Community Action Program Research Articles

Taking Control before the Grass Roots Does: State Government Action in the Implementation of the Community Action Program in Georgia, 1964–1969

Taking Control before the Grass Roots Does: State Government Action in the Implementation of the Community Action Program in Georgia, 1964–1969

A New Working Class: The Legacies of Public-Sector Employment in the Civil Rights Movement

A New Working Class: The Legacies of Public-Sector Employment in the Civil Rights Movement

Women’s education and empowerment in the Philippines: A community solution


 
 
 The Advocacy on Women’s Education and Empowerment (AWE) Project is a community action program based in the Philippines that was implemented after participation in the 2016 Community Solutions Fellowship for Global Leaders—a professional leadership development program for community leaders across the world that involves a four-month fellowship with a nonprofit organisation or local government agency in the United States. The inspiration for the AWE project was the Girls Getting Ahead in Leadership (GGAL) program of the Women’s Initiative for Self-Empowerment (WISE) in Minnesota. The AWE project empowers young women through a series of capacity building exercises, beginning with personal self-awareness, leadership development, conflict management, peace circles and gender and human rights. This provides opportunities for female social work students and young social workers to reach their full potential as gender and human rights advocates and leaders in the Philippines. This paper aims to highlight the role of social workers in gender and human rights advocacy at the local and international level, details the experiences, lessons and challenges of running a project which builds the capacity of young women, and promotes the role of higher educational institutions in building the skills and competence of future leaders.
 
 

Community action Programs and Empowering Female Breadwinners in The Local Community

Community action Programs and Empowering Female Breadwinners in The Local Community

Action Program and Socialization of Plastic Waste Hazards for Health and Environment in Tanjung Kramat, Gorontalo

The Tanjung Kramat area is one of the areas on the southern coast of Gorontalo which is polluted by plastic waste. Activities are needed to increase public knowledge. The purpose of community service is to socialize the dangers of plastic waste to health and the environment and to carry out an action program to clean up the coastal and marine environment. Methods are identification and survey, socialization, and action program. The results show that through socialization and action programs there is a change in mindset and attitude patterns in the community. The community admitted that they only got knowledge about plastic waste during socialization activities. People expressed concern about the dangers of plastic waste. In the community action program, they no longer burn plastic waste. The community said that they could reduce the use of plastic waste, for example by replacing plastic shopping bags with shopping bags made of woven rattan. This community service is the first step for reducing the use of plastic waste in the Tanjung Kramat area.

Fighting to Preserve a Nation's Soul: America's Ecumenical War on Poverty

Fighting to Preserve a Nation's Soul: America's Ecumenical War on Poverty

The Community Action Program Works to Improve Mental Health at the District Level: The Evaluation of the Community Action Program in Districts of Iran.

Objective: Three categories of interventions are considered for reducing the prevalence of mental disorders in Iran: mental health promotion, increasing mental health and social service utilization and controlling mental health risk factors. In this regard, we designed a community action program in a national plan to provide comprehensive social and mental health services (SERAJ) that were implemented as a pilot in three districts of Iran: Bardasir, Oslo, and Quchan. In this study, we have reviewed the results of this pilot project. Method : This study was conducted based on the collaborative evaluation model; first, the program was described and the evaluation indicators of each component of the program were determined. Stakeholders were determined; also, data were collected through literature review, semi-structured interview, and focused group discussion and were analyzed by thematic analysis methods. Results: The community action program consists of four components: A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the departments of the districts, People’s Participation House (PPH), Self-reliance Unit (SRU), and actions taken for stigma reduction. A total of 48% of the actions set out in the three MoU of three districts have been executed. The PPH was formed in all three districts. A total of 816 social referrals were admitted to SRU for which a self-reliance process has been initiated. Moreover, 47% of referrals have received services and at least 10 messages for stigma reduction and promoting mental disorders have been sent from different sources at the district level. Conclusion: Strengthening vertical cooperation between the national and provincial levels is essential for the full implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and self-reliance processes. Referring individuals for receiving social support with collaboration between the primary and secondary programs reported to be successful, but feedback to the primary and secondary levels which provides basic and specialized services, is not transparent. Therefore, we suggest an electronic system as an option to solve this problem. The careful selection of representatives of the people's network and empowerment of PPH and directors of the district on community action skills are essential. The experiences of the governors and chairs of health networks of the three districts should be presented at a national conference.

Seasonality reversal of temperature attributable mortality projections due to previously unobserved extreme heat in Europe

Seasonality reversal of temperature attributable mortality projections due to previously unobserved extreme heat in Europe

School Nurse Poverty Education: Why It Is Important to Your Practice.

School nurses are seeing increased numbers of children who are living in poverty. The Missouri Community Action Program Poverty Simulation was presented to school nurses to increase their awareness of what it might be like to live in poverty and the related healthcare barriers. Participants shared their reactions and knowledge gained in the simulation in a postparticipation survey with the simulation facilitators. Some participants shared practice changes that they made as a result of their participation in the simulation, which included use of additional referral resources, being less judgmental, and increased empathy.

Building the technological European Community through education: European mobility and training programmes in the 1980s.

The Community Action Programme for Education and Training for Technology (COMETT) played a key role in paving the way for increased cooperation between the member states of the European Community (EC) in the field of education and in the promotion of intra-Europe mobility. In this article, COMETT is considered as a non-traditional education and training programme for solving economic challenges in the context of technological change that was focused on the training of a highly skilled workforce. The process of setting the agenda for COMETT is studied through an analysis of official EC policy documents and archival material from the EU's historical archives in Florence. Our analysis suggests that the challenge posed by new information technologies acted as a catalyst for a new approach to education governance that was based on closer cooperation between European universities and industry. Promoting intra-Europe mobility among highly skilled workers and students was a key part of the programme, which defined an economic and social strategy for Europe in response to technological change. Educational and social goals were secondary in the design and implementation of the COMETT programme, which, first and foremost, was motivated by the EC agenda to boost the competitiveness of European industry.

A Volunteer Program in Maine to Transport Community Members to Health Care Appointments.

Transportation to health care appointments is a well-known barrier for many people, especially people living in rural areas. At the Kennebec Valley Community Action Program (KVCAP), 1 of 8 regional transportation centers in Maine, a robust volunteer program consisting of 93 drivers complements a staff of 45 drivers and 23 office staff members. The volunteers drive approximately 5 to 40 hours per week and have served for an average 4.4 years (range, 1–26 y); their ages range from 23 to 88. The volunteer driver program consists of a volunteer coordinator who communicates with volunteers; staff members who schedule rides; a software application (app) that serves as an interface between the agency and the volunteers as they drive clients to and from medical and social service appointments; regular training; recognition events; and incentives. Most clients have no other transportation option and indicated in informal surveys conducted by KVCAP that they would not attend appointments if the volunteer program were not available. In rural settings, volunteer driving networks provide a viable model to help meet the transportation needs of the population. Recruitment and retention of volunteers is an ongoing effort.

Inventing Democratic Subjectivity in the 1960s Community Action Programs

ABSTRACTThis article examines the Community Action Programs (CAPs) of the 1960s to explore the generation of democratic subjectivity. Barbara Cruikshank’s Foucault-inspired critique of the CAPs focuses attention on how they operated as modes of governance. These investigations enrich our understanding of the CAPs, but they also miss important aspects of their history. They miss the practices by which actors reconfigure what Jacques Rancière calls the “partition of the sensible” on which the programs were based. Focusing on such moments allows us to develop a different conception of the democratic subject than both the would-be promoters of democracy and the scholars of governmentality utilize: the democratic subject is neither disciplined nor resistant, but rather appears in activities that throw existing subject-positions and the existing order of sense into flux. It then becomes possible to identify moments of democratic emancipation within the workings of subject-forming powers.

Energy affordability in practice: Oracle Utilities Opower’s business Intelligence to meet low and moderate income need at Eversource

Over 70 million low and moderate income (LMI) Americans struggle to pay their electricity bills each year. Low-income households suffer a disproportionate energy burden, defined as the percentage of gross household income spent on energy costs. Eversource recognizes the needs of its LMI customers and has a long and successful history of helping low income customers weatherize their homes working with local Community Action Program (CAP) agencies, and wanted to do more. Eversource and Oracle Utilities-Opower partnered to develop a first-of-its-kind analytical approach to characterize communities in need and target the customers who need help. While most experts have relied solely on energy burden as a singular metric to characterize need, the Eversource-Opower team intends to employ a data-driven methodology that will leverage individual energy consumption, available customer demographic data, third party data and innovative, open source data sets. The resultant curated portfolio of metrics move beyond burden to illuminate specific characteristics of target communities and create nuanced programs that are specific to the socio-economic needs of a particular area. Preliminary results indicate that by combining the portfolio of metrics, we can find customers who slip through the cracks when we market based on income or neighborhood alone.

RESIDENTIAL HOMES FOR THE DYING: AN UNTAPPED RESOURCE FOR TEACHING PATIENT- AND FAMILY-CENTERED END-OF-LIFE CARE

Clinical training opportunities in end-of-life care are lacking, especially in home settings where death is expected and supported as a natural process. The Community Action, Research and Education (CARE) program provides students who are interested in healthcare a better understanding the challenges of providing end-of-life care. Over 8 weeks, undergraduate students serve as surrogate family members providing care to hospice patients in residential homes for the dying. Additionally, students engage with a formal curriculum by completing online learning modules each emphasizing different skills for providing end-of-life care. This study analyzed data from three cohorts of undergraduate students (n = 21) who participated in the CARE Program. Analyses from assessment surveys revealed that students reported improved knowledge and skills, including enhanced bedside education and training and increased ability to care for someone at the end-of-life after completion of the program. Also, 95% (n = 20) of students over the three cohorts reported that the formal coursework enhanced skills and training related to bedside care. Previous research has examined end of life training in a professional school setting, but the focus was on care in an institutional or facility setting (Billings et al., 2010; Supiano, 2013). The CARE program is a model for experiential learning in a home setting that provides a special lens to the dying experience in a holistic, patient and family centered way.

ATUAÇÃO DA RESIDÊNCIA MULTIDISCIPLINAR EM SAÚDE DO IDOSO EM UMA COMUNIDADE RURAL

This is an experience report from the first year of the extension project titled: Multidisciplinary residency in elderly’s health in the Rural Training and Community Action Program. The team comprised twelve residents and three teachers. The actions occurred between August 2017 and July 2018, in various social spaces of the community. The elderly benefited from collective actions, such as the blue November campaign and health education activities on the theme of their interest. At the individual level with gerontological assistance, through preventive, curative, rehabilitative health and multidimensional health assessment. The residents had professional gain with improvement of their skills and knowledge. The results led to the conclusion that the project has contributed positively to the elderly’s comprehensive care, as well as the deepening of the theoretical aspects developed in the curriculum of the residents' program, allowing the integration between care, education and extension.

Environmental health in Portugal and in the world

According to the World Health Organization, Environmental health addresses all the physical, chemical, and biological factors external to a person, and all the related factors impacting behaviors. ...

Providing End-of-Life Care: Increased Empathy and Self-efficacy Among Student Caregivers in Residential Homes for the Dying.

Health-care providers report a lack of training in end-of-life care and limited opportunities exist to learn about the dying process in home settings where most prefer to die. To evaluate the effectiveness of a Community Action, Research, and Education (CARE) program designed to promote empathy and self-efficacy communicating with and caring for terminally ill patients. This mixed-methods study collected pre-post data from 18 undergraduates (7 men≤ 11 women) in a 8-week immersive program where they served as primary caregivers in residential homes for the dying providing 200 hours of bedside care to hospice patients during their final days. Quantitative measures assessed empathy using the Jefferson Scale of Empathy-Health Professions (JSE-HPS) version and self-efficacy using a 20-question palliative care skill assessment. Qualitative analyses were conducted on reflective journals to further assess knowledge, skill, and value development. Paired t tests revealed significant increases in empathy ( P < .05) and self-efficacy ( P < .001) to provide end-of-life care. Thematic analysis of reflective journals further demonstrated specific instances of empathy and self-efficacy. Community-run residential homes for the dying offer a unique opportunity for skills training in end-of-life care. The opportunity to serve as a caregiver for the dying improved students' confidence and ability to provide empathic patient- and family-centered end-of-life care to hospice patients in their final days.

Reassessing the History of the Community Action Program, 1963–1967

Abstract:This article reconsiders the history of the Community Action Program (CAP). I argue that the CAP is best understood as a bold attempt at administrative experimentation and reform. Using original archival materials, I show that policymakers involved the CAP’s design outlined three models of community action: coordination, collaboration, and mobilization, which communities drew upon when implementing the program. Drawing upon an original dataset of ninety-eight community action agencies (CAAs), this article provides a synthetic assessment of the CAP’s implementation. I show that while the 1967 Green Amendment curtailed the CAP’s experimental and participatory ethos, most CAAs operated relatively harmoniously with local governments and social welfare groups to fight poverty. By looking beyond the dramatic clashes between CAAs and local governments and focusing on the multiple ways in which CAAs seized upon the CAP’s experimental nature, this article provides a more balanced and comprehensive assessment of the CAP’s historical legacy.

Assessing the Nutrition and Family Usage of a Backpack Food Program

ABSTRACTAn ongoing issue with Federal child nutrition programs is lack of meal availability for low income children on weekends. Food banks and schools fill this void with “backpack” programs, foods supplied Fridays to supplement children’s intake over the weekend. A survey of families participating in Indiana County Community Action Program’s (ICCAP) weekend program, Power Pack, indicated that a majority of the respondents (60%) reported sharing the foods. Approximately two-thirds of respondents (66%) reported that the program led them to change their buying behavior and 62%, 52%, and 39% of parents respectively reported that the program had positive impacts on their child’s health, grades, and school attendance. Foods included in the program varied in nutritional quality, and were ranked according to nutrition, cost per 100 kcals, and family food preferences.

Authentic Participatory Engagement: Community Action and the Foundational Principle of Maximum Feasible Participation

Recognizing that poverty and powerlessness are inextricably linked, the Community Action Program (CAP) adopted the foundational principle of maximum feasible participation (MFP). This principle represented an audacious experiment in extending the democratic principle of local, participatory self-governance to socially disadvantaged, poor populations. Although declared a failed experiment in the 1970s and 1980s, this article offers a detailed analysis of the 21st century CAP and provides some strong evidence that this declaration was premature and inaccurate. Despite the many struggles or barriers to authentic participation described by the local leaders interviewed for this study, this study offers a number of examples of how the CAP has met the spirit of MFP. For others interested in rectifying social inequities, this article highlights the substantive importance of adopting a foundational principle or operating norm that values authentic participation.