PRINTER'S NO. 3422
No. 2539 Session of 1982
INTRODUCED BY GALLEN, BLAUM, STEVENS, BELARDI, COHEN, TELEK,
ZWIKL, MULLEN AND BROWN, JUNE 7, 1982
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON STATE GOVERNMENT, JUNE 7, 1982
AN ACT
1 Providing for a community services block grant program and
2 further providing for powers and duties of the Department of
3 Community Affairs.
4 (a) It is the intention of the General Assembly as a matter
5 of public policy to affirm the commitment of the Commonwealth to
6 ameliorating the causes and effect of poverty:
7 (1) By providing a range of services and activities
8 having a measurable and potentially major impact on the
9 causes of poverty in the community.
10 (2) By providing activities designed to assist low-
11 income participants in obtaining employment, education,
12 housing, emergency assistance, transportation and other
13 necessities.
14 (3) By providing, on an emergency basis, for the
15 provision of such supplies and services, nutritious
16 foodstuffs and related services, as may be necessary to
17 counteract conditions of starvation and malnutrition among
18 the poor.
1 (4) By coordinating and establishing linkages between
2 governmental and other social service programs to assure the
3 effective delivery of services to low-income individuals.
4 (5) By encouraging the use of entities in the private
5 sector in efforts to ameliorate poverty in the community.
6 (b) It is also the intention of the General Assembly to
7 stimulate a better focusing of human and financial resources on
8 the goal of eliminating poverty by providing for the continuity
9 of programs which presently exist throughout the Commonwealth
10 for this stated purpose.
11 (c) By so doing, it is the intention of the General Assembly
12 to set forth the policies which shall govern the administration
13 of the community services block grant or subsequent funding
14 mechanisms established for similar purposes. This block grant
15 was created by the Federal Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of
16 1981 (Public Law 97-35), and follows the provisions defined in
17 that act.
18 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
19 hereby enacts as follows:
20 Section 1. Short title.
21 This act shall be known and may be cited as the "Community
22 Services Act."
23 Section 2. Definitions.
24 The following words and phrases when used in this act shall
25 have, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, the
26 meanings given to them in this section:
27 "Community services block grant." Program authorized by the
28 Federal Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1981 (Public Law
29 97-35), and follows the provision defined in Title XVII,
30 Subtitle B, Chapter 2, which is intended to be used by the
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1 Commonwealth for programs to ameliorate the causes and effects
2 of poverty.
3 "Community Action Agency." Any organization which was
4 officially designated by county commissioners or mayors as such
5 under section 210 of the Federal Economic Opportunity Act of
6 1964, as amended, or established pursuant to this act, whose
7 structure and functions are further defined in sections 3 and 4.
8 "Department." The Department of Community Affairs.
9 "Hold harmless." To support or fund at a level to sustain
10 basic existing activities which have been in progress.
11 "Secretary." The Secretary of the Department of Community
12 Affairs.
13 Section 3. Eligibility for community services block grant funds
14 and designation of community action agencies.
15 (a) Each county and first and second class city within the
16 Commonwealth shall have a community action agency designated to
17 receive community services block grant funds. These community
18 action agencies, can be an arm of the designating unit of
19 government or nonprofit private community organization,
20 constituted so that one-third of the members of the board of
21 directors are elected public officials currently holding offices
22 or their representatives, one-third are chosen to represent the
23 poor residing in the geographic area served, and the remaining
24 third, must be representatives of business, industry, labor,
25 religion, welfare or other private interests.
26 (b) This designation includes all present community action
27 agencies established under section 210 of the Federal Economic
28 Opportunity Act of 1964. In counties where there is no community
29 action agency, the county commissioners and in instances of
30 first and second class cities, the mayors, are authorized to
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1 designate an agency to coordinate community service efforts in
2 that jurisdiction in accordance with section 5(a).
3 (c) The county commissioners or mayors of first and second
4 class cities may initiate action to decertify an agency with 120
5 days' notice of intent providing the reasons or complaints and
6 by providing for public hearings not sooner than 60 days or
7 later than 90 days after the original notice of intent. An
8 official notification of intent, including reasons or
9 complaints, will also be provided to the secretary, as well as
10 to the agency. Final report with documentation of reasons,
11 results of public hearings and testimony will be provided to the
12 secretary within ten days. The secretary will decide on final
13 decertification based on the reasons and circumstances presented
14 within ten days. If decertification is determined, the agency
15 will be given 45 days for final closeout activities and audit.
16 Section 4. Community action agencies and board.
17 (a) Each community action agency established pursuant to
18 section 5 shall:
19 (1) Develop and implement all programs and projects
20 designed to serve the poor or low-income areas with maximum
21 feasible participation of residents of the areas and members
22 of the groups served, so as to best stimulate and take full
23 advantage of capabilities for self-advancement and assure
24 that those programs and projects are otherwise meaningful to
25 and widely utilized by their intended beneficiaries.
26 (2) Have at least one-third of its board members chosen
27 to represent the poor in the area served.
28 (3) Be so established and organized that the poor and
29 residents of the area concerned will be enabled to influence
30 the character of programs affecting their interest and
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1 regularly participate in the planning and implementation of
2 those programs.
3 (4) Be a continuing and effective mechanism for securing
4 broad community involvement in the programs assisted under
5 this act.
6 (b) In exercising its powers and carrying out its overall
7 responsibility for a community action program, a community
8 action agency shall have, subject to the purposes of this act,
9 at least the following functions:
10 (1) Planning systematically for and evaluating the
11 programs, including actions to develop information as to the
12 problems and causes of poverty in the community, determine
13 how much and how effectively assistance is being provided to
14 deal with those problems and causes and establish priorities
15 among projects, activities and areas as needed for the best
16 and most efficient use of resources.
17 (2) Encouraging agencies engaged in activities related
18 to the community action program to plan for, secure and
19 administer assistance available under this act or from other
20 sources on a common or cooperative basis; providing planning
21 or technical assistance to those agencies; and generally, in
22 cooperation with community agencies and officials,
23 undertaking actions to improve existing efforts to attack
24 poverty, such as improving day-to-day communication, closing
25 service gaps, focusing resources on the most needy and
26 providing additional opportunities to low-income individuals
27 for regular employment or participation in the programs or
28 activities for which those community agencies and officials
29 are responsible.
30 (3) Initiating and sponsoring projects responsive to
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1 needs of the poor which are not otherwise being met, with
2 particular emphasis on providing central or common services
3 that can be drawn upon by a variety of related programs,
4 developing new approaches or new types of services that can
5 be incorporated into other programs and filling gaps pending
6 the expansion or modification of those programs.
7 (4) Establishing effective procedures by which the poor
8 and area residents concerned will be enabled to influence the
9 character of programs affecting their interests, providing
10 technical and other support needed to enable the poor and
11 neighborhood groups to secure on their own behalf available
12 assistance from public and private sources.
13 (5) Joining with and encouraging business, labor and
14 other private groups and organizations to undertake, together
15 with public officials and agencies, activities in support of
16 the community action program which will result in the
17 additional use of private resources and capabilities, with a
18 view to such things as developing new employment
19 opportunities, stimulating investment that will have a
20 measurable impact in reducing poverty among residents of
21 areas of concentrated poverty, and providing methods by which
22 residents of those areas can work with private groups, firms
23 and institutions in seeking solutions to problems of common
24 concern.
25 Section 5. Financial assistance for community services program.
26 (a) From the sum appropriated under the community services
27 block grant:
28 (1) No greater than 5% may be allotted to the department
29 for the administration of program operations.
30 (2) No greater than 5% may be allotted at the discretion
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1 of the secretary in a manner consistent with this act.
2 (3) No less than 90% shall be reserved for community
3 action agencies as defined in section 4(a) and (b).
4 (4) Of the 90% that shall be reserved for community
5 action agencies, the following priorities shall be used in
6 determining the utilization of funds:
7 (i) First priority shall be the funding of existing
8 community action agency's at a hold-harmless level. This
9 funding level shall be equal to the amount received in
10 the previous fiscal year under section 221 of the Federal
11 Economic Opportunity Act of 1964, otherwise known as
12 Local Initiative. This can be waived in the event the
13 total amount of Federal moneys is not sufficient, then it
14 shall be proportionately distributed.
15 (ii) The second priority shall be the funding of
16 community action agencies created subsequent to this act
17 at a level determined by the secretary, not to exceed the
18 minimum level for existing community action agencies.
19 (iii) The third priority shall be the funding of
20 activities based upon the merit of proposals for the
21 unmet local needs of community action agencies.
22 (iv) After July 1, 1983, hold-harmless levels can be
23 removed and funding of community action agencies shall be
24 based on:
25 (A) A minimum level of funding not less than the
26 annual level of the least funded existing community
27 action agency in the previous period, excluding newly
28 designated community action agencies. This can be
29 waived in the event the total amount of Federal
30 moneys is not sufficient, then it shall be
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1 proportionately distributed.
2 (B) Specific criteria as follows:
3 (1) Number of low-income residents.
4 (2) Percentage of poverty within
5 jurisdiction area.
6 (3) Past performance of the agency.
7 (4) The merit of the proposed program.
8 (5) Prior level of funding.
9 (b) The secretary shall require, as a condition of
10 assistance, that each community action agency has adopted a
11 systematic approach to the achievement of the function stated in
12 section 4(b) and to the utilization of funds provided under this
13 act. Such an approach shall encompass a planning and
14 implementation process which seeks to identify the problems and
15 causes of poverty in the community, seeks to mobilize and
16 coordinate relevant public and private resources, establishes
17 program priorities, links program components with one another
18 and with other relevant programs and provides for evaluation.
19 (c) In order to promote local responsibility and initiative,
20 the secretary shall not establish funding priorities on funds
21 authorized by this section.
22 (d) In order to maintain fiscal and operational
23 responsibilities on a local agency level, the secretary shall
24 establish a mechanism which provides for an advance payment to
25 community action agencies equal to one-third of the total grant
26 award.
27 (e) At least once annually the department shall make or
28 cause to be made an audit of each grant or contract of
29 assistance under this act. Promptly after the completion of such
30 audit, the secretary shall determine on the basis of resulting
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1 findings and conclusions whether any of the costs or
2 expenditures incurred shall be disallowed.
3 Section 6. Effective date.
4 This act shall take effect immediately and its provisions
5 shall only be in effect for three years unless sooner acted upon
6 by the General Assembly.
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