VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES

SCAM ALERT: Fraudulent phone calls, emails, social media posts, and text messages are being sent to Virginians by individuals claiming to represent the Community Services Block Grant (CSBG). These individuals are offering CSBG funding or services in exchange for a fee. Neither the State of Virginia nor the federal government provides direct CSBG grants to individuals. If you are contacted in this manner, please report it to the HHS Fraud Hotline at 1-800-447-8477.

The Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) is a federally funded block grant in the Office of Community Services, Administration for Children and Families, United States Department of Health and Human Services that provides funds to states, territories, and tribes to administer to support services that alleviate the causes and conditions of poverty in under-resourced communities. More than 1,100 local community action agencies across the country now fight poverty and build self-sufficiency for strong families and communities throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Virginia has 31 nonprofit private and public community action agencies. These agencies receive their core funding from the Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) and General Assembly appropriated CSBG funds. The Virginia Department of Social Services' Office of Economic Opportunity provides oversight for the Virginia Community Action Partnership network. These grants are NOT available to individuals but are allocated to specific community agencies who apply through a grant process every three years.

Community action's mission is to address the issues of poverty and to increase the self-sufficiency of low-income families. They offer a broad range of anti-poverty programs and work collaboratively with businesses and other agencies to build a network of support for Virginia's most vulnerable populations. Some of the CSBG programs are:

• Education
• Employment
• Child care
• Community and economic development
• Employment
• Head Start
• Health and nutrition
• Housing and related services
• Special populations (including the elderly, ex-offenders and the homeless)
• Transportation

Contact us. Call the CSBG team for more information:

(804) 726-7939
Abby Hanks, CSBG Program Manager (804) 726-7142
Matt Fitzgerald, Office of Economic Opportunity Director