Training and Technical Assistance Projects

CAPLAW has recently collaborated with state Community Action associations and state CSBG offices on several innovative projects designed to enhance the legal accountability and governance practices of Community Action Agencies, update compliance with legal requirements, and decrease the risk of legal liability. In all of these projects, we have worked with in-state members of the CAPLAW Attorney Network to bring the best of both CAPLAW’s expertise in national legal issues critical to CAAs and the knowledge of state law and experience of local attorneys in representing individual CAAs.

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CAA Bylaws Projects

CAPLAW Associate Counsel Eleanor Evans is working with attorney Cheryl Vaught of the Oklahoma City law firm Vaught & Conner, PLLC, the Oklahoma Department of Commerce and the Oklahoma Association of Community Action Agencies to provide training on CAA bylaws best practices and to review the bylaws of each Oklahoma CAA

Ms. Evans has also recently worked with Missouri attorney Michael Madsen, the Missouri Association for Community Action and the Missouri Department of Social Services to provide training on CAA bylaws best practices and to review the bylaws of each Missouri CAA.

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Legal Liability Audit Projects

CAPLA W Executive Director/General Counsel Anita Lichtblau recently worked with attorney Joel Kaleva and his Montana law firm, Crowley, Haughey, Hanson, Toole & Dietrich, PLLP to assist Montana CAAs in conducting the CAPLAW Legal Liability Audit. Each audit focused on particular issues of interest to the individual CAA.  The project was coordinated by the Montana HRDC Directors’ Association with assistance from the Montana Department of Public Health & Human Services

Ms. Lichtblau has also recently worked with Lana Ross, Executive Director of the Iowa Community Action Association and members of the association’s board of directors, as well as Art Eggers and Mike Wendt, attorneys from the firm of Califf & Harper, to have legal liability audits conducted for each Iowa CAA, using the CAPLAW Legal Liability Audit for Community Action Agencies, a guide containing short summaries of the law and compliance checklists on nonprofit corporate requirements, employment law and personnel issues, employee benefits, Head Start, and CSBG. In preparation for the audits, CAPLAW and attorneys from Califf & Harper conducted a one-day training session for the Iowa association, CAA executive directors and other representatives of Iowa CAAs

We look forward to collaborating with our member CAA associations, as well as with state CSBG offices on more projects like these.  Please give us a call at (617) 357-6915 if you are interested in conducting one of these projects in your state or if there is another project on which you would like to work with CAPLAW .