The National Board uses a formula involving population, poverty, and unemployment data to determine the eligibility of a civil jurisdiction. There is no national application process. Poverty data is from the 1990 decennial census (source: U.S. Bureau of the Census); unemployment data is from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Poverty figures from the 2000 census were used in Phase 26.

For fiscal year 2008 funding, jurisdictions qualify for funding if they meet one of the following criteria:

• Number of unemployed: 13,000+ with a 3.5% rate of unemployment
• Number of unemployed: 300-12,999 with a 5.5% rate of unemployment
• Number of unemployed: 300 or more with an 11.0% rate of poverty

The actual award amounts are determined by dividing the available funds by the number of unemployed persons within each jurisdiction that qualifies. Jurisidictions that do not qualify under the formula and thus do not receive funding directly from the National Board may receive funds through the state set-aside process, and jurisdictions that do qualify may receive additional funding the same way.