Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) Home

hands touching puzzle pieces

The Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) provides federal funding to states, the District of Columbia and U.S. territories for anti-poverty programs operated by a nationwide network of over 1,000 Community Action Agencies. Community Action Agencies are locally controlled private or public nonprofit organizations that seek to alleviate the causes and conditions of poverty with programs tailored to specific local needs. The Department of Children and Families (DCF) distributes CSBG funding through grants to Wisconsin's 16 local Community Action Agencies and two statewide agencies that focus on serving special populations. For more information about Community Action Agencies in Wisconsin, visit the Wisconsin Community Action Program Association (WISCAP) website.

CSBG funds are not open for applications, and CSBG grants are not provided directly to individuals. This funding is available only to already established eligible entities across Wisconsin. Additionally, the government will never initiate contact with individuals by phone, email, text messages, or social media channels to request personal or financial information. Never give anyone a fee for connecting you to a grant or program. This is indicative of a scam and should be reported to the Health and Human Services (HHS) Fraud Hotline at 1-800-447-8477.

If you are interested in services or programs funded by CSBG, please contact the Community Action Agency serving your county of residence. A list of agencies is available in WISCAP.

CSBG State Plan
Training and Resources
2024 CSBG Calendar

Contract Submission Obligations

1/31/2024 Civil Rights Compliance Letter of Assurance due to DCF Civil Rights Unit
Affirmative Action Plan due to DCF (if applicable)
Cost Allocation Plan due to DCF **submit via SPARC**
Federal Indirect Cost Rate Agreement due to DCF (if applicable) **submit via SPARC**

FY2023 CSBG Annual Reports

11/2023 SmartForms released
2/16/2024 Agencies’ due date for submitting completed Modules 2, 3 & 4 to DCF
3/29/2024 CSBG Annual Report (Modules 1-4) due in OLDC **DCF submission**

Contract Submission Obligations

2/16/2024 Last day to submit SPARC reports for 2023 CSBG contracts
3/1/2024 Last day for agencies to request and identify carry over amount
8/2024 Target date for DCF to issue contract amendments

2023 DCF Year-End Expenditure Reports

12/2023 DCF to provide yearend reporting forms to agencies
2/16/2024 Report covering January 1 to December 31, 2023 due to DCF **via SPARC**

27th Annual Governor’s Award for Excellence in Community Action

3/4/2024 Nominations due to DCF via online form **link to come via email**
5/21-5/23/2024 Presentation of award at the WISCAP Annual Conference Award Ceremony

WISCAP

2/7/2024 WISCAP quarterly board meeting at River Falls
5/21/2024 WISCAP Annual Conference and quarterly board meeting
8/7-8/8/2024 WISCAP quarterly board meeting **Details TBA**
**Details TBA** Poverty Matters! Conference
11/6-11/7/2024 WISCAP quarterly board meeting **Details TBA**

Organizational Standards Desk Audit 2024

11/1/2024 Completed Desk Audits and supporting documentation due to DCF

2025 CSBG Applications/Community Action Plans

6/3/2024 Target date for DCF to send the 2024 CSBG Application to agencies
10/1/2024 2024 CSBG Applications due to DCF
12/20/2024 Target date for DCF to route contracts via DocuSign for effective date of 1/1/2025

2024 CSBG Triennial Monitoring Plan

1/10/2024 & 1/11/2024 Central Wisconsin Community Action Council, Inc.
1/29/2024 & 1/30/2024 Southwestern Wisconsin Community Action Program, Inc.
3/4/2024 & 3/6/2024 CAP Services
4/29/2024 & 4/30/2024 Racine/Kenosha Community Action Agency
7/22/2024 & 7/25/2024 Northwest Wisconsin Community Services Agency
7/23/2024 & 7/26/2024 West Central Wisconsin Community Action
8/28/2024 & 8/29/2024 Lakeshore Community Action Program
9/9/2024 & 9/10/2024 Couleecap, Inc.
**If agencies have a scheduling conflict, DCF will reschedule the monitoring visit.

Board Minutes and Agency Annual Reports

Reminder: Board minutes are due within 45 days of every meeting to DCF.CSBG@wisconsin.gov.

Please provide DCF with a courtesy copy of your agency’s Annual Report as well.

Questions? Please submit questions to DCF via the CSBG mailbox: DCF.CSBG@wisconsin.gov.

2024 Skills Enhancement Program Calendar

Quarterly Reports

1/31/2024 2nd quarter report for State Fiscal Year 2023 (July 1, 2023 - June 30, 2024) due to DCF
4/30/2024 3rd quarter report due to DCF
7/31/2024 4th quarter report due to DCF
10/31/2024 1st quarter report for State Fiscal Year 2025 due to DCF
**All SEP reports are to be uploaded in SPARC as a performance report**

Skills Enhancement Program for State Fiscal Year 2024

3/11/2024 SEP SFY2025 applications will be sent to agencies
4/12/2024 SEP applications will be due to DCF, and a roundtable will be held at WISCAP’s Annual Conference in Green Bay, WI
6/2024 Target date for DCF to issue notices about contract renewals
6/30/2024 DCF to issue State Fiscal Year 2025 contracts

Questions? Please submit questions to DCF via the CSBG mailbox: DCF.CSBG@wisconsin.gov.