COVID-19: Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) Supplemental Appropriations in the CARES Act

COVID-19: Child Care and Development

Block Grant (CCDBG) Supplemental

Appropriations in the CARES Act

Karen E. Lynch

Specialist in Social Policy

April 24, 2020

Congressional Research Service

7-....

www.crs.gov

R46324

SUMMARY

COVID-19: Child Care and Development Block

Grant (CCDBG) Supplemental Appropriations

in the CARES Act

On March 27, 2020, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act was

signed into law (P.L. 116-136). The CARES Act includes $3.5 billion in supplemental

appropriations for the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG). These funds are to

be used to “prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus.”

R46324

April 24, 2020

Karen E. Lynch

Specialist in Social Policy

-re-acte--@crs.loc.gov

For a copy of the full report,

please call 7-.... or visit

www.crs.gov.

The CCDBG Act (42 U.S.C. §§9858 et seq.) is the main federal law supporting child care programs for low-income working

families. The CCDBG is administered by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). HHS allocates

CCDBG funds to states, territories, and tribes according to a statutory formula. State, territory, and tribal lead agencies

submit CCDBG plans to HHS every three years describing how their child care programs will operate. CCDBG funds are

used to subsidize the cost of child care for eligible children of low-income working parents. Funds are also used to support

activities to improve the quality of child care and for certain other activities.

The $3.5 billion in supplemental CCDBG funds are provided in addition to FY2020 annual appropriations of $5.8 billion

(P.L. 116-94). The additional $3.5 billion represents a 60% increase in total appropriations to the CCDBG in FY2020.

The CARES Act funds may be used under existing CCDBG Act authorities. In addition, the CARES Act includes a number

of provisions that clarify allowable uses and, in some cases, waive certain underlying requirements of the CCDBG Act. For

instance, the CARES Act specifies that the funds



may be used to provide continued payments and assistance to child care providers in cases of decreased

enrollment or closures related to coronavirus, and to ensure they are able to remain open or reopen;



may be used to continue to pay staff salaries and wages of child care providers (CCDBG lead agencies are

encouraged to place conditions on payments to child care providers aimed at ensuring that a portion of the

funds they receive go toward costs of salaries and wages);



may be used to provide child care assistance to health care sector employees, emergency responders,

sanitation workers, and other workers deemed essential during the response to the coronavirus, without

regard to typical CCDBG income eligibility requirements (federal law generally limits eligibility to those

whose family income does not exceed 85% of state median income, though most states set income limits

below this federal threshold);



shall be available to eligible child care providers under the CCDBG Act (even if they were not receiving

CCDBG funds previously) for the purposes of cleaning and sanitation, and other activities necessary to

maintain or resume program operation;







are exempt from the minimum spending requirements for quality activities and direct services;



shall be used to supplement, not supplant, state, territory, and tribal general revenue funds for child care

assistance for low-income families; and



are to remain available for obligation by HHS through the end of FY2021 and may remain available for

obligation by CCDBG lead agencies through the end of FY2022.

may be used for allowable obligations incurred prior to enactment of the CARES Act;

may be used for purposes provided in the CARES Act before the lead agency submits any applicable

CCDBG plan amendments to HHS (under regulations, lead agencies generally must submit state plan

amendments within 60 days of policy change);

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COVID-19: CCDBG Supplemental Appropriations in the CARES Act

Contents

Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 1

CCDBG Provisions in the CARES Act ........................................................................................... 1

Continued Assistance to Child Care Providers ......................................................................... 1

Eligible Child Care Providers ................................................................................................... 2

Continued Pay for Child Care Staff .......................................................................................... 2

Support for Essential Workers ................................................................................................... 3

State Plan Amendments............................................................................................................. 3

Spending Flexibilities and Other Technical Provisions............................................................. 4

Quality Spending ................................................................................................................ 4

Direct Spending .................................................................................................................. 4

Supplement, Not Supplant .................................................................................................. 5

Use of Funds for Prior Obligations ..................................................................................... 5

Obligation Deadline for Lead Agencies (or Other Recipients) ........................................... 5

Allocation of CCDBG Funds .......................................................................................................... 5

Tables

Table 1. FY2020 CCDBG Allocations for Annual and Supplemental Appropriations ................... 6

Contacts

Author Contact Information ............................................................................................................ 8

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COVID-19: CCDBG Supplemental Appropriations in the CARES Act

Introduction

On March 27, 2020, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act was

signed into law (P.L. 116-136). The CARES Act includes $3.5 billion in supplemental

appropriations for the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG). This report provides

an overview of the CCDBG provisions in the CARES Act. Among other things, these provisions

address allowable uses and flexibilities of the supplemental funds. The report also includes

allocations for the additional $3.5 billion in CCDBG appropriations.

The CCDBG Act (42 U.S.C. §§9858 et seq.) is the main federal law supporting child care

programs for low-income working families. The CCDBG is administered by the U.S. Department

of Health and Human Services (HHS). HHS allocates CCDBG funds to states, territories, and

tribes according to a statutory formula. In addition, certain funds may be reserved for other

activities, such as technical assistance and research. State, territory, and tribal lead agencies

submit CCDBG plans to HHS every three years describing how their child care programs will

operate. CCDBG funds are used to subsidize the cost of child care for eligible children of lowincome working parents. Funds are also used to support activities to improve the quality of child

care and for certain other costs.

CCDBG Provisions in the CARES Act

The CARES Act appropriates $3.5 billion in FY2020 emergency supplemental funds to the

CCDBG.1 The funds are to be used to “prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus.”2 The

CARES Act funds are provided in addition to FY2020 annual appropriations of $5.8 billion (see

P.L. 116-94). The additional $3.5 billion represents a 60% increase in total appropriations to the

CCDBG in FY2020. The additional funds are to remain available for obligation by HHS through

September 30, 2021 (i.e., the end of FY2021). The CARES Act includes a number of provisions

that clarify allowable uses and, in some cases, waive certain underlying requirements of the

CCDBG Act.3 Below is a brief discussion of key provisions.4

Continued Assistance to Child Care Providers

Under the CCDBG Act, lead agencies subsidize the cost of child care for eligible children. Lead

agencies commonly provide subsidy payments directly to child care providers.5 In some cases,

1 The funds were also designated as being an emergency requirement pursuant to Section 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of the

Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985.

2 Division B of the CARES Act, which contains the CCDBG supplemental appropriation, defines the term coronavirus

in Section 23005 to mean SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-2019), or another

coronavirus with pandemic potential.

3 The HHS Office of Child Care has released a number of guidance documents on child care and coronavirus; see

https://www.acf.hhs.gov/occ/resource/occ-covid-19-resources.

4 Note that these provisions apply only to CCDBG funds appropriated in the CARES Act, unless otherwise specified.

5 In some cases, lead agencies may send the payments to parents, who are then responsible for making the payments to

providers. For more information on payment practices, see relevant discussion in Victoria Tran, Kelly Dwyer, and

Sarah Minton, The CCDF Policies Database Book of Tables: Key Cross-State Variation in CCDF Policies as of

October 1, 2018, HHS, Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation

(OPRE), OPRE Report #2019-117, November 2019, pp. 227-242, https://ccdf.urban.org/sites/default/files/

CrossStateVariationCCDFPolicies2018%20%28final%2011%2021%202019%29.pdf.

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COVID-19: CCDBG Supplemental Appropriations in the CARES Act

lead agencies may provide additional CCDBG funds to eligible providers for other purposes, such

as supporting professional development or helping build the supply of quality child care.

The CARES Act specifies that CCDBG funds appropriated in the act may be used to provide

continued payments and assistance to child care providers





in cases of decreased enrollment or closures related to coronavirus, and

to ensure that providers are able to remain open or reopen as appropriate and

applicable.

The CCDBG Act generally encourages (but does not require) lead agencies to make payments to

child care providers based on enrollment rather than attendance.6 Specifically, the law states that

lead agencies should “to the extent practicable” delink provider reimbursements from an eligible

child’s occasional absences due to holidays or unforeseen circumstances such as illness. This

provision of the law is intended to support the fixed costs incurred by providers.

Eligible Child Care Providers

The CARES Act specifies that CCDBG funds appropriated in the act shall be available to eligible

child care providers under the CCDBG Act for the purposes of cleaning and sanitation, and other

activities necessary to maintain or resume the operation of programs. The act clarifies that this

provision applies to eligible child care providers even if those providers were not receiving

CCDBG assistance prior to the public health emergency resulting from coronavirus.

Under the CCDBG Act, eligible child care providers generally must





be licensed, regulated, or registered by the state (though states may exempt

certain providers from this requirement); and

meet certain minimum health and safety standards.

An exception to these requirements is made in cases of child care providers caring only for

relatives.7 However, such providers must comply with requirements applicable to relative

caregivers.

Continued Pay for Child Care Staff

The CARES Act encourages states, territories, and tribes to place conditions on payments to child

care providers aimed at ensuring providers use a portion of the funds to continue to pay staff

salaries and wages. Payment of salaries and wages is not explicitly addressed in the CCDBG Act,

though presumably it is typical for some share of CCDBG provider payments to support these

expenses. According to national estimates from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the mean

6 As of the start of FY2019, a majority of states and territories had policies in place to allow at least some types of

providers to be paid for days when children are absent. (The policies often varied based on the type of provider.) For

more information, see Victoria Tran, Kelly Dwyer, and Sarah Minton, The CCDF Policies Database Book of Tables:

Key Cross-State Variation in CCDF Policies as of October 1, 2018, HHS, ACF, OPRE, OPRE Report #2019-117,

November 2019, pp. 227-242, https://ccdf.urban.org/sites/default/files/

CrossStateVariationCCDFPolicies2018%20%28final%2011%2021%202019%29.pdf.

7 Under the CCDBG Act and regulations, this refers to cases in which an eligible child is (by marriage, blood, or court

decree) the provider’s grandchild, great grandchild, sibling (if the provider lives in a separate residence), niece, or

nephew.

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COVID-19: CCDBG Supplemental Appropriations in the CARES Act

hourly wage for child care workers was $12.27 in May 2019.8 BLS estimated the mean annual

wage for child care workers at $25,510 nationally.9

Support for Essential Workers

The CARES Act specifies that states, territories, and tribes are authorized to use CCDBG funds

appropriated in the act to provide child care assistance to









health care sector employees,

emergency responders,

sanitation workers, and

other workers deemed essential during the response to coronavirus by public

officials.

Further, the act specifies that such workers may receive CCDBG assistance without regard to the

typical income eligibility requirements under the CCDBG Act.

The CCDBG Act generally stipulates that eligible children must









be under age 13 (children may be older in limited circumstances10);

reside with a parent who is working or attending job training (unless the child is

receiving or needs to receive protective services);

have family income no greater than 85% of state median income (SMI), or lower

depending on state policy; and

have no more than $1 million in family assets.11

While the CARES Act waives income requirements for essential workers as noted above, it does

not waive other eligibility requirements (e.g., those related to the child’s age or the parent’s work

status).

State Plan Amendments

The CARES Act requires HHS to remind states that CCDBG state plans do not need to be

amended prior to using “existing authorities in the CCDBG Act for the purposes provided” in the

CARES Act. Typically, if a state intends to make a substantial change to policies laid out in its

CCDBG plan (e.g., a change in eligibility rules, provider payment rates, family copayments), the

state would submit a state plan amendment to HHS for approval. Under regulations, a plan

8 May 2019 Occupational Employment and Wages data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). These data are

based on BLS Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) 39-9011, “Childcare Workers.” BLS includes in this

classification individuals who attend to children at schools, businesses, private households, and childcare institutions.

BLS excludes from this classification those who were classified as “Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education”

(25-2011) and “Teacher Assistants” (25-9041). For more information, see https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/

oes399011.htm.

9 Ibid.

10 In limited cases, older children may be served. Regulations codified at 45 C.F.R. 98.20(a)(1)(ii) give state, territory,

and tribal CCDBG lead agencies the option to serve children who are under the age of 19 and physically or mentally

incapable of caring for themselves or are under court supervision.

11 Under federal regulations, lead agencies may waive, on a case-by-case basis, the income eligibility and asset test

requirements for children who are receiving (or need to receive) protective services and for foster children. See 45

C.F.R. 98.20(a)(3)(ii).

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COVID-19: CCDBG Supplemental Appropriations in the CARES Act

amendment must be submitted within 60 days of the effective date of the requirement (i.e., the

state may execute the policy change before submitting the amendment).12 HHS has 90 days to

approve or deny a plan amendment.

In the current circumstances, there are several reasons states might want to amend their plans. For

instance, the CARES Act authorizes HHS to provide child care assistance to essential workers

regardless of income. This is a substantial change, as federal law and state policies generally

condition eligibility on family income.13

Spending Flexibilities and Other Technical Provisions

The CARES Act effectively waives or adjusts certain requirements related to the obligation and

expenditure of the CCDBG funds appropriated in the act.

Quality Spending

The CCDBG Act generally requires lead agencies to spend at least 9% of their FY2020

allotments on quality activities, plus an additional 3% on activities to improve the quality of care

for infants and toddlers.14 All told, these quality set-asides are intended to account for at least

12% of spending from FY2020 allotments. The CARES Act effectively waives these quality

spending minimums for funds provided in the act, offering lead agencies greater flexibility in

how funds may be spent.

Direct Spending

The CCDBG Act includes requirements related to minimum spending on direct services. (The

term direct services generally refers to child care assistance provided to families and is often, but

not always, provided in the form of a voucher.) For instance, after lead agencies set aside funds to

meet minimum quality spending requirements and for spending on administrative costs (capped at

5% for states and territories15), they must use at least 70% of remaining CCDBG funds for direct

services.16 The CARES Act effectively waives direct spending requirements in the CCDBG Act,

again offering lead agencies greater flexibility in how funds may be spent.

12 See 45 CFR 98.18(b).

13 Federal law limits eligibility to those whose family income does not exceed 85% of the state median. In the absence

of this CARES Act provision, states would likely have needed to submit a waiver to HHS requesting (under authorities

in Section 658I(c) of the CCDBG Act) to serve children of essential workers who do not meet statutory income limits.

Federal regulations at 45 C.F.R. 98.20(a)(3)(ii)(A) allow states themselves to waive income eligibility requirements on

a case-by-case basis for children who are receiving or are in need of protective services. States have broad discretion in

how they define the term protective services, but unless a state’s definition captures the needs of essential workers

during an emergency period, a state plan would likely need to be amended to reflect any changes to state policy driven

by the CARES Act or the current pandemic more generally.

14 Regulations at 45 C.F.R. 98.83 apply different minimum quality spending requirements to tribal lead agencies. For

FY2020, all tribal lead agencies, regardless of allocation size, are expected to spend 8% of the CCDBG funds received

on a per-child basis (i.e., excluding funds provided as a base grant) on general quality activities. An additional 3% of

per-child funds are expected to be spent on quality activities for infants and toddlers, but this latter requirement only

applies to tribes receiving medium or large allocations (i.e., tribes receiving small allocations are excluded from the

infant/toddler quality spending requirement).

15 Regulations at 45 C.F.R. 98.83 cap spending on administrative costs at 15% for tribal lead agencies.

16 Federal regulations and the preamble to a final rule issued in 2016 clarify that the 70% direct services spending

requirement does not apply to tribes receiving small allocations, but does apply to tribes receiving medium or large

allocations. See regulations at 45 C.F.R. 98.83. See also 81 Federal Register 67544.

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COVID-19: CCDBG Supplemental Appropriations in the CARES Act

Supplement, Not Supplant

The CARES Act specifies that funds provided via the CCDBG are to be used to supplement, not

supplant, state, territory, and tribal general revenue funding for child care assistance for lowincome families (i.e., the funds provided under the act should not be used to replace existing state,

territory, or tribal spending on such activities). CCDBG provisions in annual appropriations acts

typically include similar provisions.17

Past guidance from HHS suggests that this requirement would likely be considered satisfied if a

state, territory, or tribe does not make any administrative or legislative changes to reduce general

revenue spending after the enactment of a new CCDBG appropriation.18 An action occurring after

this date could potentially be considered a violation of the non-supplantation requirement, unless

the lead agency demonstrates that the reduction was not due to increased federal CCDBG funds.

Use of Funds for Prior Obligations

The CARES Act specifies that the CCDBG funds it appropriates may be made available to restore

amounts, either directly or through reimbursement, for obligations incurred prior to enactment.

These amounts may only be restored with CARES Act funds if they were used to prevent, prepare

for, and respond to coronavirus.

Obligation Deadline for Lead Agencies (or Other Recipients)

The CARES Act states that payments made by HHS may be obligated by the state, territory, tribe,

or other recipient in the current fiscal year or the succeeding two fiscal years. Effectively, this

means that lead agencies have through FY2022 to obligate funds they receive under the CARES

Act. The CCDBG Act typically gives states or other recipients two fiscal years, rather than three,

to obligate funds.

Allocation of CCDBG Funds

CCDBG funds are generally allocated according to a formula set in statute.19 Under the CCDBG

Act formula, HHS is to reserve up to 0.5% for territories and not less than 2% for tribes and tribal

organizations.20 The formula also includes set-asides for technical assistance (up to 0.5%);

research, demonstrations, and evaluation (0.5%); and a national toll-free hotline and website (up

17 The provisions in annual appropriations acts usually specify that funds are to supplement, not supplant, state general

revenue spending. While the annual appropriations acts do not explicitly mention territories or tribes, HHS guidance

has clarified that this requirement applies to territories and tribes. See, for instance, Information Memorandum CCDFACF-IM-2018-03, issued in August 2018, https://www.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/occ/ccdf_acf_im_2018_03.pdf.

18 Information Memorandum CCDF-ACF-IM-2018-03, August 2018, https://www.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/occ/

ccdf_acf_im_2018_03.pdf.

19 The statutory formula was not waived by provisions in the CARES Act, though it has been waived in other cases,

including for funds appropriated in an FY2019 supplemental appropriations act (P.L. 116-20). The FY2019

supplemental directed HHS to distribute CCDBG funds to eligible states, territories, and tribes based on assessed need,

notwithstanding the statutory allocation formula in the CCDBG Act.

20 Under the statutory formula, Puerto Rico is treated as a state, not a territory. The 0.5% reservation for territories goes

to American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Under the formula, HHS may

only reserve more than 2% for tribes if (1) total CCDBG appropriations in that year are greater than total CCDBG

appropriations in FY2014 and (2) the amount allotted to states in that year is not less than the amount allotted to states

in FY2014. Note that annual appropriations acts since FY2018 have each specified a dollar amount to be reserved for

tribes that is in addition to the funds HHS reserves under the not-less-than-2% reservation authority.

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COVID-19: CCDBG Supplemental Appropriations in the CARES Act

to $1.5 million). After all reservations have been made, the remaining funds go to states.21 Funds

are allocated to states according to a formula based on their share of children under age five, their

share of children receiving free- or reduced-price lunches, and state per capita income.

Table 1 presents FY2020 CCDBG allocations released by HHS. The table includes allocations

from FY2020 annual appropriations (P.L. 116-94), as well as the CARES Act (P.L. 116-136).

Table 1. FY2020 CCDBG Allocations for Annual and Supplemental Appropriations

(Amounts in dollars)

Recipient

FY2020

Annual

Appropriations

FY2020

Supplemental

Appropriations

FY2020

Estimated Total

(Annual + Supplemental)

Alabama

103,937,293

64,957,270

168,894,563

Alaska

10,383,130

6,489,103

16,872,233

Arizona

140,817,006

88,005,835

228,822,841

Arkansas

66,344,273

41,462,912

107,807,185

California

560,532,134

350,313,504

910,845,638

Colorado

67,936,315

42,457,884

110,394,199

Connecticut

37,609,214

23,504,479

61,113,693

Delaware

15,613,270

9,757,763

25,371,033

District of Columbia

9,601,162

6,000,400

15,601,562

Florida

357,787,786

223,605,188

581,392,974

Georgia

231,275,589

144,539,371

375,814,960

Hawaii

19,185,280

11,990,147

31,175,427

Idaho

33,078,412

20,672,881

53,751,293

Illinois

189,482,509

118,420,119

307,902,628

Indiana

126,121,997

78,821,955

204,943,952

Iowa

51,041,330

31,899,093

82,940,423

Kansas

49,237,105

30,771,514

80,008,619

Kentucky

108,392,164

67,741,412

176,133,576

Louisiana

108,135,754

67,581,166

175,716,920

Maine

17,526,508

10,953,470

28,479,978

Maryland

73,319,016

45,821,890

119,140,906

Massachusetts

73,122,302

45,698,950

118,821,252

Michigan

161,446,920

100,898,829

262,345,749

Minnesota

77,038,059

48,146,164

125,184,223

Mississippi

75,414,325

47,131,386

122,545,711

21 For purposes of allocations, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico are treated as states.

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Recipient

FY2020

Annual

Appropriations

FY2020

Supplemental

Appropriations

FY2020

Estimated Total

(Annual + Supplemental)

Missouri

106,474,159

66,542,726

173,016,885

Montana

16,183,100

10,113,887

26,296,987

Nebraska

32,125,068

20,077,074

52,202,142

Nevada

52,684,637

32,926,105

85,610,742

New Hampshire

11,199,438

6,999,268

18,198,706

New Jersey

100,898,303

63,058,005

163,956,308

New Mexico

47,110,962

29,442,748

76,553,710

New York

261,832,246

163,636,242

425,468,488

North Carolina

189,027,857

118,135,976

307,163,833

North Dakota

9,661,175

6,037,905

15,699,080

Ohio

187,915,171

117,440,585

305,355,756

Oklahoma

80,014,382

50,006,265

130,020,647

Oregon

61,756,006

38,595,401

100,351,407

Pennsylvania

170,245,470

106,397,624

276,643,094

Rhode Island

13,066,079

8,165,854

21,231,933

South Carolina

101,832,407

63,641,788

165,474,195

South Dakota

14,433,916

9,020,707

23,454,623

Tennessee

131,823,595

82,385,260

214,208,855

Texas

594,693,775

371,663,374

966,357,149

Utah

64,667,482

40,414,976

105,082,458

Vermont

7,056,489

4,410,066

11,466,555

Virginia

113,285,225

70,799,409

184,084,634

Washington

93,856,483

58,657,107

152,513,590

West Virginia

37,060,663

23,161,653

60,222,316

Wisconsin

82,628,488

51,639,992

134,268,480

Wyoming

6,666,231

4,166,167

10,832,398

Subtotal, States

5,352,577,660

3,345,178,849

8,697,756,509

American Samoa

7,417,133

4,455,881

11,873,014

Guam

10,687,582

6,420,621

17,108,203

N. Mariana Islands

5,415,595

3,253,447

8,669,042

Puerto Rico

49,537,340

30,959,151

80,496,491

U.S. Virgin Islands

5,609,690

3,370,051

8,979,741

Subtotal, Territoriesa

78,667,340

48,459,151

127,126,491

Tribesb

334,995,000

96,250,000

431,245,000

Technical Assistancec

29,130,000

—

29,130,000

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Research and Evaluationd

29,130,000

—

29,130,000

Hotline and Websitee

1,500,000

0

1,500,000

—

10,112,000

10,112,000

5,826,000,000

3,500,000,000

9,326,000,000

Remainderf

Totals

Source: FY2020 annual allotments are drawn from the table on pp. 96-97 of the FY2021 congressional

justification for the HHS Administration for Children and Families (ACF), which is available at

https://www.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/olab/fy_2021_congressional_justification.pdf. The CARES Act

allocations are from the ACF Office of Child Care website at https://www.acf.hhs.gov/occ/resource/occ-covid19-resources (retrieved on April 20, 2020).

Notes: The FY2020 allotments were estimated by HHS based on amounts appropriated in an FY2020 omnibus

appropriations act (P.L. 116-94) and the FY2020 supplemental allotments were estimated by HHS based on

amounts appropriated in the CARES Act (P.L. 116-136).

a. Under the statutory formula, territories shall receive up to 0.5% of the total appropriation. The FY2020

annual and supplemental allocations reserve the full 0.5% for territories. Note that while Puerto Rico is

shown with other territories in this table, it is treated as a state (not a territory) for purposes of the

allocation formula.

b. Under the statutory allocation formula, tribes shall receive not less than 2% of the total appropriation. The

FY2020 annual allocations indicate that HHS reserved a total of 5.75% for tribes and tribal organizations

(2.75% was reserved based on HHS discretion; remaining funds were reserved under a provision in the

FY2020 omnibus appropriations act). The FY2020 supplemental allocations indicate that HHS reserved

2.75% for tribes, the same share of funds HHS has reserved under the statutory formula since FY2016 (not

counting additional amounts reserved for tribes in annual appropriations acts since FY2018).

c. Under the statutory formula, HHS shall reserve up to 0.5% for technical assistance and dissemination

activities. The FY2020 annual allocations reserve the full 0.5% for technical assistance. The FY2020

supplemental allocations released by HHS do not specify how much will go toward technical assistance.

d. Under the statutory formula, HHS may reserve 0.5% for research, demonstrations, evaluation, and related

activities. The FY2020 annual allocations reserve the full 0.5% for these activities. The FY2020 supplemental

allocations released by HHS do not specify how much (if any) of the funds will go toward these activities.

e. Under the statutory formula, HHS shall reserve up to $1,500,000 for a national toll-free hotline and

website. The FY2020 annual allocations indicate that HHS reserved the full amount, suggesting that this

statutory set-aside was likely satisfied with funds reserved from FY2020 annual appropriations. The FY2020

supplemental allocations do not specify an amount for these activities.

f.

To date, the FY2020 supplemental estimates posted to the ACF website only specify the amounts to be

allocated to states, territories, and tribes. Remaining funds available for allocation are shown here. It is not

yet known how these funds will be allocated, though they may be used for activities such as technical

assistance or for research, demonstration, evaluation, or related activities. In addition, the CARES Act

specifies that funds could be used for federal administrative expenses.

Author Contact Information

Karen E. Lynch

Specialist in Social Policy

#redacted#@crs.loc.gov

, 7-....

Congressional Research Service

R46324 · VERSION 2 · NEW

8

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