Who is Served by Community Action Programs?

Community Action Programs serve approximately 9.3 million individuals a year, or about one of every three of the 34.5 million Americans living in poverty. In FY 2002 the Fairfax County Community Action Program served 21,342 individuals. In general, clients:

• Are very poor;
• Live in families with children;
• Are working at the time they seek help or have recently been in the workforce;
• Represent the ethnic makeup of the US poverty population;
• Have few tangible assets; and
• Lack education and employable skills.