Resource Library
All of CAPLAW’s resources and publications are now available in CAPLAW’s new Resource Library. Use the search filters below to find the resource you need.
Featured Resources
Building Blocks of Employee Compensation
Like many employers, CAAs are experiencing challenges retaining their existing staff and recruiting new employees in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. To help CAAs strategize for employee recruitment and retention in a post-pandemic world, CAPLAW has created this guide identifying some types of compensation they can offer, and the laws and regulations governing their salaries and benefits.
LIHWAP Primer for CAAs
The Low-Income Home Water Assistance Program, or LIHWAP, is a new emergency program administered by the Office of Community Services (OCS) that helps low-income households pay water and sewer bills to maintain access to drinking water and wastewater services. CAPLAW created this online guide to help the network navigate the program and better understand the role that CAAs may play in facilitating the funding.
COVID-19 Vaccines: Step-by-Step Guide for Community Action
This step-by-step compliance guide is intended to help the Community Action network navigate the employee vaccination mandates announced by OSHA, Head Start, and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). We describe the planning process your CAA should consider as you develop and update your policies to reflect the new requirements.
Shared Services between Two Minnesota CAAs
This case study presents an example of a collaboration between two nonprofit Community Action Agencies to share administrative services, which has since grown to include shared program staff. The case study is based on CAPLAW's interviews with Paul Carlson and Harlan Tardy, the current and former...
Merger between an Arizona CAA and Non-CAA
This case study presents an example of a parent-subsidiary merger between a small, non-profit CAA facing significant financial challenges and a larger, more financially robust non-profit organization providing overlapping social services in the same service area. The case study is based on...
Unlocking the Potential of the Tripartite Board Private Sector
The language in the federal Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) Act lays the groundwork for Community Action Agencies (CAAs) to exercise great discretion when identifying, recruiting, and selecting private sector members and groups to serve on the tripartite board.A hallmark of Community Action,...
Step-by-Step Guide for Davis-Bacon Act Compliance
This quick and easy guide to Davis-Bacon compliance information includes sample contracts and payroll forms for weatherization assistance program subgrantees, their contractors, and subcontractors.
Weatherization ARRA Update
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 ("ARRA") signed by President Obama on February 17, 2009 provided an additional $5 billion for the Weatherization Assistance Program ("WAP") to be obligated by September 30, 2010. As a result of this increase in funding, many Community Action...
Tools for Top-Notch CAAs: Governance + Financial
This six-section toolkit is intended to assist boards and management in their collaborative efforts to build well-governed and effective Community Action Agencies (CAAs).The toolkit includes case scenarios and examples to help you understand and apply the principles discussed. Many of the sections...
CAA Leader’s Legal Guide
The legal framework that governs both public and nonprofit Community Action Agencies (CAAs) as recipients of federal grant funds is vast. This guide aims to give leaders of CAAs - the board and the executive management - an overview of some of the legal requirements that they will work with on a...
Do the Right Thing: Culture of Compliance + Ethics
In the face of increased scrutiny, it's more important than ever for Community Action Agencies (CAAs) to establish and maintain a strong ethical culture within their organizations. CAAs are also being held to higher standards of accountability in terms of their ability to exercise effective...
CSBG Training Tool for Nonprofit CAA Boards
One way to empower a CAA board is to give it the tools it needs to educate itself. With this in mind, CAPLAW has created a self-training tool to provide a nonprofit CAA board with the guidance and information it needs to teach itself about the Community Service Block Grant Act (CSBG) tripartite...