Community Action Wayne / Medina

Community Action Wayne / Medina is a non-profit community development corporation based in Wooster, Ohio, that operates as a federal grant recipient (13% of awards) and sub-recipient (87% of awards), delivering early childhood education, homelessness prevention and housing services, home energy assistance, and child care food programs across Ohio and subordinate jurisdictions.

The organization is structured as a tax-exempt corporate entity and competes exclusively in the federal grant space rather than federal procurement. Its federal footprint spans seven distinct customer agencies, with dominant concentration in the Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families. Community Action Wayne / Medina holds a five-year Head Start prime grant from HHS/ACF awarded February 1, 2026, for $11,015,188 covering the period through January 31, 2031, which funds early childhood education and related services for preschool-age children and Early Head Start populations including infants, toddlers, and pregnant women. The organization also holds two Continuum of Care Program (CFDA 14.267) prime grants from HUD's Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development: one awarded June 1, 2026, for $150,142 running through May 31, 2027, and an earlier award on January 1, 2026, for $163,347 completed December 31, 2026. These grants fund permanent housing including permanent supportive housing and rapid rehousing, transitional housing, supportive services, Homeless Management Information Systems, and homelessness prevention activities in Wooster, Ohio.

The organization's sub-recipient work dominates its award count and dollar volume. Community Action Wayne / Medina receives 83% of its awards as a sub-recipient flowing through state intermediaries — predominantly the Ohio Department of Development and the Ohio Department of Education — managing sub-awards under the Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP), Low-Income Household Water Assistance Program (LIHWAP), Comprehensive Community Development Services (CSBG), Home Weatherization Assistance Program (HWAP), and Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP). Recent sub-recipient work includes multiple HEAP awards from Ohio Department of Development (annual formula and emergency supplement tranches), CACFP cash-in-lieu and child care food program sub-awards from Ohio Department of Education for fiscal years 2025 and 2026, weatherization assistance sub-awards from Ohio Department of Job & Family Services under Inflation Reduction Act (BIL) authority, and mobility management and transit capital sub-awards. The organization also receives sub-awards for computer hardware and bus equipment under rural mobility management programs.

Activity spiked in 2023 (41 awards) and has since moderated to 18 awards in 2024, 9 in 2025, and 6 through mid-2026. Over the full source period dating to 2007, Community Action Wayne / Medina has obligated $232.5 million across 95 awards. Three awards carry ultimate completion dates within the next twenty-four months, presenting recompete exposure limited to the Continuum of Care recurring annual tranches and smaller sub-recipient allocations. The Head Start prime grant's five-year structure and non-competitive continuation eligibility create multi-year revenue stability contingent on satisfactory performance, compliance with award terms, and federal determination that continuation serves government interests.