LIHWAP: A Primer for the Community Action Network

LIHWAP caps Administrative Costs at 15% of each LIHWAP award, inclusive of both the Recipient’s and Subrecipient’s costs. The program defines Administrative Costs as “expenses by the grantee and its sub-recipient service providers for a portion of general administration and general expenses, such as the salaries and expenses of executive officers, personnel administration, accounting, grants management, and reporting” (see Model State Plan Definitions).

Recipients have the discretion to allocate some of the funding that would otherwise go to household benefits to Outreach and Intake/Eligibility Costs in their LIHWAP State plan. Outreach and Intake/Eligibility Costs are defined as:

grantee cost and subgrantee costs for staff time and expenses directly related to implementation of a LIHWAP outreach plan and for any intake service necessary to conduct eligibility and benefit determination activities to assure that households are eligible, to determine the specified benefit amount, and to notify households of an incomplete application status and advise as to the necessary documentation missing as outlined in State, territorial, or tribal policies and procedures.

See Model State Plan Definitions. Thus, Outreach and Intake/Eligibility Costs do not count as Administrative Costs under LIHWAP. CAAs concerned about exceeding their allocated amount of Outreach and Intake/Eligibility Costs should consider whether their intake procedures can be streamlined by using categorical eligibility for the programs listed in Question 3.

Subrecipients may refer to the table below (also located on Page 3 of your State’s LIHWAP plan) for the allocation of costs applicable in your State.

This resource is part of the Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) Legal Training and Technical Assistance Center. It was created by CAPLAW in the performance of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Community Services, Cooperative Agreement Award Number 90ET0482-02. Any opinion, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families.