The Influence of Federal Grants-in-Aid on State Administration in Iowa

203 Pages·012.988 MB·English

by  Glenny, Lyman Albert

m x ^ o t c i of m m AL
m stats juM m sm m w in zowa
by
Lyman Albert GLenny
A dissertation submitted In partial fulfillment of the
requirements for tbs degree of poo tor of Philosophy,
in the Department of Politiaal science
in the Graduate College of the State
University of Iowa
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QABWl OF G «W S
pag®
preface » « » , » , * , * ......................... . . . . . . . . . ir
Chapter X Federal <srante-in«*Aid to Iowa 1
Chapter XX A$m*s Approval <s£s tate PXaxus and Budgets 21
Chapter XIX Reports a ad Records...................... 61
Chapter 17 Federal Inspection system......................... . . 79
Chapter V Attdita • 91
Chapter 71 Personnel . . .........................* ....................... 101
Chapter 7X1 Withholding Federal Aid • . • • » . . . . * 121
Chapter VXXX Consultation and conference • ..........................154
Chapter DC observations . . .................... 152
Footnotes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
11
TABLE GF TAMS
!**«»
Table I Hollar Federal Grant a-in-Aid to Iona*
by Function, for selected Tears » « • » * « « • 4
Tab 1© II Total Araotmt of Federal Grants compared to
Total state Governmental cost® for Selected
Tear®, 1916*1949 » ........................... 5
Table III state Employees ttoder the Merit system
Council 1949 * » • » • • * . . * • « * * * • » 115
Table I? Federal Aid to the States 1949 * • « • • • • • 127
Table ? Percent of Total Federal Aid Going to Iowa. • . 128
111
iJWS*J5w dWfcwGr
$h© scope of tills study 1$ limited to the adr&Mstraiite
controls sad techniques used by tie federal government in' adminis­
tering its graat-in~aia program® in the state of Xom* m analysis
is made of the major controls in m attempt to determine in that
dlreetion and to what degree state administration has been influenced
by their use*
$h«re ha® been no attempt to analyze the merit® end defect®
of grants~in~aid to states in relation to other methods of financing
activities such as relinquishing them to lull federal control car
sharing federally collected levoimeej aor does toe paper profess to
examine any of to® larger question® of public policy la <» enaction
with grant»~in~aid.
She term® "state agency" f "state departmentw# and "state
authority" are used Interchangeably tosn referring to the deportment
of state government which administers the grant in question* Mao
used with no differentiation are similar but appropriate terms for
toe federal agencies concerned* "Administration" as used in the
title cf this paper refers to the organization, toe personnel, and
to® administrative technique® or procedures used to carry out a
function previously ordained by law*
Since general studies of administration and of granta-in-aid
ars mow fairly numerous * background material fbr tMs paper m»
gamer#d from a wide variety of sourcee, First th© available books,
theses* sad studios relating to the administration of fstea l grants-
i»-aid were carefully road* particular attention was paid to the
typ®* of control techniques and administrative procedures used by
the federal government in supervising its grant programs to the
states* A questionnaire to be used for interviewing was then pre­
pared, utilizing the ideas gained from reading, which emphasized
the major control measures used In the administration of nearly all
regular grants- in—aid *
Personal visits were made to jowa state agencies receiving
fe te d grants, and interviews were obtained with some officials in
each. Persons consulted were usually the chief administrators or
occasionally their immediate subordinates. By using the prepared
questionnaire as a guide, Interviews were more easily confined to
federal control techniques and federal-state problems arising from
the cooperative relationship*
Bach state agency was ashed to donate a set of federally
prescribed, record and report forms. Other official material on the
subject of federal-state administration of the grant programs was
also requested but returns were surprisingly meager* *£he Iowa
v
agencies had practically nothing available for public take.* mm
those administrator© mo had a federal administrstlv© procedure
manual available either refused or were reluctant about allowing a
careful perusal of its contents* These procedure manuals or handbooks
detail administrative relationships between some (not all) federal
end state agencies* They usually contain a statement of federal
policy, federal "rules and regulations", and minimum standards of
administration for the program. Only one state agency allowed free
use of its manual* tJpon request, however, the Federal security
Agency sent a few pertinent chapters from manuals ts&ich it distributes
to the states for various functions*
Without the oooperuticn of the state and federal adminis­
trators Interviewed orally and by letter this study could not have
been completed. Revelation of all their names would not be parti­
cularly fruitful and in son© case© might lead to embarassiaant because
of observations, justly or unjustly mad©, in this paper*
To Professor Kirk H. Porter, Head of th© political Science
Department at the University of Iowa, 1 am particularly indebted*
Hie Informal lectures and remarks on adminietration hav© been very
stimulating end he can be credited to a great degree with any insight
I my have in this field* I am also grateful for the suggestions
and criticisms given by professors John M* Briggs, Hu^h Kelso, and
vl
Edith Batfel®* ity wifoi 0«vo3^r» W ., *0M&m m wmast ttoka for
her aid ia grtpagrl&t this jBomsoript and for her eoaftdeaea that
I should ooasploto It*
Til
1
Chapter I
IWKBA1 'TO iom
Recent history in the United States ha a s&iom a tremendous
growth in the amber of functions served by oar governments* If
at ogq© time Americans were suspicion® and skeptical about government
control and supervision of services, that day Boom to leva passed.
Federal and state governments have increased in ala® and have assumed
functions which formerly wore thought to lie entirely la the field
of "private enterprise" or at least in the lowest levels of govern­
ment. Too, governments have greatly increased in quantity services
which historically have been considered In their proper dDiaains.
fith the enlargement of government has come a tendency toward
centralisation* The federal government has assumed responsibility
for aiding agriculture and education, establishing employment office®,
and financially aiding the states in building roads, preserving
public health, rehabilitating the crippled and jr*entally sick, and a
jiyriaa of other enterprises* Although the trend is toward centra­
lization in the federal government, there has been at the sam time an
expansion of state services, State governments now build highways*
provide child welfare services, take care of the poor* and administer
public health programs, all function® vsfoich belonged to the smaller
units of government less than a generation ago.
One method of oentr&llssatioa i&iofc has allowed nation wide
policy to bo t<wm& by Oonovoas ohllo la airing much of the atolnls-
tration to the state© ha® boon the ©mnt-ia-aid device. 0-no of the
oarlioot federal grante-ln^ald to the state® for aiding a specific
function was the Morrill Act signed by Abraham Lincoln on Inly £, 186$.
Under It, the federal government was authorized to grant each state
certain lands of the federal domain, the incomes from ishich was to be
used for financing colleges for the teaching of agriculture and
mechanic arts* Since that time the number of regular federal grants
made to the State of Iowa for various functions has increased from
three in 1915, to twenty-two at the present time (1950)* The most
recant areas of federal aid have been in ifental health, cancer and
heart disease control, and hospital construction* Mon now, Congress
is considering still another grant, this time to aid elementary and
secondary education in the states to the extent of #600 million a
year*
Dot only have the number of grants increased but money
given the state for those already in effect has Increased almost
every year, and a few programs have expanded very rapidly* In 1941,
the State of Iowa received from the federal government #9, $58,000
for the old age assistance program initiated in 1936 under th@ Social
Security Act* By 194®, the amount granted for this function had
increased to #15,000,000* Aid for highway construction Increased
from #5,050,000 to #9,490,000 during the earns period although this