Federal Grants to State and Local Governments
In: Government Procedures and Operations
Intro -- FEDERAL GRANTS TO STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE AND SELECT CHALLENGES -- FEDERAL GRANTS TO STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE AND SELECT CHALLENGES -- CONTENTS -- PREFACE -- Chapter 1 GRANTS TO STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS: AN OVERVIEW OF FEDERAL FUNDING LEVELS AND SELECTED CHALLENGES* -- WHY GAO DID THIS STUDY -- WHAT GAO RECOMMENDS -- WHAT GAO FOUND -- ABBREVIATIONS -- BACKGROUND -- Federal Grant Programs Are Established by Law and Subject to Many Different Legal Requirements -- GRANTS TO STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS HAVE CONSISTENTLY BEEN A SIGNIFICANT COMPONENT OF FEDERAL SPENDING BUT THE FOCUS OF GRANT SPENDING HAS CHANGED OVER THE LAST THREE DECADES -- While the Number of Federal Grant Programs Has Generally Increased over the Last Three Decades, a Definitive Figure Is Not Available -- GRANTS CHALLENGES REFLECT THE DIVERSITY AND COMPLEXITY OF GRANTS MANAGEMENT FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS -- Lack of Appropriate Performance Measures and Accurate Data Limit Agencies' Ability to Effectively Measure Grant Program Performance -- Lack of Appropriate Performance Measures -- Data Collection and Validation Challenges -- Numerous Federal Grant Programs, Created over Time without Coordinated Purposes and Scopes, Can Result in Grants Management Challenges -- Because of Its Complexity, Grants Management Benefits from Effective Collaboration among Intergovernmental and Nongovernmental Participants -- Internal Control Weaknesses in Grants Management and Oversight Processes Affect Federal Agencies' Ability to Ensure Grant Funds Are Spent Effectively -- Control Weaknesses in Monitoring and Overseeing Grant Programs -- Government-wide Issues
