May 1st marks the beginning of Community Action Month! This month is a time for the CSBG network to highlight the impact that Community Action has across our country! The goal is to show policymakers, partners, and the public how CSBG helps individuals, families, & communities achieve economic security. Each week NASCSP will be releasing #FactFriday data focused blog posts sharing some of the FY 2017 CSBG IS data. These mini toolkits can be used on social media, in newsletters, etc. to communicate the impact of CSBG. Additionally, NASCSP will also be elevating and highlighting the impact of CSBG during May through State Spotlight Blogs. State Spotlight blog posts will highlight the critical role of States in CSBG. We will be featuring state best practices, innovative state initiatives, compelling client stories, and more! Stay tuned all month long!
NPI 6.2- Emergency Assistance
In the wake of recent spring flooding, we are reminded that Community Action Network helps serve low-income individuals during emergencies and times of crisis. In FY 2017 the CSBG Network served nearly 9,000,000 low-income individuals who sought emergency assistance. This included 5,591,984 individuals receiving emergency food, 2,177,625 obtaining emergency fuel or utility payments, 174,937 gaining emergency rent or mortgage assistance, etc. For information on more services provided, please see the infographic below.
NPI 2.3 and 3.1- Volunteer Hours
Of the 41,038,091 volunteer hours donated to Community Action Agencies, 23,439,993 of those hours, or 63%, were donated by low-income individuals. Also, the monetary value of those hours is irreplaceable. Using the $7.25 Federal Minimum Wage, the value of volunteer hours donated in FY 17 was $297.5 million. If you use the Independent Sector Wage Rate, that value increases to a a total of a little bit over $1 billion! Thank you to everyone who volunteered!
Section G- Age Demographics
The Census Bureau reports that the poverty rate for children under 18 is 17.5 percent., Children aged 17 and under made up more than 37 percent of all individuals served by CSBG. Over 3.9 million children under the age of 17 were served by CAA programs across the nation. Additionally, as the graph below shows, nearly 1.4 million CAA program participants were 5 years of age or younger. Finally, nearly 2.4 million (23 percent) CAA program participants were 55 years or older, and over 8.5 percent of the participants were 70 years or older. This is an increase from 2016 and reflects the aging trend in national demographics.
