Blount County Community Action Agency

What is Community Action?

Established under the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964, President Lyndon Johnson’s War on Poverty focused efforts to “…not only to relieve the symptom of poverty, but to cure it and, above all, to prevent it”. Thus, Community Action Agencies (CAA) were created and charged to equip citizens struggling with various challenges with the tools for increasing self-reliance, resiliency and economic stability.

Local Control

The nation’s 1,000-plus Community Action Agencies are a robust, state and local force – reaching children and families in 99% of America’s counties with life-changing services that create pathways to self-reliance. There are 20 Community Action Agencies across the State of Tennessee.

Every three (3) years, each CAA must complete a Comprehensive Community Needs Assessment identifying local needs and a plan to address the identified issues and gaps, collaborative programming and supplemental services with Community Service Block Grant (CSBG) funding. Under the community action agency structure, the ability to promote local control on identified solutions allows communities to assess their own needs, avoid duplication of services and prescribe place-based solutions.

2024: Blount County Results

1. Housing Services
2. Elderly Services
3. Child Care Services
4. Transportation Services
5. Nutrition Services

Local control allows communities to assess their own needs and prescribe place-based solutions. Local plans for using CSBG funds must reflect a well-conceived strategy for ameliorating poverty; that strategy must include approaches and activities chosen from those listed in the CSBG Act which the local agency leaders deem to be necessary and effective for their community:

Information provided by the National Community Action Foundation.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING: Friday, October 23, 2026 at 8:00am held at the Agency. This meeting is the Annual Board Training Session. 

Guests are requested to contact Tammye Pirie at tpirie@blountcaa.org prior to the day of the meeting with RSVP to ensure space for additional attendees and the ability to contact, if the meeting logistics change.

CAA’s are mandated to be governed under a tripartite Board of Directors membership identified by their representation of three sectors of the community. These sectors include the public, private and the low-income representation.

• • • The Public representative sector consists of elected community officials, who represent the leadership that the citizens of the community have selected to serve in various government roles. This membership sector does not create political affiliations or bias for BCCAA yet reflects the community’s majority representative that has been deemed as a voice of advocacy to address and solve many impactful community service needs.
    • The Private representative sector membership consists of individuals in various business, industry, labor, religious, welfare, education or other major groups and interests in the community who are able to advance the Strategic Plan and impact of service delivery.
    • The Service Population Advocates sector consists of various members of the community who have received BCCAA services, reside in service population areas or have direct connections and trust from the populations served by the agency

Executive Director Tammye Pirie, MPH

Deputy Director/Chief Financial Officer Paige King

If you would like to contact the Executive Director, Deputy Director/CFO or any staff, please use the CONTACT page from the website and your message will be forward to the identified staff.

Under the Tennessee Open Meetings Act (Sunshine Law), Community Action Agencies that administer Community Services Block Grants or receive specific state and local government contracts are subject to public transparency requirements.

• Open Meetings: Any governing board meeting of a qualifying community action agency where public business, policy, or administration is deliberated or decided must be open to the general public.
• Public Notice: Agencies must provide adequate and timely public notice of their meetings.
• Agendas and Minutes: Meeting agendas should be made accessible in advance (typically 48 hours prior), and thorough minutes are kept.

Blount County Community Action Agency advertises all Board of Directors’ meetings on the agency website, under the Board Section.  

Under the Office of Special Council’s regulations: Hatch Act Guidelines for Private Community Action Agencies:

Private nonprofit Community Action Agencies (CAAs) receiving federal Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) funds are generally subject to the federal Hatch Act only if their principal employment is connected with an activity financed in whole or in part by loans or grants made by a federal agency, specifically under 5 U.S.C. § 1501-1508 for state/local/nonprofit employees.

•  Covered Employees: Staff members at a private nonprofit CAA whose principal employment is connected to the administration, planning, or delivery of CSBG-funded anti-poverty programs are covered.
• Permitted Activities: Covered employees can generally vote, join political parties, sign petitions, and express personal opinions on political subjects.
• Prohibited Activities: Covered individuals may not use official authority to interfere with an election, run for public office in a partisan election, or solicit political contributions while on duty, on agency property, or using program resources.

Under the Hatch Act, agencies and employees are not penalized for errors made entirely by an independent third party (such as a commercial newspaper), provided the employee or agency did not authorize or approve the improper title usage. No Automatic Website Declaration Mandated: The Hatch Act does not explicitly require an agency to post a public declaration or “correction notice” on its official agency website to fix an error made by an outside newspaper.

In strict accordance with the Hatch Act, Blount County Community Action Agency does not endorse any political candidate, does not use agency resources to support any political candidate and does not conduct any ‘permitted’ activities related to a partisan election during regular work hours/duty day. Use of the agency name or staff titles to reflect partisan support with any political event is prohibited. Any document written, produced, or released associated with any political event without written, pre-approval by the Executive Director is deemed unauthorized and used without permission or consent.  

Private Community Action Agencies (CAAs) structured as 501(c)(3) public charities are legally permitted to engage in limited Lobbying, though a strict ban on using any federal funds for Lobbying activities is required in adherence to Core Federal Funding Restrictions.

• The Byrd Amendment & Anti-Lobbying Act: Federal grants (such as HHS/Community Services Block Grant funds) cannot be used to pay for expenses intended to influence legislation, appropriations, regulations, or executive orders at any level of government.
• Separation of Funds: CAAs must use private, non-federal, or unrestricted corporate/fundraising revenue to cover any permissible lobbying costs.

The Tennessee Public Records Act (TPRA) is found in Tenn. Code Ann. § 10-7-503 et seq. and guarantees Tennessee citizens access to allowable state, county, and municipal government records. Under the Tennessee Public Records Act (TPRA), specifically Tenn. Code Ann. § 10-7-503(g), every county and municipal governmental entity in Tennessee must adopt a public records policy. This law requires them to formally designate a Public Records Request Coordinator.

Blount County Community Action Agency’s Public Records Request Coordinator is Tammye Pirie, Executive Director. Contact information is: tpirie@blountcaa.org