Did Congress Just Provide Funding for Your Not-For-Profit?

The Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA) of 2023 became law on December 29, 2022.

The law provides a total of $1.7 trillion for government projects spanning 12 appropriation bills and covering every Cabinet department, from Agriculture to Veterans Affairs. Several funding areas may be of interest to not-for-profit organizations (NFPs) that work in fields like child development, mental health, substance abuse and homelessness.

The CAA increases funding for many programs addressing these issues, although it does not address all major priorities. Congress did not renew several expired incentives for charitable donations. Congress also did not renew tax credits made available during the COVID-19 pandemic, such as the Employee Retention Tax Credit. Still, the CAA provides much for the nonprofit community to celebrate. Read on to learn more about the funding provided by the CAA.

Economic and Community Development

Several programs geared towards preventing homelessness and promoting affordable housing received a boost from the CAA. This includes funding for numerous block grant programs intended to help state and local governments address social and economic issues.

The CAA provides over $6.39 billion for the Community Development Fund through September 30, 2026. It allocates more than half of this amount, $3.3 billion, for the community development block grant program created by Title I of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974.

The purpose of this program, as stated by Congress, is the “development of viable urban communities, by providing decent housing and a suitable living environment and expanding economic opportunities, principally for persons of low and moderate income.” This marks a $1.5 billion increase in funding for the program.

The bill also allocates over $3.6 billion for homeless assistance grants through September 30, 2025. Of this amount, the bill makes several additional allocations, including the following:

• $3.1 billion for the Continuum of Care program;
• $290 million for the Emergency Solutions Grants program; and
• $75 million “for one-time awards under the Continuum of Care program for new construction, acquisition, or rehabilitation of new permanent supportive housing.”
  
  
  

Child Care

The CAA provides over $8 billion in funding for the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) program, an increase of 30 percent. The bill directs the Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) to use these funds “to supplement, not supplant State general revenue funds for child care assistance for low-income families.”

Head Start

The Head Start program, administered by HHS and state agencies, supports children from birth through age 5, with a focus on “early learning and development, health, and family well-being.” The CAA increases Head Start funding by 8 percent to $12 billion.

Nutrition Assistance Programs

Several programs that help low-income families provide food for their children received funding boosts from the CAA:

• The bill appropriates $28.5 billion for child nutrition programs, including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
• It allocates $6 billion for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program.
• It establishes the Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer For Children program, which creates an electronic benefits transfer (EBT) system for children who meet the eligibility criteria for free or reduced-price school lunches. The program will expand access to lunches for these children during times when they are not enrolled in school. The CAA provides $40 million to set up the system on a permanent basis.
  
  
  

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services for Children

The CAA reauthorizes funding for various programs that provide assistance and support for mental health and substance abuse, such as the following:

• The bill appropriates over $857 million for each fiscal year from 2023 through 2027 for the Community Mental Health Services Block Grant program.
• It makes several amendments to the provisions of the Public Health Service Act that deal with substance abuse. It removes “stigmatizing language,” such as by replacing “substance abuse” with “substance use” and “alcohol or drug abuse” with “alcohol or other substance use disorders.”

It provides $1.9 billion for each fiscal year from 2023 through 2027 for the Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment Block Grant program, which it renames “Block Grants for Substance Use Prevention, Treatment, and Recovery Services.

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