Legislature(2001 - 2002)
04/26/2001 08:13 AM House CRA
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* first hearing in first committee of referral
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+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
HOUSE COMMUNITY AND REGIONAL AFFAIRS COMMITTEE
April 26, 2001
8:13 a.m.
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
OVERVIEW OF THE COMMUNITY SERVICES BLOCK GRANT PROGRAM
TAPES
01-24, SIDE A
CALL TO ORDER
REPRESENTATIVE KEVIN MEYER, CO-CHAIR, convened the House
Community and Regional Affairs Committee at 8:13 a.m.
PRESENT
Committee members present were Representatives Meyer,
Morgan, Halcro, Scalzi, and Guess.
SUMMARY OF INFORMATION
JO E. COOPER, Coordinator, Block Grant Manager, Division of
Community and Business Development, Department of Community
& Economic Development, testified by teleconference from
Fairbanks. She thanked the committee for holding the
hearing and stated that the Community Services Block Grant
(CSBG) program is a federal pass-through program where
money is received by the State of Alaska from the federal
Department of Health and Human Services. By law, 95
percent of these funds are passed to an organization in
Anchorage, the Rural Alaska Community Action Program (RurAL
CAP) who is the only eligible recipient of block grant
funds in Alaska by virtue of them being the only community
action agency in Alaska.
The purpose of the CSBG program is to reduce or alleviate
the conditions of poverty through a variety of activities.
The program is fairly flexible in allowing states to design
programs that meet the needs of the clients they serve.
The law requires there be a legislative public hearing at
least once every three years so there is an opportunity to
look at the proposed state plan and the uses identified for
the funds. The current plan is for federal fiscal year
2002 funds, available to RurAL CAP in April 2002.
RurAL CAP is proposing to use the funds in five general
areas: administrative services, child development,
community development, community planning and housing, and
public policy and advocacy.
DAVID HARDENBERGH, Deputy Director of RurAL CAP, testified
by teleconference from Anchorage and thanked the members of
the committee and committee staff for conducting and
arranging the hearing.
MR. HARDENBERGH said the program's goal is reducing poverty
through community-based activities, which lead to a greater
degree of self-sufficiency on the part of low-income
people. The funding comes to the municipal and regional
assistance division of the Department of Community &
Economic Development, and it is administered by the state
block grant program manager, Ms. Jo Cooper. Mr.
Hardenbergh said Ms. Cooper does an excellent job of
handling the day-to-day responsibilities of the CSBG
program, which includes preparing and monitoring the plan
before the committee. RurAL CAP is the only eligible
recipient for 95 percent of the state's CSBG funds. For
federal fiscal year 2002, he expects Alaska will receive
approximately $2.3 million in CSBG funds to support
programs and activities for low-income people. RurAL CAP,
one of more than 900 community action agencies in the
nation, is a private statewide nonprofit organization with
501(c)3 tax-exempt status. RurAL CAP is governed by a 24-
member board of directors representing every region of the
state. This board is a balance of target area village
representatives, elected public officials, and private
sector organizations. The board meets quarterly,
identifies major issues, and sets agency policy. The
executive director implements board policy through an
implied strategic plan and oversight of agency programs.
RurAL CAP uses agency funding to leverage approximately $12
million in other public and private sector funds to benefit
low-income Alaskans. The agency employs some 300 people
annually in rural communities through Head Start, Early
Head Start, AmeriCorps, and weatherization programs. RurAL
CAP applies the majority of its resources to rural
communities where poverty rates are typically three times
higher than in urban Alaska. RurAL CAP also provides
services to Ketchikan, Juneau, Anchorage, and Fairbanks.
RurAL CAP supports the Homeward Bound program in Mountain
View that serves Anchorage's public inebriate homeless
population. Seed money from CSBG was used for partnerships
with Housing and Urban Development, the Alaska Housing
Finance Corporation, and the Cook Inlet Housing Authority.
MR. HARDENBERGH informed the committee that the plan
contains detailed examples of outcome measures for each of
RurAL CAP's CSBG supported programs. He further stated
that there are many measurable results and gave some
specific examples.
REPRESENTATIVE SCALZI asked about the tobacco smoke grant
applications and asked why that material was in the plan.
MS. COOPER answered that the state is required to include
federal assurances prior to accepting the funding.
REPRESENTATIVE SCALZI asked if there was a match
requirement.
MS. COOPER relied there is no match requirement.
REPRESENTATIVE HALCRO asked if the Head Start program is
growing to meet needs or in a holding pattern.
MR. HARDENBERGH answered that statewide funding is holding
steady, but because of inflation over time, fewer and fewer
children are able to be served with state funding alone.
There is a separate channel of federal funding that has
slowly increased over the years, which allows RurAL CAP to
keep services constant.
REPRESENTATIVE HALCRO asked about the need in rural Alaska
and how the services are being delivered in areas not able
to be reached.
MR. HARDENBERGH answered that he doesn't have exact figures
but believes only 30 or 40 percent of eligible children and
families in rural Alaska are served by Head Start programs.
This means that more than half the communities in Alaska
that would like to have Head Start don't have any kind of
center-based or home visitor program at all. The needs and
desires outweigh the available funding and the majority of
low-income children don't have Head Start services.
CO-CHAIR MORGAN asked Mr. Hardenbergh about regional
nonprofit native corporations and Head Start federal
funding.
MR. HARDENBERGH replied there are two streams of Head Start
funding. One is to the regional Head Start federal
grantees such as AVCP or TCC and this is matched with state
money. The other is RurAL CAP providing Head Start
services to the regions with its own money.
CO-CHAIR MORGAN stated that he was hoping for a different
answer, one that addressed those villages where there is a
need for Head Start, and how they would go through the
process of getting federal money.
MR. HARDENBERGH said that villages have the option for both
from the regional nonprofit or directly to RurAL CAP.
Unless there are expansion funds available, from the
regional nonprofits, RurAL CAP is not able to open new
centers and programs in villages not served because their
priority is to maintain the programs already established.
CO-CHAIR MORGAN then asked if villages needing to expand
must go through the regional nonprofit [which can say no].
MR. HARDENBERGH agreed that there aren't enough funds to
provide Head Start programs in every village.
CO-CHAIR MORGAN said his point is that if the feds aren't
asked for an expansion, then how is it obtained.
MR. HARDENBERGH said that RurAL CAP applies for expansion
funds every year.
CO-CHAIR MEYER thanked Ms. Cooper and Mr. Hardenbergh for
the overview.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
CO-CHAIR MEYER stated that the committee will be meeting on
5/1/01 on Senate Bill 88.
COMMITTEE ACTION
The committee took no action.
ADJOURNMENT
The House Community and Regional Affairs Standing Committee
meeting was adjourned at 8:30 a.m.
NOTE: The meeting was recorded and handwritten log notes
were taken. A copy of the tape(s) and log notes may be
obtained by contacting the House Records Office at State
Capitol, Room 3, Juneau, Alaska 99801 (mailing address),
(907) 465-2214, and after adjournment of the second session
of the Twenty-Second Alaska State Legislature this
information may be obtained by contacting the Legislative
Reference Library at (907) 465-3808.
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