Southwestern Wisconsin Community Action Program, Inc.

Southwestern Wisconsin Community Action Program, Inc., a tax-exempt nonprofit based in Dodgeville, Wisconsin, operates as a recipient of federal grants in early childhood education, nutrition assistance, and community health and family support services, with 77% of its recent federal footprint routed through sub-awards from Wisconsin state agencies and the federal government. The organization holds prime recipient status on two active Head Start program grants from the Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families: a $6.154840 million Head Start award (CFDA 93.600) running through October 31, 2030, and a $1.134226 million Early Head Start award running through August 31, 2031. As a sub-recipient, Southwestern Wisconsin Community Action Program receives pass-through funding from Wisconsin state agencies—particularly the Department of Public Instruction, Department of Health Services, and Department of Children and Families—for child nutrition programs (National School Lunch Program and Child and Adult Care Food Program), Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), Community Services Block Grants (CSBG), Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), home visiting services (Family Foundations), and food assistance (TEFAP, CSFP).

The organization's customer concentration centers on federal nutrition and early childhood programs flowing through state administration. The top five customer agencies account for 51% of awards in the recent portfolio, dominated by the Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service (38 awards), multiple sub-offices within the Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families (28 awards combined across Early Head Start, Head Start, and other child welfare functions), and the Department of Health and Human Services Health Resources and Services Administration (7 awards). Southwestern Wisconsin Community Action Program also receives funding for mental health training (applied suicide intervention and de-escalation skills training for rural Green and Lafayette Counties) under a $180,000 grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (CFDA not specified), awarded December 31, 2022, with ultimate completion September 29, 2026. Recent sub-awards document pass-through funding for community transportation (operating, mobility management, and Job Access and Reverse Commute programs), rural infrastructure, and economic development initiatives from the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Department of Transportation, and the Department of Agriculture Rural Utilities Service.

Activity has grown year over year from eight awards in 2022 to thirty-seven in 2024, with thirty-six in 2025 and sixteen recorded through September 2026, reflecting the high volume and recurring nature of nutrition and child support grant cycles. The combined dollars obligated across all 144 awards totals $119.2 million, concentrated in nutrition and early childhood assistance programs with multi-year cycles. Southwestern Wisconsin Community Action Program's role is characteristic of community action agencies—it serves as a local delivery intermediary for federal antipoverty, nutrition, and family support programming, anchored to state pass-through funding structures rather than direct federal contracting relationships.