Cap Community Action Programs: Caps

CAP

Community Action Programs: CAPs -- their role substance abuse & HIV / AIDS education, prevention and treatment

Brief History of CAPs

According to the Community Action Partnership (CAP) of America, an umbrella organization designed to publicize and support Community Action Agencies around the country, Community Action Agencies (CAAs) were established under the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 by President Lyndon Johnson to help fight America's War on Poverty. These organizations strive to serve their communities through direct advocacy on behalf of local, low-income residents and through the operation of an "integrated and comprehensive set of antipoverty projects." ("Community Action Agencies and Local Youth: Building a Future Together" 2003, Community Action Partnership (CAP))

CAPs can take the form of both nonprofit private and public organizations. By their nature, "Community Action Agencies are nonsectarian, with a broad mission to eliminate the causes and conditions of poverty in their communities. They are not driven by any one set of religious beliefs. Although their core source of funding is governmental, they develop comprehensive antipoverty plans and programs based on the specific needs and interests of their communities. The modus operandi of Community Action Agencies stresses local initiative, community building, problem solving, and inclusiveness. They are subject to federal and state laws and regulations governing nondiscrimination in the provision of services, equal opportunity in staffing, fiscal management, and accountability," although they can form alliances with faith-based groups to serve local needs. ("Community Action Agencies and Faith-Based Organizations: A Legacy of Productive partnerships," 2000, Community Action Partnership (CAP)) There are approximately 10,000 CAA with CAPs in America today. CAA boards of directors have a unique composition, drawing at least one-third of its members from the low-income community served by the CAP, one-third from public officials, and up to one-third members from the private sector. The average size of a CAA board is 25 persons. The typical size of agency staff is 115 full-time equivalent workers and 813 part time or seasonal volunteers. (About Us: Community Action Agencies (CAA), 2006, Community Action Partnership (CAP))

Function of CAPs

CAPs provide direct support for the more than 34.5 million people who live in poverty in the United States. The majority of program participants are extremely poor, with incomes below seventy-five percent of the federal poverty threshold, or $9,735 for a family of three. The general purpose of Community Action Agencies and the Community Action Programs (CAP) is to help people to help themselves in achieving self-sufficiency and 89% provide emergency food assistance and basic care. Only 29% provide health care. (About Us: Community Action Agencies (CAA), 2006, Community Action Partnership (CAP))

Relationships between CAPs and substance abuse in the community

Because most CAPs also provide education to the community, which may include Head Start programs for preschoolers, or job training for adolescents and adults, some also have drug awareness programs, frequently targeted towards young people. Poor people, both young and old, are at high risk for substance abuse, given the availability of drugs in poor communities, and the desperation felt by much of the poor. The Drug-Free Communities Support Program, a federally funded program designed to reduce substance abuse among youth also provides funding to community organizations to CAPs to "enable communities to conduct data-driven, research-based prevention planning; and provide technical assistance, guidance, and financial support to communities," which are deemed at high risk for escalating drug use. ("White House Drug Policy: Funding." (2006) Office of National Drug Control Policy) The lack of medical resources, however, currently available through most CAPs may make it difficult for CAPs to provide meaningful medical aid to addicted individuals. Most of the aid is likely to be directed towards hosting counseling and support groups. However, unlike federal drug efforts, CAPs, by allying themselves with faith-based community partnerships can provide psychological support by directing persons in need towards the potentially beneficial role that faith and spirituality play in the prevention of drug and alcohol abuse as conveyed through programs designed to treat and promote recovery from substance abuse such as Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous. ("Faith Based and Community Initiatives," 2006, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration)

Relationship between CAPs and HIV / AIDS

CAPs would seem ideal to fight AIDS, given that CAPs can deploy "community-oriented primary care," or an approach to primary care that uses "epidemiological and clinical skills in a complementary fashion to tailor programs to meet the particular health needs of a defined population." ("Community-Oriented Primary Care," 2006, Prevention Platform: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services) AIDS and HIV infection are widespread community health problems, but the tailored nature of CAPs has the potential to provide individualized support to specific populations with specific needs, such as prevention efforts directed towards young people, the health needs of uninfected and infected gay men, women with AIDS who are or may become pregnant, or intravenous needle users.