The 2026 proposal to trim HHS block grant regulations

Health and Human Services Department. November 2, 2026. Read the source.

What the proposal changes

Room and board under SSBG. The statute bars SSBG funds for room and board, with exceptions that include short-term room and board provided as an “integral but subordinate” part of a social service and temporary emergency shelter provided as a protective service. Section 96.71 added that short-term room and board in a foster family home does not count. ACF proposes to remove section 96.71, which also narrows the term “employees” beyond the statute. ACF says states could then use the full statutory authority. Because SSBG is a capped program, ACF expects no increase in costs.

LIHEAP weatherization waivers. Grantees can seek a waiver to raise the share of LIHEAP funds used for weatherization from 15 percent to up to 25 percent. ACF proposes to remove the procedural steps in section 96.83 that go beyond the statute at 42 U.S.C. 8624(k). The “good cause” waiver remains. The December 15 deadline for Tribal LIHEAP applications in section 96.49 also stays.

Time limits on spending. Section 96.14 would no longer list CSBG as having a statutory time limit on expenditure, since Congress removed that cap. The section would add MHBG and SUBG, whose statute sets a two-year limit for obligation and expenditure.

SSBG reporting. Appendix A, the uniform definitions of twenty-nine service categories, would move out of the regulation into sub-regulatory guidance. Section 96.74 would drop its references to Appendix A and to “computer diskettes.” States would still report “Other Expenditures” as total dollar amounts.

CSBG audits and old dates. Section 96.91 would be removed because the CSBG Act sets its own audit requirements at 42 U.S.C. 9916(a)(2). Section 96.43, a set of LIHEAP procedures for FY 1982 only, would also be removed. Transitional language tied to long-past fiscal years would come out of several other sections.

HHS says the proposal contains no information collections and creates no new paperwork.

Finding block grant funding

Most organizations reach block grant money through their state. Quillify matches your organization to federal and state programs as they post, alongside foundations that fund the same work. How Quillify finds funding.