LAWMAKERS HOLD BRIEFING ON THE STATE'S APPLICATION AND PLAN FOR COMMUNITY SERVICES BLOCK GRANT

The Hawaii State Senate Committee on Judiciary and Labor and the House Committee on Labor and Public Employment will hold an informational briefing Friday to get an update on the State of Hawaii's Application and Plan for Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) for fiscal years (FY) 2015 and 2016.

"The Community Services Block Grant provides federal funding for Hawaii to determine its goals and objectives and implement initiatives to address poverty issues," said Senator Clayton Hee, chair of the Senate Committee on Judiciary and Labor. "CSBG grant funding improves the quality of life and raises the welfare of our state's residents."

"We rely on this federal funding to enhance the livelihood of our state," said Representative Mark Nakashima, chair of the House Committee on Labor and Public Employment. "When we address the root causes of poverty, we can begin to plan for improvements to lessen poverty's effect."

The State of Hawaii's CSBG Application and Plan for FY 2015 and 2016 was released for public comment on June 9, 2014. Federal law requires the state to post its plan and hold public hearings on the matter.

CSBG is administered federally by the Office of Community Services within the Administration of Children and Families of the Department of Health and Human Services and by the State of Hawaii Department of Labor's Office of Community Services at the local level. CSBG funding is used to support efforts to assist low-income families and individuals. Funding is available to all four county Community Action Agencies including Honolulu Community Action Program, Hawaii County Economic Opportunity Council, Maui Economic Opportunity, and Kauai Economic Opportunity.

The State CSBG Application and Plan for FY 2015 and 2016 is available online.