Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) Legal Training and Technical Assistance (T/TA) Center

The Office of Community Services (OCS) within the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) will support one cooperative agreement for the Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) Legal Training and Technical Assistance (T/TA) Center. This cooperative agreement is intended to support a 3-year effort for the CSBG Legal T/TA Center to provide continued supportive T/TA strategies for organizational assessment that can be utilized by states and local CSBG-eligible entities. The CSBG Legal T/TA Center cooperative agreement will help ensure that CSBG-eligible entities set and meet organizational standards for operations and accountability. By design, T/TA efforts will identify and focus on organizational, fiscal, and legal matters concerning the organizational standards in the following areas: consumer input and involvement, community engagement, community assessment, leadership, board governance, strategic planning, human resource management, financial operations and oversight, and data and analysis. This cooperative agreement will support the implementation of T/TA strategies designed for CSBG-eligible entities to help address legal issues in three major focus areas: (1) providing organizational stability and support for CSBG-eligible entities experiencing significant fiscal or organizational challenges, including consultation focused on entities that are considering legal options for strategic restructuring, shared administrative or service arrangements, or mergers; (2) providing education and training to enhance general knowledge and understanding of CSBG statutory and regulatory requirements and the ability to address changing legal and regulatory issues affecting CSBG-eligible entities in the CSBG Network; and (3) promoting exemplary legal practices and policies related to organizational approaches that help promote innovation, accountability, and responsiveness to specific community needs related to the reduction of poverty, the revitalization of low-income communities, and the empowerment of low-income families and individuals in rural and urban areas to become fully self-sufficient. To ensure this occurs, the grantee is expected to partner with the CSBG Organizational Standards Center of Excellence (COE) and provide T/TA to CSBG-eligible entities on legal topics particularly relevant to compliance with 45 CFR Part 75 and CSBG organizational standards.