Narrative:

(a) 1. Missouri’s nineteen (19) Community Action Agencies (CAA’s) provide assistance to individuals, families, and communities to eliminate the causes and conditions of poverty. CAA’s assess the needs in their community by identifying gaps in services and administer programs to better the lives of the families they serve across multiple domains. They support individuals and families as they attain self-sufficiency by:

  1. Intake, Assessment, and Referral

•  Individuals who seek services at any CAA go through an intake process. This process assesses the individual or family to determine the next step. Services provided by the CAA are discussed and outside referrals are made when a service cannot be delivered.

  2. Family support and case management services

•  An intensive one-on-one relationship to empower individuals and families to set goals toward achieving self-sufficiency. Examples of services may include skill building, advocacy, resource education/referral, and crisis management.
• Mental and physical health services or medication assistance
• Reentry and immigration services
• Services for seniors

  3. Emergency services to support families in crisis

• LIHEAP, LIWAP, LIHWAP, Rental Assistance, etc.
• Vehicle repair or other transportation assistance
• Nutritional support via fresh produce, food pantries, and community gardens

  4. Service Enrollment

• Life skills classes

            Finance and budgeting
            Relationships/parenting

• Employment readiness

             Resume building, application assistance, required supplies
             Entrepreneurial support
             HiSET

• Head Start
• Tax and Financial Assistance
• Tax preparation, rebates, and start-up loans

  5. Coordination and referral for services

• CAAs form partnerships with other service providers in their community, referring individuals and families to agencies that can help reduce barriers to achieving self-sufficiency.

2. All CAA’s address barriers that send families into poverty. By assisting families to navigate barriers, individuals in the household may be ready for employment after participating in employment and training, life skills, and empowerment programs. The CAA’s share referrals at the local level and coordinate with WIOA partners that include the Missouri Job Centers (hosted by the CAA, or co-located with the CAA), WIOA Youth Employment programs, Adult/Dislocated Worker Services, career preparation, internships, on-the-job training, mentoring, HiSET, and other supportive

3. Missouri’s State CSBG office has and will continue to support the collaboration of the Community Action Agencies and other community stakeholders to enhance the effectiveness of the workforce system by focusing on the stabilization of families in need. To do so, the state of Missouri has brought training on the Whole Family Approach, which emphasizes intensive case management to address the needs of each family member and prepare older youth and adults to manage barriers that prevent the individual from entering the workforce.

(b) The programs listed below were developed in partnership with Community Action Agency Network, or are CAA programs that employ innovative or collaborative approaches to helping individuals attain self-sufficiency:

  1. Reality Enrichment and Life Lessons (REALL): The REALL project is a simulation designed to challenge youth to think critically about how choices and decisions made in adolescence may have consequences in adulthood. This program is conducted by several CAA’s. Participating youth are given the life of someone who has made reactive or negative choices (all have dropped out of high school, some have past legal histories, some have low paying jobs, etc). Following this, they are given the life of someone who has made proactive or positive choices (all have graduated from high school and obtained some type of higher education, all are employed at a living wage, all have affordable child care, etc.). Youth are challenged to live those two lives and compare and contrast the experiences to draw conclusions in their own lives. It is the expectation youth will draw on their experiences at the REALL simulation to make proactive choices in their own lives, so they may know self-sufficiency in adulthood.

  2. Expand your Employability (EYE) by Northeast Community Action Corporation (NECAC): A work-at-your-own-pace program that is tailored to the specific career path of the participant’s choosing, an employment service coordinators work with individuals to conduct mock job interviews, resume preparation, developing online profiles on job search sites, and provide necessary supplies for employment such as clothing, steel-toed boots, etc.

  3. PAVE (Projects, Assets, Values in Education) the Way: PAVE the Way is an innovative program designed to provide career education and job readiness opportunities for at risk high school students from low-income families conducted by Community Action Agency of Greater Kansas City (CAAGKC). PAVE the Way is uniquely positioned to help young people reach beyond their current circumstances and put themselves in the best possible position to be successful and have a more optimistic view of their future. PAVE the Way students meet once per week in the classroom and utilize an online component to learn more about college and career readiness and to work on their writing skills for the college admission program. Students will also have additional exposure throughout the year in the form of community engagement, community service, and fieldtrips.