AROOSTOOK COUNTY ACTION PROGRAM INC

Aroostook County Action Program (ACAP) has set it's organizational goals directly from the most recent Community Needs Assessment, also always keeping in mind their overarching goal of ending poverty. The first organizational goal was that of adopting and implementing a centralized service model for all of ACAP customers. That is accomplished with the Whole Family Approach for customers with young children.

In light of the limited resources across Aroostook County it was critical that ACAP's second organizational goal was to strengthen partnerships and to foster cross-sector collaboration. We recognize that we are stronger when we work together and there is no value in duplication of services in such a rural community. We will continue to support our partners in the areas that they shine and together look for ways to fill the gaps.

ACAP's primary mission is to provide services and resources that help individuals and families achieve greater economic independence. The third organizational goal is that of creating opportunities for productive dialogue on the causes and impacts of poverty. We offer 42 programs to help connect our clients to all of the programs that can help them as they work to better the lives and that of our community.

ACAP understands and sees the value of looking at a full picture and not just addressing a single problem. Organizational goal four is to continuously address social determinants and barriers that have impact on health and well-being. By offering an array of problems we are able to help our clients attack multiple areas at one time and provide the safety net they need as they working towards their individualized goals.

Understanding and looking through the whole family lens has enabled ACAP to have a greater understanding on how behavioral health including substance abuse can have a profound impact on not only a single individual but on the community as a whole. That is why their final organizational goal is to reduce the burden of behavioral health, including substance use, on the population and service system. We understand that behavioral health is one component of overall well being and with our partners we work with individuals and families to receive the services they need.

Our organizational goals are shared with all staff, volunteers, and the community as a whole. We develop our workplan based on the goals that have been identified not only by our agency, but by our community.

As we know data drives decisions and we will continue to capture data and use that data to develop a workplan. We have implemented a central intake for the agency and collectively capture data. We have developed cross functional work teams to evaluate the data and develop more efficiencies and better supports for our clients. Our team works together across programs and departments to ensure that the clients are able to access all of the programs that support their individualized goals. By using the Whole Family/ Comprehensive Service Delivery Model we are continuously improving our process and the outcomes that we are able to demonstrate.

We continue to work with our partners at the local, regional, state and nation level to continue to improve our process and learn from others. We also share our experiences with others in an effort to help them improve the work that they are doing. Locally, we are exploring the idea of a Community Campus to allow for shared services and more collaboration between partners in an effort to provide a better service to the client. Transportation continues to be a challenge for so many in our community and this concept would help alleviate some of that challenge.

The talent, compassion and ingenuity of the team we have is truly our strongest asset. We will continue to foster growth in our team as we know that growth will extend back into the community through our service and messaging. The voice of the community and the consumers helps to guide our work and allows us to better meet the needs. As the needs change in our community, we are able to adjust to meet the needs.

ACAP is part of a network of more than 1,000 Community Action Agencies throughout the United States. As the Community Action agency for norther Maine, it has extensive experience – nearly 50 years – developing and implementing programs to help low-income people become financially and socially self-sufficient and managing both federal and state contracts. ACAP has developed a positive reputation with other non-profit organizations, businesses, local and statewide coalitions, municipalities, school districts, and the community at large. As a result, ACAP collaborates with many different groups to implement the broad range of services that they provide to residents in our catchment area.

The organization has a long history of implementing successful programming designed to help low-income residents build their social and economic security. Over the years, programming has evolved to meet the needs of the specific communities served. Some programs have been present since the 1970's, such as Head Start, workforce development and providing for basic needs. These valuable programs have grown and expanded to meet current needs. Other programs were developed more recently to address identified needs at the local level, such as the Hope and Prosperity Resource Center, which provides our homeless population a place with a purpose for eight hours per day as they work to improve their financial stability.

The team at ACAP is the organizations biggest strengthen. ACAP has an extensive history and clear process for providing staff supervision in all programs. Leadership at ACAP has years of experience overseeing nonprofit agencies including expertise in finance, governance and community impact. The agency also adheres to the 58 Organizational Standards that are required by all community action agencies to follow.

ACAP has an extensive history of demonstrating its ability to obtain financial resources for the wide variety of programming offered through the agency. ACAP has a long track record of securing federal, state, local, and private funds. They have a Federal DHHS approved indirect rate that is used to support our Finance Department, Human Resources Department, Information and Technology Department, and general Administration that ensures that contract management is performed effectively. ACAP undergoes a full financial audit annually, utilizing external professional services. The most recently completed financial audit for indicated a strong financial position and there were no audit findings.

Since 1972, ACAP has been serving the most vulnerable in Aroostook County Maine. Each year we serve over 14,000 clients. In 2019, we provided 25,060 services to the residents of Aroostook County in the areas of workforce development, early care and education, whole family and intervention services, prevention and wellness and energy and housing.

Understanding we must adapt the work we do in response to changing community needs, ACAP has engaged in researching, developing, and implementing our coaching model/whole-family approach. This work earned us entry into a Community of Practice (COP) with National Community Action Partnership. In 2018, our work with the COP produced a theory of change and logic model for our agency. With this foundation in place, we plan to continue growing and strengthening our coaching model and whole-family approach. Our goal is to build a coaching capacity so that anyone who comes to ACAP for assistance of any kind can choose coaching. We hope this access to one-on-one coaching will result in stabilizing Aroostook County families, reducing overall poverty rates among families with your children, and helping them achieve their hopes and dreams.

ACAP has developed successful, working partnerships with other area providers, understanding that no single entity can tackle the vast issue of alleviating poverty in a silo. These partnerships have lead to some notable outcomes, such as the creation of the multiple partnerships between our early care and educations programs and the public schools, solutions around transportation and a partner in the Aroostook CA$H Coalition, the largest free tax program in the state of Maine.