§ 23:63 — Community action agency; appointment, responsibilities

§63. Community action agency; appointment, responsibilities
A. The parish governing authority, by resolution or ordinance, shall designate a
community action agency to administer the applicable provisions of this Part and such
designation shall be on an annual basis. Prior to making such designation, the parish
governing authority shall conduct a public hearing, after giving public notice of its intention
to designate an agency. The public hearing shall include an evaluation of the administrative
and programmatic capabilities of the agency or agencies under consideration for designation
as the community action agency for the area.
Prior to making such designation, the local governing authority shall consider the
previous accomplishments of the agency or agencies under consideration for designation and
the ability of each to conduct community action programs, including but not limited to the
following service components designed to assist program participants to:
(1) Secure and retain meaningful employment.
(2) Attain an adequate education.
(3) Make better use of available income.
(4) Secure and maintain adequate housing.
(5) Undertake family planning consistent with personal and family goals, and
religious and moral convictions.
(6) Obtain services for the prevention and treatment of habit forming chemicals and
substances, and for rehabilitation services, where needed.
(7) Obtain emergency assistance through loans or grants to meet immediate and
urgent individual and family needs, including health services, nutritious foods, housing,
employment, and related assistance.
(8) Achieve greater participation in the affairs of the community.
(9) Be informed of and obtain income substitutes.
(10) Make more frequent and effective use of other programs, public and private, that
offer services related to the purpose of this Part.
B. As may be determined necessary or at the request of a legislator or legislative
delegation representing a district or districts in which the community action agency provides
services, the Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget may direct Louisiana Works, the
appropriate state funding agency, or the legislative fiscal office to conduct evaluations of
community action agencies providing services under the provisions of this Part. Such
evaluations may involve specific programs or encompass the entire range of activities,
including administration, of any community action agency. Such evaluations shall be
transmitted to the local governing authority, the appropriate legislative delegation, the
department, the Senate Committee on Local and Municipal Affairs, the House Committee
on Municipal, Parochial and Cultural Affairs, and the Joint Legislative Committee on the
Budget.
C. A community action agency shall:
(1) Compile information and data which reflects the needs of low income individuals
in the geographical area served by the agency and identify the extent to which those needs
are unmet by public and private agencies serving the area.
(2) Develop and implement programs and projects designed to serve unmet needs
of individuals with low income and provide for maximum feasible participation in these
programs and projects by eligible individuals.
(3) Establish procedures and adopt rules which enable area residents to influence the
characters of services provided by community action agencies.
(4) Join with and encourage private organizations to undertake activities in support
of the community action program that will result in additional use of private resources and
capabilities in accomplishing the purposes of this Part.
(5) Provide technical assistance to public and private agencies engaged in activities
related to the community action program to enable them to seek out, secure, and administer
public and private funds available for their activities.
(6) Provide other services that are determined by Louisiana Works to be consistent
with the purposes of this Part. The department shall establish these requirements in
accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act, R.S. 49:950 et seq.
D. Each community action agency must prepare and submit annually to Louisiana
Works, the Senate Committee on Local and Municipal Affairs, the House Committee on
Municipal, Parochial and Cultural Affairs, and the Joint Legislative Committee on the
Budget, not later than sixty days prior to the end of the applicable fiscal year period used by
the community action agency, a budget document which shall present a complete financial
plan for the ensuing fiscal year period which has been approved and adopted by the
community action agency's governing board. The chief administrative officer of the
community action agency shall be responsible for the preparation of the budget document,
which shall include at a minimum the following:
(1) A budget message signed by the chief administrative officer which shall present
a summary description of the proposed financial plan, policies, and objectives.
(2) A detailed and comprehensive breakdown of all programs administered,
estimates of all grants and funds received, estimates of expenditures itemized by function and
object, administrative costs incurred, and contractual services secured, all reported for both
the current and succeeding fiscal year periods. The budget document shall also include a
complete listing of all employees and their classifications and salary levels, including any
related fringe benefits.
E. Louisiana Works or the appropriate funding agency shall impose, by rules and
regulations, such requirements and restrictions upon the execution of community action
agency budgets which provide for sound fiscal management, internal controls, budgetary
compliance, and overall fiscal accountability. These shall, at a minimum, provide for
quarterly reporting of actual revenue receipts and expenditures, new or supplementary grants
of funds, and all other deviations from the original budget submission. The departments
shall report to the Senate Committee on Local and Municipal Affairs, the House Committee
on Municipal, Parochial and Cultural Affairs, and the Joint Legislative Committee on the
Budget instances identified wherein a community action agency's operations have not
complied with the requirements of this Section.

Legislative History

Added by Acts 1982, No. 818, §1, eff. Aug. 4, 1982; Acts 1985, No. 993, §1; Acts 1989, No. 512, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 1990; Acts 1992, No. 447, §1, eff. June 20, 1992; Acts 2008, No. 743, §7, eff. July 1, 2008.