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Community Action Partnership outlines CSBG work plan and urges caution on homelessness data interpretation
Summary
Community Action Partnership presented its CSBG work plan and program results (nutrition, Meals on Wheels, energy assistance), explained a request to disaggregate Ronan in point‑in‑time counts, and warned that funding reductions and program shifts affect local service levels.
Cassidy Kipp, representing Community Action Partnership, presented the agency’s Community Service Block Grant (CSBG) work plan and a summary of recent program activity and community needs.
Kipp said the CSBG allocation is tied to local poverty levels and funds services including aging and nutrition programs, employment training, energy conservation, and short‑term assistance. She reported October and November meal totals (about 9,596 and 9,557, respectively, with year‑to‑date meal counts of 44,988) and Meals on Wheels caseloads (active clients ~347), and flagged a need for volunteer drivers through winter months.
On homelessness metrics, Kipp said data are sensitive to how the point‑in‑time survey is composed: Flathead County’s 2025 survey separated Ronan from Flathead County, which alters year‑to‑year comparisons. Kipp said extracting Ronan yields a 30% increase in unsheltered counts between 2024 and 2025 and a 24% increase in adult chronic homelessness; commissioners requested the disaggregated data and follow‑up documentation.
Kipp also described program changes driven by funding shifts (federal CSBG reductions and the outsourcing of some job‑placement programming), and said Community Action remains focused on outcomes such as 90‑day self‑sufficiency targets for program participants. Commissioners asked for the agency’s community assessment and requested the agency provide the 2024/2025 extracts for county review.
