Resource Library

Thank you for your continued engagement and partnership with us to address and mitigate the spread of COVID-19. We highly value our strong ongoing partnership, and hope to continue to be a resource to you as you implement community mitigation techniques. As you might imagine, a number of HHS divisions are releasing COVID-19-related information on funding and guidance. We thought it would be helpful to batch up information on key issues to keep you up-to-date.

Fiscal Year 2017 Assets for Independence Program Funding

To ensure efficient and effective management of OCS programs, the Office of the Director (OD) requested and received approval from the Acting Assistant Secretary of the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) to restructure OCS Divisions.

Dear Colleagues:

As previous letters released in May 2015 and April 2016 have described, the Office of Community Services (OCS) sought approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for the proposed Assets for Independence (AFI) program-specific Performance Progress Report (PPR). On August 23, 2016, the proposed AFI PPR was approved by OMB without any changes.  AFI grantees are now required to use the new PPR to report data on their AFI project(s) moving forward.  AFI will no longer collect the SF-PPR form semiannually.  Financial reporting requirements are not affected by the new PPR; grantees must still submit the SF-425 semiannually for each AFI grant.

Dear Colleagues,

The Office of Community Services (OCS) is requesting feedback from Assets for Independence (AFI) grantees and stakeholders on proposed AFI program specific Performance Progress Report (PPR) data collection instruments.  On April 8, 2016, a Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) notice for public comment was published in the Federal Register: https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2016/04/08/2016-08090/submis... .

Dear Colleague,

In recognition of Native American Heritage Month, and in celebration of the next generation of tribal leaders, we, in the Office of Community Services (OCS), are writing today to ask for your partnership in helping create more opportunities for Native youth engagement, empowerment, education and employment.

Dear Colleagues:

We are excited to share with you some news from the Office of Community Services (OCS), Division of Community Demonstration Programs (DEMO).  In order to more effectively manage the Assets for Independence (AFI) program, we have created two branches: the Program Operations Branch and the Policy and Partnerships Branch.

The Office of Community Services (OCS) is requesting feedback from Assets for Independence (AFI) grantees and stakeholders on proposed AFI program specific Performance Progress Report (PPR) data collection instruments. On May 19, a Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) notice for public comment was published in the Federal Register: https://federalregister.gov/a/2015-12096.

AFI Dear Colleague Letter Information and Resources Related to Financial Capability

Dear Colleagues,

The federal Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) is one of the largest IRS public benefits for low-income households. The EITC is a refundable credit for families and individuals that work but earn low wages. It is a powerful work incentive and anti-poverty tool.