§12337 State Coordination of Services

Summary

The federal government gives states money to help them better coordinate services for children, youth, and families. To get a grant, the governor must send in a plan that shows an independent state agency will bring different state agencies together. The plan must show how agencies will do joint planning, financing, and service delivery and use shared intake or assessment so young people get help more easily. The plan must be based on recent state reports and data about kids and families (things like age, race, where they live, homelessness, family makeup, income and poverty, health, school attachment and dropout, out‑of‑home care, community conditions, and violence). The plan must explain how funds will be shared fairly across areas, let the public comment, list existing services and needs, follow federal reporting and accounting rules, run and report periodic evaluations, give technical help and training, and carry out required supportive services. Grant funds can pay part of the state’s costs to run the plan, such as preparing the plan, helping local areas, evaluating projects, collecting and sharing data, and short training. The money must add to existing federal, state, and local spending and cannot replace those funds or be used to meet other federal matching requirements. If the state plans to apply for another related grant for the same year, the application must describe family resource and support plans and how all funds will be coordinated.