OCS Priorities and FY24 Spotlights
Strengthening Communities Through Data-Driven Action
In 2021, OCS set four priorities. Setting priorities is essential because it helps OCS focus on what truly matters, allowing us to allocate time and resources effectively. These priorities inform our decisions and help us stay aligned with our long-term goals. These priorities include:
1
Ensuring the programs we administer are of the highest quality possible and are reaching those most in need
2
Lifting up voices from the field and using lessons learned to be thoughtful, inclusive, and innovative in our approach
3
Identifying opportunities to break down silos and implement cross-cutting initiatives within OCS and ACF, and across the federal government
4
Amplifying OCS' many connections to HHS’ and ACF’s top priorities to better support families and communities
Through our efforts to implement these four priorities over the past three years, OCS has identified critical lessons learned.
FY24 Spotlights
From FY21 through FY23, OCS enhanced its focus on data in order to track what we have accomplished, identify areas for improvement, and make data-driven decisions that enhance our impact. This data-driven approach enabled OCS to leverage every federal dollar effectively: CED grants generated $5 in additional investment for every $1 appropriated, while RCD leveraged $17 for every federal dollar spent. In FY24, OCS implemented lessons learned from the previous three years to more fully use data to deliver the highest quality services with the greatest efficiency. These efforts were carried out through targeted programs and initiatives encompassing the following themes:
Economic development
CED created over 3,600 jobs at an average cost of just $21,185 per job — well below program benchmarks — while leveraging over $460M in investments.
Community Economic Development (CED)
In FY24, the Community Economic Development (CED) program invested over $93.2 million across 140 grants to spark business growth and job creation in distressed communities. These grants helped launch or expand 529 businesses and created 3,621 full-time jobs — 2,424 of which were filled by individuals with low incomes. To ensure meaningful impact, CED projects must meet job creation benchmarks based on award size and project type. For example, a typical $800,000 grant requires 25 to 29 jobs at a cost not exceeding $27,000 to $32,000 per position. CED Job Creation projects active in FY24 exceeded these expectations, achieving an average cost of just $21,185 per job — well below program thresholds. This efficiency highlights the program’s responsible use of federal funds and its success in driving economic growth. Additionally, CED efforts leveraged more than $461.4 million in private and public investment, amplifying their reach and impact nationwide.
Energy Security
LIHEAP served nearly 6 million households, nearly all with at least one individual from a vulnerable population.
Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP)
In FY24, LIHEAP helped nearly 6 million individuals and families nationwide maintain safe and reliable home energy, including 5 million households receiving heating assistance and 279,000 total instances of restored home energy. LIHEAP prioritized our most vulnerable: more than 90% of households served included a senior, young child, or person with a disability — populations facing the greatest risk from extreme temperatures. By helping households with low incomes afford their energy costs, LIHEAP helps reduce the risk of health and safety problems that arise from unsafe heating and cooling situations and practices. Of the households served in FY24, 2.1 million included an individual with a disability, 968,000 included a young child, and 2.5 million included an older adult. This program not only alleviates financial burdens but also protects communities from the risks associated with energy insecurity, reinforcing our commitment to fostering stability and well-being for all.
Leveraged data and community outreach
OCS added two new data dashboards and a video hub to enhance public awareness of its impact. We also highlighted innovative initiatives among OCS grant recipients through social media campaigns and national observances.
Data Dashboards
Over FY24, OCS expanded its commitment to transparency and data-driven insights through three key public resources. The Diaper Distribution Demonstration and Research Pilot Data Dashboard offers stakeholders a real-time view of pilot progress and outcomes, enabling partners and communities to monitor reach and impact. Meanwhile, the LIHEAP FY24 Data Dashboard has been updated with the latest fiscal year 2024 data, giving users an interactive, up-to-date picture of program performance and resource allocation. Finally, our RCD StoryMap integrates narrative and geospatial data to tell a compelling story of regional continuity and development initiatives in action. These resources — along with the OCS Disaster Flexibilities Hub, LIHEAP and Extreme Heath Dashboard, Rural Community Development Dashboard, and the Low Income Household Water Assistance Program Dashboard — make program data more open, understandable, and actionable, supporting informed decisions that strengthen families and communities.
OCS Video Hub: Expanding Access and Amplifying Outreach
In FY24, OCS launched a new Video Hub to make its outcomes, data, and community resources more accessible to the public and our partners. This centralized platform showcases dynamic videos that highlight the collective impact of OCS programs — helping millions of families stay safe, healthy, and supported.
Designed with a user-friendly layout, the Hub allows visitors to explore content by topic (e.g., Weatherization, Wraparound Services), language (available in six translations), and program service area. Partners, Tribal nations, state offices, and grantees can easily integrate these short, engaging videos into their own outreach and education efforts, extending the reach of OCS’ work nationwide.
By connecting data insights to real community stories, the Video Hub demonstrates how OCS strengthens communities through data-driven action — translating evidence into impact and ensuring that every family has access to the information and services they need to thrive.
Strengthening relationships
The CSBG network fostered collaboration with grant recipients and stakeholders through training and technical assistance, site visits, and support.
Community Services Block Grant (CSBG)
In FY24, the Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) served 10.1 million individuals and 5.2 million households nationwide. The CSBG network helped 38,920 adults obtain employment and supported housing stability for more than 376,000 individuals. States, Tribes, and territories across the Nation utilized CSBG funding to apply innovative strategies such as small business incubators in Wisconsin, workforce training in Oregon, and youth engagement in the Osage Nation. Housing initiatives in Massachusetts and Utah expanded affordable housing stock and prevented eviction, adding thousands of units for families and seniors. Together, these efforts demonstrate how CSBG investments drive opportunity, stability, and long-term resilience in communities nationwide.
Water access
LIHWAP concluded after aiding 1.5M households with bill assistance and reconnections.
Low Income Household Water Assistance Program (LIHWAP)
In March 2024, OCS wrapped up the first-ever water assistance program, LIHWAP. During the life of the program, LIHWAP served 1,535,838 households, providing them with 2.1 million services. During this period, LIHWAP prevented 923,583 disconnections, restored water services 101,687 times, and reduced 1,120,417 water bills, issuing a total of 2,145,687 water assistance benefits to households in need. The LIHWAP grant recipient annual reports showed that benefits went to households that needed them the most: 56% of households served had vulnerable population members, and 59% of households had incomes at or below 75% of the federal poverty level. Through flexible programming tailored by each grant recipient, LIHWAP met an acute need during the pandemic crisis and provided considerations and best practices that could be utilized should the U.S. reauthorize LIHWAP or a similar water assistance program.
Housing stability
AHSSD supported hundreds of households through wraparound services.
Affordable Housing and Supportive Services Demonstration (AHSSD)
Housing instability in any form — difficulty paying rent, outsized spending of household income on housing, overcrowded living conditions, frequent moving, eviction, unsafe housing, or homelessness — can have significant negative effects on the well-being of youth and families. The Affordable Housing and Supportive Services Demonstration (AHSSD) program strengthens, expands, and enhances wraparound supportive services available to affordable housing residents to promote stability, economic mobility, and well-being. In FY24, AHSSD projects in eight states and one Tribal community partnered with 174 organizations to deliver wraparound supportive services to 672 residents of affordable housing. These projects comprehensively addressed residents’ needs through connections to a range of services, including employment and training, nutrition, housing, youth supports and programming, education, transportation, and mental health treatment services.
Legal and social determinants of health
MLP+ resolved over 2,700 cases and trained more than 2,400 health providers.
Medical-Legal Partnerships Plus (MLP+)
Without assistance, legal issues can impact the health outcomes of families by limiting access to safe housing, opportunities for dignified employment, adequate income, access to education, and protection from violence. The Medical-Legal Partnerships Plus (MLP+) program addresses health-harming legal and social needs through an innovative interdisciplinary approach that brings together legal, medical, and social services providers. In FY24, MLP+ grant recipients closed more than 2,700 cases for individuals with low incomes that addressed a range of needs, including health, education, family, income, and housing matters. MLP+ grant recipients also delivered 150 trainings for patient care providers to support early identification of health-harming social and legal needs and comprehensive patient care. In FY24, OCS awarded $1.6 million in supplemental funding to eight grant recipients to support continued services to individuals and families through early 2026.
Rural services
RCD improved water systems for 1.2M people in underserved areas.
Rural Community Development (RCD)
In FY24, the Rural Community Development (RCD) program continued to play a vital role in supporting the Nation’s smallest and most underserved communities — many with populations under 2,500 and lacking access to clean water and wastewater systems. Through its flexible funding and long-term partnerships, RCD grant recipients provided tailored training and technical assistance to address the unique challenges faced by these communities, including Tribal and unincorporated areas. As a result, RCD grantees served 784 communities, improving water and wastewater services for more than 1.2 million people across 840,754 households. They resolved 155 compliance issues, connected 31,728 individuals to safe drinking water for the first time, and leveraged over $205.7 million to build and maintain essential water infrastructure. Every federal dollar invested in RCD generated $17 in additional funding from state, local, and private sources — demonstrating exceptional stewardship of taxpayer resources. The RCD program remains one of the few federal initiatives dedicated to ensuring safe, affordable water access in the Nation’s lowest income and highest-need areas.
Basic needs for families
DDDRP distributed over 18M diapers to 38,000+ families.
Diaper Distribution Demonstration and Research Pilot (DDDRP)
Families with low incomes can struggle to allocate their limited budgets among various household essential needs, such as utilities, food, and child care, making the expense of diapers an added economic challenge during a critical time in early childhood development. The Diaper Distribution Demonstration and Research Pilot (DDDRP) addresses families’ immediate needs for diapers and other essentials, while also alleviating the root causes of diaper need by connecting families to wraparound services that remove long-standing and emerging barriers to economic mobility. Through FY24, DDDRP grant recipients have distributed more than 18 million diapers and 183,000 packs of wipes to 38,282 families. In FY24, OCS awarded $15.8 million to continue services for existing projects and launch new services with a cohort of seven grant recipients, bringing the total number of grant projects to 28.
Building on the successes of moving to a more data-driven approach over the previous years, OCS better executed its mission by delivering more targeted services to more people with greater efficiency.