AFI DCL President’s 2016 Budget Proposals

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Administration for Children and Families
Office of Community Services
370 L'Enfant Promenade, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20447
/programs/ocs/programs/afi

RE: President’s 2016 Budget proposals

March 6, 2015

We in the Office of Community Services (OCS) want to make sure you are aware of the President’s 2016 Budget proposals for OCS programs.  Please note that appropriation levels and policy proposals are only final with Congress’s approval.

OCS Director Jeannie Chaffin published a blog recently outlining the proposals for OCS programs.  Please see the following link and share across your social media outlets: /blog/2015/02/ocs-programs-strengthening-accou... .

We have heard from many of you that the current Assets for Independence (AFI) program rules limit your ability to innovate and to serve certain populations, such as youth transitioning out of foster care and people with disabilities.  The President’s 2016 Budget includes a proposal to foster innovation in the AFI program, requesting authority to use up to 30 percent of AFI funds to create an Asset Innovation Fund.  This Fund would allow OCS to test research-driven asset-building models with a broader set of allowable assets and with flexibility for deposits of other than earned income.  The Budget also proposes to make up to $3,000,000 of AFI program funds available for research and evaluation so that these Asset Innovation Fund grants can be thoroughly evaluated.  The Budget requests funding for the AFI program at the same amount as the appropriation for 2015, $18.95 million.

For more details on the AFI proposal and those of other programs within the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), please view the 2016 ACF Congressional Budget Justification at the following link:  /sites/default/files/documents/olab/2016_acf_cj.pdf (PDF).

We are excited to see what the future may hold for these critical programs, and ultimately for our customers.  Thank you for the contribution you make everyday to this work.  If you have any questions regarding these proposals, please contact your AFI program specialist.

Thank you,

Gretchen Lehman                                                              Jeannie L. Chaffin
Program Manager                                                              Director
Assets for Independence                                                   Office of Community Services