The federal Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) provides essential flexible funding that empowers Community Action Agencies to design local solutions, respond to real problems, and help individuals and families build lasting pathways out of poverty.
Under CSBG, Kentucky receives a smart annual investment of $12.7 million, which works as core funding for 23 Community Action Agencies like Audubon Area Community Services. We use this funding to assess and adapt to changing needs in every community and leverage millions more in additional funding to end poverty across Kentucky.
In our Communities, CSBG impacts our ability to:
- Provide Head Start and early childhood education to prepare children for lifelong success
- Offer nationally recognized workforce credentials and job referral services to support employment
- Deliver utility and rent assistance to stabilize families in crisis
- Expand food access to combat hunger in our communities
- Coordinate emergency services for individuals in urgent need
- Provide vital transportation to our most vulnerable communities
- Offer a recovery pathway for men facing substance use disorder
- Provide Safe and affordable housing for seniors and families
- Make available Integrated healthcare and human services for vulnerable and homeless individuals and families
CSBG Delivers a Return on Investment:
- Every $1 of CSBG supports long-term success and brings in $38* of additional funding across the state
- One-third of our board members are people with lived experience
- Helps us combine multiple resources for the most impact on our client’s pathway to self-sufficiency
Sara’s Journey to Success
Sara came to KTAP with a clear dream and unstoppable determination. She enrolled in the Kentucky Works Program not just for support, but to seize every opportunity it offered. With her sights set on becoming a Kentucky Medication Aide (KMA), she embraced the program as a steppingstone toward a brighter future.
Through hard work and heart, Sara balanced her responsibilities while pursuing her CMA and KMA certifications at OCTC. Today, she’s completing her 40 hours of clinicals and preparing to take her state exam—just one step away from her goal.
“I’ve always known this was where I was headed,” Sara shares with pride. “And I did it!”
Thanks to the support of Job Readiness Activities and her own perseverance, Sara is stepping into a career she loves—one that brings her not only financial independence but daily joy and fulfillment. Her story is a shining example of what’s possible when determination meets opportunity.
The impact of CSBG is Statewide and National:
* National Association for State Community Services Programs. (2025, January). FFY 2023 CSBG state fact sheet: Kentucky. Retrieved July 25, 2025, from NASCSP website: https://nascsp.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/FFY23-State-Factsheet-Kentucky-1.pdf