CCAP Strategic Leadership and Governance 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Under the Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) Act, which entity has primary oversight responsibility for how states distribute CSBG funds to Community Action Agencies?
- The Office of Community Services (OCS) (Correct answer)
- The state legislature
- The county commission
- The local board of supervisors
Correct answer: The Office of Community Services (OCS)
The Office of Community Services within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services oversees CSBG administration, including state distribution to eligible entities.
Question 2: A CAA executive director discovers that a board member has a financial interest in a vendor being considered for a major contract. What is the FIRST appropriate step?
- Require the board member to recuse themselves from the vote (Correct answer)
- Cancel the procurement process entirely
- Report the board member to state authorities
- Proceed with the vote but document the conflict
Correct answer: Require the board member to recuse themselves from the vote
Conflict of interest policies require disclosure and recusal from decision-making, not necessarily cancellation of the process.
Question 3: Which strategic planning framework is most commonly used by Community Action Agencies to assess internal strengths and external opportunities?
- SWOT Analysis (Correct answer)
- Balanced Scorecard
- Logic Model
- PESTLE Analysis
Correct answer: SWOT Analysis
SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analysis is the most widely applied framework in CAA strategic planning processes.
Question 4: The ROMA (Results Oriented Management and Accountability) framework requires CAAs to measure outcomes across which primary domains?
- Family, Community, and Agency (Correct answer)
- Education, Health, and Employment
- Income, Housing, and Food Security
- Client, Funder, and Stakeholder
Correct answer: Family, Community, and Agency
ROMA organizes outcome measurement into Family, Community, and Agency domains to demonstrate impact at multiple levels.
Question 5: A CAA board is considering eliminating a low-performing program. Which governance principle should guide this decision?
- Mission alignment and impact data should drive program continuation decisions (Correct answer)
- All programs with federal funding must be maintained regardless of performance
- The executive director should make program elimination decisions unilaterally
- Community feedback alone is sufficient to determine program value
Correct answer: Mission alignment and impact data should drive program continuation decisions
Effective governance requires boards to weigh mission alignment and documented outcomes when making resource allocation decisions.
Question 6: In a Community Action Agency, what is the primary purpose of a tripartite board structure?
- To ensure equal representation of low-income community members, elected officials, and private sector leaders (Correct answer)
- To meet IRS requirements for nonprofit tax exemption
- To satisfy state licensing requirements for social service agencies
- To provide redundancy in executive decision-making
Correct answer: To ensure equal representation of low-income community members, elected officials, and private sector leaders
The CSBG Act mandates tripartite boards to ensure low-income community members have an equal voice alongside public and private sector representatives.
Question 7: When developing a multi-year strategic plan, which element is MOST critical for a CAA to establish first?
- A community needs assessment (Correct answer)
- A balanced budget projection
- Staff capacity inventory
- Funder relationship mapping
Correct answer: A community needs assessment
A community needs assessment grounds the strategic plan in documented local realities, ensuring strategies address actual community conditions.
CCAP Strategic Leadership and Governance 2
Under the Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) Act, which entity has primary oversight responsibility for how states distribute CSBG funds to Community Action Agencies?