Title 42, The Public Health and WelfareRelease 119-73not60

§1397n–3 Feasibility Study Funding

Title 42 › Chapter 7— SOCIAL SECURITY › Subchapter XX— BLOCK GRANTS AND PROGRAMS FOR SOCIAL SERVICES AND ELDER JUSTICE › § 1397n–3

Last updated Apr 5, 2026|Official source

Summary

The Secretary must set aside part of the available money to help States and local governments pay for feasibility studies so they can apply for social impact partnership funding. To get this help, a State or local government must apply and explain: the project’s outcome goals; the planned intervention (design, target people, estimated number served, and setting); evidence the idea will work; possible measures to track results; expected benefits to participants and others; estimated project costs; estimates of Federal, State, and local savings and other savings if goals are met; a timeline no longer than 10 years; any needed partnerships and the role of an intermediary if one is used; and the resources needed to finish the study. Within 6 months of receiving an application, the Secretary, working with the Federal Interagency Council on Social Impact Partnerships and related agencies, will pick studies to fund using recommendations from the Commission and factors like likelihood of success, value of outcomes, and potential Federal and State/local savings. The Secretary must post on the Council’s website within 30 days why funding was awarded. Funding may cover no more than 50 percent of the study cost, and no more than $10,000,000 of the division’s money may be used for these studies. The Secretary may choose to award no funding. A funded applicant must finish and submit the study within 9 months. The Secretary may transfer these authorities and funds to another Federal agency.

Full Legal Text

Title 42, §1397n–3

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

(a)The Secretary shall reserve a portion of the amount made available to carry out this division to assist States or local governments in developing feasibility studies to apply for social impact partnership funding under section 1397n–1 of this title. To be eligible to receive funding to assist with completing a feasibility study, a State or local government shall submit an application for feasibility study funding addressing the following:
(1)A description of the outcome goals of the social impact partnership project.
(2)A description of the intervention, including anticipated program design, target population, an estimate regarding the number of individuals to be served, and setting for the intervention.
(3)Evidence to support the likelihood that the intervention will produce the desired outcomes.
(4)A description of the potential metrics to be used.
(5)The expected social benefits to participants who receive the intervention and others who may be impacted.
(6)Estimated costs to conduct the project.
(7)Estimates of Federal, State, and local government savings and other savings if the project is implemented and the outcomes are achieved as a result of each intervention.
(8)An estimated timeline for implementation and completion of the project, which shall not exceed 10 years.
(9)With respect to a project for which the State or local government selects an intermediary to operate the project, any partnerships needed to successfully execute the project and the ability of the intermediary to foster the partnerships.
(10)The expected resources needed to complete the feasibility study for the State or local government to apply for social impact partnership funding under section 1397n–1 of this title.
(b)Not later than 6 months after receiving an application for feasibility study funding under subsection (a), the Secretary, in consultation with the Federal Interagency Council on Social Impact Partnerships and the head of any Federal agency administering a similar intervention or serving a population similar to that served by the project, shall select State or local government feasibility study proposals for funding based on the following:
(1)The recommendations made by the Commission on Social Impact Partnerships.
(2)The likelihood that the proposal will achieve the desired outcomes.
(3)The value of the outcomes expected to be achieved as a result of each intervention.
(4)The potential savings to the Federal Government if the social impact partnership project is successful.
(5)The potential savings to the State and local governments if the project is successful.
(c)Not later than 30 days after selecting a State or local government for feasibility study funding under this section, the Secretary shall cause to be published on the website of the Federal Interagency Council on Social Impact Partnerships information explaining why a State or local government was granted feasibility study funding.
(d)(1)The Secretary may not provide feasibility study funding under this section for more than 50 percent of the estimated total cost of the feasibility study reported in the State or local government application submitted under subsection (a).
(2)Of the total amount made available to carry out this division, the Secretary may not use more than $10,000,000 to provide feasibility study funding to States or local governments under this section.
(3)The Secretary shall have the option to award no funding under this section.
(e)Not later than 9 months after the receipt of feasibility study funding under this section, a State or local government receiving the funding shall complete the feasibility study and submit the study to the Federal Interagency Council on Social Impact Partnerships.
(f)The Secretary may transfer to the head of another Federal agency the authorities provided in this section and any funds necessary to exercise the authorities.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

42 U.S.C. § 1397n–3

Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare

Last Updated

Apr 5, 2026

Release point: 119-73not60