Abstract
This article reviews the origins and evolution of the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program, the federal government's largest program providing direct assistance to local governments. The article examines the program's changing national policy context over its 40-year history, as manifest in presidential, executive, and legislative deliberations over the program's national goals and objectives, as well as the key components of the program's policy design and administrative structure. The article also explores how the decisions affecting policy design adopted at the national level play out at the local level, through an examination of the choices communities have made regarding uses of CDBG funds and the social and geographic targeting outcomes that have been obtained. The article then revisits the extent to which the CDBG program conforms with the basic characteristics of block grants. The article concludes with several recommendations for revising CDBG that will provide a policy tool better aligned with the new community-building paradigm that has emerged over the past two decades, with its emphasis on collaborative, comprehensive, community-based initiatives.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.