Community Service Employment for Older Americans
Allotment Formula Description

The annual appropriation specifies a total amount of funding for the Older Americans Program. Allotments of this funding among grantees are calculated using a statutory formula found in the Older Americans Act of 1965, Title V, Section 506, as amended (P.L.109-365, October 17, 2006). The allotment estimates are typically prepared and distributed to the grantees in the spring preceding the program year beginning July 1.

Reservations

  1. Private employment projects: not more than 1.5 percent of the total appropriation..
  2. Territories: 0.75 percent of the total appropriation of which Guam, American Samoa, and the Virgin Islands receive 30 percent each; Northern Mariana Islands receives 10 percent.
  3. National Indian aging organizations and Pacific Island and Asian American aging organizations ("minority sponsors"): such amounts as deemed necessary by the Secretary. Typically the total minority national sponsor reservation is calculated so that they receive the same percentage increase from the prior year as the percentage increase for the total amount for the non-minority national sponsors.

Balance after Reservations -- Geographical State-by-State Distribution of Funds for Non-Minority National Sponsors and State Agencies

First, the total amounts for non-minority national sponsors as a whole and for state agencies as a whole are determined under one of the scenarios below. The "2000 level of activities" term used below is the number of positions in 2000 times the budgeted cost per position, for both national organizations and State agencies.

If the balance equals the 2000 level of activities:
The total amount for the national sponsors and the state agencies also equals their 2000 level of activities, subject to minimum allotment requirements.

If the balance is less than the 2000 level of activities:
The national sponsors/state agencies are proportionally reduced in total, as well as the geographic state distribution for each category, subject to minimum allotment requirements.

If balance exceeds the 2000 level of activities:
The amount for the national sponsors and state agencies, respectively for each category, is the sum of --

  • their 2000 level of activities;
  • of the amount of balance over 2000 level up to and equal $35 million: 75% national sponsors/25% state agencies; and
  • of the amount of balance over 2000 level above $35 million: 50% national sponsors/50% state agencies.

Once the total amounts for national sponsors and state agencies are determined, funds are distributed geographically state-by-state for each category using the formula prescribed in the Act. The formula that calculates the geographic state-by-state distribution of the funding amounts for the nationals and state agencies, respectively, is applied to the total amount for each, not just the amount above the 2000 level (described above) for each.

If the balance exceeds the 2000 level of activities, the formula uses the data factors of per capita income and age 55+ population and applies a minimum test such that no state receives less than (a) their 2000 level of activities, (b) 0.5% of the total amount available for the national sponsors/state agencies, or (c) 30% of the percentage increase in available funds for national sponsors/state agencies over the 2000 level. The data factors are used to distribute the funds geographically among states based on the state relative share of an allocation factor. For each state, the allocation factor is the product of the number of persons aged 55 and older in that state and an inverse per capita income index. The inverse per capita income index cannot be less than 33 1/3 percent, nor greater than 75 percent; the allocation factors for the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico are required by law to be based on a 75 percent index.

Each geographic state's total funding is the sum of its national sponsor amount and its state agency amount.

Determination of Individual National Sponsor Allotment Levels

Within each group, minority and non-minority, the allotment for each sponsor is prorated based on the previous year's amount for the sponsor. The totals for each individual non-minority national sponsor are distributed geographically by state so that the total of all non-minority national sponsors by state is consistent with the state distribution determined by statutory formula for non-minority national sponsors described above.