Better Infrastructure, Stronger Community Action
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Sometimes better service starts with something as simple as having the right technology in the right place.
At a community resource fair, that laptop or tablet can let someone complete an application on the spot with help from a staff member, rather than leaving with another task to finish on their own later. A stronger connection between two data systems can mean a worker doesn’t have to create the same client record all over again when a referral comes in. A public-use computer can give someone a place to upload documents, search for resources, or access PA Navigate when they don’t have reliable technology at home.
Those are some of the practical changes beginning to take shape across Pennsylvania through Community Action’s use of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding.
CAAP was entrusted with $2.1 million in ARPA funding to strengthen the Community Action network’s use of PA Navigate and improve the infrastructure agencies need for stronger outcomes tracking. Through a statewide application process, 19 projects were funded, supporting work that ranged from updated technology and data-system improvements to cybersecurity, digital workflows, expanded PA Navigate use, and Community Care Hub planning.
The goal behind those investments was practical: give Community Action Agencies stronger Link tools to connect people with support while making the work behind those services more efficient, accessible, and coordinated.
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Bringing Services Closer to Where People Are
Access doesn’t always begin in an agency office.
Lycoming-Clinton Counties Commission for Community Action (STEP), Inc., used funding to deploy large-format tablets in offices and community settings. At expos and resource fairs, staff could help new customers complete applications immediately instead of asking them to return to an office or finish the process on their own later.
Central Pennsylvania Community Action used updated laptops to help staff work across locations and provide services outside the office, expanding access for remote and underserved communities. As the agency reported:
“Access to reliable, modern laptops has improved staff efficiency, communication, and overall ability to deliver services.”
Blueprints approached access from another direction. The agency configured two public-use laptops in its Welcome Centers so participants could independently search for resources, complete applications, upload documents, and access PA Navigate.
Each example addresses a slightly different barrier, but the effect is similar. People have more opportunities to complete the steps required to connect with support while they already have access to a trusted organization or staff member.
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Giving Staff More Time for People
Some of the most important improvements are happening behind the scenes.
Eight agencies used ARPA funding to purchase or significantly improve client management and data systems. Several projects also included connections between those systems and PA Navigate so referrals and information can move more efficiently between platforms.
Tri County Community Action offers a good example of what that can look like in practice.
The first phase of its integration between PA Navigate and CAP60 allows referral information to move between the two systems without staff having to create a new client record every time a referral is received. Additional integration work was planned to synchronize referral notes, screening tools, and related documentation as well.
Tri County also developed the ability to bulk upload utility assistance applicants into CAP60 rather than entering each record individually. The agency serves nearly 25,000 clients annually in their utility programs, so reducing repetitive documentation potentially can free significant staff capacity, although the resulting time savings have not yet been formally quantified.
Some of these investments are already producing clear operational changes, while longer-term efficiency and client outcomes will take more time to measure.
Still, reducing duplicate data entry gives staff more room to focus their attention where it belongs: on the people they’re serving.
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Protecting Information as Partnerships Grow
Better coordination also requires agencies to handle increasingly sensitive information responsibly.
As Community Action Agencies work more closely with healthcare, housing, behavioral health, and other systems, privacy and cybersecurity become part of strong service delivery.
ARPA funding supported HIPAA training, policy reviews, secure cloud storage, multi-factor authentication, cybersecurity insurance, security audits, Microsoft 365 licensing, and HITRUST readiness and certification work across participating agencies.
Bucks County Opportunity Council used its funding for HIPAA compliance training and technology and security improvements. As the agency reported:
“This investment has strengthened our organizational capacity to safeguard client information, reinforced a culture of accountability and trust, and positioned BCOC to more effectively partner with healthcare, housing, and behavioral health systems.”
For participants, those improvements may never be visible. They’re still an important part of building systems people and partner organizations can trust.
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Strengthening the Network Around the Technology
The ARPA investments also created opportunities to improve how agencies work together.
Community Progress Council in York County upgraded all of its sites to a VOIP phone system, allowing staff to remain accessible while working from different locations.
Eight agencies also participated in Community Care Hub planning. Five formally joined the process, while three audited it with an eye toward possible future participation. Agencies completed readiness assessments, developed plans for areas needing additional attention, and received ongoing coaching as they worked through those plans.
In some cases, agencies learned directly from one another. Blueprints credited its collaboration with Westmoreland Community Action with providing useful insight into reporting, referral workflows, and use of the empowOR database.
That kind of shared learning is one of the strengths of a statewide Community Action network. An investment made in one organization can create knowledge that helps another agency make better decisions about its own systems and processes.
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Building Capacity for What Comes Next
The first year of this ARPA investment has already helped agencies improve equipment access, strengthen referral tracking, reduce duplicate documentation, modernize workflows, expand outreach, and improve privacy and cybersecurity readiness.
Those are meaningful improvements, and most of these projects are still getting started.
Stronger infrastructure creates the conditions for better service. The first-year results show progress in access, coordination, and capacity. As these projects continue into future years, we expect agencies will be able to report additional concrete outcomes that show how these investments have affected their work and the individuals and families they serve.
What we can already see is how much the systems behind Community Action affect the experience of the people in front of us.
When a staff member can help someone complete an application at a community event, when a referral moves without requiring the same information to be entered again, when someone has a safe place to upload documents, or when an agency can securely coordinate with a healthcare partner, infrastructure becomes something much more tangible.
It gives Community Action professionals more capacity to connect people with the support they need.
That’s the kind of investment that helps strengthen the network for the work ahead.
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