Introduction

The Community Action Partnership launched a Learning Community on National Trends in Poverty last spring, which was designed to bring Community Action leaders together to examine the current state of poverty in our country. Economic conditions in the U.S. have changed drastically over the past few decades and Community Action needs to be as responsive as possible to these changing conditions. The National Trends Learning Cluster collaborated with Jim Masters and Allen Stansbury from the Center for Community Futures to facilitate a series of 8 webinars to examine current conditions as well as analyze current research on efforts to address poverty. This survey is designed to support the work of that Cluster Group.

The strategies discussed in this survey were proposed by nationally renowned advocacy organizations, think tanks and scholars. All research discussed during this cluster group can be viewed here. A draft of the white paper can be viewed here. Please feel free to share the materials within your agency, organization or State Association as training material for board retreats and/or staff meetings.

Based on the research disseminated through the National Trends Learning Cluster, the survey is intended to gather empirical data about strategies that CAAs can use at the national, state and/or local level to eliminate the causes and conditions of poverty. Additionally, the survey will help to assess the broader Community Action Network’s sense of priorities about where to focus our collective work. Results from the survey will be incorporated into a white paper entitled, “Strategies Recommended to Reduce Poverty and Enhance Economic Security”, and presented by Masters and Stansbury at the Partnership’s Annual Convention in San Francisco on August 25-28, 2015.

The National Trends Learning Cluster encourages you to participate in this survey to inform its work and summary findings. Please submit responses by June 1, 2015.

For questions, please contact Natalie Kramer, Program Support Specialist, at nkramer@communityactionpartnership.com or 202-449-9787.


This publication was created by the National Association of Community Action Agencies—Community Action Partnership, in performance of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Community Services Grant Number 90ET0436. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families.

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