Warren Forest Counties Economic Opportunity Council

Warren Forest Counties Economic Opportunity Council, a tax-exempt nonprofit organization headquartered in Warren, Pennsylvania, is a federal grant recipient operating as a prime grantee under HUD's Continuum of Care (COC) program and the Department of Agriculture's Food and Nutrition Service, with additional sub-recipient roles under Pennsylvania state agencies administering federal funds. The organization does not hold federal contracts or contract vehicles; its federal footprint is entirely grant-based, split between prime grant awards (31% of recent activity) and sub-recipient grants (69%), with strong concentration in homelessness prevention, housing, early childhood nutrition, and weatherization assistance programs.

Warren Forest's customer base shows marked concentration in three federal agencies accounting for 94% of recent awards. The Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service leads by award count with 49 awards, primarily through sub-recipient arrangements with the Pennsylvania Department of Education for the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP), where the organization receives reimbursement for meals served to children and adults in approved care facilities and receives commodity assistance allowances. The Department of Housing and Urban Development's Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development follows with 26 awards, split between five consecutive prime COC program grants (fiscal years 2022 through 2027, with awards dated July and October on annual cycles) supporting permanent housing including permanent supportive housing for persons with disabilities, rapid rehousing, transitional housing, and supportive services. The Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families contributed 21 combined awards, anchored by a Head Start prime grant awarded July 1, 2024, running through June 30, 2029.

Beyond COC and CACFP sub-awards, Warren Forest receives federal funds through Pennsylvania state grantees for the Weatherization Assistance Program and Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) funding. Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development has issued multiple CSBG sub-awards (most recently April 14, 2026) for personnel, program, and administrative costs supporting low-income assistance in Warren and Forest Counties; Pennsylvania Department of Human Services has issued Weatherization sub-awards (energy efficiency and heating-emergency assistance) under master agreements running through 2025 and 2027. Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency issued one sub-award (October 1, 2024) for FY 2022 Community Housing Challenge funding.

Award volume has grown from 6 awards in 2022 to a peak of 22 in 2025, with 18 awards recorded in 2026 year-to-date. Only one award faces ultimate completion within the next twenty-four months, indicating minimal recompete pressure in the near term. The organization's federal engagement is overwhelmingly driven by cyclical HUD COC grants (annual awards) and recurring sub-awards from Pennsylvania agencies for nutrition and energy assistance, with no federal contract prime activity and no involvement in contract vehicles such as GWACs, IDIQs, or GSA Schedules.