This refers to the conservative political philosophy espoused by richard nixon in which state governments were given greater powers- and monies- to address social issues.

 The policy being described is known as New Federalism.

This political ideology implemented by Richard Nixon was developed with the goal of giving states back more power. Nixon felt that the federal government had become too large in scope thanks to policies like the New Deal during the 1930's. In order to change this cycle, Nixon implemented this new federalism idea so that states can have more control over funds that would be used towards solving social issues.