Block Grant

The result of combining funding for several separate government programs (usually federal) into a larger program with one set of requirements. A positive feature of such a grant is greater flexibility. When federal funds are released to states in the form of block grants, the individual states have more discretion in allocating the funds. Advocates believe that states can define and serve their own areas of need better than the federal government can. A negative aspect of block grants is that the total amount provided is often less than it would otherwise have been.