CAFCA and Connecticut’s Community Action Agency (CAA) Network is committed to advocating for public policies that advance social justice and economic opportunity for all.

We believe everyone deserves the opportunity to realize their potential and fully participate in society, the economy, and their community.

The Promise of Community Action:

“Community Action changes people’s lives, embodies the spirit of hope, improves communities, and makes America a better place to live. We care about the entire community, and we are dedicated to helping people help themselves and each other.”

CAFCA collaborates with local, state, and federal community partners to help address the causes and conditions of poverty. We advocate for and support the following :

Empowering Children to Reach their Potential

Providing support for both children and their families as a whole is key in helping to ensure positive and improved mental, social, emotional, educational, and developmental outcomes, and in reducing the achievement gap.

Access to high-quality, early childhood care and education programs like Head Start and school readiness is essential in helping to break the cycle of poverty .

Strengthening Connecticut’s Workforce for Today and Tomorrow

Employment and training programs and services are a driving force in enabling people reach their full potential, and to become economically self-sufficient.

Helping Working Families Build Assets

No family is free from poverty if financial ruin is just one missed paycheck or unexpected medical bill away.

Initiatives that help families build assets like financial counseling, a state earned income tax credit, and free income tax preparation set up families for future success.

Keeping Families Safe and Healthy

High energy costs can put families in crisis mode and threaten their ability to pay for other essential basic needs, forcing them to choose between heating their homes and things like food and medicine.

Programs and services like home heating assistance (through the CT Energy Assistance Program, or CEAP, and assistance with Matching Payment Plans), increasing home energy efficiency (through the Weatherization Assistance Program, or WAP), Meals on Wheels, food pantries, and more are crucial to keeping the people we serve safe and healthy.

Maintaining an Effective Poverty-Fighting Network

Serving every city and town in our state, Connecticut’s CAAs are foundational partners in the state’s Human Services Infrastructure (HSI), a customer-focused, multigenerational human services delivery system.

Through this approach, anyone can enter a CAA for any reason and get connected to programs, services, and resources to help meet their short and long-term needs—leading them on a path to economic independence.