History of Community Action Agencies

Community Action Agencies were created in 1964 as a part of President Lyndon B. Johnson’s War on Poverty through the Economic Opportunity Act. The ultimate purpose of the “Act” was to give an opportunity for upward mobility to those who had been historically unable to participate in the mainstream of American life.

The Economic Opportunity Act stated that the basic purpose of Community Action was “to stimulate a better focusing of all available local, State, private and Federal resources upon the goal of enabling low income families and low income individuals of all ages, in rural and urban areas, to attain the skills, knowledge, and motivations and secure the opportunities needed for them to become self sufficient.” Community Action Agencies were purposefully established under a new, neutral Department to enable equal access of government funding from all Departments.

The wording of the Act “stimulate a better focusing of all available . . .resources”, gave CAA’s a primarily catalytic mission: To make the entire community more responsive to the needs and interests of the low income by mobilizing resources and bringing about greater institutional sensitivity. A CAA’s effectiveness, therefore, is measured not only by the services which it directly provides but, more importantly, by the improvements and changes it achieves in the community’s attitudes and practices toward the low income population, and in the allocation and focusing of public and private resources for antipoverty purposes.

To carry out this mission effectively, the CAA must work with three significant groups in the community: The low income; the public sector and the private sector.

WHAT DOES A COMMUNITY ACTION AGENCY DO?

Each Community Action Agency is different in the services and support they provide. This is because each is lead by the “community” and residents it serves. Around the United States poverty is experienced in many different ways, however CAA’s have a similar approach in fighting the war on poverty.

In January 2004, Central Susquehanna Opportunities, Inc. was designated a Community Action Agency. Community Action Agencies change people's lives, embody the spirit of hope, improve communities, and make America a better place to live. We care about the entire community and we are dedicated to helping people help themselves and each other as they move from poverty to self-sufficiency. Central Susquehanna Opportunities, Inc. programs are locally implemented, locally controlled, and locally designed to meet the specific needs of our community. Our workdays are spent “Helping Communities, Changing Lives”.

The common goal, enabling people eventually to become independent of any public or charitable assistance, engenders common CAA operating methods. The requirements of the CSBG, the expertise of state and local managers shared over a generation of training and peer exchange, and above all the observation of the outcomes of various interventions have led to similar program designs across the nation. In general, CAA’s prioritize prevention initiatives and provide extended involvement with clients to support the length of time and variety of assistance required to increase permanently their opportunity to be economically self-sufficient. When agencies provide crisis services or when they distribute food or goods, they seek to make those contacts with their clients an introduction to opportunities for moving the clients away from dependency on stop-gap aid. The eight goals outlined in the CSBG statute address different causes of poverty, and, since each family is likely to be affected by more than one of these, the purposes of the CSBG in part determine the type of coordinating role that CAAs play. The statutory goals are:

• Securing and Maintaining Employment
• Securing Adequate Education
• Better Income Management
• Securing Adequate Housing
• Providing Emergency Services
• Improving Nutrition
• Creating Linkages Among Anti-Poverty Programs
• Achieving Self-Sufficiency

UNIQUE CHARACTERISTICS OF COMMUNITY ACTION AGENCIES

BOARD STRUCTURE – CAAs are required to have a tripartite board consisting of equal parts of local private sector, public sector, and low-income community representatives. This structure brings together community leaders from each of these groups to collaborate on developing responses to local needs.

VOLUNTEER SUPPORT - The CAA network is one of the largest users of volunteer services in the country. In FY 98, CAAs reported that volunteers contributed more than 27 million hours of service, equivalent to more than 13,000 full time employees.

LEVERAGE FOR OTHER RESOURCES - Every Community Service Block Grant (CSBG) dollar spent leverages nearly $4 of state, local, and private contributions combined. The CAA network administers a total of nearly $5.6 billion in federal, state, local and private resources.

INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS - CSBG funds give CAAs the flexibility to design programs that address needs specific to individuals and the local community and to identify specialized resources that fit these needs.

LOW ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS – CAAs have very low administrative overhead costs (on average, between 7 and 12 percent). Resources are invested directly in the community and families, not in bureaucracy.

COMPREHENSIVE AND RESPONSIVE – CAAs respond quickly when a family or individual is in crisis to avoid costly long-term problems. The highest priority is placed on helping people achieve permanent self-sufficiency. In addition to emergency assistance, a major portion of CSBG expenditures is for coordination among various programs. Integrated service delivery is tailored to individual circumstances.

COMMUNITY AND FAMILY PROGRAMS – CAAs provide services that address the full range of family needs -- from Head Start and other education and child development programs, to youth and adult employment and training, to services for seniors and the frail elderly. Services are generally coordinated through a case manager or family development specialist. Other CAA programs are designed to strengthen the local economy and develop the community's infrastructure under the guidance of community leaders.

REACHING MILLIONS OF AMERICANS – CAAs provide services to more than a quarter of all Americans living in poverty and to several million more families with incomes only slightly higher than the poverty threshold every year. 2.8 million low-income children are among those served.

Data Source: The National Association for State Community Services Programs, Community Services Block Grant Statistical Report: FY 1998 View the Report on NASCSP's website.