Mid-East Community Action Agency Annual report Program Year 2014 Mid-East Community Action Agency operates as a contract agency for the Tennessee Department of Human Services, Tennessee Housing Development Agency, Council on Aging (Title IIIB&C), Emergency Food and Shelter Program, Head Start/Health and Human Services; Roane County Schools; Loudon County Schools; Pre-K; Child and Adult Food Program/USDA, local United Way programs, Ft. Loudon Electric, Harriman Utility Board, Rockwood Electric Utility and Volunteer Electric Cooperate. This report is an overview (snapshot) that illustrates how Mid-East Community Action Agency impacts the lives of individuals and/ or families in the Roane and Loudon County Communities.

Mid-East Community Action Agency does not discriminate on the basis of race, national origin, sex, disability, or age in its programs, activities, and employment.

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16, 1964, President Lyndon Johnson delivered a special message to Congress declaring O n“anMarchunconditional war” on poverty. Johnson asked Congress to pass his Economic Opportunity Act, which would create the Office of Economic Opportunity (OEO) as a cabinet-level agency and have his Chief of Staff, Sargent Shriver, as its first director.

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he ambitious purpose of this statute was to eliminate the causes and consequences of poverty in the United States. Johnson’s proposal also created the Job Corps, Work-Training, and Work Study programs, legal services, and Head Start, a comprehensive child development program that would help communities meet the needs of disadvantaged preschool children.

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rom the start, Community Action Agencies (CAAs) were expected to act as laboratories for innovative methods of eliminating causes of poverty—causes that neither private efforts, post-war economic growth, nor the public programs initiated before and after World War II had been able to eliminate. The CAAs succeeded dramatically in this role. For example, it is in the Community Action Network that the Head Start program was developed, refined, and shared with other institutions. Today, CAAs remain the single largest delivery system for Head Start programs. Legal Services, the Community Food and Nutrition Program, Foster Grandparents, and National Youth Sports are also just a few of the successful programs that began in the Community Action Network.

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s they have for 50 years, CAAs continue to respond to the pressing problems faced by low-income people across the nation, while seeking new and effective ways to combat the causes, as well as, the effects of poverty.

id-East Community Action Agency (MECAA) was established in 1965 when the federal Head Start Program was enacted as a summer program to boost school readiness for rising kindergartners. In a very few years, MECAA began adding program/services to assist the entire low-income community, not just the families with young children.

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ECAA was chartered in 1978 by the city and county under a staffing Grant from the Community Services Administration and is directed by a twelve member Board of Directors as a private non-profit 501c (3) corporation. he agency has been served by three Executive Directors: Jack Smith (1965-1996), Grace Straight (1996-2001), and the current Executive Director, Jerry Johnson (2001-present).

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Our Mission

id-East Community Action Agency will partner with the community to strengthen individuals and families through social service programs to increase stability and/or self-sufficiency.

Board of Directors The agency is governed by a tripartite board. The board works on behalf of the agency and makes decisions that serve the community action mission of improving the lives of low-income people. They are also responsible for creating and following basic organizational documents (bylaws), to ensure that appropriate financial policies are set and followed, as well as personnel policies and procedures.

Community Partners Mid-East Community Action Agency thrives on its partnerships with community service providers. A shared vision brings unity in the war on poverty, reducing and/or eliminating conditions in which low income households live.

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Agency Services Emergency Services

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ECAA offers an array of emergency (one-time) services through multiple funding sources. Services are based on need, uncontrollable circumstance and eligibility. Services may consist of, but not limited to: 

Rental/Mortgage Assistance

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Homeless Certification Letters

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Motel Assistance for those coming out of a homeless situation and/or house fire

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Rent/Utility Assistance

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Food Assistance

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Medicine Assistance (must be a new prescription with no insurance coverage)

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School Readiness (calculators, school books, etc.)

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Auto Repair (partnered with Tennessee College of Applied Technology)

In order to keep statewide reporting consistent, individuals are identified by age as follows: “vulnerable” individuals are ages 0-17 and 55+ and “able body” adults are age 18-54.

91 87

178 individuals (91 vulnerable/87 able body adults) received assistance with housing expenses preventing a homeless situation and able to maintain their independence.

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2055

1976

4031 individuals (2055 vulnerable/1976 able body adults) received utility assistance preventing disconnection.

3443 individuals (2358 vulnerable/1085 able body adults) received assistance with food, preventing hunger in the communities we serve.

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Additional Programs

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ECAA operates multiple programs that require interested applicants to apply each program year. Services are based on funding and eligibility. Listed below are the available programs: 

Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) LIHEAP is funded through the Tennessee Housing Development Agency (THDA). LIHEAP assists households with high energy costs. Applications are available at our program services offices and electric companies in both Loudon and Roane Counties.

4452 individuals (2694 vulnerable/1758 able body adults) received assistance with high energy costs through the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program.

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Tennessee Food Assistance Program (TFAP) TFAP, also known as USDA Commodities, is surplus foods provided by the State of Tennessee. Items may contain canned vegetables, meats, fruits, fruit juices, etc. Items differ at each quarterly distribution.

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The FISH program assists households with limited gasoline purchases to supplement costs to attend medical appointments.

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Senior Services ECAA operates programs designed to meet the needs of our aging community. Services are based on funding and eligibility.

The Senior Nutrition program provides hot nutritional meals to eligible individuals. Based on the individuals assessment one of the following meals will be provided: * Congregate Meals. Seniors with mobility are encouraged to participate in a Cafe Style dining. The individual benefits from the socialization at these centers as well as lunch. * Meals on Wheels provides home bound clients with a hot lunch and provides a wellcheck as the meal is delivered.

14473

8918

7985 4597

35973 meals (13515 congregate/22458 home delivered) were provided through the Senior Nutrition Program. Meals are well-balanced and approved by a dietician. This meal reduces hunger among our aging population and provides socialization interaction for other-wise isolated individuals. 

Elderly Assistance is a program designed to provide multiple services, such as: * Nutritional Drink (ensure, boost, glycernia) vouchers are available. A physician’s statement is required. * Eyeglass vouchers are available. A written estimate of cost from the preferred Vision Center must be provided.

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Connect to Help is a program designed to assist elderly households who live alone with a medical device in the form of a bracelet or necklace to alert authorities/ emergency responders if needed.

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Head Start

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federal program that promotes the school readiness of children ages birth to five from income eligible families by enhancing their cognitive, social, and emotional development. Head Start programs provide a learning environment that supports children’s growth in the following domains: 1. Language and literacy 2. Cognition and general knowledge 3. Physical development and health 4. Social and emotional development; 5. Approaches to learning.

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ead Start programs provide comprehensive services to enrolled children and their families, which include health, nutrition, social, and other services determined to be necessary by family needs assessments, in addition to education and cognitive development services. Head Start services are designed to be responsive to each child and family’s ethnic, cultural, and linguistic heritage. Head Start programs build relationships with families that support: 

Family well-being and positive parent-child relationships;

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Families as learners and lifelong educators;

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Family engagement in transitions; family connections to peers and community; and

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Families as advocates and leaders.

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ead Start serves preschool-age children and their families. Many Head Start programs also provide Early Head Start, which serves infants, toddlers, pregnant women and their families who are income eligible. Head Start offers a variety of service models. Programs may be based in 

Centers of schools that children attend for part day services;

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Children’s own homes, where a staff person visits once a week to provide services to the child and family. Children and families who receive home-based services gather periodically with other enrolled families for a group learning experience facilitated by Head Start staff.

Head Start emphasizes the role of parents as their first and most important teacher. Taken from http://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/hslc/hs/about

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id-East Community Action Agency’s (MECAA) Head Start Program in conjunction with the Roane County Schools’ and the Loudon County Schools’ State Pre-Kindergarten program operates 15 preschool/pre-k classrooms in Roane and Loudon Counties. MECAA also provides home based services for a total of 160 preschoolers and infants/toddlers. All families must meet state and federal income eligibility requirements. Loudon and Roane Counties are located in east Tennessee between the Cumberland and Smoky Mountains. About two thirds of the classrooms (including collaborations) are located in Roane County in the communities of Oliver Springs, Midtown, Kingston, Midway, Rockwood, and Harriman. The other one third of the classrooms is located in Lenoir City in Loudon County. Home based caseloads are divided between both counties according to the need of the community in each county. Of these families, pregnant mothers and children through the age of four years old are being served. Each home visitor has a caseload of eleven or twelve families. Preschool/pre-k classrooms have a teacher and a teacher assistant. Families also receive social services, health, mental, dental, nutrition, special needs, and parent involvement services.

2%

Centerbased HS

15% 45%

26%

Homebased HS Homebased EHS Expectant Moms

12%

PreK Collaborations

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State CSBG lead agencies and state community action associations have been encouraged to work as a team to advance ROMA performance-based concepts among local agencies through on-going training and technical assistance.

History of Results Oriented Management and Accountability (ROMA) ROMA was created in 1994 by an ongoing task force of Federal, state, and local community action officials – the Monitoring and Assessment Task Force (MATF). Based upon principles contained in the Government Performance and Results Act of 1993, ROMA provides a framework for continuous growth and improvement among more than 1000 local community action agencies and a basis for state leadership and assistance toward those ends. Since 1994, the Community Services Network has been guided by six broad anti-poverty goals established by the MATF: Goal 1: Low-income people become more self-sufficient. Goal 2: The conditions in which lowincome people live are improved. Goal 3: Low-income people own a stake in their community.

Goal 4: Partnerships among supporters and providers of service to low- income people are achieved. Goal 5: Agencies increase their capacity to achieve results. Goal 6: Low-income people, especially vulnerable populations, achieve their potential by strengthening family and other supportive systems.

To accomplish these goals, local community action agencies have been encouraged to undertake a number of ROMA implementation actions that focus on results-oriented management and results-oriented accountability: Results-Oriented Management  Assess poverty needs and conditions within the community;  Define a clear agency anti-poverty mission for community action and a strategy to address those needs, both immediate and longer term, in the context of existing resources and opportunities in the community;  Identify specific improvements, or results, to be achieved among low-income people and the community; and Organize and implement programs, services, and activities, such as advocacy, within the agency and among “partnering” organizations, to achieve anticipated results. Results-Oriented Accountability  Develop and implement strategies to measure and record improvements in the condition of low-income people and the communities in which they live that result from community action intervention; Use information about outcomes, or results, among agency tripartite boards and staff to determine the overall effectiveness, inform annual and long-range planning, support agency advocacy, funding, and community partnership activities. Taken from nascsp.org/CSBG/594/ROMA

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Overview of our Achievements

E Rated E for EXCELLENCE

TENNESSEE REPORT CARD AND STAR QUALITY PROGRAM ASSESSMENT RESULTS

CENTER

The Star-Quality Child Care Program is a voluntary program that recognizes child care agencies who exceed minimum licensing standards. The Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale (ECERS) is designed to assess group programs for preschool-kindergarten aged children, from 2 through 5 years of age. These areas are scored on a scale of 1 to 7, with 1 being inadequate and 7 being excellent.

ECERS

Fairmont

5.69

Harrison Hills

6.63

Federal Monitoring Review The Administration for Children and Families Office of Head Start conducted a Head Start Key Indicators Compliant Review at Mid-East Community Action Agency on 12/3/14 to 12/5/14. The agency successfully passed this review with no findings. The reviewers complimented the agency’s operations and the strong management in the administrative, financial and programmatic areas.

The Department of Human Services conducted a programmatic monitoring review in April 2014. There were no findings within the Community Services Block Grant. Program Services department continues to do an excellent job.

Agency Annual Audits The agency’s annual fiscal audit (FY 2014) was conducted with a result that the agency had no findings. A USDA/CACFP review was also conducted in 2013 with a favorable outcome determining that the agency is in good standing.

Congratulations!

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Mid-East Community Action Agency Central Administrative Office P.O. Box 790 315 E. Race Street Kingston, TN 37763 865-248-8661 Fax: 865-248-8664 Jerry Johnson MECAA Executive Director

The Promise of Community Action Community Action changes people’s lives, embodies the spirit of hope, improves communities, and makes America a better place to live. We care about the entire community, and we are dedicated to helping people help themselves and each other.

Prepared by: Nieves Sosa, Tonya Williams, Melody Burton