Dear
OCS Grant Recipients, Community Partners, Stakeholders, and Colleagues,
You doubled down on your commitment to serve individuals, children, families, and communities long before I was appointed to be the director of the Office of Community Services. It has been my greatest honor supporting and witnessing you reaffirm your commitment every single day to the vulnerable populations we collectively serve. Your continued dedication to OCS’ mission to reduce the causes and consequences of poverty, increase opportunity and economic security of individuals and families, and revitalize communities has allowed OCS-funded programs to be a lifeline for millions of families impacted by the health and economic crises caused and exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the ever-increasing effects of climate change such as extreme weather events and wildfires.
Today, more than ever, we see the vital role OCS-funded programs play in helping to address persistent poverty and pervasive disparities and inequities. And, in order to achieve our vision—thriving communities where children are able to live choice-filled lives and where everyone has the opportunity and support needed to achieve their full potential— we have to take every viable and tangible action we can to achieve our goals.
When I entered into this role, I outlined my four overarching priorities for OCS, and, as many of you are aware, I have reiterated these priorities over and over. They are:
1
Ensuring the programs we administer are of the highest quality possible and are reaching those most in need.
2
Lifting up voices from the field and using lessons learned to be thoughtful, inclusive, and innovative in our approach.
3
Identifying opportunities to break down silos and implement cross-cutting initiatives within OCS and ACF, and across the federal government.
4
Amplifying OCS’ many connections to the Biden-Harris Administration’s top four priorities for better supporting families and communities.
These priorities underscore my focus on strengthening our services and amplifying the impact of our work. They are my commitments to you and the families and communities we serve. While not everything will happen as quickly as we might like, we are at the precipice of change and we will not waver in our commitment to making a tangible difference in the lives of the people we serve.
To this end, I am pleased to present a snapshot of OCS’ initial efforts to support these overarching priority areas during FY 2021. I am proud of the work we have done so far in these areas, and I look forward to continuing to build upon the momentum we have achieved.
Sincerely,
Dr. Lanikque Howard
Director, Office of Community Services
FY 2021
Administered across all OCS programs
Individuals served across all OCS programs
Vulnerable individuals served through OCS's block grant programs
*These numbers represent an unduplicated count for each program, but an individual may have received assistance from more than one OCS program throughout the year.