FY 1997 State REACH Awards

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) made grant awards totaling $5,658,339 to six states under the Residential Energy Assistance Challenge Option Program (REACH) for FY 1997.   HHS received applications from 21 states.

Three of the state winners also received $100,000 for energy efficiency education proposals that met specified standards.

STATE REACH AWARDS:
Arkansas
Indiana
Kentucky
New York
Pennsylvania
Vermont

ARKANSAS DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES                               $210,000

The Arkansas REACH Program will be implemented by the State Office of Community Services, Arkansas Department of Human Services, in collaboration with the community based organization, Community Organization for Poverty Elimination (COPE). The service area of this organization covers Pulaski and Lonoke Counties in central Arkansas. The REACH target area is Pulaski County.

REACH Plan services and interventions proposed by COPE directly address the needs of the target population through the following program activities: public education programs on energy efficiency; energy audits of homes; provision of energy efficiency devices for energy demand management; training in family installation of devices; staff installation of devices where necessary; leveraging additional funding and programs; and emergency assistance to households for utility payments.

To assure program responsiveness to the recipients' needs and views, COPE will organize two committees. The first will be a consumer advisory committee to assure that views are solicited from individuals who are financially eligible for benefits and services. The second will be a statewide project steering committee to oversee the activities relating to low-income energy services.

STATE OF INDIANA                                                                                  $1,501,840 **

The Housing and Community Services Section of the Division of Family and Children has developed a program to further assist Energy Assistance Program recipients who are also in transition off of Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TAN). The intent of the program is to facilitate the process of achieving financial independence for targeted families affected by welfare reform. This enhanced support will be offered by way of four Community Action Agencies (CAAs), as an extension of the self-sufficiency services provided through the local Division of Family and Children offices. Each CAA will be responsible for determining which families would best profit from the services through a local Program Coordination Committee (PCC).

The coordination of services and benefits will be facilitated by Family Development Consultants (FDC), employed by the CAAs to work with the family towards selfsufficiency. In order to meet the ongoing needs of these families, a number of services and benefits have been linked together and will be applied through holistic case management techniques by the FDC. The services will be delivered in the context of a Family Action Plan (FAP). Inclusive in these services are support services, health services, budget and housing counseling, energy education, the identification of barriers to attaining selfsufficiency; and referrals/follow-up to the appropriate agency for counseling.

The project assumption is that "low-income households spend a disproportionate amount of their income on their energy bills". By identifying REACH families in need of energy and housing benefits and providing them the services of these benefits, REACH families will see increased overall stability within their households; households whose homes are weatherized will see an decrease in the amount of their income spent on paying bills.

Paramount to the success of the REACH Program is the formation of partnerships between public and private entities, as well as partnerships with other stakeholders within the social services community.

** (Includes $100,000 for Energy Efficiency Education)

KENTUCKY CABINET FOR FAMILIES AND CHILDREN
DEPARTMENT FOR SOCIAL INSURANCE                                              $266,002

The REACH Project will be operated through the Kentucky Department of Social Insurance's Energy Assistance Branch and the Kentucky River Foothills Development Council.

The Kentucky River Foothills REACH project has targeted low-income families in Clark, Estill, Madison and Powell counties who are eligible for either LIHEAP or Weatherization services. Low-income participants will participate in comprehensive energy and budgeting education. The agency's five county coordinators will conduct a preweatherization survey of energy habits and usage at the time of the weatherization application. Counselors will help clients develop a household budget or analyze their current expenses and spending practices to determine potential savings. Follow-up activities will include client surveys of use and habit changes one heating season later, with additional counseling as needed. Staff will conduct workshops and demonstrate energy conservation and weatherization measures for clients, which are intended to encourage energy conservation and help clients to learn weatherization steps that will result in energy savings and increased comfort.

Services: One hundred fifty (150) families will benefit from the low-cost, no cost weatherization and conservation measures, and education on their usage. At least 2 workshops in each of the 5 service regions will be conducted per year, with an average attendance of 10 participants. A total of forty-five (45) households (15 per year) will receive weatherization services which would not otherwise be available due to regulatory spending limits.

Goals: Reduce energy consumption of participants by an average of 30%; households will be safer and cleaner due to the weatherization measures installed and heating systems repaired; 25% of the participants will become energy self-sufficient due to the REACH program's education efforts, budget counseling and weatherization measures; and an estimated 50% will reduce their dependence on energy assistance by 25% over the next year after participation.

NEW YORK STATE DIVISION OF HOUSING
AND COMMUNITY RENEWAL                                                                  $1,600,000**

The State of New York, through the Energy Services Bureau (ESB) of the Division of Housing and Community Renewal, will develop a multifaceted REACH initiative aimed at reducing energy costs and increasing the energy selfsufficiency of New York's most vulnerable households.

The central goal of this project is to establish a permanent mechanism, a nonprofit aggregator, through which the State's low-income households can compete effectively in a competitive energy marketplace. Project partners will establish a Public Interest Energy Services Company (or PIESCO) which will aggregate the buying power of low-income customers in order to increase their individual energy market power, thus providing them with a path to selfsufficiency.

ESB will subcontract with the Association for Energy Affordability, Inc. and the NYS Community Action Association, which will provide project services and coordinate the flow of funds and resources necessary to support the active involvement of 19 CBO's in targeted high energy burden communities. Local CBO partners will:: 1 ) provide community outreach, education, organization and enrollment of residents in the PIESCO; 2) install 'energy efficient retrofits in weatherization-eligible housing and provide energy efficiency education; and 3) package and deliver social support services (including budget management counseling and family development program services) to targeted eligible households with high energy burdens.

New York State aims to show through successful implementation of this initiative how to harness the combined market power of low-income households to provide benefits far in excess of their cost into the future.

** (Includes $100,000 for energy efficiency education)

PENNSYLVANIA DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WELFARE                      $1,200,000**

The Department of Public Welfare will contract with the Energy Coordinating Agency of Philadelphia (ECA), a community based organization which will serve as the lead agency in Pennsylvania's REACH program. ECA will in turn subcontract with two other community based organizations, the Community Action Agency of Delaware County (CAADC) and Friends Neighborhood Guild. The three organizations will form a team to test the REACH program methodology in two very distinct, yet equally needy, sections of the Philadelphia region.

ECA is a member of the State's Advisory Committee for Weatherization and Energy Assistance and also serves on the Governor's Task Force to restructure the electric industry.

The REACH program will provide a comprehensive solution to each of the participating households' energy problems by bringing together all existing energy services and adding several new program elements supported by REACH funding. The existing services which will be utilized include: Weatherization Assistance Program; utility funded conservation programs for gas, electricity and water; home repair, including heating system repair; Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program; private fuel funds; utility sponsored payment assistant plans and payment agreements; budget counseling; and The Energy Efficient Home Buying Program.

New interventions include: whole house energy audits and comprehensive treatment to reduce consumption of all energy sources; intensive energy education and goal setting; case management, including referrals to other housing and social service programs and to job training and development programs; follow-up with additional usage reduction services as a reward for making regular monthly payments; and, increased enforcement of the existing housing code in tenant occupied dwellings.

The REACH program will enable ECA, CAADC, and Friends Neighborhood Guild to aggressively pursue each of these avenues to create lasting solutions to the age old energy/poverty problem;

** (Includes $100,000 for energy efficiency education)

VERMONT AGENCY OF HUMAN SERVICES                                              $880,497

The Vermont Residential Energy Assistance Challenge Option Program (VT/REACH) seeks to maximize energy affordability and self-reliance for low-income consumers in a competitive electric market. The VT/REACH project will recruit and serve LIHEAP recipients as charter members of a "Consumerco" a not-for-profit buyers' cooperative offering comprehensive energy services at competitive prices to all consumers regardless of income. The project will help build and launch the Consumerco as a self-sustaining competitive enterprise, while finding the best ways to serve as many low-income Consumerco members as effectively as possible.

The objectives of the VT/REACH project are to:

1 ) Create and demonstrate the viability of a consumer-owned competitor providing least-cost energy services to low-income consumers by aggregating electricity and fuel demand and by optimizing energy choice and energy efficiency;

2) Develop and demonstrate the effectiveness and economics of integrating comprehensive energy supply aggregation with fuel, weatherization, and efficiency programs and a consolidated affordable payment plan provided through the "Consumerco";

3) Maximize membership of Vermont's 11,500 LIHEAP recipients in Consumerco with the objective of recruiting 75% of LIHEAP recipients by year three, in part by offering enhanced, customized services to 1,000 low-income consumers with the heaviest energy burden;

4) Close the energy affordability gap through a comprehensive, individually optimized combination of energy efficiency and payment assistance;

5) Reduce the level of need or energy assistance payments to LIHEAP eligible households; and

6) Document and evaluate the VT/REACH initiative, to support both replicability and feedback for ongoing program refinement.

The nonprofit Vermont Energy Investment Corporation will carry out the project, in conjunction with the VT Agency of Human Service's Fuel Assistance Office and Office of Economic Opportunity, assisted by the "Consumerco" development team.

Source: Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Energy

Page Last Updated: December 7, 2005