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Community Action Program photograph collection

 Collection
Identifier: P0263

Scope and Contents

The two prints in this collection are of an unidentified man and the exterior of a church in Salt Lake City's central city area.

Dates

  • circa 1960

Language of Materials

Collection materials are in English.

Conditions Governing Access

Twenty-four hour advanced notice encouraged. Materials must be used on-site. Access to parts of this collection may be restricted under provisions of state or federal law.

Conditions Governing Use

The library does not claim to control copyright for all materials in the collection. An individual depicted in a reproduction has privacy rights as outlined in Title 45 CFR, part 46 (Protection of Human Subjects). For further information, please review the J. Willard Marriott Library’s Use Agreement and Reproduction Request forms.

Biographical Note

The Salt Lake Area Community Action Program began operating in 1965 under the jurisdiction of the Community Services Administration of the federal government. Under the provisions of the national Community Action Program, local CAPs were to seek solutions to the social and economic problems related to poverty by sponsoring diverse programs that were targeted toward specific needs of local communities. Community Action Programs were to be funded by state, federal and private funds, and policies and programs were to be developed through a locally based Board of Directors. Originally, the Salt Lake Area CAP was to serve the entire Salt Lake County and it sponsored a number of programs including Model Cities, the Community Development Program, WIC (Women, Infants, and Children), and several area community councils. But despite its involvement in programs throughout the county, the Salt Lake CAP's main focus was on the Central City. Evidence of that main focus is the Central City Neighborhood Council, an organization not only funded by CAP, but located in the same office and staffed by CAP personnel.

In the mid 1970's, the national Community Action Program came under attack in Congress because local agencies were unable to adequately monitor funds which led to "abuse of federal monies." Further investigations indicated that the major portion of the funds were being used for administrative cost instead of reaching the poor for which they were intended. At this same time, the Salt Lake CAP came under fire from the City Commission for undocumented spending of state and federal funds. In 1975, the City Commission declared itself a Public Community Action Agency, taking control of all funds designated for the Community Action Program. Not until CAP officials agreed to a number of terms, mostly concerning record keeping and auditing, did the City Commission agree to allow the Salt Lake Community Action Program to continue its operations. In 1981, controversy over the Community Action Program and federal budget cuts threatened the continuation of local CAP's. In the end, the structure of the Community Action Program was revamped in favor of a block grant program rather than appropriating lump sums to local CAP's. In compliance with the new program structure, the Salt Lake CAP moved away from its sponsorship of social welfare agencies and began to seek funds for specific block redevelopment projects.

Extent

2 Photographic Prints

Abstract

The Community Action Program photograph collection contains two prints of an unidentified man and the exterior of a church in the central city area of Salt Lake City.

Separated Materials

Manuscript materials were transferred to the Community Action Program records (MS o460).
Title
Guide to the Community Action Program photograph collection circa 1960
Date
2004
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
Undetermined
Script of description
Code for undetermined script
Language of description note
Finding aid written in English.

Revision Statements

  • 2022: Revised by Sara Davis.

Repository Details

Part of the J. Willard Marriott Library Special Collections Repository

Contact:
295 South 1500 East
Salt Lake City Utah 84112 United States
801-581-8863