Title XX Social Services Block Grant Under Attack

The House Republican 2017 budget plan would eliminate the Social Services Block Grant (SSBG), a uniquely flexible funding source that helps states meet the specialized needs of their most vulnerable populations. This would impair states’ ability to fund many public services that mainly benefit low- and moderate-income children and people who are elderly or disabled. In Ohio, this funding helps fill the huge gaps in state and federal funding for child and adult protective services so that our most vulnerable citizens would be at greater risk of abuse or neglect. The SSBG has bee under attack for a number of years, with budget cuts and the effects of sequestrationj. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities has recently issued an analysis of the SSBG and counters arguments that it is duplicative or serves people who are not considered low income.