American Recovery and Reinvestment Act 2009

On February 17, 2009, the American Recovery and Re-Investment Act (ARRA or Stimulus Act) was signed into law by President Barack Obama. Created in response to the economic crisis, the Act pumped $787 billion dollars into the American economy. The three primary objectives of the Stimulus Act are:

To create new jobs and retain existing ones.
To spur economic activity and invest in long-term growth.
To foster unprecedented levels of accountability and transparency in government spending.

Racine/Kenosha Community Action Agency, Inc. (R/KCAA) provides a wide array of services essential to the well-being of the most needy and fragile in the community. Committed to empowering and effecting change within low-income populations, R/KCAA’s services include food and housing assistance, home weatherization assistance, early childhood education, employment training services, nutrition education and support to pregnant and post-partum mothers with infants, and more.

Like thousands of other public and private entities and private citizens, R/KCAA has been awarded grant funds generated by the Stimulus Act. The agency is currently administering twelve ARRA grants. Beneficiaries include R/KCAA’s Head Start Program, Weatherization Program, The Emergency Food Assistance (TEFAP) Program, Lead Hazard Control (LHC) Program, and the Homeless Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing (HPRP) Program. Racine/Kenosha Community Action Agency is also a recipient of Community Services Block Grant (CSBG)-ARRA funding. For information on fiscal oversight, and an overview of ARRA program funding please visit our Finance Department.

Stimulus Act funding has provided opportunities for R/KCAA to both increase its level of service to the community and create and retain jobs within the community. Figures reported to the Wisconsin Community Action Program Association (WISCAP) indicate that R/KCAA created the equivalent of 10.25 full-time jobs and retained the equivalent of 3.25 full-time jobs during the period July 1, 2009 through March 31, 2010. In addition to providing opportunities to increase service levels and cultivate employment statistics, Stimulus Act funding has allowed for the creation of many new projects and several education and employment-related partnerships with other local service providers. Newly formed partnerships include those with Racine Vocational Ministry, Legal Action of Wisconsin, Kenosha County Human Services Department, and the City of Racine. Alliances with these providers have yielded the following initiatives: the ARRA Employment Support and Work Experience Project, the Driver License Recovery Project, the Job Coaching and Boot Camp Training Project, and the Summer Youth Downspout Extension Pilot Program. Other initiatives directly attributable to the granting of ARRA funds include the Racine Urban Garden Network (RUGN) Project, the Sustainable Edible Economic Development (S.E.E.D.) Project, and the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) Project.

The awarding of grant funds under the American Recovery and Re-Investment Act has greatly assisted Racine/Kenosha Community Action Agency in meeting many of the challenges associated with the delivery of superior program service. Stimulus Act funding has become a catalyst for attaining many program objectives that may not have come to fruition given traditional levels of funding. With the assistance of ARRA funding, Racine/Kenosha Community Action Agency has taken a step forward in becoming a real instrument for change within the low-income community.