act of 1970 (P.L. 91-572); 42 U.S.C. 300 to 300a-6. Regulations: 42 C.F.R. Part 59.

Federal administering agency: Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health, Office of Population Affairs, Office of Family Planning.

Purpose of program: To assist individuals to determine freely the number and spacing of their children through the provision of education, counseling, and medical services.

Benefit/service: A broad range of family planning methods and services (including natural family planning methods, infertility services, and services for adolescents). Family planning services include clinical family planning and related preventive health services; information, education and counseling related to family planning; and referral services. Services are free for persons whose income does not exceed federal poverty guidelines (unless covered by Medicaid or other health insurers) and are provided on a sliding fee scale basis for those with incomes between 100% and 250% of federal poverty guidelines.

Individual eligibility criteria: Priority is given to individuals from low-income families, defined in regulation as individuals whose family income does not exceed 100% of federal poverty guidelines, and individuals whose family income exceeds 100% of federal poverty guidelines but who otherwise are unable to afford family planning services.

Form and recipient of federal assistance: Competitive grants to public and nonprofit agencies. Allows participation by agencies in territories (American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Outlying Islands, the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, Republic of Palau, and the U.S. Virgin Islands).

Allocation formula: Not applicable.

Matching or related requirements: None. However, regulations provide that no project may be fully supported by Title X funds.

New obligations (FY2013): $278 million.

Budgetary classification: Discretionary.

Participation data (most recent available): In calendar year 2012, a total of 4.764 million users were served by Title X-funded sites.

CRS report: CRS Report RL33644, Title X (Public Health Service Act) Family Planning Program, by Angela Napili.

Consolidated Health Centers (CFDA #93.224)

Authority: Statute: Section 330 of the Public Health Service Act, established by the Health Centers Consolidation Act of 1996 (P.L. 104-299) and most recently reauthorized by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (P.L. 111-148); 42 U.S.C. 254b. Regulations: 42 C.F.R. Subpart 51c and 42 C.F.R. Parts 56.201-56.604.

Federal administering agency: Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration, Bureau of Primary Health Care.

Purpose of program: To provide health care services to groups that are determined to be medically underserved.

Benefit/service: Primary and additional health care services defined in statute, delivered by community health centers, migrant health centers, health centers for the homeless, and health centers for residents of public housing.

Individual eligibility criteria: The statute defines "medically underserved" as "the population of an urban or rural area designated by the Secretary as an area with a shortage of personal health services or a population group designated by the Secretary as having a shortage of such services." Regulations provide that, in designating these populations, the Secretary may consider economic factors, such as the percentage of the population with incomes below poverty. Grant funds may be used to pay the full cost of services to individuals and families with income at or below federal poverty guidelines; services are provided on a sliding fee scale basis for those with incomes between 100% and 200% of federal poverty guidelines and no discount is provided for those with incomes above 200% of poverty.

Form and recipient of federal assistance: Competitive grants to public and private nonprofit entities.

Allocation formula: Not applicable.

Matching or related requirements: None. Grantees are expected to collect fees from third-party payors, such as Medicare, Medicaid, and private health insurance; centers may also collect fees from patients with family income above the federal poverty guidelines; and centers may also receive funding from state, local and other federal sources. For grants serving certain populations, federal funds must supplement and not supplant other funds used by the health center to serve the same population.

New obligations (FY2013): $2,882 million.

Budgetary classification: Discretionary.

Participation data (most recent available): In FY2012, 2.1 million patients were served.

CRS reports: CRS Report R43304, Public Health Service Agencies: Overview and Funding, coordinated by C. Stephen Redhead; and CRS Report RL32046, Federal Health Centers Program, by Barbara English.

State Grants and Demonstrations (includes CFDA #93.536, #93.537, #93.767, #93.784, #93.791)

Authority: Statute: grants and demonstrations with FY2013 obligations include Money Follows the Person (MFP) Rebalancing Demonstration, Section 6071 of the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 (P.L. 109-171) as amended by Section 2403 of the Affordable Care Act (P.L. 111-148); Medicaid Integrity Program (MIP), Section 1936 of the Social Security Act as established by Section 6034 of the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 (P.L. 109-171); Grants to Improve Outreach and Enrollment, Section 201 of the Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act (CHIPRA, P.L. 111-3) and Section 10203 of the Affordable Care Act (P.L. 111-48); Medicaid Incentives for Prevention of Chronic Disease Demonstration Project, Section 4108 of the Affordable Care Act (P.L. 111-148); Emergency Health Services (EHS) Furnished to Undocumented Aliens, Section 1011 of the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 (P.L. 108-73); Medicaid Emergency Psychiatric Demonstration, Section 2707 of the Affordable Care Act (P.L. 111-148). Regulations: no program-specific regulations.

Federal administering agency: Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

Purpose of program: MFP: to help states rebalance their long-term services and supports programs to increase use of home and community-based services rather than institutional long-term care services. MIP: to reduce fraud, waste, and abuse in Medicaid. Outreach and Enrollment Grants: to increase enrollment and participation of children who are eligible for Medicaid or the State Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) but not enrolled. Prevention of Chronic Disease: to provide incentives for Medicaid beneficiaries to participate in programs to promote healthy lifestyles. EHS: to reimburse states for costs of emergency care provided to unauthorized aliens. Emergency Psychiatric Demonstration: to demonstrate impact of reimbursing institutions for mental disease for services to Medicaid-eligible individuals aged 21-64.

Benefit/service: MFP: home and community-based long-term care services, including home health and personal care services. MIP: not applicable. Outreach and Enrollment: not applicable. Prevention of Chronic Disease: comprehensive, evidence-based programs to promote healthy lifestyles. EHS: emergency health services provided by hospitals, physicians, and ambulance suppliers. Emergency Psychiatric Demonstration: services of residential institutions for mental disease.

Individual eligibility criteria: MFP: certain Medicaid beneficiaries residing in inpatient facilities who would continue to require the level of care provided by such facilities without provision of home and community-based long-term care services. MIP: not applicable. Outreach and Enrollment: as provided under Medicaid and CHIP. Prevention of Chronic Disease: Medicaid beneficiaries. EHS: unauthorized aliens who would otherwise be eligible for Medicaid, and certain parolees and Mexican citizens. Emergency Psychiatric Demonstration: Medicaid-eligible individuals aged 21-64 who require medical assistance to stabilize a psychiatric emergency medical condition.

Form and recipient of federal assistance: MFP: competitive grants to states. MIP: not applicable. Outreach and Enrollment: competitive grants to states, local governments, community-based organizations, and tribal entities. Prevention of Chronic Disease: competitive grants to states. EHS: direct reimbursements to providers. Emergency Psychiatric Demonstration: competitive grants to states.

Allocation formula: EHS: payments are made directly to providers from amounts reserved for states; two-thirds of funds are allocated among states based on their relative percentage of total undocumented aliens and the remaining third is allocated to the six states with the largest number of undocumented alien apprehensions. Not applicable for other programs.

Matching or related requirements: MFP: an enhanced federal medical assistance percentage (FMAP) applies. Not applicable for other programs.

New obligations (FY2013): $534 million. (MFP: $344 million. MIP: $102 million. Outreach and Enrollment: $34 million. Prevention of Chronic Disease: $23 million. EHS: $16 million. Emergency Psychiatric Demonstration: $14 million.)

Budgetary classification: Mandatory.

Participation data (most recent available): MFP: As of December 2013, about 41,000 individuals had been transitioned out of institutional settings. MIP: not applicable. Outreach and Enrollment: no data available. Prevention of Chronic Disease: As of August 31, 2013, there were 7,936 participants in 10 participating states. EHS: As of November 2013, payments had been made to 2,265 hospitals, 49,505 physicians, and 538 ambulance providers. Emergency Psychiatric Demonstration: As of June 30, 2013, there were 2,791 participants.

CRS reports: CRS Report R41210, Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) Provisions in ACA: Summary and Timeline, by Evelyne P. Baumrucker et al., and CRS Report R43328, Medicaid Coverage of Long-Term Services and Supports, by Kirsten J. Colello.

Transitional Cash and Medical Services to Refugees (CFDA #93.566)

Authority: Statute: Title IV, Chapter 2 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, established by the Refugee Act of 1979 (P.L. 96-212) and most recently reauthorized by P.L. 106-104; 8 U.S.C. 1521-1524. Regulations: 45 C.F.R. Parts 400-401.

Federal administering agency: Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Refugee Resettlement.

Purpose of program: To provide for the effective resettlement of refugees and to assist them to achieve economic self-sufficiency as quickly as possible.

Benefit/service: Cash payments to eligible individuals that are at least equal to the payment rate to a family of the same size under the state's Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program; and medical benefits, through payments to doctors, hospitals and pharmacists. Those eligible for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) may receive refugee cash assistance while their SSI applications are pending.

Individual eligibility criteria: Adult refugees, asylees, other specified humanitarian cases, and trafficking victims who meet the income and asset tests for TANF or Medicaid but who are not categorically eligible for those programs; and unaccompanied refugee minor children.

Form and recipient of federal assistance: Formula grants to states, and discretionary grants to state-alternative programs and voluntary agencies. Allows participation by territories (American Samoa, Guam, Northern Marianas, Puerto Rico, the Trust Territories of the Pacific, and the U.S. Virgin Islands).

Allocation formula: Formula funds are allocated to states based on their estimates of eligible expenditures.

Matching or related requirements: No matching requirements for formula grants. Voluntary agencies receiving discretionary grants must provide a $1 match for each 2 federal dollars.

New obligations (FY2013): $401 million (appropriations).

Budgetary classification: Discretionary.

Participation data (most recent available): No data available.

CRS report: CRS Report RL31269, Refugee Admissions and Resettlement Policy, by Andorra Bruno.

State Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) (CFDA #93.767)

Authority: Statute: Title XXI of the Social Security Act, established by the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 (P.L. 105-33), reauthorized by the Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009 (CHIPRA, P.L. 111-3), and most recently extended through FY2015 by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA; P.L. 111-148, as amended); 42 U.S.C. 1397aa-mm. Regulations: 42 C.F.R. Part 457.

Federal administering agency: Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

Purpose of program: To provide health coverage to uninsured, low-income children in an effective and efficient manner that is coordinated with other sources of health benefits coverage for children.

Benefit/service: Health care coverage is available through expansion of a state's existing Medicaid program, creation of a separate CHIP program, or a combination of both approaches where the state operates a CHIP Medicaid expansion and one or more separate CHIP programs concurrently. States that use the CHIP Medicaid expansion option must provide the full range of mandatory Medicaid benefits as well as all optional services specified in their state Medicaid plans. Alternatively, states may enroll CHIP Medicaid expansion children in Alternative Benefit Plans, which must include the same "essential health benefits" provided in plans available through the health insurance exchanges established under the ACA. All CHIP Medicaid expansion children are entitled to Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnostic, and Treatment (EPSDT) coverage, which effectively eliminates any state-defined limits on the amount, duration, and scope of any benefit listed in Medicaid statute. CHIP Medicaid expansion programs must follow Medicaid's cost-sharing rules which generally exempt children from program participation fees and service-related cost-sharing. In general, for separate CHIP programs under which the majority of children are enrolled, states may offer one of three benefit options. As one option, states may elect to provide one of the following "benchmark" benefit packages: (1) the standard Blue Cross/Blue Shield preferred provider plan offered under the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP), (2) the health coverage that is offered and generally available to state employees, and (3) the health coverage that is offered by a health maintenance organization (HMO) with the largest commercial (non-Medicaid) enrollment in the state. As a second option, states may elect to offer "benchmark-equivalent" coverage with the same actuarial value as one of the benchmark packages listed above. As a third option, states may elect to offer "Secretary-approved" coverage for which benefits are appropriate for the target population. States with separate CHIP programs may vary cost-sharing requirements by family income, but the total annual aggregate cost-sharing (including premiums, copayments, and similar charges) for a family may not exceed 5% of total income in a year, and certain services such as preventive care are exempt from cost-sharing. Under certain conditions, states may also provide premium assistance for health insurance offered through private insurance arrangements for Medicaid children (including CHIP children) and their parents. States may seek CMS approval to waive many of the basic benefit rules described above to conduct demonstration projects under the Section 1115 authority that test alternative methods of meeting the overall purpose of CHIP.

Individual eligibility criteria: Target populations are defined by states within federal parameters. Children must be under age 19, lack health insurance, and not be qualified for regular Medicaid. States may set the upper income limit for targeted children at up to 200% of federal poverty guidelines or 50 percentage points above the applicable pre-CHIP (1997) Medicaid income level. States may seek federal approval to serve higher-income children. States also may cover pregnant women who lack health insurance and meet specified income thresholds. The ACA requires states to maintain CHIP child eligibility standards (as of March 23, 2010) through September 30, 2019, as a condition for receiving payments under Medicaid. Beginning January 1, 2014, in determining CHIP eligibility, states must use modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) income counting rules, which include a standard 5% income disregard. Also beginning January 1, 2014, states are required to transition CHIP children ages 6 through 18 in families with MAGI income less than 133% of federal poverty guidelines to Medicaid.

Form and recipient of federal assistance: Formula grants to states. Allows participation by territories (American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands).

Allocation formula: The national appropriation amount is set in statute and is the overall annual ceiling on federal funds available for CHIP in a fiscal year. The law calculates allotment amounts for each state for the federal share of their CHIP expenditures, which they will receive unless the national appropriation is inadequate. The allotment formula is based primarily on states' past and/or projected federal CHIP spending (depending on the year) increased by a growth factor. Annual allotments are available for two years, with unspent funds available for redistribution to shortfall states.

Matching or related requirements: State expenditures are matched at an "enhanced" federal medical assistance percentage (E-FMAP). The E-FMAP for CHIP lowers the state's share of CHIP expenditures by 30% compared to the regular Medicaid FMAP. The CHIP E-FMAP rate is subject to a ceiling of 85% and a floor of 65%. From FY2016 through FY2019, the ACA increases the E-FMAP rate by 23 percentage points (not to exceed 100%) for most CHIP expenditures. This will increase the statutory range of the E-FMAP rate to 88% through 100%.

New obligations (FY2013): $9,357 million.

Budgetary classification: Mandatory (capped entitlement to states).

Participation data (most recent available): During FY2013, the total number of children ever enrolled during the year was 8,130,793; and the total number of adults ever enrolled during the year was 219,473.

CRS reports: CRS Report R43627, State Children's Health Insurance Program: An Overview, by Evelyne P. Baumrucker and Alison Mitchell; CRS Report R41210, Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) Provisions in ACA: Summary and Timeline, by Evelyne P. Baumrucker et al.; and CRS Report R40226, P.L. 111-3: The Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009, by Evelyne P. Baumrucker, Elicia J. Herz, and Jane G. Gravelle.

Voluntary Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit -- Low-Income Subsidy (CFDA #93.770)

Authority: Statute: Part D of Title XVIII of the Social Security Act, established by the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement and Modernization Act of 2003 (P.L. 108-173); 42 U.S.C. 1395w-101-152. Regulations: 42 C.F.R. Part 423.

Federal administering agency: Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, and Social Security Administration.

Purpose of program: To provide low-income seniors and people with disabilities with comprehensive prescription drug benefits.

Benefit/service: Prescription drug coverage with reduced premiums, copayments and other out-of-pocket expenses.

Individual eligibility criteria: Individuals with incomes below 150% of federal poverty guidelines and limited resources are eligible for subsidized prescription drug coverage. Those with incomes no higher than 135% of federal poverty guidelines receive the highest level of subsidy. Certain individuals are automatically eligible: those also eligible for Medicaid (i.e., "dual eligibles"); Medicare Savings Program recipients; and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipients.

Form and recipient of federal assistance: Contracts with participating prescription drug plans; payments are made to plans for the monthly premiums, deductibles and coverage gap expenses of low-income subsidy beneficiaries.

Allocation formula: Not applicable.

Matching or related requirements: Not applicable.

New obligations (FY2013): $22,400 million (aggregate reimbursements under Low-Income Subsidy in calendar year 2013).

Budgetary classification: Mandatory (entitlement to individuals).

Participation data (most recent available): In calendar year 2013, 11.5 million beneficiaries received low-income subsidies.

CRS report: CRS Report R40611, Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Benefit, by Suzanne M. Kirchhoff and Patricia A. Davis.

Medicaid (CFDA #93.778)

Authority: Statute: Title XIX of the Social Security Act, established by the Social Security Amendments of 1965 (P.L. 89-97); 42 U.S.C. 1396 to 1396w-5. Regulations: 42 C.F.R. Parts 430-456.

Federal administering agency: Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

Purpose of program: To provide medical assistance to families with dependent children and aged, blind or disabled individuals who have insufficient income and resources to afford necessary medical care, and to provide rehabilitation and other services to help such families and individuals achieve independence and self-care.

Benefit/service: Federal law provides two primary benefit packages for state Medicaid programs: traditional benefits and alternative benefit plans (ABPs). In addition, states can use waiver authority (for example, under Section 1115 of the Social Security Act) to tailor benefit packages to specified Medicaid enrollee groups. Under the traditional Medicaid benefits package, federal law requires states to cover certain services; other services may be offered at state option. Examples of mandatory services for most eligibility groups include inpatient and outpatient hospital services, services provided by qualified federal health centers and free-standing birth clinics, laboratory and x-ray services, physician services, pregnancy-related services, tobacco cessation services for pregnant women, family planning, non-emergency transportation, nursing facility services for individuals 21 and older, and home health care for those entitled to nursing home care. Examples of optional services provided for most eligibility groups in many states include prescription drugs, physician-directed clinic services, other licensed practitioners (e.g., optometrists, podiatrists, psychologists), inpatient psychiatric care for the elderly and individuals under age 21, nursing facility services for individuals under age 21, physical therapy, and prosthetic devices. As an alternative to traditional benefits, states have the option to provide alternative benefit plans (ABPs) to state-specified groups. ABPs may cover fewer benefits than traditional Medicaid, but must cover at least the 10 "essential health benefits" required of plans in the health insurance exchanges established under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA). Under both traditional benefits and ABPs, most Medicaid children under age 21 are entitled to Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnostic and Treatment (EPSDT) services, which include well-child visits, immunizations, screening services at regular intervals, and medical care that is necessary to correct or ameliorate identified conditions. Beginning January 1, 2014, states that implement the ACA Medicaid expansion must provide ABPs to the newly eligible enrollees (with exceptions for special-needs subgroups).

Individual eligibility criteria: Individuals must meet financial (i.e., income and sometimes resource) and nonfinancial (i.e., categorical) requirements. Federal law defines more than 50 potentially eligible population groups; some groups are mandatory (all states must cover them) and others are optional (states may cover them at their discretion). In some cases, income eligibility standards are tied directly to specified percentages of the federal poverty guidelines. For example, Medicaid mandatory coverage groups include pregnant women and children under age 6 with family incomes at or below 133% of poverty; children ages 6-18 with family incomes at or below 133% of poverty; certain parents and children in working families who are entitled to Medicaid for at least 6 months and up to 12 months if their income does not exceed 185% of poverty (i.e., Transitional Medical Assistance (TMA)); individuals who qualify for Medicare Part A whose incomes do not exceed 100% of poverty (Qualified Medicare Beneficiaries (QMBs)); and individuals who are entitled to Medicare Part A with incomes between 100% and 120% of poverty (Specified Low-Income Beneficiaries (SLMs)). Mandatory groups also include families who qualify via rules applicable to the former Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program; also, families who lose Medicaid as a result of increased spousal support or earned income may receive TMA for four months. Medicaid optional groups with income eligibility standards tied directly to specified percentages of the federal poverty guidelines include pregnant women and infants with incomes between 133% and 185% of poverty; CHIP-financed targeted low-income children; disabled and elderly (age 65+) individuals with incomes up to 100% of poverty; disabled working individuals whose family income does not exceed 250% of poverty; and individuals who would be QMBs except that their incomes are between 120% and 135% of poverty (i.e., Qualifying Individuals (QI-1s)). Beginning January 1, 2014, the ACA required states to expand Medicaid eligibility to include most nonelderly, nonpregnant individuals with income at or below 133% of the federal poverty guidelines (effectively 138% with the 5% income disregard). However, in the June 28, 2012 decision in National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius, the Supreme Court held that the federal government cannot terminate current Medicaid program federal matching funds if a state does not expand its Medicaid program. The U.S. Supreme Court decision effectively made the ACA Medicaid expansion optional. The ACA also required states to transition to a new income counting rule based on modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) for most non-aged eligibility groups beginning January 1, 2014.

Form and recipient of federal assistance: Partial reimbursement to states of eligible expenditures, with no cap on federal spending. Allows participation by territories (American Samoa, Guam, Northern Marianas, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands).

Allocation formula: Payments to states are based on their eligible expenditures and the applicable FMAP (see below).

Matching or related requirements: The federal share of expenditures on Medicaid services is called the federal medical assistance payment (FMAP) and is inversely related to a state's per capita income. The FMAP is higher for states with lower per capita income relative to the national average and vice versa for states with higher per capita income. The FMAP ranges from a statutory low of 50% to a statutory high of 83%. Medicaid administrative expenditures are generally matched at a 50% rate, with certain exceptions. For FY2014 through FY2016, states receive a special 100% FMAP rate for the cost of individuals newly eligible for Medicaid due to the ACA expansion; after 2016, this FMAP phases down to a rate of 90% in 2020 and thereafter.

New obligations (FY2013): $286,920 million.

Budgetary classification: Mandatory (open-ended entitlement to states).

Participation data (most recent available): During FY2013, an average of 57.4 million individuals were enrolled in Medicaid each month (including 27.9 million children); and a total of 72.8 million individuals were enrolled during the year (including 35 million children).

CRS reports: CRS Report R43357, Medicaid: An Overview, coordinated by Alison Mitchell; and CRS Report R41210, Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) Provisions in ACA: Summary and Timeline, by Evelyne P. Baumrucker et al.

Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program (CFDA #93.917)

Authority: Statute: Title XXVI of the Public Health Service Act, established by the Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency Act of 1990 (P.L. 101-381) and most recently reauthorized by the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment Extension Act of 2009 (P.L. 111-87); 42 U.S.C. 300ff. Regulations: no formal program-specific regulations.

Federal administering agency: Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration, HIV/AIDS Bureau.

Purpose of program: To address the unmet care and treatment needs of persons living with HIV/AIDS who are uninsured or underinsured, and therefore are unable to pay for HIV/AIDS health care and vital health-related supportive services.

Benefit/service: Primarily core medical services, such as outpatient and ambulatory health services, drug treatments (including through the AIDS Drug Assistance Program, ADAP), oral health, early intervention services, health insurance premium and cost-sharing assistance for low-income individuals, home health, medical nutrition therapy, hospice, home and community-based services, mental health, substance abuse outpatient care, and medical case management, including treatment adherence services; and some supportive services (i.e., outreach, medical transportation, language services, respite care for caregivers, and referrals for health care and support services). Services are provided without charge for individuals whose incomes are below federal poverty guidelines and are provided on a sliding fee scale basis for those whose incomes exceed federal poverty guidelines.

Individual eligibility criteria: Individuals and families with HIV disease. Specific clinical and income eligibility criteria are set by states.

Form and recipient of federal assistance: Formula grants to eligible metropolitan areas, "transitional grant" areas, and to states and territories; competitive supplemental grants are awarded based on need. Competitive grants are made to qualified health centers, family planning clinics, hemophilia centers, rural health clinics, Indian Health Service facilities and certain other health facilities and organizations; public and private nonprofit organizations; and dental schools. Allows participation by territories (American Samoa, Guam, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands).

Allocation formula: Funds are allocated on the basis of number of living HIV and AIDS cases.

Matching or related requirements: Any state with more than 1% of the nation's confirmed cases of HIV/AIDS must provide a nonfederal match equal to $1 for every federal $5 in the first year of payments under the grant, $1 for every federal $4 in the second year, $1 for every federal $3 in the third year, and $1 for every federal $2 in the fourth and fifth years of the grant.

New obligations (FY2013): $2,220 million.

Budgetary classification: Discretionary.

Participation data (most recent available): 553,999 low-income people with HIV/AIDS were served in 2011 (preliminary estimate).

CRS report: CRS Report RL33279, The Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program, by Judith A. Johnson.

Breast/Cervical Cancer Early Detection (CFDA #93.919)

Authority: Statute: Title XV of the Public Health Service Act, established by the Breast and Cervical Cancer Mortality Prevention Act of 1990 (P.L. 101-354) and most recently reauthorized by the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program Reauthorization Act of 2007 (P.L. 110-18); 42 U.S.C. 300k. Regulations: no formal program-specific regulations.

Federal administering agency: Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Division of Cancer Prevention and Control.

Purpose of program: To provide low-income, uninsured, and underserved women access to timely breast and cervical cancer screening and diagnostic services.

Benefit/service: Clinical breast examinations, mammograms, Pap tests, pelvic examinations, diagnostic testing if results are abnormal, and referrals to treatment. No fees for services may be charged for women with incomes below 100% of federal poverty guidelines. (Under the Breast and Cervical Cancer Prevention and Treatment Act of 2000, P.L. 106-354, women who are screened through the CDC program and found to have cancer are an optional Medicaid coverage group, which means that states may offer them medical services through their Medicaid programs.)

Individual eligibility criteria: States must give priority to low-income women. CDC defines the eligible population as uninsured and underinsured women with income at or below 250% of federal poverty guidelines, aged 21-64 for cervical screening and 40-64 for breast screening.

Form and recipient of federal assistance: Competitive grants to states, which enter into grants and contracts with public and private nonprofit entities. Allows participation by territories (Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Northern Mariana Islands, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Palau) and Indian tribes and tribal organizations.

Allocation formula: Not applicable.

Matching or related requirements: A nonfederal match, in cash or in-kind, of $1 for every federal $3 is required. Programs must also maintain their previous level of effort before additional resources will be considered toward the matching requirement.

New obligations (FY2013): $197 million (appropriations).

Budgetary classification: Discretionary.

Participation data (most recent available): In 2012, a total of 340,038 women were screened for breast cancer and 251,637 women were screened for cervical cancer.

Maternal and Child Health Block Grant (CFDA #93.994)

Authority: Statute: Title V of the Social Security Act, enacted in 1935 and converted into a block grant by the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1981 (P.L. 97-35); 42 U.S.C. 701 to 709. Regulations: 45 C.F.R. Part 96.

Federal administering agency: Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration, Maternal and Child Health Bureau.

Purpose of program: To improve the health of all mothers and children consistent with applicable health status goals and national health objectives established by the Secretary of HHS.

Benefit/service: Preventive and primary health care services for women, infants and children, including children with special health care needs. Within broad federal requirements, states determine the actual services provided under the block grant. Services funded by the block grant may include prenatal care, well-child care, dental care, immunization, family planning, and vision and hearing screening services. They may also include inpatient services for children with special health care needs, screening services for lead-based poisoning, and counseling services for parents of sudden infant death syndrome victims. Funds may not be used for inpatient services, other than for children with special health care needs, high-risk pregnant women, and infants (unless approved by the Secretary of HHS). States may not use the block grant funds to provide cash payments to recipients of health services.

Individual eligibility criteria: Defined by the states. Federal law emphasizes services to low-income mothers and children, defined as those with income at or below the federal poverty guidelines.

Form and recipient of federal assistance: Formula grants to states. Allows participation by specified territories (Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, Northern Mariana Islands, Micronesia, Marshall Islands, and Palau).

Allocation formula: Funds are allocated among states based on two factors: the amount awarded to each state in 1983 under previous programs that were consolidated into the block grant; and each state's relative share of low-income children.

Matching or related requirements: States must provide $3 for every $4 in federal funding received. States must maintain their level of spending from state funds in 1989 on maternal and child health services.

New obligations (FY2013): $605 million.

Budgetary classification: Discretionary.

Participation data (most recent available): In FY2012, an estimated 43 million children, pregnant women, and reproductive-age women were served.

CRS report: CRS Report R42428, The Maternal and Child Health Services Block Grant: Background and Funding, by Carmen Solomon-Fears.

Indian Health Service (no CDFA #)

Authority: Statute: Snyder Act of 1921 (P.L. 83-568) and the Indian Health Care Improvement Act of 1976 (P.L. 94-437), most recently reauthorized by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (P.L. 111-148); 25 U.S.C. 1601 et seq. Regulations: 42 C.F.R. Part 136.

Federal administering agency: Department of Health and Human Services, Indian Health Service.

Purpose of program: To elevate the health status of the Indian population to a level at parity with the general U.S. population.

Benefit/service: Hospital, medical, and dental care, behavioral health, environmental health and sanitation services as well as outpatient services and the services of mobile clinics and public health nurses, and preventive care, including immunizations and health examinations of special groups, such as school children. Services are provided free of charge.

Individual eligibility criteria: Persons of American Indian or Alaskan Native (AI/AN) descent who are members of a federally recognized Indian tribe, live within an Indian Health Service Health Service Delivery Area (HSDA), or are the natural minor children (18 years old or younger) of such an eligible member AI/AN and live within an HSDA.

Form and recipient of federal assistance: Services are provided directly by the Indian Health Service in IHS or tribal health facilities or through contracts.

Allocation formula: Not applicable.

Matching or related requirements: None. The Indian Health Service collects reimbursements from Medicare, Medicaid, the State Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), and Department of Veterans Affairs for services that it provides to members of its eligible population who also are eligible for those programs. If an eligible AI/AN has private health insurance, IHS is reimbursed for services provided.

New obligations (FY2013): $5,661 million (services and facilities).

Budgetary classification: Discretionary.

Participation data (most recent available): In 2013, the IHS service population was estimated at 2.2 million American Indians and Alaskan Natives.

CRS reports: CRS Report R43330, The Indian Health Service (IHS): An Overview, by Elayne J. Heisler; and CRS Report R41152, Indian Health Care: Impact of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), by Elayne J. Heisler.

Cash Aid

Pensions for Needy Veterans, their Dependents and Survivors (CFDA #64.104 and #64.105)

Authority: Statute: 38 U.S.C. Chapter 15. Regulations: 38 C.F.R. Subpart A of Part 3.

Federal administering agency: Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Benefits Administration.

Purpose of program: To provide assistance to needy veterans, their dependents and survivors.

Benefit/service: Cash assistance.

Individual eligibility criteria: Veterans, age 65 and older or who are permanently and totally disabled (not due to military service or willful misconduct) regardless of age, who served in the active military for a minimum duration during a period of war, whose income is below a specified amount and whose net worth is not considered excessive. Also, surviving spouses and unmarried dependent children of deceased veterans who served in the active military for a minimum duration during a period of war, whose income is below a specified amount and whose net worth is not considered excessive.

Form and recipient of federal assistance: Direct payment to individuals.

Allocation formula: Not applicable.

Matching or related requirements: Not applicable.

New obligations (FY2013): $5,195 million.

Budgetary classification: Mandatory (entitlement to individuals).

Participation data (most recent available): In FY2013, benefits were paid to 308,993 veterans and 206,952 survivors.

CRS report: CRS Report RS22804, Veterans' Benefits: Pension Benefit Programs, by Umar Moulta-Ali and Carol D. Davis.

Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (CFDA #93.558)

Authority: Statute: Title IV-A of the Social Security Act, established by the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (P.L. 104-193) and most recently reauthorized by the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 (P.L. 109-171) and extended by the FY2015 appropriations law (P.L. 113-235); 42 U.S.C. 601-619. Regulations: 45 C.F.R. Parts 260-270.

Federal administering agency: Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Family Assistance.

Purpose of program: To increase state flexibility in operating programs designed to (a) provide assistance to needy families so that children may be cared for in their own homes or in the homes of relatives; (b) end the dependence of needy parents on government benefits by promoting job preparation, work, and marriage; (c) prevent and reduce the incidence of out-of-wedlock pregnancies and establish annual numerical goals for preventing and reducing the incidence of these pregnancies; and (d) encourage the formation and maintenance of two-parent families.

Benefit/service: Benefits or services reasonably calculated to achieve the four statutory goals above, and certain "grandfathered" activities conducted under predecessor program (Aid to Families with Dependent Children) prior to enactment of P.L. 104-193. (Roughly two-thirds of total TANF federal and state expenditures in FY2012 and FY2013 were for noncash services, including child care, work activities, child welfare services, and various social services directed toward the statutory goals of family formation and reduced nonmarital pregnancies.) Cash assistance benefit levels are defined by the individual states.

Individual eligibility criteria: Families with dependent children as determined eligible under income and asset criteria defined by the states.

Form of assistance: Formula grants to states; competitive awards to public and private entities for healthy marriage promotion and responsible fatherhood grants. Allows participation by territories (American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands) and federally recognized Indian tribes and certain Alaskan Native organizations.

Allocation formula: The basic TANF block grant is allocated among states according to their peak expenditures for pre-TANF programs during the FY1992-FY1995 period. TANF contingency funds are available to states that meet a test of economic "need" and increase spending from their own funds above what they spent in FY1994 on cash, emergency assistance, and job training in TANF's predecessor programs.

Matching or related requirements: None. The basic TANF block grant requires states to maintain spending from their own funds on TANF or TANF-related activities for needy families with children equal to 75% of what was spent from state funds in FY1994 under TANF's predecessor programs. This maintenance-of-effort (MOE) requirement increases to 80% of FY1994 spending for states that fail to meet TANF work participation requirements. For the TANF contingency fund, a higher state spending requirement applies (100% of the historic level).

New obligations (FY2013): $17,332 million, broken down as follows, with estimates based on states' reporting of expenditures: $6,737 million (cash assistance); $8,912 million (social services); and $1,683 million (employment and training). (Includes obligations under the TANF block grant, supplemental grants, territories and tribal grants, contingency funds, healthy marriage promotion and responsible fatherhood grants. Note that in FY2009 and FY2010, states could draw down additional funds from the TANF Emergency Contingency Fund, created by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.)

Budgetary classification: Mandatory (capped entitlement to states).

Participation data (most recent available): In FY2013, a monthly average of 1.8 million families, composed of 4.1 million recipients (including 3.1 million children), received TANF-or MOE-funded cash assistance. The larger number of individuals or families receiving any TANF-or MOE-funded benefit or service is not known.

CRS report: CRS Report R40946, The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Block Grant: An Overview, by Gene Falk.

Supplemental Security Income (CFDA #96.006)

Authority: Statute: Title XVI of the Social Security Act, established by the Social Security Amendments of 1973 (P.L. 92-603); 42 U.S.C. 1381-1383f. Regulations: 20 C.F.R. Part 416.

Federal administering agency: Social Security Administration.

Purpose of program: To provide a minimum income for aged, blind or disabled individuals who have very limited income and assets.

Benefit/service: Cash assistance. The basic federal SSI benefit is the same for all beneficiaries nationwide (reduced by any countable income). States may supplement the federal benefit.

Individual eligibility criteria: Individuals who are aged 65 or older, blind or disabled (adults and children of any age), whose countable income and resources fall within certain specified limits.

Form and recipient of federal assistance: Direct payments to individuals. Allows participation by individuals in the Northern Mariana Islands.

Allocation formula: Not applicable.

Matching or related requirements: Not applicable. However, states may supplement the federal benefit with their own funds.

New obligations (FY2013): $59,756 million.

Budgetary classification: Mandatory (entitlement to individuals).

Participation data (most recent available): In FY2013, a total of 8,381,134 beneficiaries received benefits, of which 219,800 received state supplements only.

CRS reports: CRS Report 94-486, Supplemental Security Income (SSI), by William R. Morton; and CRS Report RL32279, Primer on Disability Benefits: Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI), by William R. Morton.

Additional Child Tax Credit (no CFDA #)

Authority: Statute: 26 U.S.C. 24, established by the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 (P.L. 105-34). Regulations: no formal program-specific regulations.

Federal administering agency: Internal Revenue Service.

Purpose of program: To assist eligible parents with dependent children whose tax liability is not sufficient to receive the full benefit of the regular nonrefundable Child Tax Credit.

Benefit/service: Refundable tax credit.

Individual eligibility criteria: Families with qualifying children (i.e., under age 17) who have earned income above a specified threshold, and whose tax liability is not sufficient for them to receive the full benefit of the regular nonrefundable Child Tax Credit.

Form and recipient of federal assistance: The credit is provided in a refund check.

Allocation formula: Not applicable.

Matching or related requirements: None.

New obligations (FY2013): $21,608 million.

Budgetary classification: Mandatory (entitlement to individuals).

Participation data (most recent available): For tax year 2012, 19.8 million returns claimed the Additional Child Tax Credit.

CRS report: CRS Report R41873, The Child Tax Credit: Current Law and Legislative History, by Margot L. Crandall-Hollick.

Earned Income Tax Credit (refundable portion) (no CFDA #)

Authority: Statute: 26 U.S.C. 32, established by the Tax Reduction Act of 1975 (P.L. 94-12). Regulations: 26 C.F.R. 1.32.

Federal administering agency: Internal Revenue Service, Earned Income Tax Credit Office.

Purpose of program: To offset the burden of taxes, including Social Security taxes, and provide an incentive to work.

Benefit/service: Tax credit to reduce the amount of income taxes owed; an eligible worker may receive the credit regardless of whether taxes are owed (i.e., the credit is refundable).

Individual eligibility criteria: Families with qualifying children (i.e., under age 19 or 24 if a full-time student, or permanently or totally disabled) and childless adults (aged 25-64) who have earned income below specified levels.

Form and recipient of federal assistance: The refundable portion of the credit can be provided in a refund check, or (prior to 2011) for eligible families with children, as an adjustment to income throughout the year. (This advance payment option was repealed for tax years beginning after Dec. 31, 2010, by P.L. 111-246.)

Allocation formula: Not applicable.

Matching or related requirements: None.

New obligations (FY2013): $57,513 million.

Budgetary classification: Mandatory (entitlement to individuals).

Participation data (most recent available): For tax year 2012, 24.3 million returns claimed the refundable portion of the EITC.

CRS report: CRS Report R43805, The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC): An Overview, by Gene Falk and Margot L. Crandall-Hollick.

Food Assistance

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (formerly the Food Stamp Program) (CFDA #10.551)

Authority: Statute: Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (P.L. 110-246), originally enacted by the Food Stamp Act of 1964 (P.L. 88-525), most recently reauthorized by the Agricultural Act of 2014 (P.L. 113-79); 7 U.S.C. 2011-2036. Regulations: 7 C.F.R. Part 271-283.

Federal administering agency: Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service.

Purpose of program: To alleviate hunger and malnutrition and permit low-income households to obtain a more nutritious diet by increasing their food purchasing power.

Benefit/service: Benefits redeemable for food, typically provided through electronic benefit transfer. Allotments are determined on the basis of a low-cost model diet plan (called the Thrifty Food Plan). An individual household's allotment is equal to the inflation-indexed maximum allotment for that household's size, reduced by 30% of the household's net monthly income (gross income, less allowances for non-food living expenses).

Individual eligibility criteria: Eligible households must (1) have gross monthly income no higher than 130% of federal poverty guidelines and limited liquid assets (special, higher standards apply to households with elderly/disabled members) or (2) be categorically (automatically) eligible because they receive benefits/services financed by Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) programs or the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program. Some individuals are categorically ineligible: most noncitizens, able-bodied adults without dependents (ABAWDs) after three months (unless they are working or in a work/training program), strikers, and post-secondary students without dependents who are not working or in a work/training program.

Form and recipient of federal assistance: Direct benefits to individuals; grants to states for assistance with administrative costs and operating expenses for employment/training programs for recipients. Allows participation by territories (Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands). Separate programs operate in Puerto Rico (described later in this report), American Samoa, the Northern Mariana Islands and on Indian reservations (also described later in this report).

Allocation formula: Not applicable.

Matching or related requirements: None for expenditures on benefits; 50% for state administrative and the majority of employment/training expenditures.

New obligations (FY2013): $79,733 million, includes $5,933 million under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Obligations are broken down as follows: $79,365 million (food assistance, including benefits, state administration, and other program costs), and $368 million (employment and training).

Budgetary classification: Mandatory (entitlement to individuals for benefits and to states for administrative costs).

Participation data (most recent available): In FY2013, average monthly participation was 47,636,090 persons.

CRS reports: CRS Report R42505, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP): A Primer on Eligibility and Benefits, by Randy Alison Aussenberg; and CRS Report R43332, SNAP and Related Nutrition Provisions of the 2014 Farm Bill (P.L. 113-79) , by Randy Alison Aussenberg

School Breakfast Program (Free and Reduced-Price Components) (CFDA #10.553)

Authority: Statute: Section 4 of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (P.L. 89-642), most recently reauthorized by the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 (P.L. 111-296); 42 U.S.C. 1773. Regulations: 7 C.F.R. Part 220.

Federal administering agency: Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service.

Purpose of program: To promote learning readiness and healthy eating behaviors through provision of nutritious breakfasts.

Benefit/service: Breakfasts that meet minimum federal nutrition standards and are served free or at reduced price by participating public and private elementary and secondary schools and residential child care institutions.

Individual eligibility criteria: Children are eligible to receive free school breakfasts if their family income is below 130% of federal poverty guidelines, or if they receive Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) or Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits or services, or if they are in foster care, migrant, runaway, or homeless. Children are eligible to receive reduced-price school breakfasts if their family income is between 130% and 185% of federal poverty guidelines. Schools with 40% or more of students identified as categorically eligible for free meals may serve free meals to all students at the school.

Form and recipient of federal assistance: Cash is allocated to state educational agencies, which distribute benefits to participating schools and institutions to subsidize the costs of school breakfasts. Meals that are served free receive a higher subsidy than meals served at reduced price. Participating schools and institutions also receive a small subsidy for meals served at full price to non-needy children. Allows participation by territories (American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Marianas, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands); American Samoa and the Northern Marianas receive a block grant in lieu of participation in child nutrition programs.

Allocation formula: Inflation-adjusted per-meal reimbursement rates are specified for each type of breakfast served (free, reduced-price, full-price).

Matching or related requirements: None, although children's meal payments help finance the cost of the program.

New obligations (FY2013): $3,514 million (free and reduced-price components only).

Budgetary classification: Mandatory (open-ended entitlement to participating schools and institutions).

Participation data (most recent available): In FY2013, average daily participation in the free and reduced-price components was 11.2 million children.

CRS report: CRS Report R43783, School Meals Programs and Other USDA Child Nutrition Programs: A Primer, by Randy Alison Aussenberg.

National School Lunch Program (Free and Reduced-Price Components) (CFDA #10.555)

Authority: Statute: Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (P.L. 79-396), most recently reauthorized by the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 (P.L. 111-296); 42 U.S.C. 1751-1769i. Regulations: 7 C.F.R. Parts 210 and 245.

Federal administering agency: Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service.

Purpose of program: To safeguard the health and well-being of the nation's children and to encourage the domestic consumption of nutritious agricultural commodities and other food.

Benefit/service: Lunches that meet minimum federal nutrition standards and are served free or at reduced price by participating public and private elementary and secondary schools and residential child care institutions.

Individual eligibility criteria: Children are eligible to receive free school lunches if their household income is below 130% of federal poverty guidelines, or if they receive Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) or Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits or services, or if they are in foster care, migrant, runaway, or homeless. Children are eligible to receive reduced-price school lunches if their household income is between 130% and 185% of federal poverty guidelines. Schools with 40% or more of students identified as categorically eligible for free meals may serve free meals to all students at the school.

Form and recipient of federal assistance: Cash and commodity food assistance are allocated to state educational agencies, which distribute benefits to participating schools and institutions to subsidize the costs of school lunches. Meals that are served free receive a higher subsidy than meals served at reduced price. Participating schools also receive a small subsidy for meals served at full price to non-needy children. Allows participation by territories (American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Marianas, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands); American Samoa and the Northern Marianas receive a block grant in lieu of participation in child nutrition programs.

Allocation formula: Inflation-adjusted per-meal reimbursement rates are specified for each type of lunch served (free, reduced-price, full-price).

Matching or related requirements: None, although children's meal payments help finance the cost of the program. States must maintain the level of support they offered in 1980.

New obligations (FY2013): $10,549 million (free and reduced-price components only).

Budgetary classification: Mandatory (open-ended entitlement to participating schools and institutions).

Participation data (most recent available): In FY2013, average daily participation in the free and reduced-price components was 21.5 million children.

CRS report: CRS Report R43783, School Meals Programs and Other USDA Child Nutrition Programs: A Primer, by Randy Alison Aussenberg.

Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) (CFDA #10.557)

Authority: Statute: Section 17 of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966, established by the National School Lunch Amendments (P.L. 92-433) and most recently reauthorized by the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 (P.L. 111-296); 42 U.S.C. 1786. Regulations: 7 C.F.R. Part 246.

Federal administering agency: Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service.

Purpose of program: To provide supplemental food and nutrition education to eligible women and children to serve as an adjunct to good health care during critical times of development, to prevent the occurrence of health problems, including drug abuse, and improve the health status of beneficiaries.

Benefit/service: Food assistance (in the form of vouchers for the purchase of specifically prescribed food packages), nutrition risk screening, and related services (e.g., nutrition education and breastfeeding support, medical care referral).

Individual eligibility criteria: Eligible individuals are pregnant, postpartum or breastfeeding women, infants (to age 1) or children (to age 5) who are at nutritional risk (as defined by the Secretary), and who have family income no greater than 185% of federal poverty guidelines or who receive or are eligible for benefits or services under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), or Medicaid.

Form and recipient of federal assistance: Formula grants to states. Allows participation by territories (American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands) and Indian tribes and tribal organizations.

Allocation formula: State allocations are based on a formula established through regulations that reflects food and caseload costs, inflation, and "need" as evidenced by poverty indices.

Matching or related requirements: None. States are required to operate a cost containment system for infant formula, which results in manufacturers' rebates that reduce the cost of WIC food packages.

New obligations (FY2013): $6,945 million.

Budgetary classification: Discretionary.

Participation data (most recent available): In FY2013, 8.7 million participants were served.

CRS report: CRS Report R42353, Domestic Food Assistance: Summary of Programs, by Randy Alison Aussenberg and Kirsten J. Colello.

Child and Adult Care Food Program (Lower-Income Components) (CFDA #10.558)

Authority: Statute: Section 17 of the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act, established by the National School Lunch and Child Nutrition Act Amendments (P.L. 94-105) and most recently reauthorized by the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 (P.L. 111-296); 42 U.S.C. 1766. Regulations: 7 C.F.R. Part 226.

Federal administering agency: Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service.

Purpose of program: To enable nonresidential day care institutions to integrate a nutritious food service with organized care services for enrolled children or adults.

Benefit/service: Breakfasts, lunches, suppers and snacks that meet minimum federal nutrition standards.

Individual eligibility criteria: Eligible children are age 12 or under, migrant children age 15 or under, disabled children of any age; also eligible are chronically impaired and elderly adults. In centers, individuals are eligible to receive free meals/snacks if their household income is below 130% of federal poverty guidelines, or reduced-price meals/snacks if their household income is between 130% and 185% of federal poverty guidelines. Children whose families receive benefits or services under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR), or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program are automatically eligible for free meals/snacks. Children who are income-eligible for Head Start or Even Start, or who are residents of emergency shelters, also are automatically eligible for free meals/snacks. Adults who receive SNAP, FDPIR, Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or Medicaid benefits are automatically eligible for free meals/snacks.

Form and recipient of federal assistance: Cash and commodity support are allocated to state agencies, which distribute benefits to eligible public or private nonprofit centers and sponsoring organizations to subsidize the costs of meals and snacks. Meals that are served free receive a higher subsidy than meals served at reduced price. Participating institutions also receive a small subsidy for meals served at full price to non-needy children and adults. Allows participation by territories (American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, Trust Territories of the Pacific, and the U.S. Virgin Islands); American Samoa and the Northern Marianas receive a block grant in lieu of participation in child nutrition programs.

Allocation formula: Centers are reimbursed for meals based on the eligibility of participating children and adults for free, reduced-price, or full-price meals/snacks. Reimbursements to day care homes differ depending on whether they are "Tier 1" homes (located in low-income areas or operated by low-income providers) or "Tier 2" homes (not located in low-income areas or operated by low-income providers).

Matching or related requirements: None.

New obligations (FY2013): $2,799 million (lower-income components only).

Budgetary classification: Mandatory (open-ended entitlement to participating centers and sponsoring organizations).

Participation data (most recent available): In FY2013, average daily attendance was 3.6 million persons; approximately 82% of meals served to these participants were served either free or at reduced price.

CRS report: CRS Report R43783, School Meals Programs and Other USDA Child Nutrition Programs: A Primer, by Randy Alison Aussenberg.

Summer Food Service Program (CFDA #10.559)

Authority: Statute: Section 13 of the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act, established by the National School Lunch and Child Nutrition Act Amendments (P.L. 94-105) and most recently reauthorized by the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 (P.L. 111-296); 42 U.S.C. 1761. Regulations: 7 C.F.R. Part 225.

Federal administering agency: Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service.

Purpose of program: To help children in low-income areas get necessary nutrition during the summer months when they are out of school.

Benefit/service: Meals and snacks.

Individual eligibility criteria: Children age 18 or younger and certain individuals with disabilities over the age of 18, who live in low-income areas where at least half the children are from families with incomes below 185% of federal poverty guidelines (open sites), or who are enrolled in an activity program where half the children are from families with incomes below 185% of federal poverty guidelines (enrolled sites), and children from families with incomes below 185% of federal poverty guidelines at participating camps. Automatically eligible are homeless or runaway children and children in Head Start, Early Head Start, Even Start, or state-funded pre-kindergarten programs that have received authorized waivers.

Form and recipient of federal assistance: Cash and commodity support are allocated to state educational agencies, which distribute benefits to approved local public or private nonprofit sponsors to subsidize the costs of meals. Meals that are served free receive a higher subsidy than meals served at reduced price. Allows participation by territories (American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands); American Samoa and the Northern Marianas receive a block grant in lieu of participation in child nutrition programs.

Allocation formula: Inflation-adjusted per-meal reimbursement rates are specified for the type of meal served (free or reduced-price).

Matching or related requirements: None.

New obligations (FY2013): $437 million.

Budgetary classification: Mandatory (open-ended entitlement to approved sponsors).

Participation data (most recent available): In FY2013, a daily average of 2.4 million children participated.

CRS report: CRS Report R43783, School Meals Programs and Other USDA Child Nutrition Programs: A Primer, by Randy Alison Aussenberg.

Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CFDA #10.565)

Authority: Statute: Sections 4(a) and 5 of the Agriculture and Consumer Protection Act of 1973 (P.L. 93-86), most recently reauthorized by the Agricultural Act of 2014 (P.L. 113-79); 7 U.S.C. 612c note. Regulations: 7 C.F.R. Part 247 and 250.

Federal administering agency: Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service.

Purpose of program: To meet the nutritional needs of low-income elderly persons and pregnant, postpartum, and breastfeeding women, infants, children.

Benefit/service: Food packages and nutrition education.

Individual eligibility criteria: Eligible elderly participants (60 years or older) must have incomes below 130% of federal poverty guidelines; women, infants (under one year of age) and children (under six years old) may have incomes up to 185% of federal poverty guidelines. Regardless of income, individuals may participate if they are eligible for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), or Medicaid. Individuals who participate in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) may not also participate in this program. (P.L. 113-79 reauthorized the program as seniors-only; women, infants and children may continue to participate only if they had been participating prior to implementation of this change.)

Form and recipient of assistance: Formula grants and commodity support to states. Allows participation by territories (American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands).

Allocation formula: Funding and commodities are allocated among states according to the caseload, or number of slots, allotted to each project, which is based on previous participation levels. Subject to available appropriations, states may request additional caseload slots.

Matching or related requirements: None.

New obligations (FY2013): $187 million.

Budgetary classification: Discretionary.

Participation data (most recent available): In FY2013, a monthly average of 580,000 persons participated.

CRS reports: CRS Report R42353, Domestic Food Assistance: Summary of Programs, by Randy Alison Aussenberg and Kirsten J. Colello; and CRS Report R43332, SNAP and Related Nutrition Provisions of the 2014 Farm Bill (P.L. 113-79) , by Randy Alison Aussenberg.

Nutrition Assistance for Puerto Rico (CFDA #10.566)

Authority: Statute: Food Stamp Act of 1977 (P.L. 95-113), most recently reauthorized by the Agricultural Act of 2014 (P.L. 113-79); 7 U.S.C. 2028. Regulations: 7 C.F.R. Part 285.

Federal administering agency: Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service.

Purpose of program: To improve diets of needy persons living in Puerto Rico.

Benefit/service: Nutrition assistance benefits. Benefits are provided through electronic benefit transfers, and at least 75% must be used for food purchases.

Individual eligibility criteria: "Needy" is defined by Puerto Rico.

Form and recipient of federal assistance: Block grant to Puerto Rico.

Allocation formula: An annually indexed amount is specified in law.

Matching or related requirements: No match required for costs of benefits; 50% match required for administrative costs.

New obligations (FY2013): $2,001 million (includes $128 million under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act).

Budgetary classification: Mandatory (capped entitlement to Puerto Rico).

Participation data (most recent available): In FY2013, a monthly average of 1.36 million individuals participated.

CRS report: CRS Report R43332, SNAP and Related Nutrition Provisions of the 2014 Farm Bill (P.L. 113-79) , by Randy Alison Aussenberg.

Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (CFDA #10.567)

Authority: Statute: Section 4(b) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (P.L. 110-246), originally enacted by the Food Stamp Act of 1977 (P.L. 95-113), most recently reauthorized by the Agricultural Act of 2014 (P.L. 113-79); 7 U.S.C. 2013(b). Regulations: 7 C.F.R. Parts 250, 253, and 254.

Federal administering agency: Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service.

Purpose of program: To distribute food commodities to households living on or near Indian reservations, in lieu of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

Benefit/service: Provides an alternative to SNAP for participating Indian reservations by delivering a household food package, which includes specific goods, in lieu of SNAP's electronic benefit transfer.

Individual eligibility criteria: Low-income American Indian and non-Indian households that reside on a reservation, and households living in approved areas near a reservation or in Oklahoma that contain at least one member of a federally recognized tribe, may be eligible. Income eligibility rules are similar to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP); recipients of certain forms of assistance (e.g., Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, Supplemental Security Income, general assistance) are automatically eligible. Households may not participate in both this program and SNAP simultaneously.

Form and recipient of federal assistance: Commodity food assistance and funding for administrative costs to states and Indian tribal organizations.

Allocation formula: Administrative funding is allocated among federal regional offices on the basis of each office's share of total national participants and state agencies participating in the program; administering agencies submit applications with a proposed budget.

Matching or related requirements: No match for commodity foods; 25% match required for administrative funds (which the Secretary may reduce subject to a compelling justification).

New obligations (FY2013): $100 million.

Budgetary classification: Mandatory.

Participation data (most recent available): Average monthly participation in FY2013 was 75,608 individuals.

CRS report: CRS Report R43332, SNAP and Related Nutrition Provisions of the 2014 Farm Bill (P.L. 113-79) , by Randy Alison Aussenberg.

The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) (CFDA #10.568 and #10.569)

Authority: Statute: The Emergency Food Assistance Act of 1983 (P.L. 98-8), most recently reauthorized by the Agricultural Act of 2014 (P.L. 113-79); 7 U.S.C. 7501 et seq. Regulations: 7 C.F.R. 251.

Federal administering agency: Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service.

Purpose of program: To supplement the diets of low-income Americans, including elderly people, by providing them with emergency food and nutrition assistance at no cost.

Benefit/service: Food commodities that are distributed to local feeding programs and the administrative costs necessary to store and transport the commodities.

Individual eligibility criteria: Eligible individuals must be needy as defined by the state. State criteria must ensure that only households in need of food assistance because of inadequate income receive assistance under the program. At state discretion, income-based criteria may be met through participation in other income-tested health or welfare programs.

Form and recipient of federal assistance: Formula grants and commodities to states, which distribute funds and commodities among eligible local feeding organizations. Allows participation by Indian tribal organizations.

Allocation formula: Commodities and funding are allocated among states according to a poverty-unemployment formula; 60% is allocated on the basis of a state's share of all persons with income below the poverty level, and 40% is based on a state's share of all unemployed persons.

Matching or related requirements: Funds retained by states for administrative costs must be matched with an equal cash or in-kind contribution. States may not reduce their level of spending of their own funds on commodities or services to organizations receiving TEFAP funds in the later of FY1988 or the year the state began administering the TEFAP program.

New obligations (FY2013): $312 million (commodities and administrative costs).

Budgetary classification: Mandatory (capped entitlement to states) and discretionary (administrative costs).

Participation data (most recent available): No data available.

CRS reports: CRS Report R42353, Domestic Food Assistance: Summary of Programs, by Randy Alison Aussenberg and Kirsten J. Colello; and CRS Report R43332, SNAP and Related Nutrition Provisions of the 2014 Farm Bill (P.L. 113-79) , by Randy Alison Aussenberg.

Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program (CFDA #10.582)

Authority: Statute: Section 19 of the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act; permanently authorized by Section 4304 of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (P.L. 110-246); 42 U.S.C. 1769a). Regulations: none.

Federal administering agency: Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service.

Purpose of program: To make free fruits and vegetable snacks available in low-income elementary schools.

Benefit/service: Reimbursement to participating elementary schools for the costs of purchasing fresh fruit and vegetable snacks to be provided during the school day, separately from regular meal service.

Individual eligibility criteria: None. Program operates in elementary schools selected by the states, in which 50% or more of the students are eligible for free or reduced-price meals. Priority is placed on schools where the highest proportions of children are eligible for free and reduced-price meals.

Form and recipient of federal assistance: Grants to states. Allows participation by territories (Guam, Puerto Rico, and U.S. Virgin Islands).

Allocation formula: Each state receives a grant equal to 1% of funds available for the program; remaining funds are allocated among states that participate in the National School Lunch Program on the basis of relative population. The Secretary must ensure that 2008 funding levels are maintained for states that participated in the pilot program at that time.

Matching or related requirements: None.

New obligations (FY2013): $165 million.

Budgetary classification: Mandatory.

Participation data (most recent available): No data available.

CRS report: CRS Report R43783, School Meals Programs and Other USDA Child Nutrition Programs: A Primer, by Randy Alison Aussenberg; and CRS Report R43332, SNAP and Related Nutrition Provisions of the 2014 Farm Bill (P.L. 113-79) , by Randy Alison Aussenberg.

Nutrition Program for the Elderly (CFDA #93.045)

Authority: Statute: Title III of the Older Americans Act of 1965 (P.L. 89-73), most recently reauthorized by the Older Americans Act Amendments of 2006 (P.L. 109-365); 42 U.S.C. 3030d-21 -- g-22. Regulations: 45 C.F.R. Part 1321.

Federal administering agency: Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Community Living, Administration on Aging.

Purpose of program: To reduce hunger and food insecurity, promote socialization, and promote the health and well-being of older individuals and delay adverse health conditions through access to nutrition and other disease prevention and health promotion services.

Benefit/service: Meals served in congregate settings, home-delivered meals, and related nutrition services (nutrition screening, education and assessment and counseling).

Individual eligibility criteria: Individuals age 60 or older and their spouses. Individuals with disabilities younger than 60 who live in housing facilities occupied primarily by the elderly and where congregate meals are served also may receive congregate meals. To be eligible for home-delivered meals, individuals must be homebound or otherwise isolated. Preference is given to individuals with the greatest economic and social needs, with particular attention to low-income older individuals (i.e., having income no higher than federal poverty guidelines), including low-income minority individuals, those with limited English proficiency, and those living in rural areas.

Form and recipient of federal assistance: Formula grants to state agencies on aging, which make subgrants to local area agencies on aging. Allows participation by territories (Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands). A separate nutrition program for Native Americans is authorized under Title VI of the Older Americans Act.

Allocation formula: Funds are allocated to states according to their relative share of the nation's population of older individuals (age 60 and over). States develop their own formulas for allocation of funds among local agencies, which must consider the geographic distribution of older individuals and older individuals with the greatest economic and social needs, paying particular attention to low-income minority individuals.

Matching or related requirements: A nonfederal share of 25% is required for administrative activities, and a nonfederal share of 15% is required for nutrition services.

New obligations (FY2013): $765 million (congregate meals, home-delivered meals, and nutrition services incentive program).

Budgetary classification: Discretionary.

Participation data (most recent available): In FY2012, 1,626,532 clients received congregate meals; 851,204 received home-delivered meals; and 29,845 received nutrition counseling.

CRS report: CRS Report RS21202, Older Americans Act: Title III Nutrition Services Program, by Kirsten J. Colello.

Education

Indian Education (CFDA #15.026, #15.027, #15.028, #15.042, #15.043, #15.044,

#15.046, #15.047, #15.058, #15.059, #15.060, #15.114, #15.130, #15.149, #15.151)

Authority: Statute: Snyder Act of 1921 (P.L. 67-85), Johnson-O'Malley Act of 1934 (P.L. 73-167), Indian Adult Vocational Training Act of 1956 (P.L. 84-959), Navajo Community College Act (P.L. 92-189), Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act of 1978 (P.L. 93-638), Tribally Controlled College Assistance Act (P.L. 95-471), Education Amendments of 1978 (P.L. 95-561), Tribally Controlled Schools Act of 1988 (P.L. 100-297), and Tribal Self-Governance Act of 1994 (P.L. 103-413); 25 U.S.C. 13, 309 et seq., 450 et seq., 640a, Chapters 7, 20, 22, 27, 28, and 35. Regulations: 25 C.F.R. Part 30-47, 273, 900-1001.

Federal administering agency: Department of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Education and Bureau of Indian Affairs.

Purpose of program: To provide comprehensive education programs and services for American Indians and Alaska Natives; to provide quality education opportunities from early childhood through life in accordance with the tribes' needs for educational, cultural and economic well-being in keeping with the wide diversity of Indian tribes and Alaska Native villages as distinct cultural and governmental entities.

Benefit/service: Preschool, elementary, secondary, postsecondary and adult education at BIE-funded institutions, public schools, and postsecondary institutions; financial assistance for postsecondary education at accredited institutions.

Individual eligibility criteria: Eligible children and postsecondary students are members of federally recognized Indian tribes or at least one-fourth degree Indian blood descendants of such members, and (for elementary and secondary students) live on or near a federal Indian reservation; members of federally recognized tribes who are accepted or enrolled at an accredited institution of higher education and are determined to have financial need by the institution's financial aid office.

Form and recipient of federal assistance: Services are provided at BIE schools and institutions, public schools, and tribally controlled colleges and universities; postsecondary assistance is provided directly to students.

Allocation formula: Depending on the individual program, funds are allocated to BIE-funded elementary and secondary schools based on number of students and their academic needs, commercial transportation costs, and the number of weighted bus miles driven; to tribes and tribal organizations based on the number of eligible preschool-age children and an administrative cost percentage rate; to tribes, states and public school districts based on historic funding in FY1995 and the number of Indian students served; to tribally controlled colleges based on Indian student counts and previous year allocations; and to BIE postsecondary schools based on prior allocations and unmet need.

Matching or related requirements: None.

New obligations (FY2013): $766 million.

Budgetary classification: Discretionary.

Participation data (most recent available): In school year 2012-2013, an "average daily membership" of 41,516 students was reported at BIE-funded schools. Early childhood programs served 2,177 children and 2,271 parents in 2012-2013. BIE-funded postsecondary schools enrolled 1,355 students in fall 2012. Tribal colleges enrolled 25,422 students in academic year 2012-2013.

CRS report: CRS Report RL34205, Federal Indian Elementary-Secondary Education Programs: Background and Issues, by Cassandria Dortch.

Adult Basic Education Grants to States (CFDA #84.002)

Authority: Statute: Adult Education and Family Literacy Act, most recently authorized by Title II of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2014 (P.L. 113-128, goes into effect on July 1, 2015); 20 U.S.C. 9201 et seq. (29 U.S.C. 3271 et seq. under P.L. 113-128). Regulations: 34 C.F.R. 461 et seq.

Federal administering agency: Department of Education, Office of Vocational and Adult Education, Division of Adult Education and Literacy.

Purpose of program: To assist adults to become literate and obtain the knowledge and skills necessary for employment and self-sufficiency, to assist adults who are parents obtain the educational skills necessary to become full partners in the educational development of their children, to assist adults in completing a secondary school education and (under P.L. 113-128) transitioning to postsecondary education. (Under P.L. 113-128, purpose will also include to assist immigrants and other English language learners in improving their English skills and acquiring an understanding of American government.)

Benefit/service: Adult education and literacy services, including workplace literacy services; family literacy services; and English literacy programs. (Under P.L. 113-128, will also include integrated English literacy and civics education and integrated education and training.)

Individual eligibility criteria: Qualified adults are individuals age 16 or older, who are not enrolled or required to be enrolled in secondary school under their state law, and who lack sufficient mastery of basic educational skills to function effectively in society, or who lack a secondary school diploma or equivalent and have not achieved an equivalent level of education, or who cannot speak, read or write the English language.

Form and recipient of federal assistance: Formula grants to state agencies (typically state educational agencies), which fund local projects on a competitive basis. Eligible providers include local educational agencies, community-based organizations, volunteer literacy organizations, institutions of higher education, public or private nonprofit agencies, libraries, public housing authorities, other nonprofits with the ability to provide literacy services to adults and families, and consortia of eligible entities. Allows participation by territories (Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, and the U.S. Virgin Islands).

Allocation formula: Funds are allocated among states based on their relative number of qualified adults. Hold-harmless provisions apply.

Matching or related requirements: A 25% nonfederal match is required for states.

New obligations (FY2013): $565 million.

Budgetary classification: Discretionary.

Participation data (most recent available): In FY2013, there were an estimated 1.7 million participants.

CRS report: CRS Report R43789, Adult Education and Family Literacy Act: Major Statutory Provisions, by Benjamin Collins.

Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (CFDA #84.007)

Authority: Statute: Title IV, Part A, Subpart 3 of the Higher Education Act of 1965, most recently reauthorized by the Higher Education Opportunity Act (P.L. 110-315); 20 U.S.C. 1070b. Regulations: 34 C.F.R. Parts 673 and 676.

Federal administering agency: Department of Education, Office of Federal Student Aid.

Purpose of program: To promote access to postsecondary education for low-income undergraduate students.

Benefit/service: Grants to help students with the costs of postsecondary education.

Individual eligibility criteria: Eligible students are undergraduate students who demonstrate financial need. Students demonstrate financial need if the cost of attendance of their school exceeds the sum of their expected family contribution (EFC) and estimated financial assistance from other sources. A student's EFC is determined according to an analysis of income and asset information reported on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Financial aid administrators must give priority in awarding FSEOG aid to students who are Pell Grant recipients and to those with exceptional financial need.

Form and recipient of federal assistance: Formula grants to institutions of higher education. Recipient institutions use federal funds and institutional matching funds to award aid to eligible students. Allows participation by citizens of Palau.

Allocation formula: Federal capital contributions are allocated among participating institutions first according to a statutory formula that provides a "base guarantee" that is based on past funding amounts and, if funds remain, then according to a need-based formula that considers institutional need (as measured by the aggregate need of the institution's undergraduate students).

Matching or related requirements: Participating institutions must provide a match equal to one-third of the federal funds received.

New obligations (FY2013): $698 million.

Budgetary classification: Discretionary.

Participation data (most recent available): In academic year 2013, a total of 1,545,031 students received grants.

CRS reports: CRS Report RL31618, Campus-Based Student Financial Aid Programs Under the Higher Education Act, by Alexandra Hegji and David P. Smole; and CRS Report R43351, The Higher Education Act (HEA): A Primer, by Alexandra Hegji.

Education for the Disadvantaged -- Grants to Local Educational Agencies (CFDA #84.010)

Authority: Statute: Title I-A of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (P.L. 89-10), most recently reauthorized by the No Child Left Behind Act (P.L. 107-110); 20 U.S.C. 6301-6339, 6571-6578. Regulations: 34 C.F.R. Part 200.

Federal administering agency: Department of Education, Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, Office of Student Achievement and School Accountability Programs.

Purpose of program: To ensure that all children have a fair, equal and significant opportunity to obtain a high-quality education and reach, at a minimum, proficiency on challenging state academic achievement standards and state academic assessments.

Benefit/service: Additional academic support and learning opportunities for students in pre-kindergarten through grade 12 to help low-achieving children master challenging curricula and meet state standards in core academic subjects.

Individual eligibility criteria: Within local educational agencies (LEAs), funds are allocated to school attendance areas and schools in rank order based on their number of children from low-income families. Schools in which at least 40% of children are poor may operate schoolwide programs that serve all children. Otherwise, schools must focus services on children who are failing or most at risk of failing state academic standards.

Form and recipient of federal assistance: Formula grants to LEAs. Allows participation by territories (Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Northern Mariana Islands).

Allocation formula: Portions of available annual funds are allocated under four different formulas -- Basic, Concentration, Targeted, and Education Finance Incentive Grants (EFIG) -- although funds are then combined and used for the same purposes by recipient LEAs. Although the allocation formulas have several distinctive elements, the primary factors used in all four formulas are an eligible child count and an expenditure factor. The eligible child count includes children aged 5-17: (a) in poor families; (b) in institutions for neglected or delinquent children or in foster homes; and (c) in families receiving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families payments above the poverty level. Each element of the population factor is updated annually. The expenditure factor is the state average per pupil expenditure for public K-12 education (subject to a minimum of 80% and maximum of 120% of the national average, further multiplied by 0.40), and is the same for all LEAs in the same state. Both the Targeted and EFIG formulas include weighting schemes to increase aid to LEAs with the highest numbers or concentrations of eligible children. The EFIG formula also includes an effort factor, based on average per pupil expenditure for public K-12 education compared to personal income per capita for each state compared to the nation as a whole, and an equity factor, based on variations in average per pupil expenditures among the LEAs in each state. Each formula has a hold-harmless provision (no LEA may receive less than 85%-95% of its previous year grant, depending on the LEA's poverty level and whether the LEA continues to meet the formula's eligibility threshold). All four formulas have state minimum grant provisions.

Matching or related requirements: Three requirements apply to total LEA grants under all four formulas: (1) maintenance of effort: recipient LEAs must provide, from state and local sources, a level of funding (either aggregate or per pupil) in the preceding year that is at least 90% as high as in the second preceding year; (2) funds must supplement and not supplant state and local funds that would otherwise be available for the education of disadvantaged pupils in participating schools; and (3) comparability: services provided with state and local funds in schools participating in Title I-A must be comparable to those in non-Title I-A schools of the same LEA.

New obligations (FY2013): $13,757 million.

Budgetary classification: Discretionary.

Participation data (most recent available): For school year 2011-2012, about 23 million public and private school students were served (of which about 172,000 or 0.7% were served in private schools). The majority of students (21.6 million or 94.2%) were served through schoolwide programs in public schools.

CRS report: CRS Report RL33960, The Elementary and Secondary Education Act, as Amended by the No Child Left Behind Act: A Primer, by Rebecca R. Skinner.

Title I Migrant Education Program (CFDA #84.011)

Authority: Statute: Title I, Part C of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (P.L. 89-10), most recently reauthorized by the No Child Left Behind Act (P.L. 107-110); 20 U.S.C. 6391-6399. Regulations: 34 C.F.R. 200 Subpart C.

Federal administering agency: Department of Education, Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, Office of Migrant Education.

Purpose of program: To help reduce educational and other disruptions that result from repeated moves by migratory children; to ensure that migratory children are not penalized by education disparities among states; to ensure that migratory children receive appropriate educational and supportive services; to ensure that migratory students have opportunities to meet the same challenging standards as other students; and to prepare migratory children for a successful transition to postsecondary education or employment.

Benefit/service: Education and support services, including academic instruction, remedial and compensatory instruction, bilingual and multicultural instruction, vocational instruction, career education services, special guidance, counseling and testing services, health services, preschool services, professional development, and family literacy instruction.

Individual eligibility criteria: Eligible children (or their parent or spouse) are migratory agricultural workers, dairy workers, or fishermen and who, in the preceding 36 months, have moved from one school district to another for employment, or have moved for employment from one administrative area to another in a state that constitutes a single school district, or who live in a school district greater than a specified size and migrate at least 20 miles to a temporary residence to engage in a fishing activity.

Form and recipient of federal assistance: Formula grants to state educational agencies, consortia of states and other appropriate entities, or public or private nonprofit agencies, which may make subgrants to local operating agencies that may include local educational agencies and other public and nonprofit entities. Allows participation by Puerto Rico.

Allocation formula: Federal funds are allocated by formula, based on each state's per pupil expenditure for education and counts of eligible migratory children, ages 3 through 21, residing within the state.

Matching or related requirements: None.

New obligations (FY2013): $373 million (appropriations).

Budgetary classification: Discretionary.

Participation data (most recent available): During school year 2012-2013, the program served 617,437 students. (Note: This is a duplicated count; students may be counted more than once as they migrate to different schools during a single school year.)

CRS report: CRS Report RL33960, The Elementary and Secondary Education Act, as Amended by the No Child Left Behind Act: A Primer, by Rebecca R. Skinner.

Higher Education -- Institutional Aid and Developing Institutions (CFDA

#84.031, #84.120, #84.382)

Authority: Statute: Titles III, V and VII of the Higher Education Act of 1965, most recently reauthorized by the Higher Education Opportunity Act (P.L. 110-315) and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 (P.L. 111-152); 20 U.S.C. 1051-1068h and 1101-1103g. Regulations: 34 C.F.R. 606, 607, 608, 637. (Programs include Strengthening Institutions, Strengthening Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities, Strengthening Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian-serving Institutions, Strengthening Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Strengthening Historically Black Graduate Institutions, Masters Degree Programs for Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Predominantly Black Institutions, Strengthening Predominantly Black Institutions, Strengthening Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-serving Institutions, Strengthening Native American-serving Nontribal Institutions, Minority Science and Engineering Improvement, Developing Hispanic-serving Institutions, Developing Hispanic-serving STEM and Articulation Programs, and Promoting Postbaccalaureate Opportunities for Hispanic Americans.)

Federal administering agency: Department of Education, Office of Postsecondary Education, Institutional Development and Undergraduate Education Programs.

Purpose of program: To assist institutions of higher education that serve high percentages of low-income and minority students in improving their management, fiscal operations, and educational quality, to ensure access and equal educational opportunity for low-income and minority students.

Benefit/service: Possible activities are broad and depend on the specific program. They may include but are not limited to assistance in planning, faculty development, and establishing endowment funds; administrative management; development and improvement of academic programs; equipment and facilities improvement, acquisition, and construction; debt reduction; staff development and tutoring.

Individual eligibility criteria: There are no individual eligibility criteria. Institutional eligibility criteria differ for each program; for example, eligible institutions must be institutions of higher education that have a high enrollment of needy students, have low educational and general expenditures per student, be accredited; be a historically black college or university; be listed in statute; be institutions of higher education with high minority enrollment; or be science-oriented societies or organizations.

Form and recipient of federal assistance: Competitive and formula grants to institutions of higher education (and nonprofit organizations in the case of the Minority Science and Engineering Program). Certain grants allow participation by institutions in territories (the College of the Marshall Islands, the College of Micronesia, Palau Community College, institutions of higher education in Guam, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, and Northern Mariana Islands) and by tribal colleges and universities.

Allocation formula: Depending on the program, factors may include Indian student enrollment, enrollment of Pell Grant recipients, number of graduates, number of graduates seeking a higher degree, student enrollment, cost of education per student, and percentage of total degrees awarded to African-American students by the applicant institution.

Matching or related requirements: Funds must supplement and not supplant any funds that would otherwise be used for the same purposes. Funds used for endowment must be matched, if permitted.

New obligations (FY2013): $780 million.

Budgetary classification: Discretionary and mandatory.

Participation data (most recent available): No data available.

CRS report: CRS Report R43237, Programs for Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs) Under the Higher Education Act (HEA), by Alexandra Hegji; and CRS Report R43351, The Higher Education Act (HEA): A Primer, by Alexandra Hegji.

Federal Work-Study (CFDA #84.033)

Authority: Statute: Title IV, Part C of the Higher Education Act of 1965, most recently reauthorized by the Higher Education Opportunity Act (P.L. 110-315); 42 U.S.C. 2751-2756b. Regulations: 34 C.F.R. Parts 673 and 675.

Federal administering agency: Department of Education, Office of Federal Student Aid.

Purpose of program: To assist students in financing the costs of postsecondary education.

Benefit/service: Federally subsidized part-time employment for students.

Individual eligibility criteria: Eligible students are undergraduate, graduate and professional students who demonstrate financial need. Students demonstrate financial need if the cost of attendance of their school exceeds the sum of their expected family contribution (EFC) and estimated financial assistance from other sources. A student's EFC is determined according to an analysis of income and asset information reported on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Students must be willing to work to receive Federal Work Study (FWS) assistance.

Form and recipient of federal assistance: Formula grants to institutions of higher education. Recipient institutions combine federal funds and matching funds from FWS employers to compensate eligible students employed in part-time work-study jobs. Allows participation by citizens of Palau.

Allocation formula: Federal capital contributions are allocated among participating institutions first according to a statutory formula that provides a "base guarantee" that is based on past funding amounts and, if funds remain, then according to a need-based formula that considers institutional need (as measured by the aggregate need of the institution's students).

Matching or related requirements: Student compensation is comprised of a federal share and an employer share. In general, the federal share is 75%, but may range between 50% and 100%. The remaining share is provided by the FWS employer.

New obligations (FY2013): $934 million.

Budgetary classification: Discretionary.

Participation data (most recent available): In academic year 2013, a total of 655,626 students participated.

CRS report: CRS Report RL31618, Campus-Based Student Financial Aid Programs Under the Higher Education Act, by Alexandra Hegji and David P. Smole.

Federal TRIO Programs (CFDA #84.042, #84.044, #84.047, #84.066, #84.103,

#84.217)

Authority: Statute: Title IV, Part A, Subpart 2, Chapter 1 of the Higher Education Act of 1965, most recently reauthorized by the Higher Education Opportunity Act (P.L. 110-315); 20 U.S.C. 1070a-11 -- 1070a-18. Regulations: 34 C.F.R. Parts 642-647. (Federal TRIO programs consist of: Student Support Services, Talent Search, Upward Bound, Educational Opportunity Centers, Staff Training, and Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement.)

Federal administering agency: Department of Education, Office of Postsecondary Education, Student Service.

Purpose of program: To motivate and support students from disadvantaged backgrounds through outreach and support programs designed to help them move through the academic pipeline from middle school to postbaccalaureate programs.

Benefit/service: Depending on the program, academic instruction; personal, academic and career counseling; tutoring; exposure to cultural events and academic programs; information on the availability of financial and academic assistance available for postsecondary education; assistance in filling out college applications and financial aid request forms; summer internships; research opportunities; stipends; grant aid; and staff development.

Individual eligibility criteria: Specific eligibility requirements differ among the TRIO programs but generally require that two-thirds of participants be low-income students who are first-generation college students. Low-income is defined as income no greater than 150% of federal poverty guidelines. The programs also target to varying extents students from educationally underrepresented groups, students with disabilities, low-income students, first generation college students, students at high risk of academic failure, and military veterans.

Form and recipient of federal assistance: Competitive grants to institutions of higher education, public and private organizations, secondary schools, and consortia of such entities. Allows participation by agencies or institutions in territories (American Samoa, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, or Palau).

Allocation formula: Not applicable.

Matching or related requirements: None.

New obligations (FY2013): $796 million.

Budgetary classification: Discretionary and mandatory.

Participation data (most recent available): In FY2013, the programs served a total of 758,212 students.

CRS report: CRS Report R42724, The TRIO Programs: A Primer, by Cassandria Dortch.

Indian Education Grants to Local Educational Agencies (CFDA #84.060)

Authority: Statute: Title VII, Part A, Subpart 1 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (P.L. 89-10), most recently reauthorized by the No Child Left Behind Act (P.L. 107-110); 20 U.S.C. 7421-7429, 7491-7492. Regulations: no formal program-specific regulations.

Federal administering agency: Department of Education, Office of Indian Education.

Purpose of program: To address the unique education and culturally related academic needs of American Indian and Alaska Native students, including preschool children, so that these students can meet the same challenging state performance standards expected of all students.

Benefit/service: Supplementary projects to help Indian children sharpen their academic skills, assist students in becoming proficient in the core content areas, and provide students an opportunity to participate in enrichment programs that would otherwise be unavailable. Funds support such activities as after-school programs, early childhood education, tutoring, and dropout prevention.

Individual eligibility criteria: There are no individual eligibility criteria. However, local educational agencies that wish to participate must document that they enroll at least 10 Indian children or that Indian children constitute at least 25% of enrollment. (These thresholds do not apply in Alaska, California, Oklahoma, or to local educational agencies located on or in proximity to an Indian reservation.) Indian children include tribal members, 1^st and 2^nd degree descendants of tribal members, Eskimos, Aleuts, Alaska Natives, and members of Indian groups recognized by the Secretary.

Form and recipient of federal assistance: Formula grants to local educational agencies, Bureau of Indian Education schools, and (in certain circumstances) Indian tribes that represent at least 50% of the eligible Indian children in the local educational agency.

Allocation formula: Grant amounts are based on the number of Indian children served by the agency or tribe, who are documented as eligible, and the greater of the average per pupil expenditure in the state in which the agency or tribe is located or 80% of the average per pupil expenditure in all states.

Matching or related requirements: Funds must supplement and not supplant any funds that would otherwise be used for the same purposes.

New obligations (FY2013): $100 million.

Budgetary classification: Discretionary.

Participation data (most recent available): In FY2014, approximately 476,000 children were eligible to be counted as Indian children for purposes of this program.

CRS reports: CRS Report RL34205, Federal Indian Elementary-Secondary Education Programs: Background and Issues, by Cassandria Dortch; and CRS Report R41598, Indian Education Formula Grant Program of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, by Cassandria Dortch.

Federal Pell Grants (CFDA #84.063)

Authority: Statute: Title IV, Part A, Subpart 1 of the Higher Education Act of 1965, most recently reauthorized by the Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008 (P.L. 110-315); 20 U.S.C. 1070a. Regulations: 34 C.F.R. 690.

Federal administering agency: Department of Education, Office of Federal Student Aid.

Purpose of program: To promote access to postsecondary education for low-income students.

Benefit/service: Need-based grants (size of grant is capped by law) to eligible students at participating institutions of higher education.

Individual eligibility criteria: Eligible students may be undergraduates or certain other post baccalaureate students in good academic standing, who demonstrate financial need as determined through analysis of income and asset information provided in their Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). This need analysis determines the student's expected family contribution (EFC) toward their education and the amount of federal student aid they may be eligible to receive.

Form and recipient of federal assistance: Funds are provided to participating institutions of higher education to pay eligible students; participating institutions also receive an administrative allowance per student. Individual students receive assistance either by payment to school account, direct payment (usually by check), or a combination of these methods. Allows participation by citizens of territories (American Samoa, Guam, Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, Palau Northern Mariana Islands, and U.S. Virgin Islands).

Allocation formula: Not applicable.

Matching or related requirements: Not applicable.

New obligations (FY2013): $31,887 million.

Budgetary classification: Discretionary and mandatory (entitlement to individuals).

Participation data (most recent available): During award year (July-June) 2013-2014, an estimated 8,861,000 students were served.

CRS report: CRS Report R42446, Federal Pell Grant Program of the Higher Education Act: How the Program Works and Recent Legislative Changes, by Cassandria Dortch.

Education for Homeless Children and Youth (CFDA #84.196)

Authority: Statute: Title VII, Subtitle B of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, established by the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act (P.L. 100-77) and renamed by the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (P.L. 106-400), most recently reauthorized by the No Child Left Behind Act (P.L. 107-110); 42 U.S.C. 11431 et seq. Regulations: no formal program-specific regulations.

Federal administering agency: Department of Education, Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, Office of Student Achievement and School Accountability Programs.

Purpose of program: To ensure that each child of a homeless individual and each homeless youth has equal access to the same free, appropriate public education, including a public preschool education, as other children and youth.

Benefit/service: Comprehensive services to facilitate the enrollment, attendance, and success in school for homeless children and youth, including, among other things, tutoring, supplemental instruction and referral services, as well as services to address barriers such as transportation, immunization, and lack of birth records.

Individual eligibility criteria: Eligible children and youth are those who lack a regular, fixed and adequate nighttime residence and include those who are sharing the housing of others due to economic hardship or a similar reason; are living in motels, hotels, trailer parks, or camping grounds due to the lack of alternative adequate accommodations; are living in emergency or transitional shelters; are abandoned in hospitals; or are awaiting foster care placement; have a primary nighttime residence that is a public or private place not designed as a regular sleeping arrangement; are living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations, or similar settings; or are migratory children who also qualify as homeless.

Form and recipient of federal assistance: Formula grants to state educational agencies, which make subgrants to local educational agencies. Allows participation by territories (Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands).

Allocation formula: Funds are allocated among states on the basis of their relative shares of funding under Title I, Part A of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.

Matching or related requirements: None.

New obligations (FY2013): $62 million.

Budgetary classification: Discretionary.

Participation data (most recent available): In school year 2011-2012, a total of 1,168,354 homeless children were enrolled in school.

CRS report: CRS Report R42494, Education for Homeless Children and Youth: Program Overview and Legislation, by Gail McCallion.

21^st Century Community Learning Centers (CFDA #84.287)

Authority: Statute: Title IV, Part B of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, established by the Improving America's Schools Act of 1994 (P.L. 103-382) and most recently reauthorized by the No Child Left Behind Act (P.L. 107-110); 20 U.S.C. 7171-7176. Regulations: no formal program-specific regulations.

Federal administering agency: Department of Education, Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, Office of Academic Improvement and Teacher Quality Programs.

Purpose of program: To create community learning centers that provide academic enrichment opportunities during non-school hours to help students meet state and local academic achievement standards, particularly for children who attend high-poverty and low-performing schools. Also offers a variety of additional programs intended to reinforce and complement the students' regular academic program and offers families of participating students opportunities for literacy and related educational development.

Benefit/service: Remedial education and academic enrichment learning programs, mathematics and science education activities, arts and music education activities, entrepreneurial education programs, tutoring services, after-school activities for limited-English-proficient students that emphasize language skills and academic achievement, recreational activities, telecommunications and technology education programs, expanded library hours, programs to promote parental involvement and family literacy, academic assistance to students who are truant or suspended or expelled, drug and violence prevention programs, counseling and character education programs.

Individual eligibility criteria: Funds must be used to serve students who attend schools that are eligible for schoolwide programs under Title I-A of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (i.e., schools in which at least 40% of the children are poor) or schools that serve a high percentage of students from low-income families, and the families of such students.

Form and recipient of federal assistance: Formula grants to state educational agencies, which make competitive subgrants to local educational agencies, community-based organizations, other public and private nonprofit organizations, or a consortium of the above. Allows participation by territories (Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands and the U.S. Virgin Islands).

Allocation formula: Funds are allocated among states on the basis of their relative shares of funding under Title I, Part A of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act for the preceding fiscal year.

Matching or related requirements: States may require local grantees to match federal funds; however, the match may not exceed the amount of federal funds and may not come from other federal or state funds. The size of the match is adjusted based on the relative poverty of the grantee's target population and the grantee's ability to obtain the match. The match may be in cash or in-kind.

New obligations (FY2013): $1,091 million.

Budgetary classification: Discretionary.

Participation data (most recent available): In 2013, a total of 1,875,000 students were served, of whom 930,000 attended for 30 days or more; and 300,000 adult family members were served.

CRS report: CRS Report RL33960, The Elementary and Secondary Education Act, as Amended by the No Child Left Behind Act: A Primer, by Rebecca R. Skinner.

Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR-UP) (CFDA #84.334)

Authority: Statute: Title IV, Part A, Subpart 2, Chapter 2 of the Higher Education Act of 1965, established by the Higher Education Amendments of 1998 (P.L. 105-244) and most recently reauthorized by the Higher Education Opportunity Act (P.L. 110-315); 20 U.S.C. 1070a21-28. Regulations: 34 C.F.R. Part 694.

Federal administering agency: Department of Education, Office of Postsecondary Education, Student Service.

Purpose of program: To assist low-income students attain a secondary school diploma or equivalent and prepare for and succeed in postsecondary education.

Benefit/service: Teacher training, scholarships and early intervention services; for example, financial assistance necessary for attending an institution of higher education, and additional counseling, mentoring, academic support, outreach, and supportive services.

Individual eligibility criteria: A cohort of students in at least one grade level of a school in which at least 50% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch; a cohort of students in at least one grade level that reside in public housing; or secondary school students eligible to be counted under the basic formula for Title I-A of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, eligible under Title IV-B or IV-E of the Social Security Act, eligible for the homeless education program under the McKinney-Vento Act, or considered disconnected.

Form and recipient of federal assistance: Competitive grants to states and to partnerships consisting of at least one degree-granting institution of higher education and one or more local educational agencies, and if desired, at least two other partners (such as community organizations, businesses, and public or private agencies or organizations). Allows participation by agencies or institutions in territories (American Samoa, Guam, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands).

Allocation formula: Not applicable.

Matching or related requirements: A 50% nonfederal match is required, unless granted a waiver.

New obligations (FY2013): $286 million.

Budgetary classification: Discretionary.

Participation data (most recent available): In FY2013, the program served a total of 617,437 students.

CRS report: CRS Report R43351, The Higher Education Act (HEA): A Primer, by Alexandra Hegji.

Rural Education Achievement Program (CFDA #84.358)

Authority: Statute: Title VI, Part B of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, established by the No Child Left Behind Act (P.L. 107-110); 20 U.S.C. 7341-7372. Regulations: no formal program-specific regulations.

Federal administering agency: Department of Education, Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, Office of School Support and Technology Programs.

Purpose of program: To help rural and rural low-income school districts meet their state's definition of adequate yearly progress under the No Child Left Behind Act.

Benefit/service: Small Rural School Achievement Program (SRSA): Activities authorized under Title I-A (improving the academic achievement of disadvantaged children), Title II-A (teacher and principal training and recruiting), Title II-D (enhancing education through technology), Title III (language instruction for limited English proficient and immigrant children), Title IV-A (safe and drug-free schools), Title IV-B (21^st century community learning centers) and Title V-A (innovative programs) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. Rural and Low-Income School Program (RLIS): Teacher recruitment and retention, teacher professional development, educational technology, parental involvement activities, activities under Title IV-A (safe and drug-free schools) and Title I-A (improving the academic achievement of disadvantaged children) and Title III (language instruction for limited English proficient and immigrant children) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.

Individual eligibility criteria: There are no individual eligibility criteria.

Form and recipient of federal assistance: SRSA: Formula grants to small local educational agencies (LEAs). RLIS: Formula grants to state educational agencies (SEAs) for suballocation to local educational agencies that do not meet the small-size thresholds for SRSA and in which 20% of the children aged 5-17 are from families below federal poverty guidelines. RLIS allows participation by territories (American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands and the U.S. Virgin Islands).

Allocation formula: Funds are allocated among LEAs (SRSA) and SEAs (RLIS) according to a formula that considers average daily attendance.

Matching or related requirements: None. Funds must supplement and not supplant any funds that would otherwise be used for these activities.

New obligations (FY2013): $170 million.

Budgetary classification: Discretionary.

Participation data (most recent available): In FY2013, an estimated 4,304 SRSA grants were made to LEAs; 45 RLIS grants were made to states for 2,088 subgrants to LEAs.

CRS report: CRS Report R40853, The Rural Education Achievement Program: Title VI-B of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, by Jeffrey J. Kuenzi.

Mathematics and Science Partnerships (CFDA #84.366)

Authority: Statute: Title II, Part B of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, established by the Hawkins-Stafford Elementary and Secondary School Improvements Act of 1988 (P.L. 100-297) and most recently reauthorized by the No Child Left Behind Act (P.L. 107-110); 20 U.S.C. 6661-6663. Regulations: no formal program-specific regulations.

Federal administering agency: Department of Education, Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, Academic Improvement and Teacher Quality Programs.

Purpose of program: To improve the content knowledge of teachers and the performance of students in the areas of mathematics and science.

Benefit/service: Enhanced and ongoing professional development of mathematics and science teachers, promotion of strong teaching skills through integrating reliable research methods and technology-based teaching methods into the curriculum, and summer workshops or institutes including follow-up training for elementary and secondary mathematics and science teachers.

Individual eligibility criteria: There are no individual eligibility criteria.

Form and recipient of federal assistance: Formula grants to state educational agencies (SEAs), which award funds to partnerships of local educational agencies (LEAs) and institutions of higher education. At a minimum, partnerships must include a high-need LEA and an engineering, mathematics or science department of an institution of higher education.

Allocation formula: Funds are allocated among states according to the state's share of children aged 5-17 from families with income below federal poverty guidelines.

Matching or related requirements: None. Funds must supplement and not supplant any funds that would otherwise be used for these activities.

New obligations (FY2013): $141 million.

Budgetary classification: Discretionary.

Participation data (most recent available): In FY2011, more than 56,000 teachers received professional development.

CRS reports: CRS Report R42642, Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Education: A Primer, by Heather B. Gonzalez and Jeffrey J. Kuenzi; and CRS Report RL33960, The Elementary and Secondary Education Act, as Amended by the No Child Left Behind Act: A Primer, by Rebecca R. Skinner.

Improving Teacher Quality State Grants (CFDA #84.367)

Authority: Statute: Title II, Part A of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, established by the No Child Left Behind Act (P.L. 107-110); 20 U.S.C. 6601-6641. Regulations: no formal program-specific regulations.

Federal administering agency: Department of Education, Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, Academic Improvement and Teacher Quality Programs.

Purpose of program: To increase student achievement through improving teacher and principal quality and increasing the number of highly qualified teachers, principals and assistant principals in classrooms and schools.

Benefit/service: State activities include teacher and principal certification reform, professional development activities, assistance to local educational agencies in teacher and principal recruitment and retention, tenure reform, subject matter testing for teachers, across-state certification reciprocity projects, technology training for teachers, assistance to help teachers become highly qualified, and teacher recruitment and placement clearinghouses. Local activities include assistance to schools in recruitment and retention of highly qualified teachers and principals, use of such teachers to reduce class size, professional development activities, and quality improvement activities such as tenure reform, merit pay and subject-area testing for teachers.

Individual eligibility criteria: There are no individual eligibility criteria.

Form and recipient of federal assistance: Formula grants to state educational agencies, which make formula-based subgrants to local educational agencies, and to state agencies of higher education, which award competitive grants to partnerships of institutions of higher education and high-need local educational agencies (those with a high number or proportion of poor children). Allows participation by territories (Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands).

Allocation formula: Funds are allocated among states and local educational agencies based first on the amounts they received under predecessor programs in 2001; excess funds are allocated according to formulas based on number of children ages 5-17 and number of children ages 5-17 from families with incomes below federal poverty guidelines.

Matching or related requirements: None. Funds must supplement and not supplant any funds that would otherwise be used for these activities.

New obligations (FY2013): $2,334 million.

Budgetary classification: Discretionary.

Participation data (most recent available): In school year 2012-2013, funds were used to hire an estimated 14,986 teachers.

CRS report: CRS Report R41267, Elementary and Secondary School Teachers: Policy Context, Federal Programs, and ESEA Reauthorization Issues, by Jeffrey J. Kuenzi.

College Access Challenge Grants (CFDA #84.378)

Authority: Statute: Title VII, Part E, Section 781 of the Higher Education Act of 1965, discretionary funding most recently authorized by the Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008 (P.L. 110-315) and mandatory funding provided by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 (P.L. 111-152); 20 U.S.C. 1141. Regulations: no formal program-specific regulations.

Federal administering agency: Department of Education, Office of Postsecondary Education, Student Service.

Purpose of program: To foster partnerships among federal, state and local governments and philanthropic organizations through matching challenge grants that are aimed at increasing the number of low-income students who are prepared to enter and succeed in postsecondary education.

Benefit/service: Information for students and families regarding the benefits of postsecondary education, postsecondary education opportunities and planning, and career preparation; information on financing postsecondary education and activities to promote financial literacy and debt management; outreach for students at-risk of not enrolling in or completing postsecondary education; assistance in completing financial aid applications; need-based grant aid; professional development for guidance counselors at middle and secondary schools and for financial aid administrators and college admissions counselors at postsecondary institutions, to improve their ability to help students and parents with admissions and financial assistance procedures; and student loan cancellation or repayment, or interest rate reductions, for borrowers employed in a high-need geographic area or high-need profession in the state.

Individual eligibility criteria: There are no individual eligibility criteria. However, grantees must give priority for services to students and families with income below the poverty line.

Form and recipient of federal assistance: Formula grants to states (or to philanthropic organizations if the state fails to meet nonfederal matching requirements). Allows participation by territories (American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Micronesia, and the Marshall Islands).

Allocation formula: Funds are allocated equally on the basis of each state's relative population of individuals aged 5-17 living below the poverty line, and each state's relative population of individuals aged 15-44 living below the poverty line.

Matching or related requirements: A one-third nonfederal match is required.

New obligations (FY2013): $72 million.

Budgetary classification: Mandatory and discretionary.

Participation data (most recent available): No data available.

CRS reports: CRS Report R43351, The Higher Education Act (HEA): A Primer, by Alexandra Hegji.

Reading First and Early Reading First (program no longer funded; formerly CFDA #84.357 and #84.359)

Authority: Statute: Title I, Part B, Subparts 1 and 2 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, established by the No Child Left Behind Act (P.L. 107-110); 20 U.S.C. 6361-6376. Regulations: no formal program-specific regulations.

Federal administering agency: Department of Education, Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, Academic Improvement and Teacher Quality Programs.

Purpose of program: Reading First: To ensure that every child can read at grade level or above by no later than grade 3. Early Reading First: To enhance the early language, literacy and prereading development of preschool-aged children, particularly from low-income families.

Benefit/service: Reading First: Assistance in selecting and administering reading assessments, selecting and implementing programs of reading instruction based on scientifically based reading research (SBR) that included the essential elements of reading instruction, procuring and implementing SBR-based teaching materials, providing professional development for teachers of grades K-3 and special education teachers of grades K-12, collecting and analyzing data to document program effectiveness and identify successful schools, reporting student progress, promoting reading and library programs, supporting family literacy programs, and training parents as reading tutors. Early Reading First: High-quality oral language and literature rich environments, professional training based on SBR to early childhood staff in early reading development, SBR-based language and literacy activities and instructional materials, and SBR-based reading assessments.

Individual eligibility criteria: Reading First: Children in grades K-3 who may have had reading difficulties, were at risk of referral to special education because of their reading difficulties, had been evaluated but not identified as a child with disabilities, were receiving special education services because they had been identified as having a specific learning disability related to reading, were deficient in essential reading skills, or had limited English proficiency. Early Reading First: No specific eligibility criteria; however, services were targeted toward preschool children from low-income families with limited English proficiency, disabilities, or other special needs, who were also experiencing difficulty with spoken language, prereading and early reading skills.

Form and recipient of federal assistance: Reading First: Formula grants to state educational agencies, which awarded funds competitively to local educational agencies. Early Reading First: Competitive grants to local educational agencies eligible for Title I-A ESEA grants, or to one or more public or private organizations acting on behalf of programs that served preschool-age children located in an area served by a Title I-A-eligible LEA, or to a consortium of the above. Reading First allowed participation by territories (Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, Northern Marianas, and the Virgin Islands).

Allocation formula: Reading First: Funds were allocated among states according to their proportion of children aged 5-17 whose families had income below federal poverty guidelines. Early Reading First: Not applicable.

Matching or related requirements: None.

New obligations (FY2013): None. No obligations have been made since FY2009.

Budgetary classification: Discretionary.

Participation data (most recent available): In school year 2008-2009, an estimated 1,245,353 students participated in Reading First. In FY2009, grantees proposed to serve a total of 33,278 children and 3,402 educators in Early Reading First.

CRS reports: CRS Report R40212, Early Childhood Care and Education Programs: Background and Funding, by Karen E. Lynch and Gail McCallion; and CRS Report RL33960, The Elementary and Secondary Education Act, as Amended by the No Child Left Behind Act: A Primer, by Rebecca R. Skinner.

Academic Competitiveness and Smart Grant Program (program no longer funded; formerly CFDA #84.375 and #84.376)

Authority: Statute: Title IV, Part A, Subpart 1, Section 401A of the Higher Education Act of 1965, established by the Higher Education Reconciliation Act of 2005 (P.L. 109-171); 20 U.S.C. 1070a-1. Regulations: 34 C.F.R. Part 691.

Federal administering agency: Department of Education, Office of Federal Student Aid.

Purpose of program: To help eligible financially needy students finance their postsecondary education by encouraging students to complete a rigorous high school curriculum, maintain a high grade point average (GPA), and major in math and science fields during their undergraduate studies.

Benefit/service: Grant aid that, together with any other student aid received, could not exceed the student's cost of postsecondary school attendance.

Individual eligibility criteria: Eligible students were undergraduates who attended participating schools, were eligible to receive a Pell Grant, and met other eligibility requirements related to -- depending on their year in school -- completing a rigorous high school curriculum; majoring in mathematics, science, or selected foreign languages; and maintaining a required minimum GPA.

Form and recipient of federal assistance: Funds were provided to participating institutions of higher education to pay eligible students; participating institutions also received an administrative allowance per student. Individual students received assistance either by payment to school account, direct payment (usually by check), or a combination of these methods. Allowed participation by citizens of territories (American Samoa, Guam, Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, Palau Northern Mariana Islands, and U.S. Virgin Islands).

Allocation formula: Not applicable.

Matching or related requirements: Not applicable.

New obligations (FY2013): None. No obligations have been made since FY2011.

Budgetary classification: Mandatory (entitlement to individuals).

Participation data (most recent available): During award year (July-June) 2009-2010, 731,653 students were served.

CRS report: CRS Report RL34452, The Ensuring Continued Access to Student Loans Act of 2008, by David P. Smole.

Housing and Development

Single-Family Rural Housing Loans (Section 502) (CFDA #10.410)

Authority: Statute: Section 502 of the Housing Act of 1949 (P.L. 81-171); 42 U.S.C. 1471 et seq. Regulations: 7 C.F.R. Part 3550 Subpart B, 7 C.F.R. Part 1980, and 7 C.F.R. Part 1940 Subpart L.

Federal administering agency: Department of Agriculture, Rural Housing Service.

Purpose of program: To assist low-income households in obtaining adequate but modest, decent, safe, and sanitary dwellings and related facilities in rural areas.

Benefit/service: Guaranteed or direct loans to assist in purchasing homes; loans also can be used to build, repair, renovate or relocate a home, or to purchase and prepare sites, including to provide water and sewage facilities.

Individual eligibility criteria: For guaranteed loans, individuals may have incomes up to 115% of area median income. For direct loans, individuals must be either low-income (with incomes no higher than 80% of area median) or very low-income (with incomes no higher than 50% of area median).

Form and recipient of federal assistance: Guaranteed or direct loans to individuals. Allows participation by residents of territories (American Samoa, Guam, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Northern Marianas, Palau, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands).

Allocation formula: Guaranteed loan funds are allocated among states according to factors including the state's share of occupied rural substandard housing units, rural population in very small communities, rural households with incomes between 80% and 100% of area median income, and rural renter households paying more than 35% of income for rent. Direct loan funds are allocated among the states according to factors including the state's share of occupied rental rural substandard units, total rural population, rural population in very small communities, rural households with incomes between 50% and 80% of area median income and those with incomes below 50% of area median income.

Matching or related requirements: Not applicable.

New obligations (FY2013): $50 million (budget authority for direct and guaranteed loans).

Budgetary classification: Discretionary.

Participation data (most recent available): In FY2013, 162,943 units received assistance.

CRS reports: CRS Report RL31837, An Overview of USDA Rural Development Programs, by Tadlock Cowan; and CRS Report RL34591, Overview of Federal Housing Assistance Programs and Policy, by Maggie McCarty, Libby Perl, and Katie Jones.

Rural Rental Assistance Payments (Section 521) (CFDA #10.427)

Authority: Statute: Section 521 of the Housing Act of 1949, established by the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1968 (P.L. 90-448); 42 U.S.C. 1490. Regulations: 7 C.F.R. Part 3560 and 7 C.F.R. Part 1940 Subpart L.

Federal administering agency: Department of Agriculture, Rural Housing Service.

Purpose of program: To reduce the rent paid by low-income households in eligible units financed under certain Rural Housing Service programs.

Benefit/service: Rental subsidies for low-income tenants provided through payments to eligible property owners; payments make up the difference between the tenant's rental payment to the owner and the approved rent for the unit.

Individual eligibility criteria: Eligible tenants must have incomes no greater than 80% of area median income, although most assistance is targeted toward tenants with incomes no greater than 50% of area median.

Form and recipient of federal assistance: Direct payments to property owners.

Allocation formula: Funding for new rural rental assistance payments is allocated among the states according to each state's share of the rural population, rural housing units that are overcrowded and/or lack plumbing, and poor persons living in rural areas.

Matching or related requirements: None.

New obligations (FY2013): $837 million.

Budgetary classification: Discretionary.

Participation data (most recent available): In FY2013, 190,697 units were under contract to be subsidized.

CRS reports: CRS Report RL31837, An Overview of USDA Rural Development Programs, by Tadlock Cowan; and CRS Report RL34591, Overview of Federal Housing Assistance Programs and Policy, by Maggie McCarty, Libby Perl, and Katie Jones.

Water and Waste Disposal for Rural Communities (CFDA #10.760)

Authority: Statute: Section 306 of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act of 1972 (P.L. 92-419), most recently amended and reauthorized by the Agricultural Act of 2014 (P.L. 113-79); 7 U.S.C. 1926. Regulations: 7 C.F.R. Parts 1778-1780.

Federal administering agency: Department of Agriculture, Rural Utility Service.

Purpose of program: To provide basic human amenities, alleviate health hazards, and promote the orderly growth of the nation's rural areas by meeting the need for new and improved rural water and waste disposal facilities.

Benefit/service: Long-term low-interest loans and grants to support the installation, repair, improvement or expansion of rural water facilities. Loan interest rates are based on the economic health of the community and are lowest in communities where the median household income is 80% of the state nonurban median or the poverty level, or less.

Individual eligibility criteria: There are no individual eligibility criteria. Eligible communities have populations of 10,000 or less and are unable to finance their projects through other means. Grants are targeted toward projects serving poorer communities.

Form and recipient of federal assistance: Loans and formula grants to local governments and public and private organizations. Allows participation by territories (American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands) and Indian tribes.

Allocation formula: USDA allocates grant funds among its state rural development offices based on each state's rural population, number of households in poverty, and unemployment.

Matching or related requirements: Grants and loans are intended to cover no more than 75% of project development costs in communities where median household income is 80% of the state nonurban median or the poverty level, or less; or 45% of project development costs in communities where median household income is higher than 80% but less than 100% of the state nonurban median.

New obligations (FY2013): $524 million.

Budgetary classification: Discretionary.

Participation data (most recent available): No data available.

CRS reports: CRS Report RL30478, Federally Supported Water Supply and Wastewater Treatment Programs, coordinated by Claudia Copeland; and CRS Report RL31837, An Overview of USDA Rural Development Programs, by Tadlock Cowan.

Public Works and Economic Development (CFDA #11.300)

Authority: Statute: Section 201 of the Public Works and Economic Development Act of 1965 (P.L. 89-136), most recently reauthorized by the Economic Development Administration Reauthorization Act of 2004 (P.L. 108-373); 42 U.S.C. 3141. Regulations: 13 C.F.R. Part 305.

Federal administering agency: Department of Commerce, Economic Development Administration.

Purpose of program: To help the nation's most distressed communities revitalize, expand and upgrade their physical infrastructure to attract new industry, encourage business expansion, diversify local economies and generate or retain long-term private sector jobs and investments.

Benefit/service: Assistance in the acquisition or development of land and improvements for use for a public works, public service, or development facility; and assistance in the acquisition, design and engineering, construction, rehabilitation, alteration, expansion, or improvement of such a facility, including related machinery and equipment.

Individual eligibility criteria: There are no individual eligibility criteria. Eligible projects must be located in areas that have either: low per capita income (80% of the national average or lower); unemployment for the most recent 24-month period that is at least one percentage point higher than the national average; or a special need arising from actual or threatened severe unemployment or economic adjustment problems resulting from severe changes in economic conditions. Projects may be outside such an area if they would create significant employment opportunities for unemployed, underemployed, or low-income residents of such an area.

Form and recipient of federal assistance: Competitive grants to economic development districts (i.e., areas designated by EDA which have sufficient size and resources to foster economic development and which have at least one area fitting the income, unemployment or special need criteria described above), states, local governments, institutions of higher education, or public or private nonprofit organizations and associations acting in cooperation with local governments. Allows participation by territories (American Samoa, Guam, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Northern Marianas, Palau, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands) and Indian tribes.

Allocation formula: Not applicable. However, no more than 15% of available funds may be spent in a single state.

Matching or related requirements: In general, the federal share is 50%, plus an additional federal share of no more than 30% based on the relative needs of the area where the project is located. Nonfederal contributions may be in cash or in-kind. At the discretion of the Secretary of Commerce, the federal share may be increased up to 100% for grants to Indian tribes, states or localities that have exhausted their effective taxing and borrowing capacity, or nonprofit organizations that have exhausted their borrowing capacity.

New obligations (FY2013): $97 million.

Budgetary classification: Discretionary.

Participation data (most recent available): No data available.

CRS report: CRS Report R41241, Economic Development Administration: A Review of Elements of Its Statutory History, by Eugene Boyd.

Supportive Housing for the Elderly (CFDA #14.157)

Authority: Statute: Section 202 of the U.S. Housing Act of 1959 (P.L. 86-372), most recently reauthorized by the American Homeownership and Economic Opportunity Act of 2000 (P.L. 106-569); 12 U.S.C. 1701q. Regulations: 24 C.F.R. Part 891.

Federal administering agency: Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Housing.

Purpose of program: To help expand the supply of affordable housing with supportive services for the elderly.

Benefit/service: Financial assistance for development of supportive housing for the elderly, and rent subsidies for eligible tenants.

Individual eligibility criteria: Very low-income households in which at least one member is at least 62 years old at the time of initial occupancy. Very low-income is defined as having income no greater than 50% of area median, adjusted for family size.

Form and recipient of federal assistance: Interest-free capital advances to finance development costs, which do not have to be repaid as long as the project serves very low-income elderly residents for at least 40 years, and project-based rental assistance contracts to cover the difference between the HUD-approved operating costs for the project and the tenant's contribution toward rent. Assistance is provided to private nonprofit organizations and for-profit general partnerships where the sole general partner is a nonprofit organization. Allows participation by territories (Puerto Rico and the possessions of the U.S).

Allocation formula: HUD uses a needs-based formula to allocate funds among HUD multifamily hubs, allocating 85% of funds to metropolitan areas and 15% to non-metropolitan areas, and considering relevant characteristics of the elderly population, such as the number of single elderly renters with incomes below 50% of area median income, and various housing factors. HUD awards funds to eligible applicants on a competitive basis.

Matching or related requirements: None.

New obligations (FY2013): $389 million.

Budgetary classification: Discretionary.

Participation data (most recent available): In FY2012, HUD reported combined households residing in units funded through the Section 202 and Section 811 Supportive Housing for Persons with Disabilities programs. In that year, 142,977 households occupied housing units funded through the two programs.

CRS report: CRS Report RL33508, Section 202 and Other HUD Rental Housing Programs for Low-Income Elderly Residents, by Libby Perl.

Supportive Housing for Persons with Disabilities (CFDA #14.181)

Authority: Statute: Section 811 of the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act of 1990 (P.L. 101-625), most recently reauthorized by the Frank Melville Supportive Housing Investment Act of 2010 (P.L. 111-374); 42 U.S.C. 8013. Regulations: 24 C.F.R. Parts 891 Subparts A, C and D.

Federal administering agency: Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Housing.

Purpose of program: To allow persons with disabilities to live as independently as possible in the community by increasing the supply of rental housing with the availability of supportive services.

Benefit/service: Financial assistance for development of supportive housing for persons with disabilities, and rent subsidies for eligible tenants.

Individual eligibility criteria: Very low-income households (which may include a single individual) in which at least one member is age 18 or older and has a disability, such as a physical or developmental disability or chronic mental illness. Very low-income is defined as having income no greater than 50% of area median, adjusted for family size.

Form and recipient of federal assistance: Interest-free capital advances to finance development costs, which do not have to be repaid as long as the project serves very low-income disabled residents for at least 40 years, and project-based rental assistance contracts to cover the difference between the HUD-approved operating costs for the project and the tenant's contribution toward rent. Assistance is provided to private nonprofit organizations.

Allocation formula: HUD uses a needs-based formula to allocate funds among HUD field offices based on the number of noninstitutionalized persons within the local office jurisdiction who are between the ages of 16 and 64 and have a disability. Field offices award funds to eligible applicants on a competitive basis.

Matching or related requirements: None.

New obligations (FY2013): $102 million.

Budgetary classification: Discretionary.

Participation data (most recent available): In FY2012, HUD reported combined households residing in units funded through the Section 202 and Section 811 Supportive Housing for Persons with Disabilities programs. In that year, 142,977 households occupied housing units funded through the two programs.

CRS report: CRS Report RL34728, Section 811 and Other HUD Housing Programs for Persons with Disabilities, by Libby Perl.

Section 8 Project-Based Rental Assistance (CFDA #14.195)

Authority: Statute: Section 8 of the U.S. Housing Act of 1937, established by the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 (P.L. 93-383); 42 U.S.C. 1437f. Regulations: 24 C.F.R. Parts 5, 880, 881, 883, 884, 886 and 891 Subpart E.

Federal administering agency: Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Housing.

Purpose of program: To help very low-income families afford decent, safe and sanitary housing in the private market.

Benefit/service: Rent subsidies tied to units in privately-owned multifamily housing properties. Tenants are expected to pay the highest of 30% of counted income, 10% of gross income, or, in states where applicable, the "welfare" rent. The program pays owners the difference between the tenant contribution and a previously negotiated rent.

Individual eligibility criteria: Eligible families must be very low-income (with incomes no higher than 50% of area median income), but 40% of units that become available each year must be given to families that are extremely low-income (incomes no higher than 30% of area median income). In some limited circumstances, families may be low-income, with incomes as high as 80% of area median income.

Form and recipient of federal assistance: Project-based rental assistance contracts between HUD and private property owners. HUD has not had the authority to enter into new contracts since 1983, but does have the authority to renew existing contracts when they expire. There are properties with project-based rental assistance contracts in the territories (U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, and Guam).

Allocation formula: None.

Matching or related requirements: None.

New obligations (FY2013): $8,818 million.

Budgetary classification: Discretionary.

Participation data (most recent available): In FY2012, 1.174 million housing units were eligible for assistance payments. (Note: Not all units may have been occupied in the year and some units may have served more than one household during the year.)

CRS report: CRS Report RL32284, An Overview of the Section 8 Housing Programs: Housing Choice Vouchers and Project-Based Rental Assistance, by Maggie McCarty.

Community Development Block Grants (CFDA #14.218, #14.225, #14.228)

Authority: Statute: Title I of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 (P.L. 93-383), most recently reauthorized by the Housing and Community Development Act of 1992 (P.L. 102-550); 42 U.S.C. 5301 et seq. Regulations: 24 C.F.R. Part 570.

Federal administering agency: Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Community Planning and Development.

Purpose of program: To develop viable urban communities by providing decent housing and a suitable living environment and expanding economic opportunities, principally for persons of low to moderate income.

Benefit/service: Assistance with the acquisition of real property, relocation and demolition, rehabilitation of residential and non-residential structures, construction of public facilities and improvements, public services within certain limits, activities related to energy conservation and renewable energy resources, and assistance to nonprofit entities and to profit-motivated businesses to carry out economic development and job creation/retention activities.

Individual eligibility criteria: There are no individual eligibility criteria. At least 70% of funds must be used for activities that benefit low-and moderate-income individuals. Low-income is defined as income no greater than 50% of the state or entitlement community's median; moderate-income is defined as income above 50% but no greater than 80% of the state or entitlement community's median.

Form and recipient of federal assistance: Formula grants to "entitlement communities" (i.e., principal cities in metropolitan statistical areas, other metropolitan cities with populations of at least 50,000, and qualified urban counties with populations of at least 200,000); and states, which administer funds on behalf of non-entitlement communities (i.e., cities with populations of less than 50,000 and counties with populations of less than 200,000). HUD directly administers the state component of the program for Hawaii, which has elected not to participate in the program. Allows participation by territories (Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, Northern Marianas, and the U.S. Virgin Islands) and Indian tribes.

Allocation formula: Of available funds, 70% are allocated to entitlement communities according to a formula that considers various measures of community need, including the extent of poverty, population size, housing overcrowding, age of housing, and lag in population growth as compared to other metropolitan areas. The remaining 30% are allocated to states according to a formula that considers population, poverty, incidence of overcrowded housing, and age of the housing.

Matching or related requirements: None.

New obligations (FY2013): $2,971 million (Community Development Formula Grants and Indian Community Development Grants).

Budgetary classification: Discretionary.

Participation data: No data available.

CRS reports: CRS Report R43520, Community Development Block Grants and Related Programs: A Primer, by Eugene Boyd; and CRS Report R43394, Community Development Block Grants: Recent Funding History, by Eugene Boyd.

Homeless Assistance Grants (CFDA #14.231 and #14.267)

Authority: Statute: Title IV of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, established by the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act (P.L. 100-77) and most recently reauthorized as part of the Helping Families Save Their Homes Act (P.L. 111-22); 42 U.S.C. Chapter 119, Subchapter IV. Regulations: 24 C.F.R. Parts 576, 578. (Homeless Assistance Grants consist of three programs administered through a consolidated budget account: Emergency Solutions Grants Program (ESG), the Continuum of Care Program (CoC), and the Rural Housing Stability Assistance Program (RHS).

Federal administering agency: Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Community Planning and Development.

Purpose of program: ESG: To provide homeless persons with basic shelter and essential support services and prevent at-risk persons and families from becoming homeless. CoC: To promote a community-wide commitment to ending homelessness, provide funding to rapidly house individuals and families experiencing homelessness, and to optimize self-sufficiency among those experiencing homelessness. RHS: To rehouse or improve the housing situations of those experiencing homelessness or in the worst housing situations in the geographic area, stabilize the living situations of those in imminent danger of losing housing, and improve the ability of the lowest income residents in the community to afford stable housing.

Benefit/service: ESG: Renovation, rehabilitation or conversion of buildings into homeless shelters, services such as employment counseling, health care and education, assistance with rent or utility payments to prevent homelessness. CoC: Transitional housing for homeless individuals and families for up to 24 months, rent subsidies for permanent supportive housing for eligible individuals and families, rapid rehousing support, supportive services, and funds for community data collection. RHS: Transitional housing, permanent housing, rapid rehousing, data collection, supportive services, homelessness prevention, relocation services for employment, education, or family reunification, short-term emergency housing, and home repairs to make properties habitable.

Individual eligibility criteria: ESG: Homeless individuals and families and families, and those at risk of becoming homeless. CoC: Homeless individuals and families, those who will imminently lose housing, families with children and youth defined as homeless under other federal statutes, and, in some cases, homeless individuals and families at risk of homelessness. RHS: All those eligible for the CoC program and, additionally, those in the worst housing situations in the area and the lowest income residents in the community.

Form and recipient of federal assistance: ESG: Formula grants to states, metropolitan cities and urban counties. CoC and RHS: Competitive grants to states and local governments, public housing authorities, and private nonprofit organizations. Allows participation by territories (American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands).

Allocation formula: ESG: Funds are allocated on the basis of population, poverty population, housing overcrowding, age of housing, and extent of growth lag. CoC and RHS: Not applicable.

Matching or related requirements: ESG: Dollar-for-dollar match (although first $100,000 provided to a state need not be matched, and the match does not apply to the territories), which might be in the form of cash or value of buildings, staff salaries or volunteer time. CoC and RHS: Match of 25% of grant funds received at the community level, except funds for leasing; match may be either cash or in-kind.

New obligations (FY2013): $2,086 million.

Budgetary classification: Discretionary.

Participation data (most recent available): In FY2013, the Homeless Assistance Grants funded 339,487 beds.

CRS reports: CRS Report RL33764, The HUD Homeless Assistance Grants: Programs Authorized by the HEARTH Act, by Libby Perl; and CRS Report RL30442, Homelessness: Targeted Federal Programs and Recent Legislation, coordinated by Libby Perl.

Home Investment Partnerships Program (HOME) (CFDA #14.239)

Authority: Statute: Title II of the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act of 1990 (P.L. 101-625); 42 U.S.C. 12722 et seq. Regulations: 24 C.F.R. Part 92.

Federal administering agency: Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Community Planning and Development.

Purpose of program: To increase the number of families served with decent, safe, sanitary and affordable housing and expand the long-term supply of affordable housing; and to strengthen the ability of states and local governments to provide for housing needs.

Benefit/service: Assistance for existing homeowners in repairing, rehabilitating or rebuilding their homes; assistance for homebuyers in the purchase or rehabilitation of a new home; assistance for developers or other organizations in the purchase or rehabilitation of affordable rental housing; and tenant-based rental assistance.

Individual eligibility criteria: Recipient households may not have incomes above 80% of area median income. At least 90% of families receiving rental housing and tenant-based rental assistance must have incomes that are no more than 60% of area median income.

Form and recipient of federal assistance: Formula grants to states and local participating jurisdictions, which are metropolitan cities or urban counties that meet certain minimum funding thresholds. Allows participation by territories (Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands).

Allocation formula: Funds are allocated according to a formula that considers various housing quality and affordability factors, as well as certain income-related factors, including the number of older units in the jurisdiction occupied by poor households and the number of poor families in the jurisdiction.

Matching or related requirements: Nonfederal matching of 25% is required.

New obligations (FY2013): $919 million.

Budgetary classification: Discretionary.

Participation data (most recent available): In FY2013, HOME funds contributed to 21,153 completed housing units, and tenant-based rental assistance for 12,762 households.

CRS report: CRS Report R40118, An Overview of the HOME Investment Partnerships Program, by Katie Jones.

Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA) (CFDA #14.241)

Authority: Statute: AIDS Housing Opportunity Act, established by the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act of 1990 (P.L. 101-625) and most recently reauthorized by the Housing and Community Development Act of 1992 (P.L. 102-550); 42 U.S.C. 12901-12912. Regulations: 24 C.F.R. Parts 574.3-574.655.

Federal administering agency: Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Community Planning and Development, Office of HIV/AIDS Housing.

Purpose of program: To devise long-term comprehensive strategies for meeting the housing needs of persons with AIDS.

Benefit/service: Housing assistance and related supportive services, including housing information services; acquisition, rehabilitation, conversion, lease, and repair of facilities to provide housing and services; new construction (for single room occupancy dwellings and community residences only); project-or tenant-based rental assistance; short-term rent, mortgage, and utility payments to prevent homelessness; supportive services such as health and mental health services, drug and alcohol abuse treatment and counseling, day care, nutritional services, intensive care when required, and aid in gaining access to other public benefits.

Individual eligibility criteria: Eligible individuals are HIV-positive or have AIDS, and have incomes no higher than 80% of area median income.

Form and recipient of federal assistance: 90% of funds are awarded as formula grants to states and eligible metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) that meet minimum AIDS case requirements; 10% are competitively awarded to states, local governments, and nonprofit agencies. Allows participation by territories (Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, and the U.S. Virgin Islands).

Allocation formula: Of formula funds, 75% (base funding) is awarded to eligible cities (MSAs with population of more than 500,000 and more than 1,500 cumulative reported AIDS cases) and to eligible states (those with more than 1,500 AIDS cases in areas outside of eligible MSAs); and the remaining 25% (bonus funding) is awarded on the basis of AIDS incidence during the past three years to MSAs that have populations of more than 500,000, more than 1,500 cumulative reported AIDS cases, and a higher than average per capita incidence of AIDS.

Matching or related requirements: None.

New obligations (FY2013): $302 million.

Budgetary classification: Discretionary.

Participation data (most recent available): In program year 2012-2013, 56,440 households received permanent, transitional or emergency housing assistance.

CRS report: CRS Report RL34318, Housing for Persons Living with HIV/AIDS, by Libby Perl.

Public Housing (CFDA #14.850, #14.866, #14.872, and #14.889)

Authority: Statute: Sections 9(d), 9(e), 24 and 30 of the U.S. Housing Act of 1937, as amended (P.L. 75-412); 42 U.S.C. 1437. Regulations: 24 C.F.R. Parts 5 and 901-972. (Public Housing programs include Operating Fund, Capital Fund, and HOPE VI/Choice Neighborhoods.)

Federal administering agency: Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Public and Indian Housing.

Purpose of program: To provide cost-effective, decent, safe and affordable rental housing for eligible low-income families, the elderly, and persons with disabilities; and for HOPE VI/Choice Neighborhoods, to improve the living environment for public housing residents through demolition, rehabilitation and replacement of severely distressed housing units.

Benefit/service: Subsidized publicly-owned rental housing units; eligible households pay rent equal to the highest of 30% of counted income, 10% of gross income, or, in states where applicable, the "welfare" rent.

Individual eligibility criteria: Eligible households are low-income (defined as having income at or below 80% of area median income). At least 40% of households admitted each year must be extremely low-income households (defined as having income at or below 30% of area median income). Certain residents are required to participate in an economic self-sufficiency program or contribute 8 hours per month of community service.

Form and recipient of federal assistance: Operating and Capital Funds: Formula grants to public housing authorities. HOPE VI/Choice Neighborhoods: Competitive grants to public housing authorities. Includes public housing projects located in territories (Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Guam).

Allocation formula: Operating Fund: Funds to support ongoing costs of operating public housing are allocated according to a formula intended to make up the difference between the costs of maintaining public housing and the amount of tenant-paid rent received by the public housing authority; amounts are prorated to fit within the amount appropriated annually by Congress. Capital Fund: Funds to support development, financing and modernization of public housing are allocated on the basis of relative need.

Matching or related requirements: None. However, an indirect local contribution results from the difference between full local property taxes and payments in lieu of taxes that are made by local housing authorities.

New obligations (FY2013): $5,954 million (operating fund, capital fund, and HOPE VI/Choice Neighborhoods).

Budgetary classification: Discretionary.

Participation data (most recent available): In FY2013, 1,091,758 public housing units were eligible for payment. (Note: Not all units may have been occupied in the year and some units may have served more than one household during the year.)

CRS reports: CRS Report R41654, Introduction to Public Housing, by Maggie McCarty; and CRS Report RL32236, HOPE VI Public Housing Revitalization Program: Background, Funding, and Issues, by Maggie McCarty.

Indian Housing Block Grants (CFDA #14.867)

Authority: Statute: Native American Housing and Self-Determination Act of 1996 (P.L. 104-330), most recently reauthorized by the Native American Housing and Self-Determination Reauthorization Act of 2008 (P.L. 110-411); 25 U.S.C. 4101 et seq. Regulations: 24 C.F.R. Part 1000.

Federal administering agency: Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Public and Indian Housing, Office of Native American Programs.

Purpose of program: To provide housing assistance and, to the extent practicable, to assist in the development of private housing finance mechanisms on Indian lands to achieve the goals of economic self-sufficiency and self-determination for tribes and their members.

Benefit/service: Housing development, assistance to housing developed under the former Indian Housing Program, housing services to eligible individuals and families, crime prevention and safety, and model activities that provide creative approaches to affordable housing problems.

Individual eligibility criteria: Low-income Indian families living on Indian reservations and other Indian lands; low-income is defined as having income no greater than 80% of the area median. Non-low-income families may be served if such families have a need for housing that cannot otherwise be met. Assistance also may be provided to non-Indian families living on Indian reservations or Indian lands if the presence of such families on the reservation or Indian land is essential to the well-being of Indian families and their housing needs cannot reasonably be met otherwise. Housing assistance also may be provided to law enforcement officers if their presence on the reservation or Indian land may deter crime.

Form of assistance: Formula grants to federally recognized Indian tribes or their tribally designated housing entity, and a limited number of state recognized Indian tribes funded under prior law. ("State" is defined to include American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and any other territory or possession of the United States.)

Allocation formula: Funds are allocated among tribes according to a two-part formula based on "formula current assisted stock" (housing developed under the former Indian Housing Program and owned or operated by the grantee), and "need" (e.g., Indian households with significant housing cost burdens, households that are overcrowded or lack kitchen or plumbing facilities, and number of Indian households at different levels of low income).

Matching or related requirements: None. However, grant recipients must make annual user fee payments to compensate local governments for the costs of providing governmental services or must make payments in lieu of taxes to taxing authorities.

New obligations (FY2013): $627 million.

Budgetary classification: Discretionary.

Participation data (most recent available): In FY2013, approximately 5,141 units were built, acquired, or rehabilitated.

CRS report: CRS Report R43307, The Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act of 1996 (NAHASDA): Background and Funding, by Katie Jones.

Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers (CFDA #14.871)

Authority: Statute: Section 8 of the U.S. Housing Act of 1937, established by the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 (P.L. 93-383); 42 U.S.C. 1437f. Regulations: 24 C.F.R. Parts 5 and 982.

Federal administering agency: Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Public and Indian Housing.

Purpose of program: To help very low-income families afford decent, safe and sanitary housing in the private market.

Benefit/service: Tenant-based vouchers that can be used to subsidize the cost of privately-owned rental housing, chosen by tenants in the private market. Tenants are expected to pay an amount toward rent that is at least the greater of 30% of counted income, 10% of gross income, or, in states where applicable, the "welfare" rent. The program pays the balance, up to the payment standard set by the local public housing authority at between 90% and 110% of the HUD-established fair market rent for the unit. Public housing authorities may choose to "project-base" up to 20% of their vouchers, which means the subsidy is attached to a preselected unit of housing. However, tenants living in project-based voucher units are entitled to move with a tenant-based voucher, if they so choose, after one year.

Individual eligibility criteria: Eligible families must be very low-income (with incomes no higher than 50% of area median income), but 75% of vouchers that become available each year must go to families that are extremely low-income (incomes no higher than 30% of area median income). In some limited circumstances, families may be low-income, with incomes as high as 80% of area median income.

Form and recipient of federal assistance: Formula grants to public housing authorities. Includes public housing authorities in the territories (Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam and Northern Mariana Islands).

Allocation formula: Congress typically specifies the allocation formula in annual appropriations laws. For FY2013, funds to renew existing vouchers were provided to public housing authorities according to their utilization rates and costs from the prior year, adjusted for inflation.

Matching or related requirements: None.

New obligations (FY2013): $17,897 million.

Budgetary classification: Discretionary.

Participation data (most recent available): In FY2013, 2.208 million vouchers were in use.

CRS report: CRS Report RL32284, An Overview of the Section 8 Housing Programs: Housing Choice Vouchers and Project-Based Rental Assistance, by Maggie McCarty.

Neighborhood Stabilization Program (1, 2, and 3) (no CFDA #)

Authority: Statute: Division B, Title III of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 (P.L. 110-289), Division A, Title XII of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (P.L. 111-5), and Section 1497 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (P.L. 111-203; 42 U.S.C. 5301 note. Regulations: 24 FR 3501.

Federal administering agency: Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Community Planning and Development.

Purpose of program: To stabilize communities with high rates of abandoned and foreclosed homes.

Benefit/service: Assistance with the purchase, rehabilitation, and resale of abandoned and foreclosed homes and residential properties, demolition of blighted structures, and redevelopment of blighted and vacant properties.

Individual eligibility criteria: Individuals and families who benefitted from the program had to have incomes no higher than 120% of area median income. At least 25% of appropriations had to be used to purchase or rehabilitate residential structures that would be used to house individuals or families with incomes no higher than 50% of area median income.

Form and recipient of federal assistance: Formula grants to states and local governments (NSP-1 and 3). Competitive grants to states and local governments, nonprofit entities, and consortia of for-profit and non-profit entities (NSP-2). Allowed participation by territories (Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Marianas, American Samoa and the U.S. Virgin Islands).

Allocation formula: Funds were allocated on the basis of the number and percentage of home foreclosures in the state or locality, the number and percentage of subprime mortgages in the state or locality, and the number of homes in default or delinquency in the state or locality (NSP-1 and NSP-3).

Matching or related requirements: None.

New obligations (FY2013): None. No obligations since FY2011.

Budgetary classification: Mandatory.

Participation data (most recent available): No data available.

CRS reports: CRS Report RS22919, Community Development Block Grants: Neighborhood Stabilization Program; Assistance to Communities Affected by Foreclosures, by Eugene Boyd; and CRS Report R43520, Community Development Block Grants and Related Programs: A Primer, by Eugene Boyd.

Grants to States for Low-Income Housing Projects In Lieu of Low-Income Housing Credit Allocations (no CFDA #)

Authority: Statute: Section 1602 of Division B of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (P.L. 111-5). Regulations: 31 C.F.R. Part 32.

Federal administering agency: Department of Treasury.

Purpose of program: To support the construction and rehabilitation of affordable housing typically financed with funds from the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program.

Benefit/service: Grants were provided in lieu of tax credits to help finance the construction or acquisition and rehabilitation of qualified buildings that would provide rent-restricted rental units to low-income households.

Individual eligibility criteria: Qualified projects had to meet one of the following tests: at least 20% of units must be rent-restricted and occupied by households with incomes at or below 50% of area median income; or at least 40% of units must be rent-restricted and occupied by households with incomes at or below 60% of area median income.

Form and recipient of federal assistance: Grants to state housing credit agencies. Allowed participation by territories (American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands).

Allocation formula: States could elect to exchange for grants all of their unused and returned 2008 tax credit allocation, 40% of their 2009 tax credit allocation, and 40% of any allocation in 2009 made from the national LIHTC pool. Tax credits could be exchanged for grants at a rate of $0.85 on the dollar. Annual tax credit allocations are determined on the basis of each state's population.

Matching or related requirements: No matching requirements for the grant program; however, the LIHTC (and this related grant program) is intended to finance only part of a project and is typically combined with other resources.

New obligations (FY2013): None. No obligations since FY2011.

Budgetary classification: Mandatory.

Participation data (most recent available): No data available.

CRS report: CRS Report RS22389, An Introduction to the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit, by Mark P. Keightley and Jeffrey M. Stupak.

Tax Credit Assistance Program (no CFDA #)

Authority: Statute: Division A, Title XII of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (P.L. 111-5). Regulations: no formal program-specific regulations.

Federal administering agency: Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Community Planning and Development.

Purpose of program: To make funds available for capital investments in Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) projects where the additional funds could be spent within specified deadlines.

Benefit/service: Assistance was provided to owners of projects who received an award of LIHTCs.

Individual eligibility criteria: To qualify for LIHTCs, projects must meet one of the following tests: at least 20% of units must be rent-restricted and occupied by households with incomes at or below 50% of area median income; or at least 40% of units must be rent-restricted and occupied by households with incomes at or below 60% of area median income.

Form and recipient of federal assistance: Formula grants to state housing credit agencies, which competitively awarded funds to project owners. Allowed participation by Puerto Rico.

Allocation formula: Funds were allocated among states according to each state's percentage of FY2008 HOME awards.

Matching or related requirements: None. However, the LIHTC is intended to finance only part of a project and is typically combined with other resources.

New obligations (FY2013): None. No obligations since FY2009.

Budgetary classification: Discretionary.

Participation data (most recent available): No data available.

CRS report: CRS Report RS22389, An Introduction to the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit, by Mark P. Keightley and Jeffrey M. Stupak.

Social Services

Indian Human Services (CFDA #15.025, #15.113, #15.141, #15.144)

Authority: Statute: Snyder Act of 1921 (P.L. 67-85), Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (P.L. 93-638), Indian Child Welfare Act (P.L. 95-608), and Indian Child Protection and Family Violence Prevention Act (P.L. 101-630); 25 U.S.C. 13, 450 et seq., 1901 et seq., and 3210. Regulations: 25 C.F.R. Parts 20, 23, and 256. (Programs include Social Services, Welfare Assistance, Indian Child Welfare, and Housing Improvement Program.)

Federal administering agency: Department of Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Division of Human Services.

Purpose of program: To provide financial assistance for basic needs of needy eligible American Indians who live on or near reservations when such assistance is not available from state or local agencies; to fund federally recognized tribal governments to administer welfare assistance programs for American Indian adults and children, to support caseworkers and counselors, and to support tribal programs to reduce incidence of substance abuse and alcoholism in Indian country; to promote stability and security of American Indian tribes and families by protecting American Indian children, preventing separation of American Indian families, and assisting Indian tribes in the operation of child and family service programs; and to eliminate substantially substandard Indian owned and inhabited housing for very low-income Indians living in tribal service areas.

Benefit/service: Assistance in processing welfare applications, determining suitable placement of American Indian children in need of foster care, operation of emergency shelters and similar services; cash payments to meet basic needs (i.e., food, clothing, shelter), assistance for nonmedical institutional or custodial care of adults not eligible for other programs, foster home care and nonmedical institutional care for American Indian children in need of protection; counseling, family assistance, protective day care, after-school care, recreational activities, respite care, education and training, foster care subsidies, legal advice and representation, home improvement programs; and renovations, repairs, or additions to existing homes.

Individual eligibility criteria: Depending on the program, American Indian adults in need of financial assistance or social services, children in need of foster care, and youth requiring temporary emergency shelter; members of federally recognized Indian tribes who live on or near federally recognized reservations who are in need of financial assistance; American Indian children and families; and Indians who are members of federally recognized tribes.

Form and recipient of federal assistance: Discretionary grants to federally recognized Indian tribes and tribal organizations.

Allocation formula: Not applicable.

Matching or related requirements: None.

New obligations (FY2013): $100 million.

Budgetary classification: Discretionary.

Participation data (most recent available): No data available.

Older Americans Act Grants for Supportive Services and Senior Centers (CFDA #93.044)

Authority: Statute: Title III, Part B of the Older Americans Act of 1965 (P.L. 89-73), most recently reauthorized by the Older Americans Act Amendments of 2006 (P.L. 109-365); 42 U.S.C. 3030d. Regulations: 45 C.F.R. Part 1321.

Federal administering agency: Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Community Living, Administration on Aging.

Purpose of program: To secure and maintain maximum independence and dignity in a home environment for older individuals capable of self-care with appropriate supportive services, to remove individual and social barriers to economic and personal independence for older individuals, and to provide a continuum of care for older individuals.

Benefit/service: Supportive services, including health (and mental health), education and training, welfare, informational, recreational, homemaker, counseling, or referral services; transportation services; services to help older individuals use the services and facilities available to them (including language translation services); housing-related services; services to help older individuals avoid institutionalization, legal assistance and other counseling services; activities to attain and maintain physical and mental well-being; health and mental health screenings; preretirement counseling and assistance; ombudsman services for residents of long-term care facilities; services and assistive devices for disabled older persons; employment-related services and counseling; crime prevention and victim assistance; services to identify and meet the needs of low-income older individuals; abuse prevention; health and nutrition education services; coordinated services for mentally impaired older individuals; services for family caregivers; information and training for guardians or representative payees of older individuals; services to facilitate interaction between students and older individuals; in-home services for frail elderly; information about life-long learning programs; and any other services necessary for the general welfare of older individuals.

Individual eligibility criteria: Individuals age 60 or older. Preference is given to individuals with the greatest economic and social needs, with particular attention to low-income older individuals (i.e., having income no higher than federal poverty guidelines), including low-income minority older individuals, those with limited English proficiency, and those living in rural areas.

Form and recipient of federal assistance: Formula grants to state agencies on aging, which make subgrants to local area agencies on aging. Allows participation by territories (Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands and the U.S. Virgin Islands). Separate grants are provided for Native Americans under Title VI of the Older Americans Act.

Allocation formula: Funds are allocated among states according to their relative share of the nation's population of older individuals (age 60 or older). States develop their own formulas for allocation of funds among local agencies, which must consider the geographic distribution of older individuals and older individuals with the greatest economic and social needs, paying particular attention to low-income minority individuals.

Matching or related requirements: A nonfederal share of 25% is required for administrative activities, and a nonfederal share of 15% is required for supportive services and senior centers.

New obligations (FY2013): $348 million.

Budgetary classification: Discretionary.

Participation data (most recent available): In FY2012, the number of clients participating by type of service were: 452,613 for case management; 148,733 for homemaker services; 108,212 for personal care; 34,384 for chore services; 31,950 for assisted transportation; and 19,269 for adult day care.

CRS reports: CRS Report R43414, Older Americans Act: In Brief , by Kirsten J. Colello and Angela Napili; and CRS Report RS22549, Older Americans Act: Funding Formulas, by Kirsten J. Colello.

Older Americans Act National Family Caregiver Support Program (CFDA #93.052)

Authority: Statute: Title III, Part E of the Older Americans Act of 1965 (P.L. 89-73), most recently reauthorized by the Older Americans Act Amendments of 2006 (P.L. 109-365); 42 U.S.C. 3030s to 3030s-2. Regulations: 45 C.F.R. Part 1321.

Federal administering agency: Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Community Living, Administration on Aging.

Purpose of program: To provide multifaceted systems of support services for family caregivers and grandparents or older individuals who are relative caregivers.

Benefit/service: Information to caregivers about available services, assistance to caregivers in gaining access to services; individual counseling, organization of support groups, and caregiver training in the areas of health, nutrition, and financial literacy, and in making decisions and solving problems related to their caregiving roles; respite care to enable caregivers to be temporarily relieved of their caregiving responsibilities; and supplemental services, on a limited basis, to complement the care provided by caregivers.

Individual eligibility criteria: Family members or others providing informal care to an older individual, and those providing informal care to individuals of any age with Alzheimer's disease or related disorders. Also, grandparents or older individuals who are relative (non-parent) caregivers to children, including those caring for children of any age with a disability. Priority is given to older caregivers with the greatest social and economic need and to older individuals providing care to individuals with severe disabilities, including children with severe disabilities.

Form and recipient of federal assistance: Formula grants to state agencies on aging, which make subgrants to local area agencies on aging. Allows participation by territories (Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands and the U.S. Virgin Islands). Separate grants are provided for Native Americans under Title VI of the Older Americans Act.

Allocation formula: Funds are allocated to states according to their relative share of the nation's population of older individuals (age 70 or older).

Matching or related requirements: A nonfederal share of 25% is required for services and administrative activities. Federal funds from this program must be used to supplement and not supplant any other federal, state or local funds used for the same purpose.

New obligations (FY2013): $146 million.

Budgetary classification: Discretionary.

Participation data (most recent available): In FY2012, the number of clients participating by type of service were: 16,175,896 for information services, 593,438 for access assistance; 127,933 for counseling services; 65,885 for respite care; and 33,664 for supportive services.

CRS reports: CRS Report R43414, Older Americans Act: In Brief , by Kirsten J. Colello and Angela Napili; and CRS Report RS22549, Older Americans Act: Funding Formulas, by Kirsten J. Colello.

Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program (CDFA #93.505)

Authority: Statute: Title V, Section 511 of the Social Security Act, established by Section 2951 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (P.L. 111-148); 42 U.S.C. 711. Regulations: none.

Federal administering agency: Department of Health and Human Services, Maternal and Child Health Bureau in the Health Resources and Services Administration, and Administration for Children and Families.

Purpose of program: To strengthen and improve programs and activities carried out under Title V of the Social Security Act, to improve coordination of services for at-risk communities, and to identify and provide comprehensive services to improve outcomes for families living in at-risk communities.

Benefit/service: Voluntary, evidence-based home visiting programs to promote: maternal and newborn health; prevention of child injuries, child abuse, neglect, or maltreatment, and reduction of emergency room visits; school readiness and achievement; reduction in crime or domestic violence; family economic-self-sufficiency; and coordination and referrals for other community resources and supports.

Individual eligibility criteria: An eligible family includes (1) a woman who is pregnant, and the father of her child if he is available; (2) a parent or primary caregiver of a child, including grandparents or other relatives of the child, and foster parents, who are serving as the child's primary caregiver from birth to entry into kindergarten; and (3) a noncustodial parent who has an ongoing relationship with, and at times provides physical care for, the child. Priority for services goes to high-risk eligible families, including those living in at-risk communities (as identified through a statewide assessment) and those who are low-income.

Form and recipient of federal assistance: Formula grants and competitive awards to states (or nonprofit organizations in states where the state declines to submit an application). Allows participation by territories (Puerto Rico, Guam, the Virgin Islands, the Northern Mariana Islands, and American Samoa), and Indian tribal organizations.

Allocation formula: Not established in law. In practice, HHS awards funds in part according to the jurisdiction's relative share of children under age 5 in families at or below 100% of the federal poverty line.

Matching or related requirements: Funds must supplement and not supplant any funds that would otherwise be used for the same purposes.

New obligations (FY2013): $378 million.

Budgetary classification: Mandatory.

Participation data (most recent available): During FY2013, approximately 487,000 home visits were made to families receiving services under this program.

CRS report: CRS Report R40212, Early Childhood Care and Education Programs: Background and Funding, by Karen E. Lynch and Gail McCallion.

Child Support Enforcement (CDFA #93.563)

Authority: Statute: Title IV-D of the Social Security Act, established by the Social Services Amendments of 1974 (P.L. 93-647); 42 U.S.C. 651-669. Regulations: 45 C.F.R. Chapter 3.

Federal administering agency: Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Child Support Enforcement.

Purpose of program: To enforce the support obligations owed by noncustodial parents to their children and the spouse (and former spouse) with whom such children are living through locating noncustodial parents, establishing paternity, obtaining child and spousal support, and assuring that assistance in obtaining support will be available to all children who request such assistance.

Benefit/service: Noncustodial parent location, paternity establishment, establishment of child support orders, review and modification of child support orders, collection of child support payments, distribution of child support payments, and establishment and enforcement of medical support. Services are free for families that are automatically eligible; states may charge a fee of up to $25 for all other families.

Individual eligibility criteria: Services are available to parents with custody of a child whose other parent is living outside the home. Services are automatically available for families receiving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), federal foster care payments, or Medicaid.

Form and recipient of federal assistance: Partial reimbursement to states of eligible expenditures, with no limit on federal spending. Allows participation by territories (Guam, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands) and Indian tribes and tribal organizations.

Allocation formula: None. Payments to states are based on their eligible expenditures.

Matching or related requirements: The federal government reimburses states for 66% of their eligible expenditures.

New obligations (FY2013): $4,278 million.

Budgetary classification: Mandatory (open-ended entitlement to states).

Participation data (most recent available): In FY2013 (preliminary data), the total CSE caseload was 15.6 million cases, involving 16.9 million children.

CRS report: CRS Report RS22380, Child Support Enforcement: Program Basics, by Carmen Solomon-Fears.

Community Services Block Grants (CFDA #93.569)

Authority: Statute: Community Services Block Grant Act, established by the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1981 (P.L. 97-35) and most recently reauthorized by the Community Opportunities, Accountability, and Training and Educational Services Act of 1998 (P.L. 105-285); 42 U.S.C. 9901 et seq. Regulations: 45 C.F.R. Part 96, Subpart I.

Federal administering agency: Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Community Services.

Purpose of program: To reduce poverty, revitalize low-income communities, and empower low-income individuals and families in rural and urban areas to become fully self-sufficient.

Benefit/service: A wide range of activities may be supported to help low-income individuals and families become self-sufficient, find meaningful employment, attain an adequate education, make better use of available income, find and maintain adequate housing, obtain emergency assistance, and achieve greater participation in community affairs; address the needs of youth in low-income communities; and effectively use and coordinate with related programs.

Individual eligibility criteria: In general, beneficiaries must have incomes no higher than the federal poverty guidelines, although states may set eligibility criteria at 125% of the poverty guidelines when "it serves the objectives of the block grant."

Form and recipient of federal assistance: Formula grants to states. Of funds received by each state, at least 90% must be passed through to "eligible entities," which are primarily community action agencies that had been designated prior to 1981 under the former Economic Opportunity Act or their successor agencies. Allows participation by territories (Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands) and Indian tribes.

Allocation formula: Funds are allocated among states based on the relative amount received in each state in FY1981, under a section of the former Economic Opportunity Act.

Matching or related requirements: None.

New obligations (FY2013): $635 million.

Budgetary classification: Discretionary.

Participation data (most recent available): In FY2012, states reported that local agencies served more than 16 million individuals in 6.9 million families.

CRS report: CRS Report RL32872, Community Services Block Grants (CSBG): Background and Funding, by Karen Spar.

Child Care and Development Fund (CFDA #93.575 and #93.596)

Authority: Statute: Child Care and Development Block Grant Act, established by the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990 (P.L. 101-508) and most recently reauthorized by the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 2014 (P.L. 113-186); 42 U.S.C. 9858. Section 418 of the Social Security Act, established by the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (P.L. 104-193) and most recently reauthorized by the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 (P.L. 109-171) and extended by FY2015 appropriations law (P.L. 113-235); 42 U.S.C. 618. Regulations: 45 C.F.R. Parts 98 and 99.

Federal administering agency: Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Child Care.

Purpose of program: To develop child care programs that best suit the needs of children and parents in each state; to empower working parents to make their own decisions on the child care that best suits their family's needs; to provide consumer education to help parents make informed decisions; to provide child care to parents trying to achieve independence from public assistance; and to help states implement their child care regulatory standards. (Purposes expanded by P.L. 113-186 to also include provision of consumer education to promote parental involvement; assistance to states in delivering high-quality coordinated services that maximize parents' options; assistance to states in improving the overall quality of child care services and programs by implementing health, safety, licensing, training, and oversight standards; improving child care and development of participating children; and increasing the number and percentage of low-income children in high-quality child care settings.)

Benefit/service: Subsidized child care services for families provided on a sliding fee scale basis, which may be free for those with incomes below federal poverty guidelines (or, on a case-by-case basis, for those in foster care or receiving or in need of protective services). Child care providers may be paid directly by the state through a grant or contract, or through certificates (also known as vouchers) that parents may use to purchase child care from an eligible provider of their choice. Child care services may include center-based care, group home care, family care, and care provided in the child's own home.

Individual eligibility criteria: Eligible children must be under age 13 (or under 19 if disabled or under court supervision), have a parent who is working or attending job training (unless the child is receiving protective services), have family income no greater than 85% of state median income (or lower depending on state policy), and (as amended by P.L. 113-186) have no more than $1 million in family assets. States must give priority to very low-income children and children with disabilities, and must target a certain amount of funds to welfare families working toward self-sufficiency or families at risk of welfare dependency.

Form and recipient of federal assistance: Formula grants to states. Allows participation by Indian tribes, and for certain funds, by territories (Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands).

Allocation formula: Discretionary funds are allocated among states according to each state's proportion of children under age 5, its proportion of all children who receive free or reduced price school lunches, and its relative per capita income. Of mandatory funds, states receive a fixed amount each year based on their spending under predecessor programs in the mid-1990s ("guaranteed" funds). Remaining mandatory funds are allocated according to each state's share of children under age 13.

Matching or related requirements: No matching requirement for discretionary funds or "guaranteed" mandatory funds. States must match remaining mandatory funds at their FMAP (federal medical assistance percentage) matching rate. States also must achieve certain maintenance-of-effort targets to qualify for these funds.

New obligations (FY2013): $5,140 million.

Budgetary classification: Discretionary (Child Care and Development Block Grant Act) and mandatory (Section 418 of the Social Security Act) (capped entitlement to states).

Participation data (most recent available): In FY2012, the average monthly number of children served by the CCDF was 1.5 million. Preliminary data for FY2013 estimate the average monthly number of children served was 1.46 million.

CRS report: CRS Report RL30785, The Child Care and Development Block Grant: Background and Funding, by Karen E. Lynch.

Head Start (CFDA #93.600)

Authority: Statute: Head Start Act, established by the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1981 (P.L. 97-35) and most recently reauthorized by the Improving Head Start for School Readiness Act of 2007 (P.L. 110-134); 42 U.S.C. 9801 et seq. Regulations: 45 C.F.R. Parts 1301-1311.

Federal administering agency: Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Head Start.

Purpose of program: To promote school readiness by enhancing the social and cognitive development of children through the provision of educational, health, nutritional, social and other services to children and their families; and (for Early Head Start) to promote healthy prenatal outcomes, enhance the development of infants and toddlers, and promote healthy family functioning.

Benefit/service: Comprehensive child development services, including educational, dental, medical, nutritional, and social services to children and their families. Services may be center-based, home-based, or a combination, and may be full- or part-day or full- or part-year.

Individual eligibility criteria: Eligible children are those from low-income families (defined as having income below 100% of federal poverty guidelines, receiving public assistance or being a foster child or homeless) or who would be eligible for public assistance in the absence of child care, and homeless children. Up to 10% of participants may not meet these eligibility criteria if they would benefit from the program. An additional 35% of participants may have family incomes between 100% and 130% of federal poverty guidelines, as long as such children are not given higher priority than poor or homeless children.

Form and recipient of federal assistance: Formula grants to local public and private nonprofit and for-profit entities. Allows participation by territories (Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Palau and the U.S. Virgin Islands) and American Indian and Alaska Native Head Start programs.

Allocation formula: Funds are allocated among states but awarded directly to local grantees. The allocation formula is intended to hold grantees harmless at their prior year's level and, when additional funds are available, to award a cost-of-living adjustment, and allocate remaining funds for quality improvement and program expansion. Allocation factors include children under age 5 whose family incomes are below poverty.

Matching or related requirements: A 20% nonfederal match is required unless a waiver is granted.

New obligations (FY2013): $6,573 million.

Budgetary classification: Discretionary.

Participation data (most recent available): In FY2013, the Head Start funded enrollment level was about 903,679 children, of whom approximately 106,726 (or 12%) were in Early Head Start programs. The term "funded enrollment" refers to the number of Head Start slots that are funded, not the total number of children served throughout the year (which would be higher, accounting for turnover).

CRS report: CRS Report RL30952, Head Start: Background and Funding, by Karen E. Lynch.

Foster Care (CFDA #93.658)

Authority: Statute: Title IV-E of the Social Security Act, established by the Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act of 1980 (P.L. 96-272); 42 U.S.C. 672. Regulations: 45 C.F.R. 1355 and 1356.

Federal administering agency: Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Administration on Children, Youth and Families, Children's Bureau.

Purpose of program: To provide temporary out-of-home care for children who cannot safely remain in their own homes, until the children may be safely returned home; placed permanently with adoptive families, in a legal guardianship, or with a fit and willing relative; or placed in another planned permanent living arrangement.

Benefit/service: Payments to foster care providers to cover the costs of children's maintenance (e.g., room and board, clothing and supplies, liability insurance, certain travel expenses); and support for administrative and child placement services intended to promote safety and permanency for children and well-being for children and their families.

Individual eligibility criteria: For states to receive federal reimbursement for the maintenance and related costs of providing foster care, children must have been removed from their homes pursuant to a voluntary placement agreement or certain judicial determinations and be placed in foster care settings that meet specified requirements. Children also must have been removed from homes in which they would have been considered "needy" under the former Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program, as that program was administered in their state on July 16, 1996.

Form and recipient of federal assistance: Partial reimbursement to states of eligible expenditures, with no limit on federal spending. Allows participation by territories (Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa and the U.S. Virgin Islands).

Allocation formula: Payments to states are based on their eligible expenditures and the applicable matching (reimbursement) rate.

Matching or related requirements: Maintenance payment expenditures are reimbursed at each state's federal medical assistance percentage (FMAP), which varies according to state per capita income. Certain training expenditures are reimbursed at a 75% federal rate; remaining administrative and child placement expenditures are reimbursed at 50%.

New obligations (FY2013): $4,133 million.

Budgetary classification: Mandatory (open-ended entitlement to states).

Participation data (most recent available): In FY2013, the average monthly number of children served was 158,994.

CRS reports CRS Report R42792, Child Welfare: A Detailed Overview of Program Eligibility and Funding for Foster Care, Adoption Assistance and Kinship Guardianship Assistance under Title IV-E of the Social Security Act, by Emilie Stoltzfus; and CRS Report R42794, Child Welfare: State Plan Requirements under the Title IV-E Foster Care, Adoption Assistance, and Kinship Guardianship Assistance Program , by Emilie Stoltzfus.

Adoption Assistance (CFDA #93.659)

Authority: Statute: Title IV-E of the Social Security Act, established by the Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act of 1980 (P.L. 96-272); 42 U.S.C. 673. Regulations: 45 C.F.R. 1355 and 1356.

Federal administering agency: Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Administration on Children, Youth and Families, Children's Bureau.

Purpose of program: To facilitate the timely placement of children whose special needs (which may include age, membership in a large sibling group or a racial/ethnic minority group, physical or mental disabilities or other circumstances as determined by the state) would otherwise make it difficult to place them with adoptive families.

Benefit/service: One-time nonrecurring payments to assist with the costs of adopting a special needs child (e.g., adoption fees, court costs, attorney fees) and ongoing monthly payments to adoptive families; administrative and child placement services intended to promote child safety, permanency and well-being.

Individual eligibility criteria: For states to receive federal reimbursement for either nonrecurring or ongoing costs of adoption assistance, the children must have special needs, as defined by the state, which generally would make their placement for adoption difficult. For states to receive federal reimbursement for the ongoing costs of adoption assistance, children also must be eligible for Supplementary Security Income (SSI) or must have been removed from their homes pursuant to a voluntary placement agreement or certain judicial determinations. In addition, children (who are not eligible for SSI) must have been removed from homes in which they would have been considered "needy" under the former Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program, as that program was administered in their state on July 16, 1996. (Under P.L. 110-351, income-related eligibility criteria are phased out for children entering the adoption assistance program beginning in FY2010 and no income eligibility criteria will remain by FY2018.)

Form and recipient of federal assistance: Partial reimbursement to states of eligible expenditures, with no limit on federal spending. Allows participation by territories (Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa and the U.S. Virgin Islands).

Allocation formula: Payments to states are based on their eligible expenditures and the applicable matching (reimbursement) rate.

Matching or related requirements: Adoption assistance payment expenditures are reimbursed at each state's federal medical assistance percentage (FMAP), which varies according to state per capita income. Certain training expenditures are reimbursed at a 75% federal rate; remaining administrative and child placement expenditures are reimbursed at 50%.

New obligations (FY2013): $2,278 million.

Budgetary classification: Mandatory (open-ended entitlement to states).

Participation data (most recent available): In FY2013, the average monthly number of children served was 431,533.

CRS reports: CRS Report R42792, Child Welfare: A Detailed Overview of Program Eligibility and Funding for Foster Care, Adoption Assistance and Kinship Guardianship Assistance under Title IV-E of the Social Security Act, by Emilie Stoltzfus; and CRS Report R42794, Child Welfare: State Plan Requirements under the Title IV-E Foster Care, Adoption Assistance, and Kinship Guardianship Assistance Program , by Emilie Stoltzfus.

Social Services Block Grants (CFDA #93.667)

Authority: Statute: Title XX-A of the Social Security Act, established by the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1981 (P.L. 97-35), as amended by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (P.L. 111-148; 42 U.S.C. 1397. Regulations: 45 C.F.R. Part 96, Subpart G.

Federal administering agency: Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Community Services.

Purpose of program: To provide services directed at the following goals: achieve or maintain economic self-support to prevent, reduce, or eliminate dependency; achieve or maintain self-sufficiency to reduce or prevent dependency; prevent or remedy abuse, neglect or exploitation of children or adults unable to protect their own interests, or to preserve, rehabilitate or reunite families; prevent or reduce inappropriate institutional care; or refer or admit individuals into institutional care when other forms of care are not appropriate or provide services to individuals in institutions.

Benefit/service: Services directed at the goals listed above, such as child care services, protective services for children and adults, services for children and adults in foster care, services related to the management and maintenance of the home, day care services for adults, transportation services, family planning services, training and related services, employment services, information, referral, and counseling services, the preparation and delivery of meals, health support services and appropriate combinations of services designed to meet the special needs of children, the aged, the mentally retarded, the blind, the emotionally disturbed, the physically disabled, and alcoholics and drug addicts.

Individual eligibility criteria: Eligibility criteria are determined by the states, except that any funds transferred into the Social Services Block Grant from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program must be used to serve children and their families whose incomes are no greater than 200% of the federal poverty guidelines.

Form and recipient of federal assistance: Formula grants to states. Allows participation by territories (American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands).

Allocation formula: Funds are allocated among states according to their relative population size.

Matching or related requirements: None.

New obligations (FY2013): $1,613 million.

Budgetary classification: Mandatory (capped entitlement to states).

Participation data (most recent available): In FY2010, nearly 23.7 million individuals (12.2 million children, and 11.5 million adults) received services supported in whole or in part by the SSBG.

CRS report: CRS Report 94-953, Social Services Block Grant: Background and Funding , by Karen E. Lynch.

Chafee Foster Care Independence Program (CFDA #93.674)

Authority: Statute: Section 477 of the Social Security Act, established by the Foster Care Independence Act of 1999 (P.L. 106-169); 42 U.S.C. 677. Regulations: 45 C.F.R. 1356.

Federal administering agency: Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Administration on Children, Youth and Families, Children's Bureau.

Purpose of program: To help current and former foster youth achieve self-sufficiency.

Benefit/service: Educational assistance, vocational training, employment services, life skills training, mentoring, preventive health activities, counseling, and (subject to certain limitations) room and board.

Individual eligibility criteria: Children who are likely to remain in foster care until age 18, youth age 18-21 who have aged out of the foster care system, and youth who left foster care at age 16 and older for kinship guardianship or adoption.

Form and recipient of federal assistance: Formula grants to states. Allows participation by Puerto Rico.

Allocation formula: Funds are allocated among states according to their share of the nation's children in foster care, except that no state may receive less than $500,000 or the amount payable to the state under the predecessor program for FY1998, whichever is greater.

Matching or related requirements: A 20% nonfederal match is required. Funds must supplement and not supplant any funds that would otherwise be used for the same general purposes.

New obligations (FY2013): $140 million.

Budgetary classification: Mandatory (capped entitlement to states).

Participation data (most recent available): No data available.

CRS report: CRS Report RL34499, Youth Transitioning from Foster Care: Background and Federal Programs, by Adrienne L. Fernandes-Alcantara.

Emergency Food and Shelter Program (CFDA #97.024)

Authority: Statute: Title III of the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act of 1987 (P.L. 100-77), most recently reauthorized by the Housing and Community Development Act of 1992 (P.L. 102-550); 42 U.S.C. 11331-11346. Regulations: no formal program-specific regulations.

Federal administering agency: The program is administered by a National Board, which operates under the auspices of the Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Purpose of program: To provide shelter, food, and supportive services for homeless and hungry individuals nationwide.

Benefit/service: Mass shelter, mass feeding, food distribution through food pantries and food banks, one-month utility payments to prevent service cutoff, one-month rent/mortgage payments to prevent evictions or help people leaving shelters to establish stable living conditions.

Individual eligibility criteria: Determined by boards that administer the program at the local level.

Form and recipient of federal assistance: Formula grants to local boards in eligible local jurisdictions. Local boards further distribute funds among local service providers (called local recipient organizations), which provide direct services to homeless and hungry individuals and families. Eligible jurisdictions are chosen based on measures of population, unemployment and poverty. Some funds are set-aside for states to award to local jurisdictions that don't qualify as eligible jurisdictions but have high levels of need.

Allocation formula: Funds are allocated among eligible local jurisdictions based on their number of unemployed persons relative to other eligible local jurisdictions. Allows participation by territories (American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands).

Matching or related requirements: None.

New obligations (FY2013): $114 million.

Budgetary classification: Discretionary.

Participation data (most recent available): In FY2013, 59,751,368 meals were provided; 4,292,341 nights of lodging were provided; 60,123 rent/mortgage payments were made; and 150,376 utility payments were made.

CRS reports: CRS Report R42766, The Emergency Food and Shelter National Board Program and Homeless Assistance, by Francis X. McCarthy; and CRS Report RL30442, Homelessness: Targeted Federal Programs and Recent Legislation, coordinated by Libby Perl.

Legal Services Corporation (no CFDA #)

Authority: Statute: Legal Services Corporation of 1974 (P.L. 93-355), most recently reauthorized by the Equal Access to Courts Act (P.L. 95-222); 42 U.S.C. 2996 et seq. Regulations: 45 C.F.R. Part 1600.

Federal administering agency: Legal Services Corporation.

Purpose of program: To provide equal access to the justice system for individuals who seek redress of grievances and to provide high quality legal assistance to those would be otherwise unable to afford legal counsel.

Benefit/service: Legal services in civil cases.

Individual eligibility criteria: Eligible individuals must have incomes no greater than 125% of the federal poverty guidelines, with exceptions (up to 200% of poverty) allowed in specified circumstances.

Form and recipient of federal assistance: Formula grants to public and private nonprofit entities. Allows participation by territories (American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, the U.S. Virgin Islands and any other territories or possessions of the United States).

Allocation formula: Funds are allocated among states but awarded directly to local grantees. The allocation formula is based on each state's share of the nation's poverty population.

Matching or related requirements: None.

New obligations (FY2013): $343 million.

Budgetary classification: Discretionary.

Participation data (most recent available): In FY2012, 809,830 cases were closed.

CRS report: CRS Report RL34016, Legal Services Corporation: Background and Funding, by Carmen Solomon-Fears.

Employment and Training

Community Service Employment for Older Americans (CFDA #17.235)

Authority: Statute: Title V of the Older Americans Act of 1965 (P.L. 89-73), most recently reauthorized by the Older Americans Act Amendments of 2006 (P.L. 109-365); 42 U.S.C. 3056 et seq. Regulations: 20 C.F.R. Part 641.

Federal administering agency: Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration.

Purpose of program: To enable individuals to become self-sufficient through placement in community service positions and job training.

Benefit/service: Part-time temporary community service jobs that pay at least minimum wage, job-related training, and supportive services that are necessary to enable an individual to participate in the program.

Individual eligibility criteria: Unemployed individuals age 55 or older with low incomes (defined as no higher than 125% of the federal poverty guidelines). Regulations require priority for certain groups, including veterans and individuals age 60 or older. Regulations also require special consideration to be given to certain groups, including individuals with the "greatest economic and social need."

Form and recipient of federal assistance: Formula grants to states and national nonprofit organizations. Allows participation by territories (Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands) and by tribal organizations.

Allocation formula: Funds are allocated to states and national organizations according to a three-part formula: a hold-harmless factor (FY2000 level of funding); each state's relative share of individuals age 55 or older; and each state's relative per capita income.

Matching or related requirements: A nonfederal share of 10% is required.

New obligations (FY2013): $429 million.

Budgetary classification: Discretionary.

Participation data (most recent available): In program year 2012 (July 2012-June 2013), approximately 70,718 low-income workers participated in community service assignments.

CRS report: CRS Report RL33880, Funding for the Older Americans Act and Other Aging Services Programs, by Angela Napili and Kirsten J. Colello.