Community Initiatives Council

Members


  • Ryan Snyder, Director
  • Mary Guldenschuh, Deputy Director

Private Sector Representatives


  • Amelia Yousey
  • Ann Hunt
  • Sydney Sullivan Underwood

Public Sector Representatives


  • Charles DiPasquale
  • Cathy Gardner
  • Merilee Walker

Low-Income Sector Representatives


  • Lindsay Quintilone
  • Timothy Cornell
  • Tracy Thompson

About the Community Initiatives Council


The purpose of the Community Initiatives Council (CIC) is to set policy for the Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) program, and to oversee the implementation and administration of the program. The goal of the program is to enable low-income persons to attain the skills, knowledge, and motivations to help them secure the opportunities needed for self-sufficiency

Community Action Agencies


Community Action Agencies (CAAs) are nonprofit private and public organizations established under the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 to fight America's war on poverty. Community Action Agencies help people to help themselves in achieving self-sufficiency. Today there are approximately 1,000 Community Action Agencies serving the poor in every state, as well as Puerto Rico and the Trust Territories. In New York State, the Department of State (DOS) manages the federal funds and contracts with agencies at the county level to reach the populations in need.

Functions


In Livingston County, the county Board of Supervisors has contracted with DOS as the community action program for over 25 years. The Community Initiatives Council consists of representatives of three sectors of the population: private, public, and low-income. The CIC oversees the policy and administration of funding that is allocated to diverse social agencies around the county. In 2010, the program administration was moved from the Planning Department to the Office of Workforce Development, Youth Bureau.