The Community Development Block Grant Program Can Be More Effective in Revitalizing the Nation's Cities

The Community Development Block Grant Program allows cities to undertake a wide variety of activities to provide decent housing, jobs, and neighborhoods for their residents. Funds can be used for the acquisition and disposition of property, street improvements, water and sewer facilities, the rehabilitation of private properties, public services and parks, playgrounds, and other recreational facilities. The program's legislative history shows that, while Congress intended communities to have great flexibility in implementing their block grant programs, cities were to design their individual programs within broad national objectives.

The lack of limitations on how funds may be used is diluting the program's impact. Cities often spread funds too widely, and rehabilitation funds are spent for questionable purposes and are not always provided to persons with the greatest need. In addition, there is sometimes insufficient information to determine whether funds are properly spent for eligible activities. The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has taken several initiatives to encourage better targeting by communities and, in response to past reports of weaknesses in its monitoring of block grant recipients, it has modified its grantee monitoring system. The GAO review raises questions as to whether local flexibility should be tempered with more Federal guidance on the overall limits within which cities can operate their block grant programs.

Recommendations

Our recommendations from this work are listed below with a Contact for more information. Status will change from "In process" to "Open," "Closed - implemented," or "Closed - not implemented" based on our follow up work.

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