View source for Office of Community Services

{{short description|U.S. government agency that promotes economic development}}
[[File:Acf-logo-ocs.png|thumb|upright=1.2|OCS logo as of 2018]]
The '''Office of Community Services''' (OCS) is a division of the [[Federal government of the United States#Executive branch|US Executive Branch]] under the [[Administration for Children and Families]] within the [[United States Department of Health and Human Services|Department of Health and Human Services]].<ref name="HughesGreca2001">{{cite book|last1=Hughes|first1=Jan N.|last2=Greca|first2=Annette M. La|last3=Conoley|first3=Jane Close|title=Handbook of Psychological Services for Children and Adolescents|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=r9cqy0ocWacC|access-date=8 May 2018|date=11 January 2001|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|isbn=9780198028970}}</ref>{{rp|79}}  It is the direct successor of the [[Office of Economic Opportunity]], an independent agency created in 1964.<ref name=":0">{{cite web |title=Records of the Community Services Administration |url=https://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/381.html#381.1 |website=U.S. National Archives}}</ref>

OCS administers six programs which provide funding for community development and poverty alleviation for private and public agencies:<ref name="HughesGreca2001" />{{rp|79}}<ref name="Berns2012">{{cite book|last=Berns|first=Roberta M.|title=Child, Family, School, Community: Socialization and Support|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0bIJAAAAQBAJ|access-date=8 May 2018|date=1 January 2012|publisher=[[Cengage Learning]]|isbn=978-1133710158}}</ref>{{rp|346}}

* The [[Assets for Independence]] program, which provides matching contributions to [[Individual Development Accounts]] for those eligible for the [[Temporary Assistance for Needy Families]] program.<ref>{{cite web|title=AFI Fact Sheet|url=https://www.acf.hhs.gov/ocs/resource/afi-fact-sheet|website=Office of Community Services|access-date=8 May 2018}}</ref> The program was funded at $18.9 for the 2016 fiscal year.<ref name="ocs">{{cite web|title=OCS Fact Sheet|url=https://www.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/assets/2017factsheets_ocs.pdf|website=Office of Community Services|access-date=8 May 2018}}</ref> Participants in the program's first year saw a median increase in saving of $657, a drop in experiences of economic hardship by 34%, and a 39% drop in the use of [[payday loans]].<ref>{{cite news|last1=Weston|first1=Liz|title=2 sexy ways to get paid to save|url=https://www.marketwatch.com/story/2-sexy-ways-to-get-paid-to-save-2018-03-15|access-date=8 May 2018|agency=[[Market Watch]]|date=March 15, 2018}}</ref>
* The [[Community Economic Development Program]], which provides funding for non-profits with the principal goal of supporting [[low-income housing]] or [[community economic development]]. The program was funded at $19.75 million for the 2017 fiscal year.<ref>{{cite web|title=CED Fact Sheet|url=https://www.acf.hhs.gov/ocs/resource/ced-fact-sheet-1|website=Office of Community Services|access-date=8 May 2018}}</ref> This program includes separate funding as part of the [[Healthy Food Financing Initiative]], a partnership between the Department of Health and Human Services, the [[United States Department of the Treasury|Treasury Department]], and the [[United States Department of Agriculture|Department of Agriculture]] to increase access healthy food.<ref>{{cite web|title=Community Economic Development Program (CED) Overview Webinar|url=https://www.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/ocs/ced_program_overview_transcript_2015.pdf|website=Office of Community Services|date=January 29, 2015}}</ref>
* The [[Community Services Block Grant]], which was created in 1981 in a consolidation of over 200 government programs, and provides funding directly to states to distribute.<ref name="SoiferMcNeely2014">{{cite book|last1=Soifer|first1=Steven D.|last2=McNeely|first2=Joseph B.|last3=Costa|first3=Cathy|first4=Nancy|last4=Pickering-Bernheim|title=Community Economic Development in Social Work|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=23HCBAAAQBAJ|access-date=8 May 2018|date=18 November 2014|publisher=[[Columbia University Press]]|isbn=9780231508575}}</ref>{{rp|191}} The program was funded at $715 million in the 2016 fiscal year.<ref>{{cite web|title=CSBG Fact Sheet|url=https://www.acf.hhs.gov/ocs/resource/csbg-fact-sheet|website=Office of Community Services|access-date=8 May 2018|date=March 16, 2017}}</ref>
* The [[Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program]], which "provides grants to states to fund fuel payment assistance and home energy efficiency improvements for low-income households."<ref name="Morris2006">{{cite book|last=Morris|first=Paul M.|title=National Energy Policy: Major Federal Energy Programs and Status|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6_Iy7Yn6B5UC|access-date=8 May 2018|year=2006|publisher=[[Nova Science Publishers]]|isbn=9781594546969}}</ref>{{rp|13}} The program was funded at $3.39 billion in the 2016 fiscal year.<ref name="ocs"/>
* The [[Rural Community Development Program]] which provides funding for [[Water resource management|water management]] and [[wastewater treatment]]. The program was funded at $7.45 million in the 2016 fiscal year.<ref>{{cite web|title=RCD Fact Sheet|url=https://www.acf.hhs.gov/ocs/resource/rcd-fact-sheet-0|website=Office of Community Services|access-date=8 May 2018}}</ref>
* The [[Social Services Block Grant]], used to support a wide range of activities. {{As of|2010}}, the most highly supported of which were [[child care]], [[foster care]], and [[Services and supports for people with disabilities|services for the disabled]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/94-953.pdf | title=Social Services Block Grant: Background and Funding | publisher=Congressional Research Service | date=March 14, 2016 | access-date=August 15, 2017 | author=Karen E. Lynch}}></ref> The grant is authorized by Title XX of the [[Social Security Act]], and funding is allocated according to population.<ref name="Patti2008">{{cite book|last=Patti|first=Rino J.|title=The Handbook of Human Services Management|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KkjAzHD04owC|access-date=8 May 2018|date=October 2008|publisher=[[SAGE Publications]]|isbn=9781412952910}}</ref>{{rp|93}} The program was funded at $1.6 billion for the 2016 fiscal year.<ref>{{cite web|title=SSBG Fact Sheet|url=https://www.acf.hhs.gov/ocs/resource/ssbg-fact-sheet|website=Office of Community Services|access-date=8 May 2018}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Poverty in the United States]]
* [[Poverty reduction]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Office of Community Services}}
* {{Official website|https://www.acf.hhs.gov/ocs}}

{{United States Department of Health and Human Services}}

[[Category:Administration for Children and Families programs]]


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