The Louisiana Association of Community Action Partnerships, Inc. (LACAP, Inc.) was chartered as a non-profit entity on September 8, 1986. At that time, the name of our association was The Louisiana Association of Community Services Organizations, Inc. (LACSO). We officially changed the association name in November 2003 to include the words "action" and "partnerships".
Our Mission
To engage in activities designed to elevate the economic and social standards of Louisiana's economically disadvantaged residents.
LACAP's three major functions are:
- To provide an organization through which all Community Action Agencies can work together to further the goals and objectives of said organization
- To bring about more effective cooperation between Community Action Agencies and other agencies that have similar objectives
- To participate in and strengthen the professional organizations of the Community Action Agencies.
There are 42 Community Action Agencies in Louisiana and we serve all 64 parishes of the state. Of the 42 agencies, twenty-six are private non-profits and sixteen are public agencies housed in entities of government. Twenty-two of our agencies are Head Start providers. Each year our agencies assist over 600,000 Louisiana residents.
At the direction of Governor Blanco, the Louisiana Association of Community Action Partnerships and the Louisiana Housing Finance Agency (LHFA) entered into a Memorandum of Understanding transferring the responsibilities for the administration of the Low Income Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) and the Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) to LACAP.
Our programs include Head Start, Weatherization, Medicaid, Emergency Energy Assistance, Transportation, Early Childhood Development, Nutrition Programs, Homeless Prevention, Teenage Pregnancy Prevention, Fatherhood Initiatives, Job Skills Training & Job Placement, Pharmaceutical Access to name a few.
Community Action changes people's lives, embodies the spirit of hope, improves communities, and makes America a better place to live. We care about the entire community, and we are dedicated to helping people help themselves and each other.
