§ 1397. Purposes of division; authorization of ap-
propriations
For the purposes of consolidating Federal as-
sistance to States for social services into a sin-
gle grant, increasing State flexibility in using
social service grants, and encouraging each
State, as far as practicable under the conditions
in that State, to furnish services directed at the
goals of—
(1) achieving or maintaining economic self-
support to prevent, reduce, or eliminate de-
pendency;
(2) achieving or maintaining self-sufficiency,
including reduction or prevention of depend-
ency;
(3) preventing or remedying neglect, abuse,
or exploitation of children and adults unable
to protect their own interests, or preserving,
rehabilitating or reuniting families;
(4) preventing or reducing inappropriate in-
stitutional care by providing for community-
based care, home-based care, or other forms of
less intensive care; and
(5) securing referral or admission for institu-
tional care when other forms of care are not
appropriate, or providing services to individ-
uals in institutions,
there are authorized to be appropriated for each
fiscal year such sums as may be necessary to
carry out the purposes of this division.
(Aug. 14, 1935, ch. 531, title XX, § 2001, as added
Pub. L. 97–35, title XXIII, § 2352(a), Aug. 13, 1981,
95 Stat. 867; amended Pub. L. 111–148, title VI,
§ 6703(d)(1), Mar. 23, 2010, 124 Stat. 803.)
Editorial Notes
PRIOR PROVISIONS
A prior section 1397, act Aug. 14, 1935, ch. 531, title
XX, § 2001, as added Jan. 4, 1975, Pub. L. 93–647, § 2, 88
Stat. 2337; amended June 17, 1980, Pub. L. 96–272, title
II, § 207(b), 94 Stat. 526, authorized appropriations to
carry out former provisions of this subchapter, prior to
the general revision of this subchapter by section
2352
File SHA-256: 7c1fc78f329ee0b6f95ac42d5f76a517ac85a05105639b0a9a6d396e96ae77c4. The original may include catalog metadata, neighboring provisions, or embedded records outside this collection's scope. This page displays the selected federal record. Historical editions and unverified snapshots are not a statement of current law.
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Stable record: federal_law:legal_authorities:uscode2024_9e13eca9fd19a2a0e9de311c Source file: Laws/federal/codes/united-states-code-2024/title-42/section-1397-purposes-of-division-authorization-of-ap--19974e9c72.md Pages: Not recorded – Not recorded Passage SHA-256: cd8086281527f359d92035b309364591e588fe9f8b27e9d4cd298db575b131b4 Retained source evidence SHA-256: 7c1fc78f329ee0b6f95ac42d5f76a517ac85a05105639b0a9a6d396e96ae77c4
Page 4422
TITLE 42—THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE
§ 1397
(Aug. 14, 1935, ch. 531, title XIX, § 1948, as added
Pub. L. 118–42, div. G, title I, § 202, Mar. 9, 2024,
138 Stat. 399.)
SUBCHAPTER
XX—BLOCK
GRANTS
AND
PROGRAMS FOR SOCIAL SERVICES AND
ELDER JUSTICE
Editorial Notes
CODIFICATION
2018—Pub. L. 115–123, div. E, title VIII, § 50802(1), Feb.
9, 2018, 132 Stat. 269, substituted ‘‘AND PROGRAMS’’
for ‘‘TO STATES’’ in subchapter heading.
Pub. L. 111–148, title VI, § 6703(a)(1)(A), Mar. 23, 2010,
124 Stat. 782, inserted ‘‘AND ELDER JUSTICE’’ after
‘‘SOCIAL SERVICES’’ in subchapter heading.
Division A—Block Grants to States for Social
Services
§ 1397. Purposes of division; authorization of ap-
propriations
For the purposes of consolidating Federal as-
sistance to States for social services into a sin-
gle grant, increasing State flexibility in using
social service grants, and encouraging each
State, as far as practicable under the conditions
in that State, to furnish services directed at the
goals of—
(1) achieving or maintaining economic self-
support to prevent, reduce, or eliminate de-
pendency;
(2) achieving or maintaining self-sufficiency,
including reduction or prevention of depend-
ency;
(3) preventing or remedying neglect, abuse,
or exploitation of children and adults unable
to protect their own interests, or preserving,
rehabilitating or reuniting families;
(4) preventing or reducing inappropriate in-
stitutional care by providing for community-
based care, home-based care, or other forms of
less intensive care; and
(5) securing referral or admission for institu-
tional care when other forms of care are not
appropriate, or providing services to individ-
uals in institutions,
there are authorized to be appropriated for each
fiscal year such sums as may be necessary to
carry out the purposes of this division.
(Aug. 14, 1935, ch. 531, title XX, § 2001, as added
Pub. L. 97–35, title XXIII, § 2352(a), Aug. 13, 1981,
95 Stat. 867; amended Pub. L. 111–148, title VI,
§ 6703(d)(1), Mar. 23, 2010, 124 Stat. 803.)
Editorial Notes
PRIOR PROVISIONS
A prior section 1397, act Aug. 14, 1935, ch. 531, title
XX, § 2001, as added Jan. 4, 1975, Pub. L. 93–647, § 2, 88
Stat. 2337; amended June 17, 1980, Pub. L. 96–272, title
II, § 207(b), 94 Stat. 526, authorized appropriations to
carry out former provisions of this subchapter, prior to
the general revision of this subchapter by section
2352(a) of Pub. L. 97–35.
AMENDMENTS
2010—Pub. L. 111–148, § 6703(d)(1)(B), which directed
substitution of ‘‘this division’’ for ‘‘this subchapter’’
wherever appearing in subtitle 1 of title XX of act Aug.
14, 1935, was executed to the concluding provisions of
this section, which is in subtitle A of title XX of act
Aug. 14, 1935, to reflect the probable intent of Congress.
Pub. L. 111–148, § 6703(d)(1)(A), substituted ‘‘division’’
for ‘‘subchapter’’ in section catchline.
Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
EFFECTIVE DATE
Pub. L. 97–35, title XXIII, § 2354, Aug. 13, 1981, 95 Stat.
874, provided that: ‘‘Except as otherwise explicitly pro-
vided, the provisions of this subtitle [subtitle C
(§§ 2351–2355) of title XXIII of Pub. L. 97–35, see Short
Title of 1981 Amendment note set out under section 1305
of this title] and the repeals and amendments made by
this subtitle, shall become effective on October 1, 1981.’’
STUDY OF STATE SOCIAL SERVICE PROGRAMS; REPORT
TO CONGRESS
Pub. L. 97–35, title XXIII, § 2355, Aug. 13, 1981, 95 Stat.
874, required Secretary of Health and Human Services
to conduct a study to identify criteria and mechanisms
which may be useful for States in assessing effective-
ness and efficiency of State social service programs
carried out with funds made available under this sub-
chapter, such study to include consideration of Federal
incentive payments as an option in rewarding States
having high performance social service programs, and
to report results of such study to Congress within one
year after Aug. 13, 1981.
§ 1397a. Payments to States
(a) Amount; covered services
(1) Each State shall be entitled to payment
under this division for each fiscal year in an
amount equal to its allotment for such fiscal
year, to be used by such State for services di-
rected at the goals set forth in section 1397 of
this title, subject to the requirements of this di-
vision.
(2) For purposes of paragraph (1)—
(A) services which are directed at the goals
set forth in section 1397 of this title include,
but are not limited to, child care services, pro-
tective services for children and adults, serv-
ices for children and adults in foster care,
services related to the management and main-
tenance of the home, day care services for
adults, transportation services, family plan-
ning services, training and related services,
employment services, information, referral,
and counseling services, the preparation and
delivery of meals, health support services and
appropriate combinations of services designed
to meet the special needs of children, the aged,
the mentally retarded, the blind, the emotion-
ally disturbed, the physically handicapped,
and alcoholics and drug addicts; and
(B) expenditures for such services may in-
clude expenditures for—
(i) administration (including planning and
evaluation);
(ii) personnel training and retraining di-
rectly related to the provision of those serv-
ices (including both short- and long-term
training at educational institutions through
grants to such institutions or by direct fi-
nancial assistance to students enrolled in
such institutions); and
(iii) conferences or workshops, and train-
ing or retraining through grants to non-
profit organizations within the meaning of
section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue
Code of 1986 or to individuals with social
Cross-references
Connections may be documented source relationships, shared citations or nearby passages. Each explains its basis; a connection alone does not establish applicability to your situation.
Federal law — U.S. Code and appendices · legal_authorities
For the purposes of consolidating Federal assistance to States for social services into a single grant, increasing State flexibility in using social service grants, and encouraging each State, as far as practicable under the conditions in that State, to furnish services directed at the goals of—
(1) achieving or maintaining economic self-support to prevent, reduce, or eliminate dependency;
(2) achieving or maintaining self-sufficiency, including reduction or prevention of dependency;
(3) preventing or remedying neglect, abuse, or exploitation of children and adults unable to protect their own interests, or preserving, rehabilitating or reuniting families;
(4) preventing or reducing inappropriate institutional care by providing for community-based care, home-based care, or other forms of less intensive care; and
(5) securing referral or admission for institutional care when other forms of care are not appropriate, or providing services to individuals in institutions,
there are authorized to be appropriated for each fiscal year such sums as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of this division.