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Beginning with the settlement house movement in the 1880s, community service emerged as an experimental tool used by a wide range of reformers to explore ways in which the mainstream culture of the United States could accommodate its contradictory impulses toward capitalism and democracy.
Chronicles the emergence of community service in the United States, beginning with the turn-of-the-century collision of capitalism and democracy which generated a crisis of community and profound rethinking of the meaning and practice of charity.
- Keith Morton, John Saltmarsh
- 1997
Aug 29, 2018 · Volunteerism not only supports the impact of community-based organizations in the places where they serve, but also connects individuals to one another and to the issues facing their community. It has the power to unite people of different races, ages, religions, and sexes together for a common cause.
- The Great Society
- Community Action Agencies
- The Mission of the CAA
- The Mission of the CAA, cont.
- “maximum feasible participation”
- Enter President Richard Nixon
- Rumsfeld Guidance
- Rumsfeld Guidance, cont.
- Rumsfeld Guidance, cont.
- Distracted by War, EOA is Saved
- Enter President Gerald Ford
- Identity Crisis
- Enter President Jimmy Carter
- Enter President Ronald Reagan
- Omnibus Reconciliation Act Ends CSA
- Challenging Policy Forces
- Program Measurement:
- Federal OCS Principles for CSBG Reform
- What’s the proper role of government?
- QUESTIONS?
For in your time we have the opportunity to move not only toward the rich society and the powerful society, but upward to the Great Society. The Great Society rests on abundance and liberty for all. It demands an end to poverty and racial injustice, to which we are totally committed in our time. But that is just the beginning. ~ President Lyndon B....
OEO accomplished its purpose through: Development and funding of community organizations Creation of State Offices of Economic Opportunity (SOEO) to involve Governors in the War on Poverty The OEO established a direct federal to local relationship with local communities. Community Action Agencies, cont. A delivery vehicle was needed at the local...
The EOA defined the purpose of a CAA: ...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 motivation to secure the opportunities needed for them to become...
Many adopted the Mission. Many community members committed themselves to the Mission and worked for very low wages. The CAA employed many of the poor they were organized to serve. In addition to services, the CAA was an advocate. It challenged and by-passed the traditional systems.
for the poor. This often set up clashes with the establishment. OEO and Community Action Grow, cont. Many big city Mayors and other local politicians complained that the CAAs needed to be controlled. Many were challenging the existing power structures and, by offering jobs to neighborhood people, disrupting the hold that patronage exerted on n...
Nixon attempted to... Develop a guaranteed minimum income for low income people, De-fund the Community Action Agencies, and Dismantle the Office of Economic Opportunity. Nixon transfers a number of programs from OEO to other federal departments to administer.
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.
The Act thus gives the CAA a primarily catalytic mission: to make the entire community more responsive to the needs and interests of the poor 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 ...
In developing its strategy and plans, the CAA shall take into account the area of greatest community need, the availability of resources, and its own strengths and limitations. It should establish realistic, attainable objectives, consistent with the basic mission established in this Instruction, and expressed in concrete terms which permit the m...
Nixon develops Public Employment Programs and price controls but becomes distracted by Vietnam and Watergate. Nixon does not veto EOA but does not support increases in funding for key programs. Nixon resigns and Gerald Ford becomes President.
The OEO was terminated and replaced by the Community Services Administration. This diminished the agency’s presence. It was no longer in the Executive Office. Overall funding of CAAs was basically flat or below inflation during this period.
Many CAAs do not use the term Community Action in their “title” or corporate name CAAs are known in their community by their programs and not their mission There is a disconnect and this undermines their resource development efforts
Carter appointed Graciela Olivarez as Director of the Community Service Administration. The CAA network received bad press and scrutiny due to the flamboyant travel and other practices of some CAA executive directors. An effort to improve planning and accountability, GPMS was rolled out. CAA involvement with Weatherization and solar greenhou...
Regan’s first budget intended to eliminate CSA and funding for CAAs. Regan personally had dislike for Legal Services and the “Great Society Programs.” The House of Representatives supported Regan’s proposed budget and zeroed out CSA and Community Action funding.
Enter NCAF and Congressional supporters The EOA was repealed CSA was eliminated and programs were assigned to various federal departments Funds in the resulting Community Services Block Grant were to be administered by the States An office was created in HHS to transfer funds to States.
“The best government programs embrace a culture where performance measurement and evaluation are regularly used and complement one another.” The Administration is emphasizing that performance measurement information must be present and used to improve. Additionally, rigorous program evaluation must be pursued to determine impact against a compari...
Tracks progress toward intended program outcomes, but does not compare outcomes to alternative programs or the status quo Challenging Policy Forces, cont.
Place-based services to address the causes and impacts of poverty Direct limited resources to agencies that can most effectively serve high need communities Promote evidence-based practices to achieve results Challenging Policy Forces, cont. Federal OCS Principles for CSBG Reform, cont. Maximize the percentage of funding devoted to high quality...
Six Areas Congress Should Consider Cutting: Empowering state and local governments Consolidating duplicative programs Privatization Targeting programs more precisely Eliminating outdated and ineffective programs Eliminating waste, fraud, and abuse ~ Recommendations from Heritage Foundation
Credits: John Wilson, Former Executive Director, PA Community Action Association; Jim Masters, Knowledge Sharer , Center for Community Futures; The U.S. Census Bureau; Wikipedia
Settlement and community houses in the United States were a vital part of the settlement movement, a progressive social movement that began in the mid-19th century in London with the intention of improving the quality of life in poor urban areas through education initiatives, food and shelter provisions, and assimilation and naturalization ...
Sep 28, 2020 · For most of U.S. history, volunteering has been stratified by gender, race, ethnicity, religion, and social class. Men and women volunteered separately. African Americans, white Protestants, Jews, and Catholics rarely participated in the same ventures.
“Community service” came to the forefront of people’s minds with a fervent passion domestically in 1914. With a nation and country in crisis, we saw a serious emphasis on patriotism through various propaganda, encouraging home-grown produce, clothing drives, and buying bonds.
