Department Of Human Services

The Department Of Human Services, Office Of The Commissioner Division is a U.S. local government entity—a territorial agency of the U.S. Virgin Islands—that operates as a grant recipient delivering social services and human welfare programs to the territory's residents. The Office of the Commissioner receives federal formula block grants and project grants from multiple federal agencies and acts as the administrative and programmatic arm of the Government of the Virgin Islands (its parent entity) for federal grant management and service delivery across child welfare, nutrition assistance, employment services, aging services, disability services, and family support programs.

The Office of the Commissioner's federal footprint consists almost entirely of grant awards rather than federal contracts. Across its 757 total awards (721 prime grants, 36 sub-awards), the entity has obligated approximately $1.45 billion in federal funding since 1998, with annual award activity ranging from 26 to 43 grants per year over the past five years. The primary customer agencies feeding grants to this territorial human services agency are the Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families (134 awards), the Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Community Living (93 awards), the Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service (77 awards), the Department of Education Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (58 awards), and the Department of Justice Office on Violence Against Women and other federal grantor agencies serving US territories. These five agencies account for approximately 56% of the award count.

The Office of the Commissioner's capability portfolio spans formula block grants and project grants across four major service domains. Child welfare and family services grants include the Promoting Safe and Stable Families program (CFDA 93.556), which supports family preservation, kinship navigator programs, and caseworker visitation; child abuse and neglect prevention (CFDA 93.645); and the Chafee program supporting youth aging out of foster care. Child care and early childhood programs anchor approximately $11.49 million in a Child Care and Development Block Grant Discretionary award (CFDA 93.575) through September 2028, plus $3.7 million in mandatory and matching child care funds (CFDA 93.596) extending through 2027, through which the entity administers child care subsidies and quality improvement. Nutrition assistance grants total approximately $2.78 million annually under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program State Administrative Matching Grants (CFDA 10.561), plus supplemental awards for SNAP Employment and Training initiatives and Summer EBT administrative costs (CFDA 10.646). Workforce and disability employment grants include a $2.523 million vocational rehabilitation services grant (CFDA 84.126) through September 2026, independent living services for older individuals who are blind (CFDA 84.169), and a Senior Community Service Employment Program grant (CFDA 17.235) funding part-time community service employment and job training for individuals aged 55 and older, with a recent $997,312 project grant award through June 2026. The entity also administers the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families block grant ($4.26 million for FY2026), child support enforcement services ($7.73 million in FY2026), Payments to Territories for aged, blind, and disabled adults ($1.38 million), and the Social Services Block Grant ($25.4 million through September 2027), which funds a broad spectrum of protective services, mental health programs, substance abuse treatment, and community support services. Additional awards cover sexual assault services (CFDA 16.017), victims of crime compensation (CFDA 16.576), family violence prevention and services, and aging services including adult protective services (CFDA 93.052) and programs for older individuals.

Sub-award activity shows the Office of the Commissioner flowing federal funds to the Government of the Virgin Islands as the prime recipient of disaster recovery grants and facilities-related awards—notably modular units, temporary facilities for senior centers and Head Start programs, and wind retrofit infrastructure improvements across Department of Human Services properties, with approximately 36 sub-awards flowing to the territorial government between 2021 and early 2026.

The Office of the Commissioner holds no federal contract vehicles and does not compete for contracts. Its federal relationship is exclusively grant-based, anchored in formula allocations as a U.S. territory under the Social Security Act and related federal social service statutes. Thirty-three grants are reaching ultimate completion within the next twenty-four months, representing potential recompete and re-obligation cycles for formula-based renewals, which typically recur on an annual or multi-year cycle. This entity is not a commercial vendor and does not pursue competitive federal contracting; it functions as a designated state agency (by federal statute extended to territories) administering federal entitlement and block grant programs on behalf of the territorial government.