Review of Federal Funding to Florida - Office of Economic ...

Office of Economic and Demographic Research
Certainly, this aggregation of expenditure data masks differences from one grant program to another.
Within the same program category, a high per capita ranking in an individual grant program may be
offset to some degree by a low per capita ranking in another program.
While low compared to other states, per capita measurements of certain federal grants receipts may
not reflect the fact that the amounts are adequately serving their target populations. Additionally,
some grant funding formulas incorporate variables other than statewide population; therefore, the
use of a per capita measure for comparisons among states may not be appropriate. Florida’s per
capita expenditures for select grants may be lower than for most other states because of the state’s
unique demographic composition, which features large elderly and retiree populations. However,
when funding is compared in terms of actual dollars, or per target populations, the state may actually
rank much higher nationally.
It is important to note that a number of factors determine how successful an individual state can be
in maximizing federal grant funding. A state’s receipt of grant funding is largely determined by
formula. Although the total number of project grants outnumbers the total number of formula grants
by a factor of nearly seven, the cumulative dollar value of project grants is small relative to the
cumulative dollar value of formula grants.
Another factor that affects states’ receipt of grant funding is the natural resources existing within
their boundaries. States that typically do well in the receipt of grant funding are those that receive
payments for the value of natural resources extracted from their public lands. The existence of such
extractable natural resources favors states like Alaska, Louisiana, and Wyoming, relative to a state
like Florida with fewer extractable natural resources.
Medicaid is another program that can significantly impact how well a state fares in the receipt of
grant funding due to the size of the program itself. While Medicaid spending has been increasing, an
individual state could experience a smaller than average increase if its Medicaid matching rate
declines. Conversely, a state experiencing an increase in its matching rate could see a substantial
increase in grant funding. Additionally, the type of Medicaid program run by the state, whether
modest and less expensive or expansive and more expensive, will affect the level of federal
reimbursements.
In spite of the caveats mentioned above, the data presented in this part suggest that it is possible for
Florida to realize future improvement in the award of federal grant funding.
42 Review of Federal Funding to Florida in Fiscal Year 2009