KOOTASCA COMMUNITY ACTION INC
201 NW 4TH STREET SUITE 130, GRAND RAPIDS, MN 55744 www.kootasca.org

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Organizations Filed Purposes: The mission of KOOTASCA Community Action, Inc. is "Building Community to End Poverty." This is done by helping low income people build assets, providing high quality early childhood education, and engaging the community through collaborative partnerships with other community resources.

KOOTASCA Community Action helps individuals, families, and communities fight the multiple causes and challenges of poverty. Community Action changes people's lives, embodies the spirit of hope, improves communities, and makes America a better place to live.

Asset Development and Housing: The goal is to build community and organizational capacity allowing all Low-to-Moderate Income (LMI) households the opportunity for safe affordable housing and increased development of assets. The accomplishments of this strategy for 2019 are as follows: 1) The federal Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) provides primary heat funding to reduce energy burden for LMI households through direct payments to energy vendors. As an assistance program, the payments are made to help keep the household's heat on and are targeted to those vendors essential to maintaining the household's primary heat source. A crisis component of the program makes additional "Crisis" funding available to prevent utility disconnections or disruptions in service for delivered heating fuels. An Energy Related Repair (ERR) component of the program provides emergency repair or replacement of non-functioning primary heat sources in emergency (no heat) situations or where health and safety hazards exist. The LIHEAP Assurance 16 (A16) Program component provides households with energy self-sufficiency education, advocacy, and referral services. In Federal Fiscal Year (FFY) 2019, 3,112 households experienced reduced energy burden and safe continuous heat through primary heat funding, 1,153 households avoided interruptions in service through crisis funding, 254 households maintained safe heat through ERR emergency furnace services, and 15 households reduced energy usage after receiving the A16 self-sufficiency education. 2) The federal Department of Energy Weatherization Program (DOE WAP) provides funding to reduce energy burden for LMI households through building shell and mechanical system energy conservation upgrades. Insulation, air infiltration reduction, heating source(s), base loads, and indoor air quality are all addressed through a comprehensive energy audit process. The program also provides client education for low- or no-cost energy savings measures and occupant behaviors. In State Fiscal Year 2019, a reduced energy burden was realized for 10 households. 3) LIHEAP Weatherization funds are used as leveraged funds with DOE WAP, and 14 households were served with these funds in 2019. 4) Utility Company Conservation Improvement Programs (CIP) provide funding and materials to promote energy conservation. Utility-based program activities include home energy assessments, education, and equipment upgrades to reduce base loads, such as LED lighting, low flow shower heads, low flow faucet aerators, and Energy Star rated appliances. CIP funds can also be leveraged to supplement DOE WAP activities. In 2019, utility-based program funding was used to serve and reduce the energy burden for 121 households, while CIP funds leveraged with DOE WAP reduced the energy burden for 2 households. 5) Originated by the Minnesota Housing Finance Agency (MHFA), KOOTASCA provides funding for housing rehabilitation in the form of deferred loans offered to LMI households. Eligible improvements include wells, septic systems, foundations, siding, windows, roofing, interior upgrades to address health and safety hazards, and accessibility improvements. All work must meet Housing Quality Standards. The program also addresses opportunities for energy savings, indoor air quality, lead-based paint remediation, and radon remediation. In 2019, MHFA funds through KOOTASCA helped 29 households maintain safe and affordable housing. 6) The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) Small Cities Development Program (SCDP) provides rehabilitation funding to small cities. KOOTASCA often assists cities with the grant application process and then contracts with the grantee city as the program administrator. Eligible improvements are similar to those available through MHFA deferred loans. The SCDP grant funds can be used to address deficiencies in owner-occupied housing, rental housing, community centers, commercial businesses, streetscape, and public facilities. In 2019, SCDP funding allowed for the safe and affordable maintenance of 2 owner-occupied structures. 7) KOOTASCA's Home Ownership program assists LMI individuals and families with obtaining their first home offering services in home ownership education, housing counseling, financial wellness, and financial assistance. In today's housing arena, the problem for LMI households is housing insecurity. Conversely, housing security is the single greatest factor in improving the health, safety, education, and economic potential for both individuals and communities. Median home values in KOOTASCA's service area continue to increase, which limits opportunities for LMI households to achieve housing security through home ownership. Further, many LMI households face additional barriers to home ownership, including incomplete or incorrect knowledge about purchasing a home and available financing options, insufficient cash for down payments, unacceptable credit history, and high debt-to-income ratios. A combination of Federal, State, and local funding sources is leveraged to provide education, counseling, and direct assistance. The accomplishments and outcomes of KOOTASCA's Home Ownership program for 2019 are as follows: A combination of 18 volunteer educators and presenters, a total of 60 households graduated from KOOTASCA's Home Stretch education workshops, and an additional 42 households graduated from the online Framework course. Also, 142 households completed one-on-one counseling to develop a sustainable budget and initiate steps to improve financial capacity. Further, 44 households completed KOOTASCA's Home Ownership program, which led to the purchase of their first homes. Lastly, a total of $71,191 in direct financial assistance was distributed to first-time home buyers, and this assistance resulted in an accumulation of $1,602,600 in mortgage loans. 8) KOOTASCA's Crisis Housing services include the Transitional Housing program and Crisis Rent Assistance program. The Transitional Housing program serves homeless clients with time-limited housing, case management services, and assistance with building skills for self-sufficiency. This program consists of two separate duplex locations dedicated to families, one location dedicated to male housing, and one location dedicated to female housing. Transitional Housing program funds are provided by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Office of Economic Opportunity, the United Way, and the Blandin Foundation. The Crisis Rent Assistance program provides up to 12 months of assistance for homeless or at-risk families and individuals to obtain or maintain rental housing. Minnesota housing and the Office of Economic Opportunity provide funding for this program to assist Itasca and Koochiching County clients. In fiscal year 2019, the Transitional Housing program served 28 individuals and three (3) households with children. An additional 173 individuals in 67 households received Crisis Rent Assistance. 9) Through the MNsure program, KOOTASCA's trained and certified Health Care Navigators assist clients in applying for and enrolling in health care insurance options. Funding for this program is made available through MNsure, Minnesota's health insurance marketplace. In 2019, KOOTASCA's MNsure program successfully enrolled 995 clients in a health insurance plan. An additional 340 individuals received assistance from a Health Care Navigator in completing their MNsure applications. 10) In early 2019, KOOTASCA began a program to help homeless and at-risk community members attain housing stability through S.O.A.R., SSI/SSDI Outreach Access and Recovery program. This program employs a trained navigator/case manager to assist the client in applying for benefits, gathering medical documentation and meeting with state assessors. 11) Through Housing Development, KOOTASCA works to create high quality affordable housing for very low and low and moderate income persons in Itasca and Koochiching County where there is a lack of affordable housing to meet community needs and demand. In 2019, KOOTASCA undertook predevelopment efforts for the adaptive reuse of the historic Alexander Baker School in International Falls into affordable housing for low-income community members with close support and collaboration from Citizens for Backus/AB and Minnesota Housing Partnership.

Education: 1) KOOTASCA Head Start is a comprehensive preschool program for low-income children (birth through five years old) in Itasca and Koochiching Counties. It provides children a developmentally appropriate early childhood education. The program ensures that young children receive health checkups and treatment, oral health screenings, and nutritious meals every day. Parents receive benefits when their children attend Head Start. The parents receive guidance from our program to help support their children at home and to help eliminate barriers to self-sufficiency. Parents learn to create stimulating home environments and engage in educational activities with their children. Head Start services are provided through a variety of program options, including Early Head Start Home Base (serving pregnant women, children to age three); an Early Head Start combination program, which includes both center-based care and monthly home visits throughout the year. We have classroom-based programming that is 4-5 days per week for children 3- to 5-years old. Parents of Head Start children are encouraged to volunteer through the program in a variety of ways and have the opportunity to build leadership skills by participating in the Parent Policy Council. Policy Council members are currently-enrolled Head Start parents and interested community members who act as a link between KOOTASCA Head Start staff and the families that the program serves. The Policy Council must work in partnership with key Head Start management and the KOOTASCA Board of Directors to develop, review, and approve policies; strategic directions; criteria for the recruitment, selection, and enrollment of children; funding applications; personnel and other business-orientated activities that require Policy Council's approval. In fiscal year 2019, KOOTASCA Head Start served 204 children and their families across Itasca and Koochiching Counties; the State funded Early Head Start program serves about 24 children each year. 2) The Teen Age Parent Program (TAPP) began in the Grand Rapids school district in 1971. School districts were mandated by the State of Minnesota to provide educational opportunities to pregnant and parenting teens. In 1993, KOOTASCA Community Action assumed the operation and management of the Teen Age Parent Program as the funding allocations to the local school districts declined. The population that TAPP serves is one of our community's most vulnerable. Pregnant and parenting teens are the most likely to drop out of school, quite possibly leading to a life in poverty for the teenage parent and his or her child. KOOTASCA's TAPP program provides educational opportunities that count towards credit hours for high school graduation in a variety of settings that most fit the needs of the participant. TAPP provides additional education geared to the pregnant and parenting teen, including: labor and delivery, prenatal nutrition, sudden unexpected infant death syndrome (SUIDS), shaken baby syndrome, birth control and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), cooking and nutrition, personal finances and budgeting, etc.

Community Engagement: KOOTASCA Community Action engages community partners to advocate for and collaborate on community strategies to fulfill our mission to end poverty. The agency's community engagement strategy includes the following programs. 1) KOOTASCA's Circles of Support program provides an opportunity for people in poverty to build social assets and skills, such as financial literacy and self-empowerment. Weekly meetings that include dinner are open to families and individuals experiencing poverty, as well as non-poor volunteers who are interested in improving conditions that impact people in poverty. In 2019, a total of 37 people participated in Circles of Support. 2) The Big View program provides education and creates community awareness of poverty-related issues, policy concerns, and systemic barriers that make leaving poverty more difficult. In 2019, cumulative attendance totaled 471 people across 13 separate Big View community meetings. 3) The PCs for People program facilitated the distribution of refurbished computers to 89 low-income people (53 adults and 36 children) in 2019. 4) KOOTASCA served as an outreach provider and application navigator for Minnesota Afterschool Advance, a program of the Venn Foundation and Youthprise to improve the affordability of afterschool learning and enrichment opportunities for low-income families by covering up to 75% of the cost of enrichment. Launched in May, 27 applications were received in 2019.

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