MCAA Description

Maine Community Action Association, Inc. membership consists of each Community Action Agency in Maine. There are ten community action member agencies in Maine.

MCAA History

In their early years, Maine Community Action Association (MCAA) focused much attention on advocacy for the needs of low income people and relied on community organizing to awaken poor people to their rights and opportunities.

In the 1970's, with the proliferation of categorical programs at the Federal level, many agencies were able to diversify and expand their services. Through the efforts to retrench in the 1980's, Community Action persevered and became a well-established network for social and economic development.

Today, the issues of energy conservation, utility cost, housing rehabilitation, child care, health care, nutrition, homelessness, and transportation have become major points of focus for Maine Community Action. While Maine's economy has improved since the early 1990's not all Maine people have benefitted equally.

We have now worked out relationships with the Federal and Maine State governments as a consequence of welfare reform; and are crafting new uses of our resources to bridge the shortcomings of welfare reform in such areas as child care, transportation, job training, and microenterprise development.

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