The department shall have the responsibility, and is hereby vested with all necessary powers and authority to do the following:
(a)
Recognize existing community action agencies, as originally defined by Section 2790 of Title 42 of the United States Code in the federal Economic Opportunity Act of 1964, and as superseded by Section 9902 of that title in the federal Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1981 (P.L. 97-35), and as further defined in Article 6 (commencing with Section 12750) of Chapter
9 of Division 3 of Title 2, and Indian tribes or tribal organizations, as the operators of programs to serve the poor in local communities, and, where the programs are of a statewide or multicounty nature, other limited purpose agencies may be considered as program operators.
(b)
Apply for, administer, and oversee federal block grant funds, including, but not limited to, the Community Services Block Grant and the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program, and other public and private funds designed to support antipoverty programs in the state that are not currently administered by other departments, and define and enforce programmatic performance and fiscal accountability standards for those funds.
(c)
Provide funding and technical assistance, directly or through grants or contracts, to community action agencies, Indian tribes, and other agencies that operate programs of an
antipoverty nature.
(d)
Coordinate antipoverty efforts throughout the state, to the extent permissible under federal law, to avoid duplication, improve delivery of services, and relate programs to one another.
(e)
Maintain liaison with the Office of Community Services in the federal Department of Health and Human Services, county and city commissions on economic opportunity, citizens’ groups, and all other governmental agencies engaged in economic opportunity or community service programs, or both.
(f)
Collect and assemble pertinent information and data available from other agencies of the state and federal governments and disseminate information in the interests of community services programs in the state by publication, advertisement, conference, workshops, programs, lectures, and other means.
(g)
Plan and evaluate long-range and short-range strategies for overcoming poverty in the state.
(h)
Mobilize public and private resources in support of antipoverty and community services programs.
(i)
Encourage participation by residents of poor communities in the development and operation of community action programs for their betterment.
(j)
Advise the Governor of his or her responsibilities under the Economic Opportunity Program (Chapter 34 (commencing with Section 2701) of Title 42 of the United States Code) and the Community Services Block Grant Program (Chapter 106 (commencing with Section 9901) of Title 42 of the United States Code), as well as any other federal law enacted with respect to meeting the needs of the poor.
(k)
Measure and evaluate, directly or through grants or contracts, the impact of this article and other poverty-related programs authorized by law, in order to determine the effectiveness of the programs in achieving stated goals, impact on related programs, and the structure and mechanisms for the delivery of services. All the offices under the executive branch shall cooperate and provide the necessary information to the director, upon his or her request, to achieve the purposes of this subdivision.
(l)
Promulgate regulations and negotiate and execute contracts necessary or convenient for the exercise of its responsibilities, powers and functions, and to ensure that federal and state standards of programmatic performance and fiscal accountability are met.