For six decades, the U.S. has carried out a coordinated effort to keep poverty levels in check.
Support offices in Minnesota say there’s still a need, but they highlight efforts to assist individuals on a case-by-case basis.
Policy analysts say U.S. poverty rates are well below where they were when President Lyndon Johnson declared war on poverty in 1964.
Lori Schultz is the executive director of the Minnesota Community Action Partnership and said even though people are earning more money, consumer costs still push some households to their offices for things like energy bill aid.
In responding to demand, she said local agencies have become more dynamic.
“Not that the ways weren’t working in the 1960s, but poverty today looks a little bit different,” said Schultz, “and we have to take a different approach to it.”
These agencies, created by the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964, have evolved to perform a full needs assessment for each client to determine whether they need job training or other services.
Officials say the hope is to establish self-sufficiency and avoid setbacks.
Schultz said office leaders have to manage peaks and valleys with funding, along with pressure in finding enough staff and volunteers.
Missy Becker-Cook, CEO of West Central Minnesota Communities Action, said that while there are similarities, each agency offers different programs catering to its areas.
For her part of the state, transportation assistance is prioritized.
“Rural Minnesota is very different from the Twin Cities metro,” said Becker-Cook. “And so, if you don’t have a reliable car, it’s very hard to keep and maintain a job, and get your children to daycare, and all the things that you need to do to stay employed.”
Community Action Agencies are celebrating their 60th anniversary at a time when Minnesota’s poverty rate is at 9.6%, well below the national average.
However, Becker-Cook noted that the pandemic upended much of the progress that had been made. The state’s current rate is nearly 3% points higher than in 2000.