Kansas Association of Community Action Programs

KACAP was the lead recipient for a regional consortia grant (RPIC) that was administered by the federal Office of Community Services, under the auspices of the federal Department of Health and Human Services' Administration for Children and Families. The central mission of the RPIC strategy is to ensure that all CSBG-eligible entities are able to meet organizational standards and performance management efforts and utilize evidence-based and evidence-informed approaches to address the identified needs of low-income people in communities. As the Region VII lead, KACAP has two responsibilities: 1) provided grant funds to sub-recipients in Iowa, Missouri, and Nebraska to perform activities to fit with the grant's mission; and 2) oversee and coordinate region-wide efforts. KACAP used funds towards facilitating a regional coordinating council, monitoring sub-recipient activities, supporting region-wide webinar training, and complete federal reporting requirements for the region.

KACAP's subgrantees provided T/TA and Conference opportunities for their members agencies utilizing funds from the RPIC grant to substantially provide funding to provide these quality learning sessions. Each organization spent time gathering T/TA needs from their agencies and utilizing this information to craft Conference and virtual learning opportunities that addressed needs identified. Surveys and data was collected following their sessions to guide each agency to continue to improve their T/TA efforts.

KACAP served its members by providing a staff centered Poverty Conference. This conference offered curated T/TA that addressed the training needs of the membership as derived from the annual T/TA Needs Assessment conducted yearly. Agencies were able to attend free of cost and experience quality trainers through the use of grant funds. Learning surveys and data was collected to better inform KACAP staff and the Board of Directors as they continue their efforts for quality and timely education.