The Massachusetts Community Action Program Association (MASSCAP) would like to acknowledge the work of the Commonwealth Center for Fiscal Policy, which researched and wrote this report. The project was led by James St. George with assistance from Laura Barrett, Joanne Sullivan, and Daniel LeBlanc. We would also like to thank Ed Lazere of the State Fiscal Project at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, whose work in developing and understanding the data was invaluable. MASSCAP alone is responsible for the recommendations in the report.
MASSCAP would also like to recognize the efforts of its members who developed and managed this project. They include: James Canavan, Community Teamwork, Inc.; Bill Minkle, South Middlesex Opportunity Council, Jack Hamilton, Community Action Agency of Somerville; and John Drew of Action for Boston Community Development. Their persistence and vision helped shape the final product.
In addition we are grateful to the individuals and families who agreed to be interviewed for this report, some of whom are profiled in this report. Their courage and dedication to achieving self-sufficiency is an example to us all. Their candor and openness provide a critical dimension of credibility to the report.
Below is a list of the members of MASSCAP:
Action for Boston Community Development, Inc. (ABCD), Boston
Action, Inc., Gloucester
Berkshire Community Action Council, Inc., Pittsfield
Cambridge Economic Opportunity Council, Inc. (CEOC), Cambridge
Citizens for Citizens, Inc., Fall River
Community Action Agency of Somerville, Inc., Somerville
Community Action Committee of Cape Cod & Islands, Inc., Hyannis
Community Action, Inc., Haverhill
Community Action Program Inter-City, Inc., Chelsea
Community Teamwork, Inc., Lowell
Franklin Community Action Corporation, Inc. (FCAC), Greenfield
Greater Lawrence Community Action Council, Inc., Lawrence
Community Action! of the Franklin, Hampshire, and North Quabbin Regions, Northampton
Lynn Economic Opportunity, Inc., Lynn
Montachusett Opportunity Council, Inc. (MOC), Fitchburg
North Shore Community Action Program, Inc., Peabody
PACE, Inc., New Bedford
Quincy Community Action Council, Inc., Quincy
Self-Help, Inc., Brockton
South Middlesex Opportunity Council, Inc., Framingham
South Shore Community Action, Inc., Plymouth
Springfield Action Commission, Inc. (SAC), Springfield
Tri-City Community Action Program, Inc., Malden
Valley Opportunity Council, Inc. (VOC), Chicopee
Worcester Community Action Council, Inc., Worcester