SECTIONS 12750-12763 - California Statutes

GOVERNMENT CODE

SECTION 12750-12763

12750. (a) A community action agency shall be a public or private
nonprofit agency that fulfills all of the following requirements:
(1) Has been designated by the director to operate a community
action program.
(2) Has a tripartite board structure meeting the requirements of
Section 12751.
(3) Has the power, authority, and capability to plan, conduct,
administer, and evaluate a community action program, including the
power to enter into contracts with other public and private nonprofit
agencies and organizations to assist in fulfilling the purposes of
this chapter.
(b) A community action program is a locally planned and operated
program comprising a range of services and activities having a
measurable and potentially major impact on causes of poverty in the
community or those areas of the community where poverty is a
particularly acute problem.
(c) Component services and activities of a community action
program may be administered directly by the community action agency,
or by other agencies pursuant to delegation or subcontractual
agreements with the eligible entity. They may be projects eligible
for assistance under this chapter, or projects assisted from other
public or private sources, and they may be either specially designed
to meet local needs, or designed pursuant to the eligibility
standards of the state or federal program providing assistance to a
particular kind of activity that will help in meeting those needs.
(d) For the purpose of this chapter, a community may be a city,
county, multicity or multicounty unit, that provides a suitable
organizational base and possesses the commonality of interest needed
for a community action program.

12750.1. (a) No new community action agency may be designated by
the director for a political subdivision that is served by an
existing community action agency unless any of the following exist:
(1) The political subdivision is informed in writing by the
director that the existing community action agency has failed to
comply, after having a reasonable opportunity to do so, with the
requirements of this chapter, subject to paragraph (5) of subdivision
(c) of Section 12781.
(2) The political subdivision is informed by its existing
community action agency that because of changes in assistance
furnished to programs to economically disadvantaged persons it can no
longer operate a satisfactory community action program.
(3) The director is petitioned by significant numbers of eligible
beneficiaries to reconsider its existing designation and, based on
that reconsideration, determines to designate an alternate community
action agency.
(b) In the event that the designation of an existing community
action agency is revoked, the director shall designate a new
community action agency within a period of 90 days after the
effective date of the revocation, subject to Section 12750.2.
(c) New community action agency designations may be made in
political subdivisions or combinations of political subdivisions in a
county or portion thereof for which no community action agency has
been designated provided that the community to be served has a
population of at least 50,000, as determined by the Bureau of Census
from the most recent available census or survey. The director may
waive the general requirement that the community to be served have a
population of at least 50,000 in those instances where no practical
grouping of contiguous political subdivisions can be made in order to
meet that requirement.
(d) A private nonprofit agency that serves a political subdivision
or combination of political subdivisions having more than 50,000
population shall be entitled to petition the department for state
designation as a community action agency, provided it has a governing
board meeting community action agency requirements and has the
capability to plan, conduct, administer, and evaluate a community
action program.

12750.2. For purposes of serving any area of the state in which
community action programs cease to be provided, the director shall
designate an organization in accordance with Section 9909 of Title 42
of the United States Code, as amended, and through a process that
shall include all of the following:
(a) Notice of intent to designate.
(b) Request for proposals by any political subdivision or by any
other qualified organization that can demonstrate adequate
representation of low-income individuals in the development,
planning, implementation, and evaluation of the community action
program.
(c) Invitation to the political subdivision to participate in the
review of the proposals.

12751. Each community action agency shall have a board of directors
conforming to the following requirements:
(a) One-third of the members of the board are elected public
officials, currently holding office, or their representatives, except
that if the number of elected officials reasonably available and
willing to serve is less than one-third of the membership of the
board, membership on the board of appointive public officials may be
counted in meeting this requirement.
(b) At least one-third of the members are persons chosen in
accordance with democratic selection procedures outlined in
regulations promulgated by the department to assure that the members
represent the poor and reside in the area served.
(c) The remainder of the members are officials or members of
business, industry, labor, religious, human services, education, or
other major groups and interests in the community.

12752. The powers of the tripartite governing board of the
nonprofit community action agency shall include the power to appoint
the executive director, to determine major personnel, fiscal, and
program policies, to approve overall program plans and priorities,
and to assure compliance with conditions of and approve proposals for
financial assistance under this chapter.

12752.1. (a) If a political subdivision or local government is
designated as a community action agency, it shall do all of the
following:
(1) Establish a tripartite advisory or administering board to
provide input to the political subdivision or local government
regarding the activities of the community action agency.
(2) Share with its tripartite board the determination of the
community action agency's program plans and priorities.
(3) Provide for the participation of the tripartite board in the
selection of the executive director of the community action agency,
unless prohibited by local law, city charter, or civil service
procedure.
(b) The political subdivision or local government may, consistent
with general and local law, delegate any or all of the following
powers to the tripartite board:
(1) To determine its own rules and procedures and to select its
own officers and executive committee.
(2) To determine, subject to the ratification of designating
officials, the community action agency's major personnel,
organizational, fiscal, and program policies.
(3) To approve, subject to the ratification of designating
officials, all program proposals, budgets and subcontractor
agreements.
(4) To oversee the extent and the quality of the participation of
the poor in the programs of the community action agency.

12753. (a) Each community action agency shall adopt procedures to
provide a continuing and effective mechanism for securing broad
community involvement in programs assisted under this act and for
ensuring that all groups or elements represented on the tripartite
board have a full and fair opportunity to participate in decisions
affecting those programs.
(b) Community action agencies shall establish procedures under
which community agencies and representative groups of the poor that
feel themselves inadequately represented on the tripartite board may
petition for adequate representation.

12754. In exercising its powers and carrying out its overall
responsibility for a community action program, a community action
agency shall have, subject to the purposes of this chapter, at least
the following functions:
(a) Planning systematically for and evaluating the program,
including actions to develop information as to the problems and
causes of poverty in the community, determine how much and how
effectively assistance is being provided to deal with those problems
and causes, and establish priorities among projects, activities, and
areas as needed for the best and most efficient use of resources.
(b) Encouraging agencies engaged in activities related to the
community action program to plan for, secure, and administer
assistance available under this chapter or from other sources on a
common or cooperative basis; providing planning or technical
assistance to those agencies; and generally, in cooperation with
community agencies and officials, undertaking actions to improve
existing efforts to overcome poverty.
(c) Initiating and sponsoring projects responsive to needs of the
poor that are not otherwise being met.
(d) Establishing effective procedures by which the poor and area
residents concerned will be enabled to influence the character of
programs affecting their interests, providing for their regular
participation in the implementation of those programs, and providing
technical and other support needed to enable the poor and
neighborhood groups to secure on their own behalf available
assistance from public and private sources.
(e) Joining with and encouraging business, labor, and other
private groups and organizations to undertake, together with public
officials and agencies, activities, in support of the community
action program that will result in the additional use of private
resources and capabilities, with a view to things such as developing
new employment opportunities, stimulating investment that will have a
measurable impact in reducing poverty among residents of areas of
concentrated poverty, and providing methods by which residents of
those areas can work with private groups, firms, and institutions in
seeking solutions to problems of common concern.

12756. Every community action agency has a fundamental
responsibility to encourage, assist, and strengthen the ability of
the poor in the areas served by the community action agency to play
major roles in the organization; program planning; goal setting;
determination of priorities; decisions concerning budgeting and
financial management; key decisions concerning hiring of personnel,
selection criteria, personnel policies, and career development
programs; and evaluation of programs affecting their lives. The
fundamental responsibility of the community action agency includes
all of the following:
(a) Seeking and bringing about ways to improve its own
effectiveness as a channel through which the poor, local government,
and private groups can communicate, plan, and act together in
partnership. In that partnership, the poor shall have a strong voice
or role, both directly and through representatives whom they have
chosen.
(b) Providing the representatives of the poor serving on the
tripartite board of the community action agency with the tools and
the support, including guidance, training, and staff assistance, that
will permit them to participate meaningfully in the affairs of the
community action agency, and in all of its programs and subcontractor
agencies.
(c) Encouraging the development of effective local organizations
established and controlled by residents of poor neighborhoods and
areas. Community action agencies are expected to provide training,
technical assistance, and staff resources to enable the poor to
develop, administer, and participate effectively in local area
programs and to enter into the broader community discussion of
problems and solutions relating to poverty.
(d) Providing employment for poor persons in all phases of the
community action program.
(e) Continually ensuring that subcontractor agencies involve poor
persons in the planning, conduct, and evaluation of subcontracted
programs.
(f) Working for the acceptance by other public and private
agencies and organizations serving the community of effective and
growing involvement of the poor in the planning, conduct, and
evaluation of all activities that affect them and their inclusion in
career jobs in the agencies.

12757. Where a community action agency places responsibility for
major policy determinations with respect to the character, funding,
extent, and administration of and budgeting for programs to be
carried on in a particular geographic area within the community in a
subsidiary board, council, or similar agency, such board, council, or
agency shall be broadly representative of the area and shall assure
adequate opportunity for membership of elected public officials on
such board, council, or agency.

12758. (a) All Community Services Block Grant funds made available
by Congress shall be used by the state, together with any state funds
as may from time-to-time be appropriated for this program, and any
funds as may be transferred to this program from other federal block
grants, in accordance with the annual Budget Act.
(b) No transfer of funds is permitted, under any circumstance,
from the California Community Services Block Grant Program to any
other block grant or program administered by the state or by the
federal government.

12759. (a) For the purposes of this section, the following terms
have the following meanings:
(1) "Agency" means a community action agency, limited purpose
agency, or other organization that qualifies as an eligible entity
pursuant to this chapter and that receives financial assistance from
the total program funds, as defined in paragraph (2).
(2) "Total program funds" means the federal Community Services
Block Grant funds that remain after the amount reserved pursuant to
subdivision (c) is set aside.
(3) "Uncapped program" means a program that serves an uncapped
area, as defined in Section 12730.
(b) The director shall allocate federal Community Services Block
Grant funds consistent with the following principles:
(1) The historic distinction between minimum and nonminimum funded
agencies and other eligible entities shall be minimized and
eventually eliminated.
(2) After the target allocation point as set forth in subdivision
(c) is achieved, allocation adjustments shall treat all agencies
equitably and without regard to minimum funding levels.
(3) If federal Community Services Block Grant funding is reduced
or increased, funds shall be allocated so as to avoid abrupt changes
in current allocations.
(c) For each fiscal year, the director shall first reserve from
the annual federal Community Services Block Grant all amounts that
federal or state law allows or requires to be set aside for statewide
activities consistent with the purposes of the Community Services
Block Grant, including, but not limited to, training, technical
assistance, monitoring, coordination, and administration.
(d) (1) The goal of this section is to achieve a target allocation
point for each agency. The target allocation for each agency, except
uncapped program agencies, shall be either two hundred fifty
thousand dollars ($250,000) or the amount the agency received from
the 2005 federal Community Services Block Grant award, whichever is
greater. The target allocation point for each uncapped program shall
be the amount it received from the 2005 federal Community Services
Block Grant award. An agency with a target allocation point equal to
the amount received from the 2005 federal Community Services Block
Grant award shall have its target allocation point further adjusted
pursuant to paragraph (6).
(2) The director shall first assign an initial base allocation for
each agency, except an uncapped program agency, that shall be equal
to either one hundred seventy-three thousand five hundred fifty-six
dollars ($173,556) or the amount the agency received from the 2005
federal Community Services Block Grant award, whichever is greater.
The director shall assign each uncapped program an initial base
allocation that shall be equal to the amount the program received
from the 2005 federal Community Services Block Grant award even if it
is less than one hundred seventy-three thousand five hundred
fifty-six dollars ($173,556).
(3) From the 2007 federal Community Services Block Grant, the
director shall begin by allocating the initial base allocation to
each agency. If the total program funds available that year are more
than the amount required to fulfill the initial base allocation for
all agencies, the allocation shall be adjusted pursuant to paragraph
(4). If the total program funds available that year are less than the
amount required to fulfill the initial base allocation, the
allocation shall be adjusted pursuant to paragraph (5).
(4) Commencing with the 2007 federal fiscal year, if there is an
increase in total program funds in any federal fiscal year before the
target allocation point is achieved, the additional funds shall be
allocated as follows:
(A) First, each agency that is not an uncapped program whose prior
year allocation was less than two hundred fifty thousand dollars
($250,000) shall have its allocation increased until each of those
agencies reach the target allocation point of two hundred fifty
thousand dollars ($250,000). The allocations to these agencies shall
be prioritized initially to the lowest funded agencies to enable
their allocations to, as much as the funding increase allows, float
up toward the second lowest funded agencies, and then to this
collective group of agencies to enable their allocations to float up
toward the next lowest funded agencies, and so on until all of these
agencies reach the target allocation point of two hundred fifty
thousand dollars ($250,000).
(B) Second, once the target allocation point of two hundred fifty
thousand dollars ($250,000) is reached pursuant to subparagraph (A),
additional funds shall be allocated proportionately among each of the
agencies, including uncapped program agencies whose target
allocation point equals the amount the agency received from the 2005
federal Community Services Block Grant award, in order to bring its
prior year allocation back up to the target allocation point if it
was previously reduced pursuant to paragraph (5).
(C) Third, if there are some total program funds remaining during
the same federal fiscal year when the target allocation point for all
agencies is reached, the remainder shall be allocated to each agency
in an amount that bears the same relationship to the total amount of
the remainder as the number of persons living in households at or
below the poverty level in each agency's respective service area
bears to the total number of those persons living in the state, as
reported in the most recent available decennial census.
(5) Commencing with the 2007 federal fiscal year, if there is a
decrease in total program funds in any fiscal year before the target
allocation point is reached, the reduction shall be allocated as
follows:
(A) First, the reduction shall be subtracted proportionately from
the prior years' allocation of each agency whose initial base
allocation was greater than two hundred fifty thousand dollars
($250,000).
(B) Second, no agency shall have its current year allocation fall
below the current year allocation for any other agency when the other
agency's initial base allocation was less than the first agency's
allocation. If the reduction in total program funds is greater than
can be absorbed among the agencies whose initial base allocations
were greater than two hundred fifty thousand dollars ($250,000), the
reductions shall also be applied proportionately among any other
agencies necessary to maintain this rule.
(C) Until the target allocation point is reached for all agencies,
an agency that is not an uncapped program shall not have its current
year allocation fall below one hundred seventy-three thousand five
hundred fifty-six dollars ($173,556). At the discretion of the
director, federal Community Services Block Grant discretionary funds
may be used for this purpose.
(6) If a new decennial census is reported before the target
allocation point is achieved, the director shall first adjust the
relative allocation among each of those agencies whose initial base
allocation was equal to the amount it received from the 2005 federal
Community Services Block Grant award by the percentage difference of
the number of persons living in households at or below the poverty
level in each agency's respective service area as compared to the
number of those persons reported in previous decennial census, except
that an agency that is not an uncapped program shall not have the
adjustment pursuant to this paragraph reduce its current year
allocation below the current year allocations of the lowest funded
agencies pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (4). All
allocations made pursuant to paragraphs (4) and (5) shall take this
census-based adjustment into account.
(e) (1) Commencing with the first federal fiscal year after the
target allocation point is reached, increases and decreases in total
program funds for each federal fiscal year shall be proportionately
allocated among all agencies relative to the prior year's allocation.
(2) When each decennial census is reported, allocations made
pursuant to this subdivision shall also be adjusted by the percentage
difference of the number of persons living in households at or below
the poverty level in each agency's respective service area as
compared to the number of these persons reported in the previous
decennial census, except that an agency that is not an uncapped
agency shall not have the adjustment pursuant to this subdivision
reduce its current year allocation below two hundred fifty thousand
dollars ($250,000).
(f) It is the intent of the Legislature that the allocation
formula specified in this section not be used as a formula for other
funding distributions.

12760. Community action agencies funded under this article shall
coordinate their plans and activities with other eligible entities
funded under Articles 7 (commencing with Section 12765) and 8
(commencing with Section 12770) that serve any part of their
communities, so that funds are not used to duplicate particular
services to the same beneficiaries and plans and policies affecting
all grantees under this chapter are shaped, to the extent possible,
so as to be equitable and beneficial to all community agencies and
the populations they serve.

12761. A community action agency or eligible entity shall not use
any funds received under this article to replace discontinued state
or local funding.

12763. Consistent with Section 1090, no Member of the Legislature,
or any state, county, district, judicial district, or city officer or
employee who also serves on a tripartite board shall vote on a
contract or other matter before a tripartite board, that would have a
direct bearing on services to be provided by that member, officer,
or employee, or any business or organization which that member,
officer, or employee directly represents or that would financially
benefit that member, officer, or employee, or the business or
organization that the member, officer, or employee directly
represents.