Title 42, The Public Health and WelfareRelease 119-102

§1397n Purposes

Title 42 › CHAPTER 7 — SOCIAL SECURITY › SUBCHAPTER XX — BLOCK GRANTS AND PROGRAMS FOR SOCIAL SERVICES AND ELDER JUSTICE › § 1397n

Last updated Aug 21, 2026|Official source

Summary

Provide federal money for social programs that actually help families and people in need. Move funding away from programs shown by data to not work and toward those with measurable results. Create public-private "social impact" partnerships that mix private donations with government money so successful services can grow. Pay for performance and use outcomes measurement and rigorous tests like randomized trials to see what works.

Full Legal Text

Title 42, §1397n

The Public Health and Welfare, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

The purposes of this division are the following:

(1)To improve the lives of families and individuals in need in the United States by funding social programs that achieve real results.

(2)To redirect funds away from programs that, based on objective data, are ineffective, and into programs that achieve demonstrable, measurable results.

(3)To ensure Federal funds are used effectively on social services to produce positive outcomes for both service recipients and taxpayers.

(4)To establish the use of social impact partnerships to address some of our Nation’s most pressing problems.

(5)To facilitate the creation of public-private partnerships that bundle philanthropic or other private resources with existing public spending to scale up effective social interventions already being implemented by private organizations, nonprofits, charitable organizations, and State and local governments across the country.

(6)To bring pay-for-performance to the social sector, allowing the United States to improve the impact and effectiveness of vital social services programs while redirecting inefficient or duplicative spending.

(7)To incorporate outcomes measurement and randomized controlled trials or other rigorous methodologies for assessing program impact.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

42 U.S.C. § 1397n

Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare

Last Updated

Aug 21, 2026

Release point: 119-102